Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Jan. 27

Hi, everybody! It's not as cold here as it was last week. We have some fog, and we've had some rain, with an "atmospheric river" in the forecast. Not much gardening, other than weed control, going on here. Dandelions are blooming.

What's happening in your yard and neighborhood?

I think this is a good time to post some excerpts from the Horticultural Year in Review, from Don in Kansas, which he posted in October.

This is the flower above:

Symphyotrichum (formerly Aster) oblongifolium is a another late bloomer, just now coming into its prime. The plants tend to sprawl; it's probably best to pinch the tips a few times early in the year to induce bushiness.

He also said in the comments:

The genus Aster used to be enormous, but those pesky taxonomists couldn't leave well enough alone. They split off the North American species into a variety of other genera, giving them all awkward, ugly names. The ex-asters remain in the same subfamily and tribe of the Compositae Asteraceae as the currently "true" asters.

Helianthus mollis, the "ashy sunflower," reached five feet and bloomed well in its first year during July and August. It's supposed to be an aggressive colonialist, so I'll be watching it closely during the next few years.

Butterflies and bees incoming

Many more photos and much more information, with gardening tips, at the link. A few more photos later in this post.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

By-Tor putting things by:

It's hard to make a small pot of chili, so I don't even try. I just pressure can the excess. These are mostly pints jars, which is perfect for lunch. I have my Presto electric canner out today so might as well get several projects done.

Looks perfect for winter weather! No suggestion that it includes carrots, as suggested in Sunday's Food Thread.

Hey Kt,

I sent pictures of when I planted the sugar cane a while ago. It has been growing pretty well and now is the time to harvest it so I am starting with a small harvest first and see how it goes.

The first picture is my sugar cane, then what I cut which was 5 canes, then after you trim the grass part off, then what was left after skinning them and putting them in water to boil which is where we are right now. It is boiling away. I have been boiling it for an hour. Next I am going to strain out the pieces and boil the juice down to a syrup. It is fairly labor intensive but if I am going to grow it I am going to use it. I also think my water kefir grains are going to LOVE it which is why I wanted to try it in the first place. We shall see... I will send more pictures when I get to stage two . .

WeeKreekFarmGirl

WeeKreekFarmGirl comes up with some fascinating experiments! Fun.

Hi Kt,

Well, here is the finished syrup. Maybe a half a cup all in so very labor intensive. I have a friend with a powerful juicer and I might try that next time and see if it is a bit easier. But it has been a fun little experiment anyway.
The rest of my garden is a bit of a tragedy with the cold snap we had. It got down to 28 degrees a couple of nights so a lot of wilted peppers and the tomatoes that were producing nicely are all toast.

I am experimenting with starting some seeds early in the garage with a heat mat and grow lights. The tomatoes and peppers are already up and the three kinds of basil ( holy, lettuce leaf and Genovese ) as well as the cucumber. Under the square dome the garden huckleberry has sprouted and a tomatillo as well. We will see if it helps getting a head start in the spring or not. A shout out to all the garden Horde.

WeeKreekFarmGirl

Thanks for the great winter report, and the photos of the new seedlings!

Ah, Nature

Puttering

I think there is a variation on this technique using a specially constructed apron and a chair, for visiting toddlers sitting at a table:

Method of carrying a child with a suitcase pic.twitter.com/IHYNqzIl6H

— Enez Özen | Enezator (@Enezator) January 25, 2024

Adventure

Maybe you could visit one or two while supporting French farmers.

We don't want growing food to be a carbon crime, either for home grower or farmers.

France has over 40,000 castles (and châteaus) - more than any other country.

These are the most breathtaking 🧵

1. Château de Pierrefonds, Oise (14th century) pic.twitter.com/lt0JOEEwpG

— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) January 26, 2024

Gardens of The Horde

All of the "Camelot Mix" foxgloves flowered, though some took their time getting started, and they are still blooming. About half of them are lavender; if there were equal amounts of each color in the seed mixture, then lavender germinates better significantly better than the others. I planted these in shady spots, but even so some needed extra water during the hottest days. The foxgloves should return next year and put on an even better show.

The six seeds in the packet of Ptilotus exaltatus "Joey" turned into nine plants; Jimi might be interested to know that sometimes six really is nine. This Australian relative of Celosia didn't mind the blistering summer temperatures in the slightest. It forms a compact mound about a foot tall, covered from midsummer on with pink and grey flower spikes. They look fuzzy but feel like rubber. I sheared a few plants back when some started to look ratty, which resulted in a second flush of bloom. I might grow these again.

A friend gave me some seeds of Ceratotheca triloba, the "South African foxglove." Aside from the tubular flower, it isn't much like a true foxglove. It's a fast-growing annual that like heat and sun. It began blooming when it was about a yard tall. It's now taller than I am and still flowering freely. Bumblebees like it. It's a good plant for the back of a sunny garden. The leaves stink when touched, so you probably don't want to plant it where people are likely to brush it when they walk by.

Be sure to check out Don's website for more photos, planting results and ideas.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

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Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Jan. 20 Don't comment on old threads.

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 01:28 PM

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