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...

Juliarugula

Krista thanks! I’m not cray about the veggies and dahlias being so close together, but I have limited sunny places in my yard! Our lot is almost half an acre, but the house is pretty sprawling and we have a lot of mature trees.

It felt especially good to say to myself “you know what? I don’t like these lilac bushes anyway!”. I don’t really even like how lilacs smell. The crabapple tree had its moments, but overall this makes me so much happier.

The hand chairs were fun Craigslist finds about seven years ago. I love them, but they annoyingly tend to collect water, even with drain holes.

The arch will get Canada Crookneck squash which is my favorite and probably the one veggie I most miss growing. (It’s a moschata and a lot like butternut, but better and prettier! ❤️)

Krista

Juliarugula I will be looking up “Canada Crookneck” squash!

Teddahlia Beautiful! I add Asian pears to the Galbijjim we enjoy every year for Chuseok. Encountering a tender slice of pear in the rich broth is a very tasty treat.

MissyWeitzel

There is a large population of Polish people in West Michigan and Grand Rapids is home to 14 Polish Clubs. These are private clubs (think Moose Lodge, Elks Club, VFW hall, etc.) and many of them have been around for over 100 years. The first full weekend each October is Pulaski Days, where all the clubs open up to the public for a huge celebration of Polish food, music, heritage, and of course, a lot of drinking. I'm not Polish, but I'm a long time member of a club and this year will mark my 25th year attending Pulaski Days without missing a single year. Even during Covid we had take out Polish plates. Everyone wears red and white, smiles, laughs, polka dances, and stuffs their faces with copious amounts of kielbasa, kapusta, pierogies, golabki, and rye bread. I thought it was quite fitting to cut these two Hollyhill Snowfire blooms today! Na zdrowie! ❤️🤍

Teddahlia

Asian pears are getting bigger.

Emilyp

Teddahlia That looks delicious! Do they keep well?

Teddahlia

Asian pears: Do they keep well? They get ripe on the tree and are very edible as they grow larger and larger. We have three trees and they are different varieties. They stay on the tree until a hard frost and afterwards. The birds like them in the cold weather. We do not pick them except to eat them as we work in the garden. Visitors to our garden like to pick them.

Juliarugula

I’ve found that Asian pears make particularly good cooking pears as they are pretty firm when ripe. I don’t see them around Indiana much, but we had a tree when we lived in Houston. They were very tasty!

blown_dry

They have them at costco right now. I've been enjoying them, but my kids are giving the side-eye to something shaped like an apple but tastes like a pear.

Teddahlia

Speaking of apples, we have several apple trees but Margaret likes the Liberty apples the best. No Fuji or Honeycrisp here however.

calico20hill

The one fruit tree here when we bought the place was an un-named Asian Pear. I tried making jam but the jam turned to sugar crystals . We occassionally eat one when out and about but they really aren't anything fabulous. I am curious how long ago Asian Pears were first planted in our area. The house has only been here for about 30 years. Before that it was a cow pasture. I wish my one tree would have been something a little more fabulous and usable. The neighbor has a huge old pear tree on the boundary line but it doesn't taste like much either. I am hoping they will pollinate my New little Orcas Pear. It did make ONE Pear for me thi s year and that was yummy delicious!

Krista

calico20hill I just looked up the Orcas pear, it looks like a fabulous variety!

KitCMC

Asian pears add delicious flavor to Bulgogi, plus it’s easy & quick to make!

Krista

KitCMC that sounds delicious, I’ll definitely add them next time!

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.

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....

Teddahlia

We bought our asian pear trees in 1990, I believe from Raintree. Lost track of the names but I am pretty sure the early ripening one is called Shinsui, Japanese word for inundation. It is sweeter than the other two and has smaller fruit and the tree is smaller too. Currently, it is my favorite but Margaret likes the one with larger fruit and it is in her picture above.

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.

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