2020 Gardening Thread

[BDinPutnam]

Anybody have recommendations on caging / netting saplings to protect them from deer?

We have a couple sassafras and a few black birch about 2' maybe 2 1/2' high the wife wants to try and protect. Our deer (like everyone else's I guess) are ruthless on sapling shoots.

And will have several bushes to put in next Spring- currant, aronia, and a few others. Was considering using tomato cages and wrapping them in netting. Problem here is the ground is full of rocks so hoping to find something I can poke into the ground easily and then wrap.

 

[Saltwater60]

Anybody have recommendations on caging / netting saplings to protect them from deer?

We have a couple sassafras and a few black birch about 2' maybe 2 1/2' high the wife wants to try and protect. Our deer (like everyone else's I guess) are ruthless on sapling shoots.

And will have several bushes to put in next Spring- currant, aronia, and a few others. Was considering using tomato cages and wrapping them in netting. Problem here is the ground is full of rocks so hoping to find something I can poke into the ground easily and then wrap.

Look at what the farmers in your areas do for deer fencing. 6-8’ high deer fencing is likely what you’ll need.

 

[S&W Fan]

you could always hammer three pieces of re rod into the ground In a triangle pattern at what ever length you need and wrap them. A little crude , but effective. I do that for the first couple of years with any young tree that I plant, to ward against deer and rabbits in the winter months. I’ll usually wrap them with whatever I have on hand . Chicken wire or some of that plastic orange snow fencing.

 

[Calculon]

 

[BDinPutnam]

Wow what a bounty, I am definitely doing this on too small a scale!

Nice photography, btw!

 

[Calculon]

Thanks. Our zucchini and cukes made a last push and are now fading. Tomatoes and peppers starting to ramp up and coming on strong.

 

[S&W Fan]

Nice haul. I haven’t taken the time to take picks of everything that we’ve been canning and vacuum sealing. There has been so much all at once. Finishing up another 10 jars of pickles tonight. We’ve vacuum sealed several quarts of spaghetti squash, eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini. We’ll be vacuum sealing and canning hot and green peppers tomorrow night along with canning Several quarts of sauce from all the ripe san marzano tomatoes. Whew !

 

[Calculon]

Is vacuum sealing same as pressure canning? I’m trying to figure out how to put up ratatouille without freezing it.

 

[S&W Fan]

Bastard was out in broad daylight late in the season too.

Is vacuum sealing same as pressure canning? I’m trying to figure out how to put up ratatouille without freezing it.

No , we vacuum seal blanched veggies to freeze. I’ve found that ratatouille is best when canned. You can freeze it, but I’ve found that the vegetables tend get mushy when thawed to Cook. However, If you vacuum seal before freezing You can drop the vacuum sealed bag in boiling water To cook the ratatouille and the veggies stay somewhat firm.

 

[Calculon]

So what is vacuum sealed?

 

[S&W Fan]

So what is vacuum sealed?

 

[Saltwater60]

So what is vacuum sealed?

Vacuum sealing just removes air to extend shelf life by smothering bacteria from air. You have to be careful as botulism can grow in anaerobic environments. It’s called modified air packaging. Some companies replace oxygen with carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
You also have to be careful canning vegetables because the ph of veggies is not low enough to prevent botulism from growing. Only two pathogens scare me and botulism is sure one of them. It’s a painful death sentence since it’s the toxin that gets you.

Be careful with vacuum sealing and canned veggies. Look up a reliable recipe for canning veggies.

 

[S&W Fan]

Vacuum sealing just removes air to extend shelf life by smothering bacteria from air. You have to be careful as botulism can grow in anaerobic environments. It’s called modified air packaging. Some companies replace oxygen with carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
You also have to be careful canning vegetables because the ph of veggies is not low enough to prevent botulism from growing. Only two pathogens scare me and botulism is sure one of them. It’s a painful death sentence since it’s the toxin that gets you.

Be careful with vacuum sealing and canned veggies. Look up a reliable recipe for canning veggies.

True, but botulism has pretty much been eliminated in this country for quite awhile now. As long as one follows proper canning guidelines there isn’t any real threat of botulism. Same with vacuum sealing vegetables.

 

[Calculon]

Ok thanks. Just making sure about the vacuum sealing vs pressure canning. Familiar with vacuum sealing but saw something recently about pressure canning veggies. Guess I should do more research.

 

[Doc8404]

I just blanch green beans and toss in a freezer bag.

