Off-Topic 2023

edewitt · 2023-02-11T15:21:58+00:00

I figured we could use a thread dedicated to off-topic thoughts/discussions despite many of us going off-topic practically everywhere in here already 😉 (not...

calico20hill

Krista Before we moved here we had a 4--way pear from Raintree. The Orcas variety was definitely my favorite. I hardly remember what the other 3 varieties were...except one was a winter pear and we seldom managed to get good fruit from it. It woud get picked then stored and forgotten until too late to use them. I guess a 4-way grafted tree is a good way to find out which one you really like....

Krista

Teddahlia Shinsui

I’ll be looking this one up too!

calico20hill I guess that’s true! Will a grafted tree pollinate itself then or would one still need to have another tree planted nearby?

calico20hill

If the tree is graftged with a compatable pollinator they will polinater each other. YOu can have a much smaller orchard with more varieties that way! Nice for small households or homesteads! But if you love all you can get of a particular fruit you might want a regular sized tree or a mid sized one and a single polinator. We are hoping the ancient pear on the border with the neighbors will be close enough that the bees will polinate our tree with that pollen.

Krista

calico20hill Thank you, this is cool info!

AndreaB

CBS is doing a segment on Sunflower Steve @9am ET if anyone is interested.

calico20hill

KitCMC

KitCMC Wow, Krista, I think we should make bulgogi! Its been a while. We used to do Korea recipes out of a cook book so our Korean born kids could experience them and that was a favorite.

Teddahlia

calico20hill

That looks utterly delicious!

calico20hill

calico20hill Our apple pie was store bought but from our garden we had a pumpkin pie made out of Sunshine Squash. These lovely orange smallish squash were new to us this year and we plan to grow them every year. Sweet, thick meat that was so good it almost didn't need to be in a pie. We will probably eat most them just as baked squash and certainly plan to grow them next year!

Krista

calico20hill Sunshine squash sounds delicious, looking up immediately!

Juliarugula

DarcyD Two years ago I killed about 20 jugs of seedlings. 😭

I don’t use jugs, but I have the same problem with my wintersown seedlings!

calico20hill I grew Sunshine Squash one year too! It was super good! My favorite, though, is Canada Crookneck. Although I think flavors and sweetness of any variety varies a bit with environment. Canada Crookneck also has the advantage of being a moschata, so it’s much less bothered by bugs, and pretty much immune to squash vine borer. It’s also a great variety for trellising.

calico20hill

They were from Johnny's Seeds. I just sent in my order yesterday for 2024.

Krista

calico20hill Thank you! I’ve been thinking about my seed order for next season too and I love hearing recommendations for veg varieties that grow well for others here in the PNW.

Teddahlia

The selection of flower and vegetables seeds from the various seed sellers is one Margaret's favorite activities. She spends many hours selecting the seeds and sometimes(rarely) even allows me to render an opinion. Zahara zinnias and others of that type did especially well last year. It is amazing that something grown from seeds can do so well in a container.

MissyWeitzel

Teddahlia mine too! It helps me get through winter. The Baker Creek Rare Seeds catalog is dreamy.

calico20hill

MissyWeitzel Baker Creek catalog is rather limited so far. I think maybe when they mail out the catalogs....I bought a lot from Baker Creek last year and really liked what I got. I also like Swallow Tail and Renee's Garden seeds. Territorial is pricing themselves out of my budget though I did get a lot from them in the past. I need to check out Nichol's as I do like buying from fairly local sources.

NOrmally the postage on Johnny's seeds is so high, but I hit a BLack Friday special with free shipping if you bought over a certain amount. I do like the work Johnny's is doing in Maine.

DarcyD

I enjoy winter sowing my seeds into gallon milk jugs. It fills the time in the winter when there isn’t much gardening to do. The problem for me comes in Spring because they compete with dahlias for my time and it’s hard to get them in the ground. Two years ago I killed about 20 jugs of seedlings. 😭

AndreaB

DarcyD Love this! I did it for the first time this past Winter.
Definitely plan to grow more this year.

MissyWeitzel

calico20hill I agree! Migardener is great price wise, and especially if you're shopping for vegetable seeds more than flower seeds. They sell out quickly though.

If you have a lot of time and patience, a geoseed catalog is great. No pictures and everything is listed by scientific name, but they have a huge variety and awesome prices.

calico20hill

I used to use GEOSEED when I was selling cut flowers. THey had a wonderful selection!

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