Gardening as therapy.

I have picked 5lb of ripe peppers from my 5 gallon bucket plants with just as many green ones left to (hopefully) continue to ripen - one of my plants has a big pepper that appears to be turning yellow rather than red (hm, where did that come from??)
I have been googling and discovered that contrary to what I always believed california wonders are an open pollinated variety, so I'll be saving pepper seeds too.

CWILLIE, if you figure out your pennies can grow and make money, please share the secrets with me!  I've love to know what kind of food money plants or trees like (are they tempted by stocks?) and be able to produce funds from plants, other than the traditional harvesting and selling at farmers' gardens.

NEEDHELP and PAMZ,

A dedicated gardener friend is stocking up on seeds now, in anticipation that the homegrown garden trend which apparently took hold this year will expand next year as CV 19 continues into 2021, seeds will be bought out quickly, and prices will rise.

I think she's got a good idea, so I will with difficulty tear myself away from the laziness I've developed and start stocking up on seeds for next year, especially the hard to get seeds.

Clarifications:    As I was typing the previous message, the words began running together, a problem I've had periodically while typing.   Something happens and the spacing fails to work properly.

If I wrote the same things twice, I apologize.  I've read and reread these two posts so much I'm tired of them.

PAMZ, those are good buys on seeds.  I've never checked the Dollar stores; I'll have to do that next year.  My first choices are usually the gardening catalogues, which initiate the "I wanna plant seeds!" mode and get me motivated.  

Botanical Interests is one of my favorite sources for motivation.  The pictures aren't just image photos; they're artistic drawings, and just beautiful.

https://www.botanicalinterests.com/


SEND, do both!   Plant seeds to create your own chocolate trees,  and grind them up to reward yourself with the pleasure of chocolate.  

I'm still working on finding a good recipe, as well as figuring out to process the mature seeds.   I think we should find a good online course on how to harvest and process cocoa beans.


NEEDHELP, I do recall differences between home grown pumpkins and canned pumpkin.  The former were a bit grainer, if I recall.  I think the hardest part though was cleaning the pumpkin - of course I had to save all the seeds.

I'm thinking of buying some of the decorative pumpkins, emptying them of the seeds to plant next year and drying the shells for decoration.   A small ornamental pumpkin for the cost would probably produce more seeds than a commercial package of seeds , but I haven't really counted the seeds of the mini pumpkins, although I did find one on the kitchen counter that I apparently dried some years ago.

It's been so long that I don't recall any issues with cooking pumpkin, or how I prepared it for pies.

Once I grew and harvested my own sweet potatoes.   I enjoyed it; they produce such a beautiful vine that I could consider growing them for that reason alone.

If you want to see some real beauties, check out the ornamentals.   I'd love to get some and start a bed; they're expensive though. 

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/ornamental-sweet-potato.html#:~:text=The%20ornamental%20sweet%20potato%20is,quickly%20flow%20over%20the%20edges.  and

https://www.google.com/search?q=ornamental+sweet+potatoes&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=OYNVSSYR-IyzVM%252Cmrj52d-FipM3dM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSdTRtw_MIhHtp8mZL6RgUfdIAOiw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihlfal7frrAhXDBc0KHZKkBWAQ_h16BAgFEAU#imgrc=OYNVSSYR-IyzVM

for more varieties.

My money plant seeds are all gone but I can send you seeds next year, if I'm still around.

As to butterfly gardening, some butterflies prefer certain plants, both flowers and herbs.

When I came home a few days ago I noticed some very busy little bees on the goldenrod that grows naturally, and moves around the yard at will.  It's grown throughout the yard, in areas of its choice, over the years, and as I recall was always a good attraction for butterflies.

You can start here for butterfly gardens:

https://www.google.com/search?ei=ZfJoX4yHB8vRtQbA5Z3IBQ&q=Butterfly+gardening&oq=Butterfly+gardening&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAA6BAgAEEc6BAgAEA1Qo5cBWIGmAWCYqAFoAXABeACAAV2IAbABkgEBMpgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrIAQjAAQE&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjMzZ3l8frrAhXLaM0KHcByB1kQ4dUDCAw&uact=5#spf=1600713338670

Or read this article for a general overall plan of butterfly gardening:
https://nababutterfly.com/start-butterfly-garden/

This is a good site, identifying plants which specific butterflies like:
https://butterflywebsite.com/butterflygardening.cfm

Years ago I met some butterfly lovers who planted dill and parsley, raised caterpillars, and kept them until they morphed into butterflies for their gardens.

I want a money tree too!

