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  1. W

    Butterbeans!

    Before and after photos. The first is when we picked the original 3+ lb harvest, and the second is a month later. 120721_6749 by wsmoak, on Flickr 120822_6851 by wsmoak, on Flickr -Wendy
  2. W

    Butterbeans!

    ... and they are STILL going! I picked half a pound (shelled) this morning and DH had them for lunch and dinner. There are more beans out there coming along, and more blooms that the bees are working. I think it'll keep going until killed by frost. Of course... it's taking up quite a lot of...
  3. W

    What do you do with Australian Butter Squash?

    Thanks! I baked one this evening and it's passable plain, but we'll probably add some spices when we heat it up tomorrow. I have a fabulous butternut squash soup recipe from America's Test Kitchen, I'll have to try substituting this squash next time. -Wendy
  4. W

    What I learned this gardening season

    My initial research says to confine them to a row 3 1/2 feet wide. At each end, either put a T or two posts in a V shape, and then stretch wire down the row on either side. The canes grow up, up, up ... and then they flop over. The wires will keep them upright so the fruit stays off the...
  5. W

    What I learned this gardening season

    That nothing grows here in August, and anything that does grow gets eaten by bugs. That tomatoes *must* be in cages. The ones I staked were a disaster. I will be out there making more circles of concrete reinforcing wire this winter! That everything must be mulched to keep down weeks. I use...
  6. W

    What do you do with Australian Butter Squash?

    So... face up, like two bowls on the baking sheet? (ISTR instructions for acorn squash to bake it face down like a dome.) What temperature and about how long does it take? Thanks! -Wendy
  7. W

    What do you do with Australian Butter Squash?

    No, not Butternut. Butter squash. These things: 120822_6848 by wsmoak, on Flickr That was from *five* seeds, and that's not even all of them! It was like an alien life form, it took over the back 1/3 of the garden, at least until the bugs got it. Many of them are infested with...
  8. W

    Anybody else have chickens that aren't paying their rent?

    Gah! I mentioned that two are broody, and now one of the others is falling apart! Feathers everywhere! (Molting. Yet another reason not to lay any eggs.) -Wendy
  9. W

    I am so mad, I could spit!!

    Nothing beats the time we left for a two week vacation and DH flipped the breaker for the water heater, like he always does. So... we get home and there is an *awful* smell. Yep, he flipped the wrong breaker and turned off the kitchen fridge! We now have two auxiliary freezers and I worry...
  10. W

    Need Kale recipes

    This is not my recipe, so please check with the blog author if you want to use it: http://nourishedkitchen.com/green-veggie-powder/ -Wendy
  11. W

    Anybody else have chickens that aren't paying their rent?

    Same here. There are eight hens, and I get 3-4 eggs per day now. Four of the hens are older, and two of the younger ones are broody. At least I don't have to feed them very much -- they prefer to forage, and only fill up on layer pellets at the end of the day before they go to roost. -Wendy
  12. W

    Carrots never even sprouted

    Did you dig them up to see if anything grew? We had a very strange not-winter and spring this year... my potatoes seemed to grow and die back very quickly, but most of them were rotten inside. :( Maybe it just wasn't a great year for potatoes, try again next year. -Wendy
  13. W

    Pecan tree or Mulberry tree for chicken yard

    Definitely mulberry over pecan for the chicken yard. They will enjoy the mulberries that drop, and you can pick ripe ones off the tree if you want to eat them or make something. Alternately, you *really* don't want to be picking up pecans out of the chicken yard. Ick. -Wendy
  14. W

    Carrots never even sprouted

    What exactly did you do with your carrot seeds? They are tricky, you can't cover them with very much soil, and they want a light, sandy soil, but they cannot be allowed to dry out. A heavy rain (or any rain) will wash them away. Try laying a newspaper over them and keeping it moist, but check...
  15. W

    Got the garden cleaned up. Have a question!

    When is your first frost expected? Winter squash tend to take a long time, around 90 days (it should say on your packet). As far south as you are, you might make it. -Wendy
  16. W

    Need Suggestions for Supporting Tomato Plants

    My tomatoes are in 5'6" tall cages made of concrete reinforcing wire -- the type that comes in a big roll. It's a pain to work with, but once the cages are built they last forever. I make them in concentric circles so they can stack one inside the other in the off season. I tried staking some...
  17. W

    My New & Improved Plan for Above Ground Gardening - Updated w/ Pic's

    I'd still say nix the weed block fabric. It just doesn't work. Weeds and grass will go through it, and you'll be picking up bits of shredded black fabric for years. Several layers of cardboard and newspaper is a better bet to smother weeds, and at least that will break down. -Wendy
  18. W

    Rain, blessed rain ! (And a question)

    There are enough dishes/bowls/buckets/trays outside that something will catch the water and I can get an idea of how much rain we got. Beyond that, I turn over a shovel of garden dirt and look at how wet it is, and keep an eye on the plant leaves to see how they're doing and if I need to water...
  19. W

    tomato seed saving

    I wanted to save tomato this year and so consulted the oracle (Google) for the correct method. Ew, I have to put the pulp and seeds in a jar with a little water and let it mold?! Okay, I did that. Yuck. I must have left it too long because what I finally rescued from that mess didn't really...
  20. W

    GMO Protection Act - Something else to make you mad

    From the article: "You can read the rider for yourself, which begins on page 86, Sec. 733 of the following document: http://appropriations.house.gov -> http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-112hr-fc-ap-fy13-agriculture.pdf " It says "SEC. 733. In the event that a determination of...
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