What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

I totally remember Grape Ape, Grape Ape!

It is snowing out so hard in some areas the roads are a mess & the am commute has gone to heck. PLEASE don't bring it here! It's crazy lake effect snows coming from the great lakes! Insane white outs - what a mess.

I am going to thaw a package of breasts & try & can them. See how I like it.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I totally remember Grape Ape, Grape Ape!

It is snowing out so hard in some areas the roads are a mess & the am commute has gone to heck. PLEASE don't bring it here! It's crazy lake effect snows coming from the great lakes! Insane white outs - what a mess.

I don't miss snow. Not one little bit.... My sympathies to you all still dealing with that crud.

 

[Sueby]

I don't miss snow. Not one little bit.... My sympathies to you all still dealing with that crud.

I have always been a snow girl, all my life I've loved it. & I still do, but I tell ya it gets harder to enjoy the older I get! & of course this end of MARCH stuff is just REDIC! & we're going to break records for low temps today. I'm over it.

 

[Sueby]

Has anyone canned taco meat? Like with seasoning & all? I'll ask in the preserving thread too...

Looks like it needs to be packed in water/broth so I'm wondering how that would work.

 

[littledog]

Should I go out and harvest the spears? If I do, will that cause it to send up more shoots?

I just learned recently (after growing asparagus for years) that the the tall, thin spears are female and the thick, squat spears are male. So if your patch is still young, go ahead and harvest the male spears, and maybe leave the females to grow taller and produce seeds. The tubers do tend to spread out more if you harvest them.

A few pictures from the garden...

Love your pictures - it's so lovely to see Spring pushing out buds!

What kind of spacing for Asparagus? I've read a wide variety of recommendations. Currently, I will be placing these in a 8'x4' raised bed. So, not sure if I will need the whole bed, or only part of the bed.

Since they do tend to like having room to spread, maybe spread your 10 through the whole bed this year, and plant short-lived and short-stature pest-repellers in between (marigolds?) Then next year, when you see where the asparagus is thinner, you could fill in with new tubers.

Do not beleive it is out here yet?

I check the site periodically, and haven't seen any alarming news in our area yet. The songbirds are just starting to show up though, so I'm preparing in case I need to tarp my chicken run (hope not.)

Call your local 4H club and see if they have a couple kids.

Yes! You might get in touch with your local high school's FFA as well - I know my local FFA is hungry for projects to do. I feel so bad for them, the last time they were able to achieve anything was two years ago when they had to sell their animals online because the Fair was cancelled due to covid. That means the past two graduating classes didn't get to have FFA achievements on their college applications. I bet you could get some of those kids to help out, you wouldn't have to pay them, just help them define and organize their projects.

 

[WthrLady]

Morning all. Those looking at the plastic containers for seed storage, look what I spotted at hobbylobby saturday.
The cases were regular price 14.99 and the package of just the wallets was 5.99.

I don't can specific foods with seasoning as then you stuck with that specific food. I can season up later. Nothing more annoying than going down to the pantry to grab a jar of ground beef for spaghetti sauce and only having taco meat left.

As for chicken recipes beyond just canning the meat? Chicken salad, chicken in salad, chicken turnovers, soup, fiesta soup, shredded bbq sandwiches, chicken taco/fajita/burrito etc.

29 outside, sunny, 40 in the hoop

 

[TJAnonymous]

I have always been a snow girl, all my life I've loved it. & I still do, but I tell ya it gets harder to enjoy the older I get! & of course this end of MARCH stuff is just REDIC! & we're going to break records for low temps today. I'm over it.

I was born in central California (but raised in the upper midwest). For me, dealing with snow is like going back to California. I don't mind doing it for a visit but I'm REALLY glad when I get to leave and go back to warmth & cheap cost-of-living.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I just learned recently (after growing asparagus for years) that the the tall, thin spears are female and the thick, squat spears are male. So if your patch is still young, go ahead and harvest the male spears, and maybe leave the females to grow taller and produce seeds. The tubers do tend to spread out more if you harvest them.

Good to know! I have a mix of both....so I will collect the fat spears and leave the skinny ones!

 

[WthrLady]

So many stick farmers on here! LOL.
(down south our son asked what was in the empty fields, so we slowed down so he could see they weren't empty. He said, "STICKS! Who would want to grow sticks?" He was 6)

 

[jerryse]

I have been fixing on a old incubator . Fan quit . Using it for seed starting and possibly grafting small trees . Walnut trees are very difficult to get grafts to take . I finally found the temp for healing is 28-30 C so about 80-85 F . Going to try digging some small black walnut to graft English walnut and butternut on them . Then keep them in the old Sportsman incubator at the right temp for healing . It would be June before we get 80-85 outdoor temps consistently .