The Dawg Patch

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GoDawgs
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The Dawg Patch

#1

Post: # 6637Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:01 pm

I guess this is as good as any place to post general stuff going on in the garden!

We've had two nice days now but still some overnight showers. I'm thinking of renaming the lower part of the garden The Swamp with several inches of standing water on both sides. :o There's even standing water between the lower beds again. There are some turnips that need to be pulled but it would mean deploying the WalMart Waders again. I'm going to have to break down and buy some rubber boots this weekend.

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On the other hand, in the upper part of the garden things are going well. The garlic seems to not mind wet soil at all and is looking good. Thank goodness for raised beds.

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This bed has carrots down the sides. There are two varieties on each side and the Tendersweets on the front right side had some germination problems. Seed was new last year. Behind them are the Yaya with Bolero (front) and Danvers (rear) on the other side.There are also three test hills of October planted potatoes on the near end and in the middle are some garlic plants started from the small cloves left over from planting the main garlic bed.

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With the wet ground and warm temps the fire ants are having a field day building new mounds in the yard but more importantly I've spied some in a few garden beds. I will have to deal with them tomorrow. It's war, I tell ya! :twisted:

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Whwoz
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#2

Post: # 6639Unread post Whwoz
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:10 pm

Good luck with the Fore ants, don't like the sounds of them from what I hear from SE Queensland. Not here fortunately.

Don't know how big your place is, but could you have a pond built down in the swampy part, using the excavated soil to raise up more of your garden

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goodloe
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#3

Post: # 6640Unread post goodloe
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:29 pm

HA! "The Dawg Patch"!! Love it, [mention]GoDawgs[/mention] !!
I have 2 seasons: Tomato and pepper season, and BAMA Football season!

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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#4

Post: # 6641Unread post PlainJane
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:43 pm

We battle the dang fire ants all the time, especially after DH ended up in Urgent Care from bites/stings.
I just love seeing pictures of your garden!
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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Nan6b
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#5

Post: # 6656Unread post Nan6b
Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:34 pm

In the part of my yard where I had standing water, I dug out a patch about 12-16" deep and filled it with sand & peat moss. The surrounding "soil" is pure clay. That area is now officially the Bog with bog plants: swamp milkweed, cattails, & swamp forget-me-nots.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#6

Post: # 6751Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Jan 17, 2020 3:12 pm

PlainJane wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:43 pm We battle the dang fire ants all the time, especially after DH ended up in Urgent Care from bites/stings.
I just love seeing pictures of your garden!
Thanks, PJ. I carry that little camera with me all the time in the garden. You never know what you'll find!

Urgent Care? Man, those little buggers are so sneaky. You can be unknowingly standing among them and they crawl up your pant leg and then all of a sudden start biting. I've seen people come right out of their pants, not caring who's around, just to get the ants off.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#7

Post: # 6752Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Jan 17, 2020 3:13 pm

Nan6b wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:34 pm In the part of my yard where I had standing water, I dug out a patch about 12-16" deep and filled it with sand & peat moss. The surrounding "soil" is pure clay. That area is now officially the Bog with bog plants: swamp milkweed, cattails, & swamp forget-me-nots.
Now that's CREATIVE! Instead of fighting Mother Nature, you rolled with the flow... literally! :lol:

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#8

Post: # 6763Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:57 pm

I just pulled and washed up scallions, turnips and the first daikon radish.

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The wedge shaped turnips are from seed bought at the Korean grocery. They are very mild, more than the purple tops. The daikon was pulled early because I wanted to see how long it was as it was pushing up out of the ground. They'll get about 4-6" longer eventually.

Scallions - Warrior
Turnips - Purple Top, Korean one whose name I can't read :lol:
Daikon - Minowasi

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GoDawgs
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Waste Not, Want Not!

#9

Post: # 6925Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Jan 19, 2020 8:28 am

The weather is about to change. We'll be going from a streaks of unseasonably warm weather to a streak of highs in the 50's and lows in the 20's. It's sure not the single digits up north but plants around here are going to be shivering.

The brassicas in the garden will be OK. I cut all broccoli side shoots yesterday and will just lay a triple thickness of old bed sheet over the last three cabbages to keep them from freezing. Kale and collards will be fine.

Later this morning my sister Pickles will help me put the cover on the hoops I put up yesterday over the carrot bed. Those greens are rather lush so they probably don't want any part of 25 degrees! The test fall potato plants are poking up again and are in that bed too so they'll also get more leaves piled on.

I had to cut the last three cauliflower heads. They were sure not as big as the earlier ones but they were getting tinges of pink! Not knowing what was going on, I had to look that up. It's just a matter of them having become uncovered and exposed to the sun. They're still edible.

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Hmmm, we've been eating a lot of cauliflower and time for a break. The veggie area of the freezer is about full and there are already three quart bags of cauliflower florets in there. Pickles suggested using the food processor's grater disc to turn the three heads into cauliflower "rice" and freeze that. It wouldn't take up much freezer space. It worked great! From the three heads I got four quart bags with 3 cups in each.

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If you low-carb you're probably familiar with cauliflower rice. It makes a nice tabouli salad among other things. I don't think it's available at supermarkets and if it were, it would probably be pricey. I don't know how the texture will be when it thaws out but it will be used anyway for something. "Waste not, want not."

I also cut the first Red Acre cabbage, something I've never grown before. It sure looks good! and it will be a part of dinner today.

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I only grew two just to see how they do. They're a long 115 DTM so will be a "fall only" plant and will naturally extend the fall cabbage harvest.

