The Urban Garden Thread

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I have to rip out some trees that randomly died on me. Might as well rip out the other because it's the type of tree that could damage a foundation.

Honestly for the stuff in the back, I could elect to just chuck out, but the front flower bed would just be empty after the trees are ripped out. Plus it wouldn't be the worst thing to have stuff come back year after year with basically no upkeep in the front (the stuff I'd be ripping out from the back). Saves me from doing a dozen weeks of a completely full green bin and the stuff I transplant I don't have to question whether it has a chance of survival in our climate.

Why not just do combos of clover and local wildflower mixes instead of grass? Who cares if you mow into it into the future. It'll bounce back within a few days of being hit by a mower.

Ya, clover is an option. We have a big chunk as sheep fescue, which is nice. I've got a big sandstone boulder thoguh, and I was thinking of moving that, and then doing like mini xeriscape patches planting appropriate stuff. Maybe a few of those ornamental tall grass things...whatever they are! I've put very little thought into it, too busy re-parging my foundation.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ya, clover is an option. We have a big chunk as sheep fescue, which is nice. I've got a big sandstone boulder thoguh, and I was thinking of moving that, and then doing like mini xeriscape patches planting appropriate stuff. Maybe a few of those ornamental tall grass things...whatever they are! I've put very little thought into it, too busy re-parging my foundation.

Ornamental tall grasses I've seen ranges from certain grasses (ie: Broom grass) to wheat/barley. I would assume wheat or barley would be a pretty easy and inexpensive one to DIY.

I saw artichokes growing at Saskatoon farm as a decorative plant. That's a cool ####ing plant. I don't know if it's a thing that's basically an annual for Calgary climate, here but ornamental, it's pretty badass looking.

Ginger as an ornamental is also pretty neat if you can get it going. It's probably basically an annual though. It looks like something in between a thicker ornamental grass and bamboo.

I've been considering getting ginger and artichoke going and during the winter months as an inexpensive house plant and then moving it outside during the summer.

My dad has two things that went wild and took over huge patches of grass after getting out of the flower bed. One was some type of lamb ear which he successfully dug out, the other I don't know what it is, but it has a purple flowers. He just mows it down now. Also neat enough as an option.

[Izzle]

So I found an opened bag of grass seed in my basement. It was sealed with one of those clips so that there isn't grass seed all over the place.

I think this is probably 3-4 years old. Would it still be good enough to use on my lawn? I was thinking of applying it on Friday. Add the seed, top off with some dirt and pat it down. Then let the rains come.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

You put the cherry tomatoes on a sheet pan and freeze them.

We use them all winter in pastas, not tomato sauces, but we have a few quick recipes that are only a few ingredients and tomatoes are one. They taste great.

We never use them in "traditional tomato sauce",

for example a recipe like this, I do one similar

https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/pa...erry-tomatoes/

We throw them in frozen

Here is another way to use cherry tomatoes. Very tasty and fish ends up perfectly cooked every time.


1 1/2 lbs. cod, cut into 4 even pieces
20 to 30 yellow and red cherry tomatoes
10 pitted Kalamata or oil-cured black olives, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
Handful of pine nuts, optional
2 tsp freshly chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or finely sliced basil as a garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 420F with the rack on the upper 2/3 level. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.

2 Prick each tomato two to three times with the pointy end of a paring knife.

3 Put some oil in a non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Sauté until the tomatoes start to form a sauce. Add the garlic, thyme, and olives and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, turn the heat to high, and let most of the wine reduce. Add the chicken broth and continue to sauté until the tomatoes are collapsing and the sauce has thickened a bit.

4 Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Season the fish on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper and put in the casserole dish. Drizzle the tomato sauce and juices over the top of the fish.

5 Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top if using and bake just until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. This will depend on the size of your fish. Serve with rice and a green vegetable on the side. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil if desired.

6 Have some nice sourdough bread on the side to sop up the sauce.

This recipe will work with most white fish. Serves 4.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by Izzle

So I found an opened bag of grass seed in my basement. It was sealed with one of those clips so that there isn't grass seed all over the place.

I think this is probably 3-4 years old. Would it still be good enough to use on my lawn? I was thinking of applying it on Friday. Add the seed, top off with some dirt and pat it down. Then let the rains come.

Great question; I noticed some old seed didn't really take and i bought some new seed and it performed over 2 weeks. Lots of water and some topsoil as well.

Theoretically, I think the moisture fluctuations/etc may have been a factor as well.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by redforever

Here is another way to use cherry tomatoes. Very tasty and fish ends up perfectly cooked every time.


1 1/2 lbs. cod, cut into 4 even pieces
20 to 30 yellow and red cherry tomatoes
10 pitted Kalamata or oil-cured black olives, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
Handful of pine nuts, optional
2 tsp freshly chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or finely sliced basil as a garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 420F with the rack on the upper 2/3 level. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.

