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  1. Zeedman

    Walking Onions

    Walking onions can form small bulbs if grown in good conditions, but the bulbs are too small - and store too poorly - to be very useful. The bulbs might make a potent onion powder though if dehydrated. Walking onions are almost always used as scallions, and are exceptionally good for that...
  2. Zeedman

    Walking Onions

    Just one variety, although the two terms are often used synonymously. I grow several others, including Catawissa (which is also fairly common in garden circles) and a few other heirlooms. A few of the heirlooms have white bulbils (much smaller than the red or tan bulbils) and are correspondingly...
  3. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    Yes, the frames are constructed of plastic conduit. They are 24 inches (roughly 60 cm) high, with smooth corners (the 3-way corners had to be ordered). I chose the plastic conduit because it is smooth & unlikely to tear the cover during strong winds. To anchor the cover, it is buried on 3 sides...
  4. Zeedman

    Walking Onions

    Not per se. They are perennial onions, grown primarily for use as scallions. They form only small (but very pungent!) bulbs at the base, which divide every year. The "flower" stalks form clusters of small bulbils, which will root when the stalks fall over... hence, 'walking'. Those bulbils will...
  5. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    Better than store bought... and you know their parents. :D
  6. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    BTW, regarding crosses. For several years, I grew all of the caged peppers in the same area, separated by just 36 inches. I assumed that by excluding insects, there was no danger of crossing. Years later, when growing that seed for renewal, that assumption was proven wrong. Half of the 10 cages...
  7. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    In my experience, pepper flowers (or at least those belonging to C. annuum) are self-pollinating, and don't need insects. They might not need much if any stimulation to set either. When growing peppers for seed, I enclose the plants in plastic cages (covered by the lightest grade of spun...
  8. Zeedman

    2024 Little Easy Bean Network - Growing Heirloom Beans Of Today And Tomorrow

    There are 2 possible sources of Oregon-specific growing info that might be of help; Seed Ambassador Project. (can't verify if they are still active, no recent posts on their website.) Peace Seedlings (formerly Dr. Alan Kapular's 'Peace Seeds'.) One question to consider is what kind of beans...
  9. Zeedman

    Of Garlic and Lessons Learned...

    Those dried garlic 'chips' store for years in zip lock bags. They can easily be ground in a blender, for fresh garlic powder on demand. I like to grind them lightly, sift out the powder, and put the larger pieces in a spare pepper mill. Fresh ground garlic is as wonderful as fresh ground black...
  10. Zeedman

    Of Garlic and Lessons Learned...

    Started the garlic dehydration a few days ago. Special Idaho was losing its clove skins & keeps poorly, so it goes first. I'm tracking the % of dry matter for each variety, so will weigh before & after dehydration. Special Idaho, peeled & sliced. 4 trays, 56 ounces total. Special Idaho...
  11. Zeedman

    2024 Little Easy Bean Network - Growing Heirloom Beans Of Today And Tomorrow

    Beautiful. If the yield is decent & the DTM short enough, I'd be tempted to squeeze it into one of my grow outs. Unfortunately, given that my garden is shrinking, I'd probably have to drop something to make room for it. :(
  12. Zeedman

    Peppers 2024

    Oh and BTW, handling large amounts of raw garlic (such as when peeling for dehydration) requires thick gloves too. I wore thin gloves one year, and the garlic burn was so bad that some of the skin on my fingers peeled. And you definitely DO NOT want to dehydrate garlic indoors. I do that in my...
  13. Zeedman

    Peppers 2024

    Oooops... :somad:hit I think everyone who handles hot peppers or their seeds has done that at least once. Sometimes even apparently mild peppers can give you eye burn. The capsaicin can even penetrate cheap rubber gloves (I use at least 5 mil thickness). Once you have "hot hands", you can...
  14. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    C'mon, you know you really just want to plant more beans there. :D
  15. Zeedman

    Peppers 2024

    In my experience, hot peppers get milder in cooler conditions. I've taken advantage of that for years by picking a medium-hot pepper (Pizza pepper) green, just before frost. The peppers become nearly heat-free (especially if the seeds & placenta are removed) and are wonderful eaten raw.
  16. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    Agreed. I was fortunate that when my basement was being worked on, the excavator agreed to dig up several stumps for free while he was on break.
  17. Zeedman

    A Seed Saver's Garden

    Too much work for this old man. I'd rather wait until after a rain, and run a weed burner down the fence line while the seedlings are still small & easily killed. The neighbor's silver maple deposits a lot of seeds when the wind is just right (or just wrong?) and when they come up, it takes me...
  18. Zeedman

    Seasonal phenotypes

    Well, it's Fall, so almost full sun now. No tree leaves (and I had already cut down most of the trees shading the garden anyway). The Fall phenotype certainly could suppress Fall/Winter weeds in mild climates. Here, they don't normally get as robust as they are this year... we are nearly 6...
  19. Zeedman

    Which Plant Do You Recommend Every Gardener Try Growing at Least Once?

    IMO vegetables that every gardener should try at least once, are things like shelly beans. Those are sold seldom if at all, and can be an incredibly rewarding crop. Limas or pole shellies for hot climates... runner beans, favas, or bush shellies for cooler or shorter seasons. "Giant Red Tarka"...
  20. Zeedman

    Garden humor thread..

    Plants in pants. :lol:
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