Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups





















« Thread below the Gardening Thread: Independence | Main | Ace of Spades Pet Thread [Mis. Hum.] »
July 02, 2016

Saturday Gardening Thread: Independence Days 2016

Hello gardeners and friends of gardeners. For those whose interests lie in a different direction, there is a wide variety of political and non-political content in the threads below this one. It's Saturday!

For today, I thought it would be nice to relax a little and celebrate Independence. I was happy for the spirit of independence shown by our British friends recently. And I look forward to the Independence Day weekend here.

onion.jpg

Floral Fireworks


Do you like that photo of Allium shubertii from Minnesota Gardener? I have been getting fall bulb catalogs. Some are fun to look at and some are fun to read but have no photos, though these catalogs generally have nice websites if you want to see photos. The leaves on that Allium are also interesting.

One "ornamental edible" profiled at The Minnesota Gardener link above is Garlic Chives:

Garlic chives are a magnificent herb but really ornamental for its late-season white flower umbels that attract hoards of beneficial insects including bees and butterflies to a garden. Garlic chives are a profuse self-sower so I always deadhead all the flowers to prevent seeding.

garlic chives.jpg

Garlic Chives with Viceroy Butterfly

Alliums make great cut flowers. Sunset says the flowers of Garlic Chives smell like violets. I think that some members of The Horde are way ahead of me on fall bulbs. Has anybody ordered alliums? Something else that's interesting? Or are you still salivating over plant descriptions and flower photos?

Speaking of salivating, short-day sweet onions are in markets, ready to slice onto burgers. Several of the more southerly regions of the USA have favorite cultivars. Not that things don't change over time. The history of today's sweet onions started like this:

The sweet onions from Texas started when the Bermuda onion was introduced into South Texas in 1898 when a packet of onion seed was planted near Cotulla. The onions were shipped in 1899 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they were so enthusiastically received that a larger acreage was planted.

By 1904, approximately 500 acres of Bermuda onions were planted in South Texas. In spring, 1907, 1,011 carloads of onions were shipped from South and Southwest Texas; in 1908, production had more than doubled, and in 1909, 12 counties shipped 2,920 carloads. Shipments reached 6,735 carloads in 1917; this figure was not exceeded until 1928 and 1929 when the total movements were 7,055 and 7,232 carloads, respectively. The largest movement in 50 years for a single season was 10,164 carloads in 1946.

Locals say that certain cultivars don't taste the same when grown elsewhere, and sometimes they are right. Soil and climate make a difference. Here in the San Joaquin Valley, a lot of the sweet red types are grown.

Red-Delicious-Onion.jpg

Health Benefits of Onions

Last year, there was a battle among Georgia farmers over shipping dates for the famous Vidalia onion. Some farmers want to preserve the cultivar's reputation by making sure onions are fully mature before they are shipped. Politics.

The kind of onions you buy in the store are sort of awkward for an ornamental border, but they are great for the veggie garden. Have you grown them before? From seed, seedlings or bulblets? Have you ever tried to grow a long-day onion during short days or vice versa? We can discuss the cultural needs of onions in the comments if you have a question.

Anything else going on in your garden? Do you have some Independence Nectarines or Fourth of July tomatoes? Those little early tomatoes on indeterminate plants get sweet in the heat here, but they have kind of tough skin. Might want to peel them. Maybe for an Independence Day Picnic marinated salad with sweet onions, cucumbers and belll peppers plus that Good Seasons Italian salad dressing that you make in the little shaker bottle. Suitable for serving at room or picnic temperature.

fourth of July.jpg

Are any of you berry growers out there planning on creating a flag cobbler or flag pie to top off your Independence Day picnic? Are visitors welcome? If so, they may appreciate your attention to CBD's Food Thread tomorrow. I will be checking to see if anyone is offering invitations.

Flag-cobbler.jpg

Hope you have a great weekend and a great Fourth of July.

digg this
posted by Open Blogger at 12:50 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
San Franpsycho: "Today we took the ferry from Rose Bay to Circular ..."

Ciampino - she's a rainbow: "[u]QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO SPACE ACTIVITY FOR OCT ..."

Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere [/i] [/b]: "The weekend: Going to get my ears lowered. Groce ..."

Miklos remembers Katrina, now Helene: "Plans for the weekend? Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius ..."

Mik,os perfessional Rassler: "Personally, I'd watch a reality show where fat mid ..."

Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere [/i] [/b]: "Morning, insomaniacals! So the strike is over, fo ..."

Skip : "I have to get moving ..."

Mister Ghost: "Any more math stuff and First Gentleman Doug Emhof ..."

Mister Ghost: "Roger Stone @RogerJStoneJr Source is telling me ..."

Yudhishthira's Dice: "Personally, I'd watch a reality show where fat mi ..."

San Franpsycho: "Good morning morons Safe travels Bif ..."

Stateless: "440 The Meat Canners" would be a good band na ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64