It's warmer here, too, in MN (50's with low 70's this weekend;) but, I'm going to keep to my regular schedule for my 4b zone: 'start' seeds next week and plant in the garden after Memorial Day.
Since I'm in a 4b zone, I've never tried growing watermelons much less the Moon & Stars which are large watermelons. However, I am going to try the small 'Sugar Baby' with a harvest of 78 days (according to the packet).
One day last week, the AOL homepage had an article about the predicted...
boogybranch:
Yes, we have a short growing season, but we do VERY well. I sure can't speak for the others, but I grow GORGEOUS vegetables most of which I freeze for winter use.
This is what I'm growing this year: corn, tomatoes, green peppers, banana peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, Brussel...
chicken:
The seeds I start are: broccoli; Brussels sprouts; yellow squash; zucchini; winter squashes; cantaloupe; green peppers; tomatoes; cucumbers; cauliflower; the herb 'borage' which attracts bees for pollination; and, about '72' marigolds to plant IN the garden amongst my veggies which...
My apple tree was prolific this year, and I dehydrated a lot of apple slices plus froze a lot.
Well, I'm presently reading an historical fiction book, set in the 1800's and read that they used apple PEELS to make apple jelly. I got to thinking, "YIKES, I threw all those peels in the compost...
My garden is FENCED to keep the dogs out with just that cheap wire fencing (with 2" square holes) that you buy at the hardware stores in rolls. Every few feet I secure it to the ground with those cheap bamboo sticks. It keeps my 3 dogs OUT -- even the 100 lb. Labrador.
I squeeze the tomatoes to get the juice and seeds out then do a rough dice. I pack them in 1-quart plastic containers (like you get from Chinese take-out) and freeze. Once it's frozen, I dump the quart chuck of tomatoes from the plastic container into a
1-gallon vacuum-freezer bag (take the...
I'm growing pumpkins for both Halloween and cooking to stretch the food budget.
I do want to tell everyone about my experience this year with growing pumpkins. I have 8 rows of corn stalks (don't remember how long the rows are;) but, I did 'intensive planting' with my corn seeds -- planted...
Obsessed:
Feel SO BAD for you; but, as gardeners, we K N O W we can be hit with bugs, critters and/or diseases at any time.
I got a LOT of cukes and yellow squash this year, but now these plants have powdery mildew.
I guess I got lucky with my pumpkins. I planted about 10 sugar-pie...
This was the first time I grew borage in the garden for pollination; and, I am shocked how tall & wide they got.
Speaking of pollination, I still have TONS & TONS of bumble bees hanging around the pole green beans.
I had LOTS of bees doing their job in my garden this year.
The 200 stalks of sweet corn I planted are ready. We eat this ULTRA DELICIOUS corn EVERY day; but, I still have a LOT to put up!
My '36' tomato plants were very late this year; but, N O W they're turning RED, and I'm SUPER BUSY squeezing the juice and seeds out and chopping them to put in...
My apple tree is LOADED, and I didn't want to make the 'usual' applesauce.
Yes, we know they can be dehydrated or peeled slices parboiled and then frozen; but, I learned is to soak them in PINEAPPLE JUICE (rather than lemon juice) before each method.
I found this turnip recipe on recipezaar.com which sounds good, and I'm going to try. (Doe my purposes, I would cut the recipe in half.)
CHEESY TURNIPS
6 cups turnips, peeled and sliced
1-1/4 cups water
3 small green onions, sliced
1 tblsp. butter or margarine
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp...