Baymule's 2018 Garden

[Nyboy]

I don't ever spray my apples, but I'm not so sure it's because of what variety they are. I think it's more likely that it's our different climate, and also there are no large orchards anywhere close to me to pass on diseases.

I am in middle of apple country. Large orchards all around.

 

[flowerbug]

@thistlebloom may be a lot of difference if not many people have fruit trees around so no disease or pest reserviors.

around here, all sorts of apple pests and diseases but can grow them from seed to be resistant, it's a long shot at getting what is considered an edible apple. i put in several hundred apple seeds to see how they went and the variety in plants was fun to see. some were short and thick, others got quite tall quickly, some didn't get any leaf diseases and others did.

if you ever want a living hedge against deer you can plant apple seeds in the fall every six inches and then protect them from deer for a few years. they get thorny and the deer won't be able to push through after three years. at least growing them here gave me a 6ft+ hedge by the end of their second growing season. i chopped them off after that considering the experiment done, but they've been growing back from the stumps and i've not dug those out yet. i keep chopping the leaves off for worm food in that garden...

on dwarfing root stock you get wimpy plants in comparison... and you know that the grafting selections for the tops were not selected for disease or pest resistance first, but for flavor.

 

[baymule]

Do you cook the tops ~ the greens ```

Yes, we like the turnip greens better than the turnips. The rutabaga greens were mild and good.

 

[henless]

I picked the last of my turnips today. I never did get any turnips since I didn't plant them early enough.

 

[digitS']

Russian kale is a Brassica napus.

Unlike other "kales," that makes Russian more closely related to rutabaga (a Brassica napus) than cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Turnips are a Brassica rapa.

You may enjoy the difference.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

For all you people that like greens try escarole. Most people outside of Italians have never tried it. 2 ways my mother made was in soup with beans, or saute in olive oil with garlic onions and bacon

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

YUM!!

 

[baymule]

Escarole huh? I might have to try that.

 

[Nyboy]

Bay I turned @digitS' on to it. The supermarkets here will sell out quickly after stocking it. If you have a area with high Italian population you may find it in the store.

 

[baymule]

Bay I turned @digitS' on to it. The supermarkets here will sell out quickly after stocking it. If you have a area with high Italian population you may find it in the store.

I'll look for it.