Ducks 4 in '24

[ducks4you]

Last Friday DH took me to lunch, with his office mate, and we stopped at the same garden bc they had a "Garlic" sign out. They had put out about 20 more bulbs, so I bought another 7 bulbs, still $1/bulb.
Here is one link to current online costs, and the prices here are for ONE BULB. $32.95/bulb (original price) EVERYBODY is about the same price--I checked them out.

Garlic Plant Bulbs

Shop seeds for sale online and start growing your garden with Park Seed! Discover America's finest plant seeds, gifts, supplies and more online today.

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Starting to get tomatoes in. Here was a huge beefsteak which DH and I had with lunch, and there are enough other fruit for BLT's for dinner tonight. Can you tell that DH harvested this?!?
There were also a couple of big Martini hybrid cucumbers. In anticipation of a beef roast for Sunday dinner, I took out a couple of bones and a package of "soup bones" , which have some meat on them, and started them in crock pot saturday morning with garlic powder and onion powder. Thick broth before I added potatoes and carrots mid sunday morning, and let the roast defrost saturday night, adding That at noon.
The beef roast was falling apart, no need for steak knives. I had fished out the meat Sunday morning to cool off and feed to Eva, and I packaged up the bones to add Back to the crock pot for pressure canning Monday morning.
We Really need to have some winter beef soup and beef stew, with broth as the base!!

 

[ducks4you]

Meet the Modern Trout Farmer Using Gravity to His Advantage - Modern Farmer

Ty Walker stands thigh-deep in clear, swift-flowing spring water, tearing fistfuls of overgrown watercress and aquatic grass from the mouth of a

modernfarmer.com

 

[ducks4you]

Prepare a Slice of Your Yard For a Pollinator Garden - Modern Farmer

Last winter’s annual count of eastern monarch butterflies was the second-lowest on record. Many of the roughly 4,000 wild bee species native to North

modernfarmer.com

BTW, there is a native 3 ft tall goldenrod, it's called a "Zigzag Goldenrod," and I have seen one on a local gardening program, Grown locally.

Zigzag Goldenrod

Notable for its brilliant yellow flowers, Solidago flexicaulis is a woodland Goldenrod with finely-serrated oval leaves and spikes of golden flowers. Named for the way the flowers zig and zag their way up the stem, this is a great plant for adding …

www.prairienursery.com

Also, you have to, have to, HAVE TO weed these. Over the centuries invasive plants and flowers, that is, those plants and flowers without local natural enemies to feed on them, try to take over and must be pulled out by hand.
It.can.be.done.
One of these is a native of Great Britain, Queen Anne's Lace, but it spreads like crazy here bc nothing eats it.

 

[ducks4you]

Reversing Food deserts in big cities:

On the Ground with Philadelphia Neighborhoods Transforming Vacant Lots into Flourishing Gardens - Modern Farmer

Terrence Landham walks through a verdant lot of garden beds boasting red and green tomatoes and peppers, giant cabbage, and oversized melons. The warm

modernfarmer.com

 

[ducks4you]

Building a Market for Invasive Species - Modern Farmer

David Standridge is on a mission to bring green crabs to more plates. The small, invasive shore crabs are easy to find—they like to hang out in tidal

modernfarmer.com

 

[Marie2020]

Building a Market for Invasive Species - Modern Farmer

David Standridge is on a mission to bring green crabs to more plates. The small, invasive shore crabs are easy to find—they like to hang out in tidal

modernfarmer.com

How would you cook green crabs?

Dropping crabs live in hot water seems so cruel. Is there a more humane method

 

[ducks4you]

Actually, this IS the most humane method for a quick death.
Invasive doesn't mean a plant or animal is a bad plant or animal.
I took an Environmental Biology class some 22 years ago, and the definition has not changed since then.
INVASIVE (def.):
1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and,
2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
{More to read: https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/what-are-invasive-species)
They have NO natural predators and animals who Might predate on them have refused to do so, therefore they overpopulate and compete with local animals and plants, sometimes creating extinction of a native species.
THEREFORE, it is important to consider eating/eradication of an invasive species.
I am always interested in creative ways to do so.
IF this crab is edible and tasty, just like the Asian Carp is edible and tasty AND healthy, I am ALL FOR dropping them in boiling water and serving them up in a restaurant.
Another invasive species comes to mind, the Asian Pear. They were sold to US homeowners with the promise that insects would not attack them, but first they were a solution to pear fire blight.
They were right, insects DIDN'T eat them, but birds carried their seeds to local and adjacent forests and NOW, there is a danger that ...
"Now, Callery pear are growing in almost any roadside or old field in Illinois. The fast-growing Callery pear really is a threat to young forests and tree plantings, where it can overwhelm young tree seedlings and rob them of light and space, and to prairie and grassland communities, where young seedlings can quickly dominate the landscape.
outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org › articles › new-invasive-plants-on-the-illinois-landscape

