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Playing God (Gardening and Plants and Stuff)

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  • I was reading something recently about strawberries. Had to do with how the small ones have better flavor and the large ones were engineered for mass market appeal but they lose out on flavor.
  • This is true, wild strawberries taste like a market strawberry has been juiced and compressed into a tiny saturated fruit diamond.
  • The FRC turns into berries fruit of various types.
    image
  • edited January 2015
    So, I got this flower on discount at the grocery store (I'm a sucker for discarded plants). Anyone know what sort of flower it is? image
    Post edited by Chrisislost on
  • edited January 2015

    So, I got this flower on discount at the grocery store (I'm a sucker for discarded plants). Anyone know what sort of flower it is? image

    Yeah, They're Silver Spoons. I don't remember the proper name for them, but I do remember that it's leca something or other superbum. I'm not sure about the first bit, but the last bit is definitely Superbum, I remember it because I bought a bouquet of them for a girl I was dating, because she had one and I thought it was funny. The joke, not her bum.
    Post edited by Churba on
  • Sungold tomatoes are amazing. Also baby strawbs and sugar snap peas. I love growing arugula and kale because they are easy and don't quit. Basil and mint. Marigold, sunflower, lavender, catnip. Oh, and dill for gravlax.
  • Sungold tomatoes are amazing. Also baby strawbs and sugar snap peas. I love growing arugula and kale because they are easy and don't quit. Basil and mint. Marigold, sunflower, lavender, catnip. Oh, and dill for gravlax.

    Yes. Sungolds are so full of flavor! They split on a whim, though, so they're not great for picking giant baskets of. My only sadness there is that the are a hybrid, so seed saving yields varied results.

  • Sungolds are love.
  • I'm gonna plant a fig tree later this week. Fertilize or no?
  • Just use compost in the hole. No miracle-gro or anything like that.
  • m'kay thanks
  • Did I link this public radio show/podcast here yet? Because I learn lots from it and listen to it while I'm working in the garden.

    http://whyy.org/cms/youbetyourgarden/
  • Nuri said:

    Just use compost in the hole. No miracle-gro or anything like that.

    compost = nuclear gro
    Nuri said:

    podcast

    thanksssss
  • Our lemon tree is almost at lemon point. Two lemons! One is almost ready to be torn from its place of birth and eaten.
  • Max "helped" me while I was tending our vegetable beds and smacked all of our lemon tree's flowers off the tree. :(
  • Max "helped" me while I was tending our vegetable beds and smacked all of our lemon tree's flowers off the tree. :(

    I get nervous when people get close to the lemon tree. "Hey! Mind the lemons!"

  • Max "helped" me while I was tending our vegetable beds and smacked all of our lemon tree's flowers off the tree. :(

    He's just helping you get a REALLY awesome crop of lemons NEXT year.

  • edited February 2015
    I just bought a bunch of seeds on sampleseeds.com. They have a great selection of mostly non-hybrid seeds, in smaller quantities, for cheaper, with low shipping. And they are reportedly fresh & viable. http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/7277/
    Post edited by no fun girl on
  • Only thing I need seeds for at this point is nasturtiums. The community garden has a nasty cucumber bean beetle problem (and squash bugs, and mexican bean beetles... fucking community gardens, man) and they're supposed to repel them. Plus, they're pretty AND edible!
  • edited February 2015
    Ooo! Nasturtiums are delicious! Be sure to try some of the seed pods as salad topper (they're a bit spicy!) I don't know how good they are at repelling stink bugs, though. The look on my friend Greg's face as he realized the nasturtium flower he just chewed on contained one such stink bug was priceless. He spent the next 10 minutes spitting everything out. Public service announcement: check your edible flowers for bugs, folks.

    Edit: you didn't mention stink bugs at all. The story is funny though, so it shall stay.
    Post edited by Chrisislost on
  • edited February 2015
    Yeah, stink bugs are not my problem. The main thing that shows up in my garden looking like a stink bug is a soldier beetle, and they are A-OK with me!

    But uh, yeah... you really should check not just edible flowers but any plant bits you're gonna eat!

    ETA: Just realized I said "cucumber bean beetle" instead of "striped cucumber beetle." Stupid beetles.
    Post edited by Nuri on
  • Cucumber bean beetle! Cucumber bean beetle!
  • edited February 2015
    Rym said:

    Cucumber bean beetle! Cucumber bean beetle!

    The horrific hybrid of the striped cucumber beetle and the Mexican bean beetle, bane to veggie gardeners everywhere!

    Seriously though, the adult MBB looks a bit like a ladybug, but the larvae are HORRIFYING. Especially when you find clusters of them under leaves. Uuuuuugh.
    Post edited by Nuri on
  • Cucumber bean beetle is more dangerous than stink bean beetle. Sounds tastier, though.
  • Nuri said:

    Rym said:

    Cucumber bean beetle! Cucumber bean beetle!

    The horrific hybrid of the striped cucumber beetle and the Mexican bean beetle, bane to veggie gardeners everywhere!

    Seriously though, the adult MBB looks a bit like a ladybug, but the larvae are HORRIFYING. Especially when you find clusters of them under leaves. Uuuuuugh.
    We get these in the garden sometimes when digging around.

  • That looks like it would be delicious if you roasted it.

    In other news, it's officially MARCH! One week til I start my first seeds.
  • They are, as long as you don't mix them up with Christmas beetle larve, which taste awful.
  • This thread is seriously reminding me that I need to visit both Albany and Providence once it's "grown things are ready to eat" season...


    ^_~
  • Ha, opportunist.
    Nuri, what are you planting this year? Our FFD is April 04, here, so I'm actually way behind schedule in seed planting... figure with this weather I'm probably still in the clear. We just got another several inches of snow. The sidewalk is 7 feet high.
  • Beets, chard, collards, arugula, kale, lettuce, peas, radish, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pole beans, carrots, various herbs and flowers.

    I'm not sure if the beets will actually take this year. I'm gonna test the soil and see if I need to futz with the pH. I have an asparagus bed that I started from seed last year, so it's not ready to harvest this year. And I have to see how the rhubarb crowns that I split will do, but they probably won't be harvestable either if they grow.

    Oh, and the garlic I planted in the fall! I hope it does well. I want a god harvest of scapes!

    And of course there's the peach tree. I'll have to see what it does. Maybe the buds WON'T freeze off this year.
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