Gardening: (2016– )

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

The outdoor garden is winding down. There are a lot of late season greens.

The indoor garden is coming along.

 

 

First habanero and fish peppers:

 

 

Lettuces, bok choy, red and green bunching onions, chard and 3 types of radishes.

Pots of chives and cilantro.

 

[lemniscate]

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

I love that stuff. I don't have regular access to the fruit, but I've had delicious ice cream and drinks made from it when I was near them at the right time. If you'd like a recipe for prickly pear fruit ice cream, let me know. 

I am so surprised how sweet the fruit is this year.   It really is a lovely flavor as is.   It's normally a bit insipid and needs additional sweetening and maybe a tiny bit of acid to make it satisfying.   The color is like nothing else.

 

Sure, I'd love an ice cream recipe, so if you can share it, please do.

Edited September 22, 2023 by lemniscate (log)

[Smithy]

On 9/21/2023 at 7:24 PM, lemniscate said:

I am so surprised how sweet the fruit is this year.   It really is a lovely flavor as is.   It's normally a bit insipid and needs additional sweetening and maybe a tiny bit of acid to make it satisfying.   The color is like nothing else.

 

Sure, I'd love a ice cream recipe, so if you can share it, please do.

 

Here it is. The source was Sarah Lee-Allen, who did wonderful presentations at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's "Taste the Desert" events. (I wrote about the first one here, and in reviewing the topic I see you responded with your own comments about prickly pear fruit back then in 2019!)

 

When I asked whether I could share the recipe, Sarah gave an enthusiastic "yes, as long as it's credited to Jay" (her husband). This photo is of the recipe she had printed out for anyone to take.

 

Jay's Prickly Pear Sour Cream Ice Cream, by Jay Allen

 

It bugs me that I never have an ice cream maker and the prickly pear syrup available at the same time, but I'm pretty sure I had a sample that night.

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Smithy
Straightened out garbled sentence about asking and getting permission to share (log)

[lemniscate]

@Smithy  I don't have an ice cream maker either, but I sent that recipe to someone I know who does.   Things are afoot.

 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

@Smithy  I don't have an ice cream maker either, but I sent that recipe to someone I know who does.   Things are afoot.

 

 

Let me know how it works out!

 

Also, I remember now that when I had access to prickly pear juice I'd mix it with my yogurt. It turned a beautiful color and made a ho-hum breakfast much more palatable.

[chromedome]

Last night was our first "risk of frost" in the forecast (not a frost warning, but still...) so I covered up the more sensitive plants. I have the fixin's to construct better covers for them, and will do over the next week or so, but hadn't had the time to this point.

 

I have two more baby watermelons that just might make it, given a bit of assistance, and maybe a half-dozen cantaloupes. That would be a real triumph, given the circumstances (the loss of my greenhouse, the weird weather, etc).

 

ETA: Everything seems to have come through this first test just fine. The bell peppers are looking slightly unhappy, but I'm sure they'll be fine once the sun hits them.

Edited September 22, 2023 by chromedome (log)

[Darienne]

A question about growing tomatoes and how they taste.  My dirt bag tomatoes were delicious and of course this non-gardener was thrilled.  Then the tomatoes from a local farm were goodish but not like mine.  OK.  @chromedomeexplained about different tomatoes having different tastes.  However, today's lunch tomatoes from the ones our neighbors gave us were not only tasteless...and we ate two different types of tomatoes...but had a very slight unpleasant taste to them both.  

 

Do tomatoes ripened off the vine not fare as well as those ripened on the vine?  Or was it that these tomatoes are the last of the season?  The donor lady is an excellent vegetable gardener so that's one factor.  

 

I still have two tomatoes on my vines and I'm hoping they'll ripen before the frost hits.  It was some miles north of us last night and we are higher up than most of the surrounding land.  

 

 

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

A question about growing tomatoes and how they taste.  My dirt bag tomatoes were delicious and of course this non-gardener was thrilled.  Then the tomatoes from a local farm were goodish but not like mine.  OK.  @chromedomeexplained about different tomatoes having different tastes.  However, today's lunch tomatoes from the ones our neighbors gave us were not only tasteless...and we ate two different types of tomatoes...but had a very slight unpleasant taste to them both.  

