Gardeners of AW, unite

[Unimportant]

Agreement here that mustard greens are a lovely addition to a salad, a hamburger, a stir fry, or pretty much anything. They also make a good green manure to keep the weeds down during a fallow period: grow them, then dig them in to add bulk and fertiliser to the garden plot.

I won't mention that it's full summer in NZ, with temps today in the high 70's (F) and my garden overflowing with zucchini......

[blacbird]

Originally Posted by L M Ashton

We haven't cooked star fruit, which isn't to say it can't be done.

I've seen starfruit used in a way similar to sliced pineapple, as a garnish for ham.

I love starfruit, just washed and sliced, and the seeds are inconsequential.

I can't grow the damn things, of course. And they're expensive as hell here.

Speaking of hell, I'm staring down the barrel of -20F at my house tonight.

caw

[AndreaGS]

Hey! New here! *waves*

I live in N. CA and we garden year-round. We've got sugar snap peas, mustard greens, chinese cabbage, bok choy, beets, swiss chard, kale, lettuces, kohlrabi, broccoli raab, etc. in our garden right now. Just started some tomato seeds for summer!

I've been growing some tomatoes indoors this winter, but I overfilled the automatic watering thingy, and it seems to be suffering from some root rot. That's what I get for being overenthusiastic.

I love beet greens! We saute them here with garlic, rice wine, and a dab of soy paste. I find them a bit sweeter than swiss chard.

[L M Ashton]

Originally Posted by blacbird

I've seen starfruit used in a way similar to sliced pineapple, as a garnish for ham.

I love starfruit, just washed and sliced, and the seeds are inconsequential.

I can't grow the damn things, of course. And they're expensive as hell here.

Speaking of hell, I'm staring down the barrel of -20F at my house tonight.

caw

Please don't hate me. I can reach three perfectly ripe starfruit in the backyard right now. There are more higher up, but I'd need a ladder for those...

[shakeysix]

the goldfinches at my feeder this morning are clearly yellow. spring must be somewhere in the vicinty--s6

[Fenika]

I just shot a video of a goldfinch at my window feeder. He's by the heated water now and looking perkier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrhQRZ06zGU

[blacbird]

Seeds finally arrived at our local stores. I bought a few for planting in pots the next few days. It hasn't been above zero F at my house for at least a week. Last night when I went to bed it was -20F, and the high today was -4F. Two-plus feet of snow cover my yard and garden.

But optimism reigns. Tomorrow I get up, go to the garage, scrape the nitrogen crystals off my windshield, and drive off to work.

caw

[shakeysix]

yesterday was no jacket weather. today is supposed to be in the sixties. hard to ignore the itch in my green thumb but if i know kansas there will be snow and ice in the near future--s6

[L M Ashton]

I picked five more papaya off my tree yesterday...

[Fenika]

Thats too many. You shoul invite us over

[L M Ashton]

You know, Fenika, I keep doing that - inviting people over, promising to feed them Sri Lankan cuisine (which, in my opinion, is among the world's best), and I have yet to have anyone take me up on it. Except my sister and their family. I'm starting to feel a bit, oh, unappreciated. :P

[Fenika]

We appreciate you. We just cant afford airfare. You could always come back to the Cantina

[L M Ashton]

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

Originally Posted by L M Ashton

You know, Fenika, I keep doing that - inviting people over, promising to feed them Sri Lankan cuisine (which, in my opinion, is among the world's best), and I have yet to have anyone take me up on it. Except my sister and their family. I'm starting to feel a bit, oh, unappreciated. :P

I just noticed a Sri Lankan place here downtown the other day, near where my doctor's appointment was (just south of Jasper). Thought of you!

[L M Ashton]

Aw, it's nice to be thought of, Hip Hop A Potamus. I hope it didn't hurt much. :P

Have you had Sri Lankan food? When it's cooked properly, it's beyond fantastic. Of course, I don't know what the restaurant there is like, but if it's run well, it'll be worth visiting. Of course, it helps if you've got an asbestos mouth since Sri Lankan food is among the hottest in the world.

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

Originally Posted by L M Ashton

Aw, it's nice to be thought of, Hip Hop A Potamus. I hope it didn't hurt much. :P

Have you had Sri Lankan food? When it's cooked properly, it's beyond fantastic. Of course, I don't know what the restaurant there is like, but if it's run well, it'll be worth visiting. Of course, it helps if you've got an asbestos mouth since Sri Lankan food is among the hottest in the world.

I'm hoping I'll be getting another job downtown, and if so, it'll be easier to try. Mr. Hip has among the wimpiest constitutions in the world, so it'd be hard to go when I'm with him, which is most of the time. I have an Indian friend who may be up for it. I'll check with her.

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

It's freakishly warm here for January. NOTHING like last year. It's actually been pleasant out walking the dog during my unemployment!

[Fenika]

It's fairly warm here. Slugs got to my indoor basil but I'll try again soon. I do have one surviving basil and some lettuce. My cilantro has been flowering. I need to order celery root seeds.

[Shadowflame]

Just started a herb pot last night. In 2 weeks will start the lettuce. Can't wait to start playing in the dirt! lol

[Filigree]

It's warm enough outside that I planted chocolate mint around the base of a big potted ficus. It's shaded by trees, but gets enough sun that the mint should do its thing. It's wonderful in tea and sweet salads. With a dripline, it may even survive the blast furnace of Arizona summer.

[Adobedragon]

It's actually been in the fifties here in New Mexico, and some of our native birds have started singing. The problem is, we can get winter storms as late as April. As I recall, this time, last year, we'd been hit with a huge storm that dropped the temps down to -10 F.

But I got a seed catalog yesterday. I think maybe I'll order some heirloom varieties. Something different this year.

[blacbird]

Had another 10 inches of snow at my house today. I was intending to plant some early stuff in pots tomorrow, but I think now I'll just stay in bed, wrapped in the blankets, cuddling my bottle of Talisker.

caw

[MacAllister]

I've been looking at plans for building cold-frames, and researching both fennel and garlic -- I've not grown either, before, but both have varieties that do very well here in the Pacific NW. But it's still dipping into the high 20s at night.

Last year's rainbow chard is still merrily growing in its concrete container, in spite of an awfully cold winter (for us) so this year the greens we container-grow are going to include kale and collards and spinach, as well.

[Fenika]

Mac, do you have a copy of Four Season Gardening? It's very helpful

Speaking of containers- I learned you can take your potted peppers inside for the winter and then back out in the spring for even bigger peppers. Of course I learnt this a month after I'd stopped bringing my peppers in on frosty nights. And I had so many nice plants

[MacAllister]

I don't, Fenika, but I'll look for it -- I also just happened across a strong recommendation for Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest -- which is out of print, but our local library has it, and I'm watching for a used copy.