gypsywannabe

here's mine last year

I love my cat....oops!

thanks everyone!

Before I got back on this board I put a cup of chlorox in the barrel (32 gallon garbage pail) and about 4 drops in the birdbath...

How bad did I screw up?

I hate the loosestrife. It grows like a weed and the more you pull it out, the more it sticks its tongue out at ya and raspberries ya.

I thought that was passion flower because it was or seemed to be pointing up. All my columbines point down.

This is my wife's baby..

That looks like passion flower, the blue.

This is what my  neighbor says is yellow loosestrife.

I know I said last year that my neighbor got goldfish to put in his. If that's not an option and I have them in the barrel and in the birdbath I fill from the barrel, what can I do?

At first I thought they were tadpoles, but my neighbor says they're mosiquito babies..

Oh and to add to the problem, the cat drinks out of both places, so the fix will have to be cat-friendly...

I thought that was loose strife? (sp)

Where are these tomatoes found around here?

Is there enough growing season left to put them in now?

Red Sweet Bell peppers at store in town: 3-4 dollars per....that means EACH

one pepper plant from Lowe's: 1.95 with a yield of 6-8 peppers .

It saves to grow them and especially the huge tomatoes from a garden as opposed to the ones in the grocery store that have NO flavor and are full of seeds-YUCK!

heck, I just talked myself into putting in vegetables this year. I was taking a year off....

Thanks, Lavender!!!!

I have a blue/purple bottle brush plant that is hardy here in DuBois. It's in a protected spot and is covered with dandelions right now but long about July it will bud and then bloom in August.

I use those cheap garbage cans with NO wheels from the dollar stores. they work great and when they're full of water I put the lid on to keep the mosquitos away.

So, which is better? I like the big tomatoes that have a lot of pulp viens and not much seeds. Am I looking for Beef steak or Big Boy or what?

My friend raised rabbits (floppy ear) and used it directly from the pen on her gardens. She had fabulous gardens. She kept a 5 gal. bucket under each pen and didn't even have to mess with it much.

You are LUCKY!

Are they the edible kind? My kids love cashews and pecans and eat them by the bagful. Would these be a good substitute?

Hyacinths smell like a gift from God. Absolutely heavenly. Much nicer than Glads and they behave better as well. Glads are gorgeous but they always lean one way or the other not standing up straight and they have no real scent.

GOOD CHOICE!

We got the mushroom compost and mixed it in with the top soil, so, I'll be playing in the dirt this weekend! Yeah, there's not too much that I love more than playing in the dirt, I've never outgrown my childhood days. I'm going to draw an outline of the planting bed and then try and figure out which plants to plant where.

 

A big thank you to Lavender for the advice on the lilly's and other plants that I have. I went and bought some crocus, tulips and gladioli to add some color and some plant height differential. Here's hoping for a beautiful planting bed next year, wish me luck!  

Gladioli are NOT HARDY! DO NOT PUT THEM IN UNTIL SPRING AND THEY MUST BE PULLED IN THE FALL!

I think applesauce is one of the easiest things to make.  Cut and quarter your apples.  Core them.  Throw them into a big pot and add water.  Simmer until well cooked.  Put through seive to remove skins.  Add sugar.  Put hot sauce in hot jars and can.

My dearest friend made applesauce for years and used Ida Red apples to give it a slight blush color. It was so beautiful on a table especially at Christmas with cinnamon sticks as a garnish.

Boy, I still miss her.

You two and your canning make the rest of us look like slugs!

I did the blender thing one year and had orange tomato sauce. Still haven't figured that one out.

I canned some stuffed cabbage soup a few weeks ago. Had 10 pound cabbages in large numbers. I put in everything but the rice. I'm curious to see how it comes out. I'll put the rice in when I use it. I thought it would make it too thick to seal if I tried canning it with the rice in.

 

Also did tomato, tomato puree, beets and pickled cauliflower. I freeze most things these days.

The sauce will be orange if you don't add a bit of paste and cook it thoroughly down. I do mine in an old roaster and it cooks for about 16 hours, slowly. It turns dark as it cooks down. I started out with almost 19 quarts and it cooked down to about 16. I also season it with frsh browned garlic and onions, parsley and spices which help the color.

I don't like to freeze too much because I am paranoid about a power failure. I am so tired of tomatoes right now because I have been peeling tomatoes and canning all day and I still don't have them all in jars but by tomorrow I will want more. LOL Today I simmered them down and added spices. Some pint jars I made like a barbeque sauce starter.

No need to peel or any of that stuff if you pinch out the top, quarter them and put them on pulse for about 10 seconds in a blender. The skins cook into the sauce, making the sauce thicker and maintaining more of the nutrients. I also don't take out the seeds for the same reason-you'd lose too many nutrients.

I'm done for the year. I froze 16 qt. of spaghetti sauce (canning is too labor intensive)

The rest of the tomatoes have gone to neighbors. There weren't many-this was a real bad year at my house for the garden.

Do you need anymore tomatoes?

Thanks much!

So the seeds can be in the ground over the winter and still produce a plant the following year?

That's what I thought was devil's trumpet! There is a grouping of them in front of a house on West Long Avenue that is nothing short of spectacular. Now I know the correct name. thanks!

Thanks again, Lavender!

So now my sunflowers are drooping and dying, having been the Glory of Heaven all thru August.

How do I preserve the seeds and heads?

I'd like to save some seeds to grow next year of all the colors I got plus I'd like to take the rest to prepare for the birdies and I need to know what to do?

Should I just cut them off on the stalks, bundle them and put them out this winter? Should they be dried? When are the seeds old enough to be plucked and saved for next year's plants?