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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#10

Post: # 7023Unread post PlainJane
Sun Jan 19, 2020 7:45 pm

Cauliflower ’rice’ is hot in restaurants now so you’re very trendy, lol.
The cabbage looks fantastic. Bet it makes a killer slaw!
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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MissS
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#11

Post: # 7025Unread post MissS
Sun Jan 19, 2020 7:51 pm

Riced cauliflower is in my grocery store in a BIG way. It's in the freezer section pre-made recipes by all the major brands, just heat and serve and also just riced on it's own. It is also found in my fresh produce dept. Yes it is pricey for what you get. It is all the rage right now.
~ Patti ~

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#12

Post: # 7057Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:07 am

I imagine the "rage" for riced cauliflower is the keto fad. I don't eat out much so this is news to me about restaurants using it. Will check the price on this week's grocery run. I've never seen it in the frozen veg section probably because I rarely need frozen veggies that aren't already in my freezer! Might have to get some frozen peas, though. We're out until May's picking.

The red cabbage was made German style, shredded up and simmered with apples, onions and a touch of vinegar. Very good and enough for seconds today. The next one will turn into slaw.

MsCowpea
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#13

Post: # 7063Unread post MsCowpea
Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:36 am

Very nice produce. It’s so wonderful to enjoy the fruits of your labor in homemade recipes.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
Carl Huffaker

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#14

Post: # 7204Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:15 am

Thanks, MsC. It is a nice feeling to be able to eat stuff you grow. It brings a smile when one can just cruise past the seasonal veggies at the store. :D

It's a gorgeous day, clear as a bell but with a cold wind out there. It got down to 28 again and it's been a while since it was still just 38 degrees at 11am. But that's OK. The peach industry need these chill hours and more. And, after all, it IS winter. :)

The wild daffs in the yard don't seem to mind. There's even one blooming down in the front left corner and lots of buds.

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I've been putting folded sheets over the remaining cabbages at night so they don't freeze. They'll be OK and there's no room in the refrigerator for them. At 11am this morning the sheets still had frost on them. I'll cover them back up around 4:00 today when I close up the ends of the carrot tunnel.

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This is a mini tunnel I put together from bent 2x4" mesh welded wire and row cover for the daikon radishes. The leaves wouldn't have a problem with the cold but some of the radishes are poking up about an inch and I was afraid the exposed ends might freeze. The piece of row cover wasn't quite long enough so I piled leaves on the right end to enclose it. Because it was windy I set a few bricks on top to keep the thing from blowing away. You use what you have. :D:

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#15

Post: # 7457Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Jan 23, 2020 12:42 pm

Some plants have to come inside for the winter. The peace lily and two pothos usually live out back under a big oak tree while the thyme and rosemary live on the front porch. The rosemary is one I started with cuttings from an old Tuscan Blue rosemary that was beginning to die by the back porch. It's gone now but it's replacement is doing fine.

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I brought the recently transplanted arugula, two more thymes and a resurrected mint in from the porch too. They can probably go back out soon. I started the extra thyme for building up the dehydrated stock which is running a bit low. The mint looked like it had died with dead leaves on scrawny runners but I noticed a carpet of new growth on the soil surface. Some pruning of the dead stuff, a shot of fertilizer and it's good as new!

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Pickles put up seven pints of Mexican Chicken Soup yesterday. I still haven't gotten around to krauting the cabbage but perhaps this afternoon it will finally get done. :roll:

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#16

Post: # 7461Unread post MissS
Thu Jan 23, 2020 1:00 pm

It sure sounds like you are gearing up for spring. Hopefully it is just around the corner. Your plants look nice and healthy for being indoors. I have a real problem keeping my Rosemary inside. It just turns brown and drops all of it's needles. It's just a twig by the time spring rolls around and I can put it back outside. So then I just go get a new one.

You still have little pumpkins in storage too. What variety are they that you can keep them so long?
~ Patti ~

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#17

Post: # 7464Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Jan 23, 2020 1:48 pm

Those are 'Small Wonder' spaghetti squash. Some have been lost already to mold and some, when cut open, are starting to dry out inside. One plant of Small Wonder makes a good many small squashes, each of which will serve two people. Just the right amount, a half squash for each.

With the rosemary I've found that it's really sensitive to being too dry whether it's inside or outdoors. They'll brown up in a hurry. I have to really watch this one indoors because that table is under the heating vent so it can dry out quickly. I usually just lift all of those pots when I walk by and see if any are starting to feel lighter. If so, they get a drink and usually that's the rosemary and thyme. They also get turned occasionally if they start leaning towards that window.

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worth1
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#18

Post: # 7466Unread post worth1
Thu Jan 23, 2020 2:27 pm

Everything looks really nice.
Some sort of winter critter is eating holes in my cabbage. :(
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#19

Post: # 7498Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Jan 23, 2020 5:49 pm

worth1 wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 2:27 pm Everything looks really nice.
Some sort of winter critter is eating holes in my cabbage. :(
With all the rain could it be slugs?

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#20

Post: # 7869Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Jan 26, 2020 11:13 am

Today I started a Feher Ozon paprika pepper and a Dreikäsehoch tomato. The paprika is a small plant (maybe 24") and will eventually live in a pot on the porch. The seed for that came out of the "vault" in the freezer and so a test of freezing seed.

The tomato is one suitable for a hanging basket and it will keep the Red Robin company. Dusting off my German, I believe the literal translation is "three cheese high or tall". Makes no sense to me but we'll see what happens. :rolleyes:

The two reseeded Wakefield cabbages are up. I put four seeds in each pot; two came up in one and three came up in the other. None came up in the initial sowing. Note to self: buy fresh seed for fall!

Last night while trying to fall asleep, I suddenly found myself thinking about how to rig shade cloth over the tomatoes this year. Once I got that sorted out, Brain jumped right into designing a simple rainwater water catching system in the garden, involving a 5 gallon bucket, four poles and a tarp. I need to make a prototype some time. Funny how the mind works!

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