***What's growing? The official garden thread***

Fifthelement

Rob, those veg look amazing!  I am so hungry now.  Your little one looks adorable.

deadendp

Something ate an entire marigold plant. It's like it never existed.

lastexitlondon

I have a mouse who ate the  hearts and heads out of my prized broccoli and kalettes. Fucking soul  destroying.  So i have moles and mice. It seems ive succeed in making a great environment  for critters. Yay me

lastexitlondon

a proud moment my first broccoli heads

Fifthelement

Do you mean mouse house foodstuff? Lol. Sorry the critters got into your garden.  Your broccoli looks great though.

lastexitlondon

These  were grown in bags higher up so mice didnt eat them  . Thankfully

lastexitlondon

I boiled it only slightly and ate it . Pleasing

rgambs

lastexitlondon said:

a proud moment my first broccoli heads

Very nice! Tight, full heads are a thing of beauty!

lastexitlondon

we had to pull our onions as they  were about to rot. 
Those  purple flowers are sage thats gone to flower
 Can i eat those?

lastexitlondon

my potatoes are going  great and also first try at pak choi. Fast growers

deadendp

lastexitlondon said:

we had to pull our onions as they  were about to rot. 
Those  purple flowers are sage thats gone to flower
 Can i eat those?

Lil Bit in the garden!  

I looked it up and yes, you can most definitely eat the sage flowers.  Apparently there are recipes online with sage flowers.  I just cut all of my sage flowers off last week.  I am happy to cook with sage, but it can definitely be an assertive flavor if not used carefully.  They claim that the flowers have a more delicate flavor.  

I have grown potatoes once.  I considered it a success.  I grew them in a big plastic bucket.  My best friend's father-in-law swore it would never work.  (Old man farmer.)  It did!  

lastexitlondon

Potatoes here  are like the crop every single plot grows . Its  so well stuck in our DNA .

rgambs

Picked a peck of peas today, going to make them into refrigerator pickles sometime soon.

Purple Fairy Tree

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

lastexitlondon

Yes i would the roots will be squashed

deadendp

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

You do, but first you need to harden them off. Can't just plant them directly from inside to outside. They would also benefit from having suckers removed. Definitely need caged or staked outdoors. 

Purple Fairy Tree

Cheers guys...

@lastexitlondon I've now transfered them to the garden so their roots can grow. You're right the roots were squashed..... I hope I've got there in time.  I'll get a grow bag next time. 

I'm new to growing vegetables but since lockdown I'm spending a lot more time in the garden which I'm finding therapeutic.  I also transferred my basil and parsley plants to larger pots outside the house. 

lastexitlondon

Yes i would plant them in their final growing place if thats a grow bag or the  ground. It depends on the  breed of tomato. But pick out the  shoots that grow inbetween the main trusses unless its a variety that you shouldnt. You get indeterminate varities and determinate. One you pinch out one you dont . I cant recall which. Google is best

Purple Fairy Tree

@lastexitlondon

Thank you ♡

rgambs

PJPOWER

rgambs said:

Yum!  Will this work for Snow Peas?  If so, mind sharing the recipe??  I’m just starting to pick them off, but I usually just eat them as I pick them, ha. Great little gardening snack 

rgambs

PJPOWER said:

rgambs said:

Yum!  Will this work for Snow Peas?  If so, mind sharing the recipe??  I’m just starting to pick them off, but I usually just eat them as I pick them, ha. Great little gardening snack 

It will work for anything that comes out of the garden lol 
These are sugar snaps, almost the same thing.  Veggies with some crunch are best, of course.

The basic rule for fridge pickling is simple, and you tweak it to your taste...
For each quart:
1 cup vinegar of your choice
1 cup filtered or distilled water (I actually use boiled well water)
1 tablespoon non-iodized salt.  I use pickling salt because I can only buy it in giant boxes and it's a nice middle ground between fine ground table salt and course Kosher
Bring to a boil and pour over the clean packed jars.
Sterilizing jars is always a good idea.  
The pickling spices you use is your choice, I always add hot pepper flakes (to everything lol) 
If you want sweet, start with a tablespoon sugar, you can always add more.
Garlic, dill, peppercorns, cloves, etc are usually added whole.
Leave the lid loose and burp it after a day or two, I usually give it a shake every day for the first week or two as well, just to get any air bubbles out and ensure distribution of flavor.
They do need to be kept in the fridge, of course, and are safe to eat for anywhere between 3 weeks to 9 months, depending on how squeamish the person writing the recipe is lol
Relatively recent studies have shown Listeria is capable of surviving in the acidic refrigerator pickle environment, so water bath canned pickles are better for sensitive individuals like the pregnant and immune deficient.  Listeria is rarely a risk to healthy adults.
Fridge pickle recipes cannot be used for water bath canning, but water bath recipes can be fridged.

