BYC gardening thread!!

[dan26552]

3 persimmon, 2 sassafras 1 hickory 1 redbud 1 river birch 1 elm and 1 bald-cypress. I do have quite a lot of land at my finger tips.

 

[hippiestink]

Seems like a nice enough day, overcast but not raining yet. I'm measuring the upstairs area today to plan out the container garden, and I might plan the patio area today.

 

[hennible]

 

[Peep_Show]

A clean house is a sign of a wasted life.....

 

[NanaKat]

Not a bad price.
6 mil, nice. I use 4mil on my small greenhouse, I'll need 6mil on the roofs of the new ones and 10m for the walls. Thankfully I found someone to get me a good price on poly... The new ones are double walled.

What variety of squash will you use for your three sisters? There are a dizzying number of squash out there, each with their own pros and cons! I am trying a couple of new varieties this year. The Upper Ground Sweet potato (C. moschata), the Lower Salmon River (C. maxima), and the Mandan squash (C. pepo). I'm a bit nuts for squash, hah, I love it. Each will have several hand pollinated fruits to ensure I can collect pure seeds, in case I add in any other squash that could cross pollinate.

I picked Jack o' Lantern pumpkins. Heirloom variety, good for both carving and eating. There's not a good pumpkin variety here for anything except soup so I want to introduce it here.

We can pumpkin for pies and meals. Then I cut extra pumpkins into quarters and eighths for the chicken pens as a winter treat...seeds and all. They eat all but the thin rind.

 

[Guvnah]

We can pumpkin for pies and meals. Then I cut extra pumpkins into quarters and eighths for the chicken pens as a winter treat...seeds and all. They eat all but the thin rind.

We freeze pumpkin. Cut up the pumpkin into manageable chunks, lay on a cookie sheet and bake. When soft, scrape the "meat" into freezer bags. Freeze. Lasts perfectly well that way for at least a year, so it gives you a supply of pumpkins until the next fall's crop comes in.

And once the shells are baked, the chickens eat just about all of it. And, of course, the seeds and "guts" you remove before baking. (Unless, that is, you also roast the pumpkin seeds for your own consumption!)

Same thing for any squash seeds. Chickens will not leave them alone until the pile is gone once you put them out there. (I usually place stuff like this on an old 5-gallon-bucket lid. Keeps the gooey stuff contained and dirt-free (until the birds walk on it during the feeding frenzy, anyway...)

This is helpful when you get a renegade zucchini that grows into a 10-lb weapon hiding under the leaves. Slice it in half lengthways. (Don't peel it.) Scoop out all the seeds. In the remaining channel where the seeds were, pack your favorite meat loaf recipe, cover with tomato sauce and bake. Top with cheese for the last 10-15 minutes of baking so it melts and turns golden. Then cut the "boat" into slices and serve. If people cut off the zucchini peel, give that tot he chickens too.

 

[Saris]

So my husband and I bought some flower bulbs last fall and never got around to planting them. They stayed in their bags in my mud room and we both assumed that they died since it reached freezing Temps in there. But low and behold

Now I'm wondering if I can stick them in the ground outside or if that will shock and kill them. It still gets below freezing sometimes. I live in Spokane WA if that helps.

 

[CherMoz]

Go ahead and plant them outside if your able to dig. You could also plant some in a pot (same planting depth) and have some earlier blossoms inside.

 

[Peep_Show]

Oops! That reminds me that I should probably plant the tulip bulbs that are lounging in the wine fridge.

(Out of sight out of mind)

Thanks!

 

[Saris]

That is sorta what happened on my end. I will plant them soon.