2 Prick each tomato two to three times with the pointy end of a paring knife.

3 Put some oil in a non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Sauté until the tomatoes start to form a sauce. Add the garlic, thyme, and olives and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, turn the heat to high, and let most of the wine reduce. Add the chicken broth and continue to sauté until the tomatoes are collapsing and the sauce has thickened a bit.

4 Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Season the fish on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper and put in the casserole dish. Drizzle the tomato sauce and juices over the top of the fish.

5 Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top if using and bake just until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. This will depend on the size of your fish. Serve with rice and a green vegetable on the side. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil if desired.

6 Have some nice sourdough bread on the side to sop up the sauce.

This recipe will work with most white fish. Serves 4.

Awesome, I have most of that kicking around the house.

Thanks.

[Fuzz]

For the first time we've had a sunflower grow above the roof. I haven't measured yet, but I think it's at least 12 feet tall. I had to strap it on to the eaves for the big wind blasts.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Nyah

Bump

1. Chili / pepper plants have absolutely exploded this year. We have Arapaho, Habanero, Serrano, Thai Red Chili’s, Purple Beauty and Pepperoncini. They’re all producing a ton of fruit and are nuclear spicy, especially the Serrano’s. We tried planting Ghost Peppers, but none of the flowers have taken and we have no production from it. Not sure what the issue is, but I don’t think that we’ll try those again.

I am having the same issues with my ghost peppers. In fact, all of my hot peppers have flowered slightly, but no actual peppers yet. Is this normal this time of year? Bought them in June and have taken care of them (at least I think I have) as best I could. Everything else in our garden is bountiful with crazy yields. But literally none of my hot peppers have any action going on, other than a few small flowers hanging around. Habenero, ghost peppers, carolina reapers and scorpion peppers.

My buddy is a huge hot pepper fan and always has huge bounties from him. Unfortunately he is out of town all summer so isn't around to consult. I'm hoping these are late bloomers or something.

[DoubleF]

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edi...li-peppers.htm

Apparently Ghost peppers are finicky. I wonder if the lack of humidity may have contributed to no yields even if the temps were OK.

I remember growing banana peppers once. Those did surprisingly well and I had a decent sized harvest even though all of my other veggies were languishing in a crappy season. I think I had more banana peppers on a single plant than tomatoes or beans that year. It was bizarre. I only grew them for that one year though.

https://bluegrassnursery.com/product...nana/?nocache=

Based on this, 20-30 pods per plant sounds about right from what I recall. That's a lot of peppers!

[MoneyGuy]

You’re doing it all wrong. You need to befriend a neighbour who grows insane amounts of pepper plants and gives them away. Then give them apples from your tree to cement the relationship.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

You’re doing it all wrong. You need to befriend a neighbour who grows insane amounts of pepper plants and gives them away. Then give them apples from your tree to cement the relationship.

Yeah that was pretty much my buddy who left this summer. He would get a literal bucket full of hot peppers. Was a routine for us to make hot sauce with this haul and get some pickins after. Too bad he's not here to mooch off of .

The plants themselves seem to be fine. Leaves are nice and healthy. No weeds in the pot. They look good. Really hoping it's a late bloomer, but I think something went wrong at some point. Anywhere selling hot pepper plants anymore that might have peppers sprouted? Seems all the garden centers are beginning to have no stock left.

[Cheese]

I grow my beans, cukes, peas and some tomatoes vertically.


Ive harvested about 25 pds of potatoes out of center area already and have pulled at least 50 cukes out. Beans were prolific, giving them away as well as freezing and eating. 4 Different types.
My vertical trellises are about 7 feet tall.
Also harvested about 150 garlic heads and have replanted more lettuce, spinach, radishes and chinese greens.
Also have a variety of sweet and hot peppers.











Also jarred some cukes, garlic, peppers etc...

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Yeah that was pretty much my buddy who left this summer. He would get a literal bucket full of hot peppers. Was a routine for us to make hot sauce with this haul and get some pickins after. Too bad he's not here to mooch off of .

How much sun exposure are they getting? In my experience, they really like dry and hot climate. We had ours against a west facing garage a few years ago so they got direct sun everyday around 1 or 2:00 and into the evening, but they were in the shade for the morning. They were still nice & healthy but didn’t get nearly the production they do now. We water ours at night, and they're against a south facing wall so they bake in the sun pretty much all day, and they're very happy plants.

Originally Posted by Cheese

I grow my beans, cukes, peas and some tomatoes vertically.

Holy crap, your garden is gorgeous! I love the flowers along the edges too.

[Huntingwhale]

Probably a similar setup for sun. Shade in the AM, direct sun until it crests over my roof. So a good 8 hours I would say. Maybe I'll avoid watering them as often as I do my other plants, see if that helps.

[Fuzz]

Are they in ground or a pot?

[Huntingwhale]

Potted

[Fuzz]

We've found too small a pot is a major impediment when grown side by side. Ours I think are all in 5 gallon now.