PJPOWER

rgambs said:

PJPOWER said:

rgambs said:

Yum!  Will this work for Snow Peas?  If so, mind sharing the recipe??  I’m just starting to pick them off, but I usually just eat them as I pick them, ha. Great little gardening snack 

It will work for anything that comes out of the garden lol 
These are sugar snaps, almost the same thing.  Veggies with some crunch are best, of course.

The basic rule for fridge pickling is simple, and you tweak it to your taste...
For each quart:
1 cup vinegar of your choice
1 cup filtered or distilled water (I actually use boiled well water)
1 tablespoon non-iodized salt.  I use pickling salt because I can only buy it in giant boxes and it's a nice middle ground between fine ground table salt and course Kosher
Bring to a boil and pour over the clean packed jars.
Sterilizing jars is always a good idea.  
The pickling spices you use is your choice, I always add hot pepper flakes (to everything lol) 
If you want sweet, start with a tablespoon sugar, you can always add more.
Garlic, dill, peppercorns, cloves, etc are usually added whole.
Leave the lid loose and burp it after a day or two, I usually give it a shake every day for the first week or two as well, just to get any air bubbles out and ensure distribution of flavor.
They do need to be kept in the fridge, of course, and are safe to eat for anywhere between 3 weeks to 9 months, depending on how squeamish the person writing the recipe is lol
Relatively recent studies have shown Listeria is capable of surviving in the acidic refrigerator pickle environment, so water bath canned pickles are better for sensitive individuals like the pregnant and immune deficient.  Listeria is rarely a risk to healthy adults.
Fridge pickle recipes cannot be used for water bath canning, but water bath recipes can be fridged.

Awesome, thanks for the info!

Purple Fairy Tree

deadendp said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

You do, but first you need to harden them off. Can't just plant them directly from inside to outside. They would also benefit from having suckers removed. Definitely need caged or staked outdoors. 

@deadendp I transferred them to a large pot in the garden. What does it mean to harden them off first?

rgambs

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

deadendp said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

You do, but first you need to harden them off. Can't just plant them directly from inside to outside. They would also benefit from having suckers removed. Definitely need caged or staked outdoors. 

@deadendp I transferred them to a large pot in the garden. What does it mean to harden them off first?

Increase their exposure to the sun and wind incrementally. Start with 2 hours of direct bright sunshine and increase an hour every day or two.  Cloudy days they can handle extra time. 

Purple Fairy Tree

rgambs said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

deadendp said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not @deadendp I transferred them to a large pot in the garden. What does it mean to harden them off first?

Increase their exposure to the sun and wind incrementally. Start with 2 hours of direct bright sunshine and increase an hour every day or two.  Cloudy days they can handle extra time. 

Ok now that is really useful advice as there's going to be a heatwave this week.  Thank you so much @rgambs

deadendp

Thanks, @rgambs !

Purple Fairy Tree

deadendp said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

You do, but first you need to harden them off. Can't just plant them directly from inside to outside. They would also benefit from having suckers removed. Definitely need caged or staked outdoors. 

@deadendp They have now been moved softly to the garden, along with my basil and parsley plants:

deadendp

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

deadendp said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I was given a couple of really small tomato plants from our local homeless guy/traveller.  Look how they've grown, but not sure if I need to transfer them?

You do, but first you need to harden them off. Can't just plant them directly from inside to outside. They would also benefit from having suckers removed. Definitely need caged or staked outdoors. 

@deadendp They have now been moved softly to the garden, along with my basil and parsley plants:

That makes my heart smile.

deadendp

The rabbits are eating everything. They are eating things I have never had an issue with before. I have gone the Irish Spring route. The neighbors have used blood meal. They are having the same problem. 

They have eaten rudbeckia, cosmos, cilantro, dill, daisies, beans, corn, morning glories, marigolds, sunflowers, butterfly weed, painter's palette and asters. Any other ideas? We have discussed stringing out bird-x netting. I crunched up egg shells to see if that helps at all. Probably not. Gives the neighbors something to talk about though. Compost doesn't hurt, either.


This is bun. Tries to act all innocent but no...

The neighbors have taken their new-to-them camper out on its maiden voyage, so it gave me an opportunity to weed that entire bed without complaint that I had to set foot on their property to do it. (The plants have gotten big, and my legs aren't that long to be able to step over everything.) 

The items the buns have left alone...

The colorful echinacea makes me think of the lovely @oftenreading , since she sent me some seeds a few years ago. The echinacea keeps going.