 

Do tomatoes ripened off the vine not fare as well as those ripened on the vine?  Or was it that these tomatoes are the last of the season?  The donor lady is an excellent vegetable gardener so that's one factor.  

 

I still have two tomatoes on my vines and I'm hoping they'll ripen before the frost hits.  It was some miles north of us last night and we are higher up than most of the surrounding land.  

 

They won't be quite as sweet as the days grow shorter, and they won't be quite as sweet if they're picked more than a couple of days before peak ripeness (the best you can expect from a commercial grower). I have some 10 lbs or so ripening off the vine in a sunny spot right now, simply because they've fallen off the vine of their own accord or when I've brushed them in passing (the Romas seem really prone to doing both). Still have lots on the vines, so we'll see how they make out. Currently the 7-day forecast looks good, but I'll be in NS for a few days past that so it'll be tense.

[KennethT]

My curry leaf tree is sprouting a new tree! I'm debating whether to prune it....

 

 

Here's the whole garden (minus the 6 kencur plants which are in a different area):

 

 

The curry leaf tree is doing really well - so bushy now.

[gfweb]

Almost the last of my tree fruit.

Honeycrisp apples...very nice in their 1st year on a new tree.

And the first pawpaws we've ever had. Trees are about 5 years old (guessing).  I'll have to think quick on how to use before t hey spoil.

 

[Kerala]

On 10/7/2023 at 3:29 PM, KennethT said:

My curry leaf tree is sprouting a new tree! I'm debating whether to prune it....

 

 

 

How did you grow this? I've been thinking about just trying rooting powder on some fresh stalks from the Indian market.

[KennethT]

5 hours ago, Kerala said:

How did you grow this? I've been thinking about just trying rooting powder on some fresh stalks from the Indian market.

I bought a start from a nursery a couple years ago.... I don't think you can root a thin branch - maybe one of the larger branches but I don't know if they'd have them in the market.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Indoor garden this morning. When things dry out some I'll assess the outdoor damage from yesterday's wind and rain. Doesn't look too bad with only the tomato plants looking a little ragged.

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

[haresfur]

On 10/8/2023 at 1:29 AM, KennethT said:

My curry leaf tree is sprouting a new tree! I'm debating whether to prune it....

 

 

Here's the whole garden (minus the 6 kencur plants which are in a different area):

 

 

The curry leaf tree is doing really well - so bushy now.

 

My tree is getting really sparse (an apprentice knocked the top off with his ladder a few years ago so I'm letting the suckers grow up below. The whole thing is looking a bit sad right now because it has been under cover for frost protection but I hope it will perk up.

[Darienne]

Some of you might laugh at me, but please remember that I am an gardening virgin basically and still unorganized (family life is a bit chaotic right now).  Last week I put three leek ends in small glasses of water in my south-facing window which will be covered in plants soon I hope and I am stunned at the growth of said leek ends.  Nature is amazing!  The pot on the right is my still un-repotted basil plant.  

 

[rotuts]

@Darienne 

 

what are  your plans for the leeks ?

 

it is a lot of fun just to see them grow.

[Darienne]

24 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Darienne 

 

what are  your plans for the leeks ?

 

it is a lot of fun just to see them grow.

I laugh at your response because honestly, I don't have any plans.  Perhaps they'll appear later.  We live in hope.  

[rotuts]

@Darienne

 

maybe leek tops added to a vegetable stock ?

[chromedome]

Haven't posted anything garden-related of late because I've been away, and busy, etc etc, but things are still humming along.

Here's today's harvest:

 

Clockwise from bottom left we have beans, tomatoes, cooking greens (chard and beet tops), zukes, broccolini,carrots, a "watermelon" radish, jalapenos, one ripe bell pepper, and salad greens.

 

The tomatoes are still hanging in, suprisingly, with help from overnight covers. The beans are finally nearing their end, and I'm going to pull the zucchini out tomorrow because they've started to get downy mildew in the damp autumn weather. Don't want those spores around.