 

[Saltwater60]

True, but botulism has pretty much been eliminated in this country for quite awhile now. As long as one follows proper canning guidelines there isn’t any real threat of botulism. Same with vacuum sealing vegetables.

Yes but people don’t always think or know the background.
I do food safety for a living so I thought it was my “duty” to put that plug in.
Never vacuum seal and leave at room temp with veggies. That’s a recipe for disaster. Also botulism regularly forms spores that can survive very high temps. That’s why pressure cooking is good For veggie based stuff vs boiling alone. The pressure increases the kill step of just heat alone. Many people don’t realize this. Fruits like jam canned are much safer. They have sugar that binds the water and the ph is regularly below 4.6 of fruit, not veggies. It’s amazing how hardy those spore formers are.

I recommend this as a quick read.
Food Preservation: Basics for Canning Vegetables

 

[Calculon]

Good morning gardeners. Found this on a tomato plant. Looks like a predatory wasp (?) is using a caterpillar as a host for its eggs. Caterpillar is still alive.

I guessing it’s ok to leave this around as the new crop of predators will hunt bugs. Am I on the right track?

 

[BDinPutnam]

So not that I'll actually buy one but BS'ing with my father in law this morning, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the pop up / build yourself plexi greenhouses?

 

[enigma]

Good morning gardeners. Found this on a tomato plant. Looks like a predatory wasp (?) is using a caterpillar as a host for its eggs. Caterpillar is still alive.

I guessing it’s ok to leave this around as the new crop of predators will hunt bugs. Am I on the right track?

You got it. Parasitic wasps are good !

 

[Saltwater60]

So not that I'll actually buy one but BS'ing with my father in law this morning, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the pop up / build yourself plexi greenhouses?

I did a small cold frame and it didn’t last long.

 

[BDinPutnam]

I did a small cold frame and it didn’t last long.

I kinda figured as much.

 

[S&W Fan]

One thing that I’ve noticed is an absence of herbs grown in this thread. Isn’t anyone growing any? We grow a ton of herbs along with all our veggies, especially Basil ! Two different varieties. We prune the Basil plants back early on to produce nice bushy plants. This year not only did they bush out nicely they grew 2 1/2’ to 3’ tall. In addition to all the Basil we grow oregano, sage, parsley, dill, rosemary, cilantro and mojito mint. Mrs. S&W Fan is experimenting with herb infused salt this year, for finishing salts.

 

[BDinPutnam]

One thing that I’ve noticed is an absence of herbs grown in this thread. Isn’t anyone growing any? We grow a ton of herbs along with all our veggies, especially Basil ! Two different varieties. We prune the Basil plants back early on to produce nice bushy plants. This year not only did they bush out nicely they grew 2 1/2’ to 3’ tall. In addition to all the Basil we grow oregano, sage, parsley, dill, rosemary, cilantro and mojito mint. Mrs. S&W Fan is experimenting with herb infused salt this year, for finishing salts.

Have not heard of mojito mint but will need to look into it i do love a good mojito.

We did some herbs separately this year (pots / planters) but unfortunately other than basil and parsley not much has done well. I do have an outdoor rosemary that came back really nicely this year and we restarted a bunch of herbs for inside which will hopefully come in in a few weeks.

There was some kind of spicy basil we did one year which was really good but I can't recall what it is called, I may try to find some of that soon.

 

[Calculon]

We didn’t have good fortune with herbs this year. Basil was good (green and purple) but parsley faded early for some reason Dill was consumed overnight by some caterpillars and didn’t come back. Bay leaves, thyme, and mint all growing but unimpressive. We probably didn’t plant enough.

 

[S&W Fan]

There is a Thai basil that is spicy/ hot but it’s rarely sold as a plant.

 

[S&W Fan]

This is the Mojito mint

 

[BDinPutnam]

There is a Thai basil that is spicy/ hot but it’s rarely sold as a plant.

I think that may actually be it, will ask the wife later.

 

[Saltwater60]

Grow mint in a pot. Very invasive and fast spreading.

 

[Doc8404]

Just cut down about a bushel of mint. Damn spreads like weed.

going to dig the aero garden out so the wife can have fresh basil.

 

[Saltwater60]

Just cut down about a bushel of mint. Damn spreads like weed.

going to dig the aero garden out so the wife can have fresh basil.

Try using a product called crossbow. I used it on some broadleaf weeds like ground cover that’s hard to kill and remove and it worked like a charm.