Do all flowers attract butterflies?

I'm still waiting for all those pennies I planted as a child to sprout into a money tree...

Pods from the Cacao tree:
"The seeds are ground up into cacao powder, which is the basis for chocolate and many delicious things. Mature cacao pods are usually orange colored and take about five months to fully ripen on the tree. Whether or not you get cacao pods from your tree sort of depends on if you have a conservatory or not".

Chocolate tree seeds....Yes!

GA, when I get my seeds, should I plant the tree, or grind them up to make Cacao powder? Then, the candy bar recipe is......

Is there a huge difference in flavor from fresh pumpkin over canned pumpkin for pumpkin bread?

I have only used the canned pumpkin for baking.

I always bake fresh sweet potatoes. I find they are much better than canned sweet potatoes. I’m a bit intimidated to cook fresh pumpkin. I think I have only carved a jack o lantern one time in my life.

I do love pumpkin seeds to eat! Sunflower seeds too.

I asked my husband which pie did he like better, pumpkin or sweet potato? He said they tasted the similar to him. I don’t think the flavor is the same, texture maybe, but not the flavor. I love both but here in the south we make incredible sweet potato pie. I have not personally made it but I enjoy eating it every now and then.

Send, let me know if you find taco seeds.   Or chocolate candy bar seeds.   I haven't found any of them either!

CWillie, I've been a seed saver for years, although I sometimes get lazy about saving seeds from something like tomatoes or cukes.  Pumpkin seeds are much easier to save.

A gardening friend anticipates a price rise in seeds next season as more people turn to gardening to avoid going to grocery stores during the pandemic.  I think she's right.   

So I'm going to get my 2021 seeds this year.    I'm also going to start saving seeds from store bought veggies I want to grow next year.  

Next year some potatoes will end up as plants. 

I'm already ahead on dahlias; I found some tubers I forgot to plant!   Now I have to figure out how to overwinter them, as usually tubers stored in the basement get moldy b/c of high humidity (subsidence problem around 1/2 of the house).

If you celebrate Halloween, think of all the seeds you can save and plant next year!

The cheap seeds here are a buck each, the peas I got were around $2.50 (and too many of them were not good, split and broken or didn't sprout), and named hybrids might go for $4 or $5. Of course with a small garden I don't need a whole packet of some things but certain seeds don't keep well.

Seeds are cheap here for the "usual " things, in fact my $ store had them 4 x $. Not many in each pack, but I started them in the house and they did fine for my zuchinnis and pumpkins and herbs. Hubs always s buys the tomatoes and peppers,, he likes them to be bigger from the start!

Always wanted to plant seeds, and yes, they are too expensive,
and I have never found any taco seeds.

Are any of you seed savers? There are some I've always harvested but seeds are getting expensive and were so hard to find this year that I'm taking the time to look for as many as possible. I was super pleased that I found some on my endive (chicory) plant, I hope they will be viable.

I usually don't mind a little biodiversity in my lawn but the creeping charlie is so thick it looks like it is actually smothering out the grass, so I've been out there waging war trying to pull it up with a bow rake. I do know that it's impossible to get rid of it that way but at least my poor grass might have a fighting chance.

Yes, Cwillie, I have an apple bush. Lol.
By something different, do you mean maybe a peach or lemon tree?

So, we will see. But it may take some time. 3 years? The birds used to land on the highest branch to hear the music coming from the kitchen windows. Maybe I can get a photo, when and if anything happens.

I feel so powerless over nature. My avatar is the same bouganvillia, same size, but still alive after all these years.

Aren't all apples grafted? You might get something totally different from your original tree Send, but all apple blossoms are pretty.

Our cloudless skies are obscured by a high, white, haze compliments of all those west coast fires, even way over here in SW Ontario. Today we are enjoying warm breezes typical of this time of year, but they are carrying some "fresh country air" to remind us all to thank a farmer 😉

Thank you GA!
This small decorative apple tree is wanted. It has always struggled because it had a damaged tap root when it came to live with us.
We had a knowledgeable Japanese gardener who would not help with it because he said it would never live. Looking forward to the new growth! And the possible flowers in a few years. I like it that it has dwarfed itself, never taller than 4 1/2 feet, but able to view from my kitchen window.

It did have some missing bark, maybe that is why it died. (but not really dead!). I will have a frame built around it now to protect it from bunnies and squirrels-or whatever else is after it. (gophers, possums, racoons?).

Sometimes not knowing brings an exciting expectation. But I also enjoy knowing how to save this small tree. If I need to neglect it a bit, I will have no guilt. My hubs waters it regularly.