Invasive Bradford-Callery Pear: Why it is so detrimental and what to plant instead

May 8, 2024 https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/invasive-bradford-callery-pear-why-it-is-so-detrimental/ Strengthening lives and livelihoods. Purdue Extension Forestry & Natural Resources

www.purdue.edu

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/plants-trees/invasive-plants/callery-pear

There is a concerted effort to eradicate the Callery Pear from native forests, cut them down before they produce seeds and, as anybody knows who has chopped down a tree, to make sure that suckers and waterspouts don't reproduce the plant, in the same way that my old red apple tree has regenerated into a productive member of my fruit tree population.

Water Sprouts on Trees - How To Control Them (And Why) - Rennie Orchards

Trees have the capability to exhibit humorous actions, as evident by their capacity to generate numerous branches from a single location, which is referred to

rennieorchards.com

How to Remove Suckers from Trees (and Why They are There in the First Place) - Garden Therapy

Do you have tree suckers? Remove and prevent the thin, upright branches that grow from the base of the tree trunk and deep in the soil.

gardentherapy.ca

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

I have had some tree suckers actually follow mole tunnels.

 

[ducks4you]

Yes, Virginia, you, TOO can grow all purple tomatoes!!!
ONLY $2/seed !!!

 

[ducks4you]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/06/1228868005/purple-tomato-gmo-gardeners

Scientists make purple tomatoes available to US home gardeners for the first time ever

Genetically modified purple tomato seeds are now available to buy in the US

www.homesandgardens.com

GE Purple Tomato Seeds Now Available in The United States

www.seedtoday.com

Home | Norfolk Healthy Produce | The Purple Tomato

Norfolk HP is developing the next generation of innovative vegetables and fruits, to meet the needs of consumers and the environment. The high antioxidant Purple Tomato as featured on the NYTimes Magazine cover is being revealed across the United States. www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

HOW CAN I BUY THEM?
I did a search to see who is selling these seeds.
NONE of the seed companies I have heard of are selling it, at least Not for 2025.
Other sites say they will sell to you.
Personally, I'm not gonna buy ANYTHING gardening from Temu, not really interested in buying seeds from eBay or Amazon.
This is the only site selling them with any credibility, IMHO.
Not sure Why the big garden seed catalogs don't carry them. It could be a licensing issue, OR, a "wait and see" situation. Anyway, I DID a search bc, like YOU, I have a certain amount of trust from seed catalogs that I have purchased from in the past. Although I haven't bought anything from them, I understand that this is a joint multinational company.

Purple Tomato seeds for home gardeners​

Home Gardener seed sales will open December 2, 2024 for the 2025 season.

Growing tips for home gardeners.

Home Gardener seed sale press release.

Home | Norfolk Healthy Produce | The Purple Tomato

Norfolk HP is developing the next generation of innovative vegetables and fruits, to meet the needs of consumers and the environment. The high antioxidant Purple Tomato as featured on the NYTimes Magazine cover is being revealed across the United States. www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

Contact | Norfolk Healthy Produce

Contact and share feedback on the antioxidant rich GMO purple tomato from Cathie Martin, featured in NYTimes Magazine. Norfolk Healthy Produce www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com

Jennifer Nelson announced last Spring that she bought the seeds and was going to report back about viability, etc.
At THAT TIME, she said that the seeds for the Purple GMO tomatoes were $2/seed
The above post has the video with her report. She is a University of Illinois Graduate from the College of A.C.E.S.

Home | ACES | UIUC

ACES is one of the top agriculture colleges in the world. We help families and communities thrive while ensuring sustainability our natural resources and environment.

aces.illinois.edu

and she mentions in the above program that she did her dissertation on plant genetics, meaning that she has at least a Masters in Ag, though she could have received a PhD--dunno--but she has freely admitted plant failures in the past, so I trust her advice on this new tomato.