The melon patch is done, and I didn't get any pictures of melons past that first watermelon, but overall it was a modest success. I got four little Sugar Baby watermelons and a half-dozen cantaloupes, the smallest of tennis-ball size and the largest about as big as the smallest size you'd find at the supermarket. The cantaloupes were not especially sweet (they began to ripen ad the weather got cool, and I'm pretty sure they needed more heat and sun) but they were juicy and fragrant. Overall, considering I wasn't sure I'd get even one melon, I'll call it a successful experiment.

 

 

[KennethT]

I love how the Indonesian kencur plants' leaves start out as this spiral and slowly unfurl over a couple weeks.....

 

 

[Shelby]

18 minutes ago, chromedome said:

Haven't posted anything garden-related of late because I've been away, and busy, etc etc, but things are still humming along.

Here's today's harvest:

 

Clockwise from bottom left we have beans, tomatoes, cooking greens (chard and beet tops), zukes, broccolini,carrots, a "watermelon" radish, jalapenos, one ripe bell pepper, and salad greens.

 

The tomatoes are still hanging in, suprisingly, with help from overnight covers. The beans are finally nearing their end, and I'm going to pull the zucchini out tomorrow because they've started to get downy mildew in the damp autumn weather. Don't want those spores around.

The melon patch is done, and I didn't get any pictures of melons past that first watermelon, but overall it was a modest success. I got four little Sugar Baby watermelons and a half-dozen cantaloupes, the smallest of tennis-ball size and the largest about as big as the smallest size you'd find at the supermarket. The cantaloupes were not especially sweet (they began to ripen ad the weather got cool, and I'm pretty sure they needed more heat and sun) but they were juicy and fragrant. Overall, considering I wasn't sure I'd get even one melon, I'll call it a successful experiment.

 

 

I'm impressed you can grow pineapple up there!

 

😄

 

Seriously, your produce is amazing.

[Shelby]

Picked more pumpkins so mom could take some back home with her.  Still more to go.  Lots of green ones left.

 

[liuzhou]

  

On 10/9/2023 at 9:35 AM, liuzhou said:

Happy me!

 

After reading your post and twitching with envy and frustration, I decided to search just once more for rau răm on my purchasing options. My usual one hour later delivery people deny all knowledge, but on Taobao, the main Amazon-like shopping portal I hit gold

 

from the 2023 dinner topic @KennethT

 

My search for rau răm has been a frustrating waste of time. I have ordered it now from three different suppliers advertising it on Taobao. One said it would take five weeks to arrive from a place I can get to in three hours), another said they were out of stock then deleted their listing and the third said they were ony testing to see if there is any demand and may, or may not, have it at some unknown point in the future!

So, I gave up and ordered a plant rather than just the leaves. It arrived today. Half dead and the surviving half dried out and yellowing. It was also seriously potbound. I have re-potted it and will see if it revives, but I'm not hopeful. I might just have to move to Vietnam.

 

 

Overhead shot.

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

  

 

My seaarch for rau răm has been a frustrating waste of time. I have ordered it now from three different suppliers advertising it on Taobao. One said it would take five weeks to arrive from a place I can get to in three hours), another said they were out of stock then deleted their listing and the third said they were ony testing to see if there is any demand and may, or may not, have it at some unknown point in the future!

So, I gave up and ordered a plant rather than just the leaves. It arrived today. Half dead and the surviving half dried out and yellowing. It was also seriously potbound. I have re-potted it and will see if it revives, but I'm not hopeful. I might just have to move to Vietnam.

 

 

Overhead shot.

 

 

That is terribly sad - but I'll bet in fresh soil and not potbound it starts to thrive. 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I had to destroy 5 of my potted hot pepper plants due to a pest infestation I couldn't get rid of using the standard soapy water treatment (habaneros and fish peppers). Managed to get a few peppers.

Lots of chard, lettuces, bok choy, mustard greens, spring onions and a few herbs left.

Time to start thinking about next season's layout and garlic planting in November.

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)