Send, the little apple tree isn't really dead if it's producing shoots, which can grow into little, then surprisingly big trees.    I've seen that with mulberries and other trees for years.

If you want apple trees, dig up the shoots, replant them, and maybe in several years you'll have some apples.   You could also try to dwarf them; that's something I've thought about for a while but never tried.

If you don't want them, there's a way to quietly kill the tree:  bark strip it.   That exposes the trunk to weather, hot and cold.   It usually takes either one summer or one winter to kill a trunk, but it's critical to make sure there are no roots sending up baby trees.

Another way is to plant morning glories either in the ground or in pots around the trunk and let them grow over it and choke it to death.  I learned by surprise that this was an easy way to kill an unwanted mulberry tree.

Send,

Your class sounds interesting. We didn’t go very far. Only to Baton Rouge. Sunshine here! Going back home after lunch.

I have been busy gathering up my houseplants that have been vacationing outside and getting them ready to bring in - I usually wait until October but I wanted to take advantage of some good weather to try a hint I found online, apparently immersing the whole plant in a pail of soapy water will kill off all those little bugs that always hitch a ride into my house (I can only hope). Now, where to put them all....

The class is: "Water Saving Turf Care and Turf Substitutes".
It is a Webinar. Not sure if I will be doing VOip. Asking my hubs when he wakes up. There are other classes, and when I am ready, there is an opportunity to get the advice of a volunteer master gardener. I could just watch something on youtube.
But a specific project, a different focus like a class could be really a great distraction.

NHWM, So relieved for you, and yes, sad for others in the path of hurricane Sally. Glad you got away. How far did you go, and were the roads stormy? Tree removal was expensive! Yikes!

Send,

Veggies or flowers? Sounds fun! Please keep us posted about the class and if you try some of the techniques.

We recently had a tree removed in our yard because as you know, we are in a hurricane path and we were concerned about this tree possibly causing damage to our neighbor’s home.

Guess how much it cost for one tree to be removed? $1700! It is an ordeal to remove a tree. I do understand that it is a labor intensive task. I got three bids and we felt that it was a fair price.

It’s rewarding to use money for landscaping but it’s hard to write a large check to remove a tree! Hahaha.

It is the neighborly thing to do and it’s better than being sued for damages to their property.

It’s amazing how many lawsuits occur over trees. They do have a right to want the damage to be paid for if their property is damaged though.

Just registered for a gardening class this Saturday, free, online.
y a y .

Aw, the little apple tree that died was cut down and a stump remained. 🌱
Now there are little shoots growing up all around it, appears to be like a bush. No need to plant anything there. 🌞

It may not be master gardening, and I am sure it would be removed by anyone designing a real garden, but ours is a natural 'free' garden.

Glad, that master gardening class might just keep some busy and interested! Learning anything can keep our minds sharp. Good idea!

When my husband used the stainless steel colander, placing it into boiling water, then the pasta, I did not like the idea, thinking the welded areas would be a toxic metal in the water, and, an unsafe way to remove the pasta so close into the boiling water. So I looked it up. Do not have an answer if it would be safe.

There were all sorts of ideas to turn a colander into a hanging pot! I have lots of colanders, so I might try that for my front porch.

Has anyone ever taken the Master Gardener program through the state's Extension Service? Have though about it for years. Have the opportunity starting in January all online.

Gardens are awesome. Didn't have one until I became a fulltime caregiver. When you need a break you can just go out where it's quiet, pick cherry tomatoes right off the vine and eat them and enjoy the sunshine. Over the winter I experimented with hydroponics. Bought some grow lights and started seedlings which I grew in the garden this year. Its really amazing growing seedlings and then watching them grow into huge plants and eating vegetables from them. Plan on growing more things next year and who knows, the skies the limit !

Pleasant week so far, 70's and 80's. Now high 90's 100's possible tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. THEN...... Monday afternoon cooling overnight, 50's, maybe 40's and possibility of snow just west and south of here! Need to get weeds done so spring is more pleasant!

I love the trees too. Gives oxygen and keeps us cool in the shade.

I'm not against pruning or even taking down fragile old or diseased trees Send, in fact when crews were busy doing just that along the power lines several years ago a lot of people were protesting but I was secretly applauding. But cutting down perfectly healthy trees in their prime goes against the grain, even if you are planting the same tree species (and they will not) it will not yield the same aesthetic or environmental benefits for dozens of decades. The trees that are coming down are black walnuts and white spruce, by their size all likely still with another 100 years of life (or more) left.