Gardening Thread - Show me your gardens!

Love mine. Fresh eggs are outstanding, especially when they're free-range. The yolks on mine are dark dark orange during the summer instead of the pale yellow stuff you get with store-bought.

I like that about them too, they just didn't do well on my plot. Not sure if it's the climate or what, but the Fortex do very well and also are very tender without much for string.
They also work great for dilly beans

 

Green beans pickled with Garlic, red pepper, peppercorns, and dill weed. Mucho delicious-o.
I can get you the recipe if you want, but I'll have to rummage around in my canning stuff for it tonight.

 

Fact. The US is one of the only countries in the world that refrigerates their eggs, because we practice factory farming but don't require the farmers to vaccinate their hens against salmonella.

If you're getting your eggs fresh from the bird, you should be able to leave them unrefrigerated for at least 2 weeks without a problem.
In fact, you can coat a chicken egg in mineral oil and store it unrefrigerated for up to 9 months (but they won't froth if you beat/whip them). Handy for SHTF

 

I thought about it, but not sure the girls wouldn't eat them first

 

IT'S ALIVE!!!
I've already had Asparagus, Chives, Garlic, Rhubarb, & Dill make their appearances, but they were already seeded last year or earlier. The peas and the beans are finally sprouting, and they're the first of what I actually direct-sowed this spring. Now I need to get my watering system hooked up.
Edit- And, as you can see from the pictures, I need to get my lawn mower out and sharpened too

 

Also, update on the new birdlings.
1 day old:
1 week old:

 

My wife and made a ton of dilly beans last year, they're so good.

From what I read, as long as you don't wash the eggs, they can stay out on the counter for a month or more without going bad. There's a microscopically thin coating called a "bloom" that covers the egg and keeps bacteria out, but allows movement of water and oxygen. When you wash them it removes this coating. Pretty amazing.

I love grabbing a couple of eggs from the coop, picking a tomato from the garden on the way back to the house, and making myself a toasted egg and tomato sandwich. Possibly the best tasting breakfast ever created

 

I usually blanche & freeze about half of my green bean crop for winter eating, and the rest get turned into dilly beans. They're a favorite snack in my house, and they make good presents at x-mas too.

Much richer. Duck eggs make the best hard-boileds, in my opinion.

 

harvests..

peas



green beans



onions



potatoes

 

Awesome! To give you an idea of how far behind you we are, my peas and bean plants just poked through on Monday...

 

but dont you have a shorter planting season?

 

Yup. My growing season is basically from May until September. Hardy stuff is April-October, usually

 

cactus is easy to grow. and pretty much disease free. pests will leave it alone

 

probably nopal blanco.

thats your generic basic cactus.

if you love cactus.. and like pickled goodies..

visit some mexican stores.. and look for pickled cactus.

dont buy the canned, name brand stuff..

some of those little mexican stores will sell it just like the corner stores would sell us dixie pickles.. out of a 3 gallon jug.

THEY ARE AMAZING *_* especially if theyre spicy..

 

We got the

We got the recipe from a canning book, I will look it up when I get home and post it. Theyre really acidic because of the whole botulism thing with green beans, so they're more appropriate as a snack than a side dish. It's best to pick the beans when they're small and tender, that way they stay crispy for a long time, plus they fit into pint jars better.

If you guys are into dill pickles, try the old fashioned way of fermenting them. You'll never go back to canned pickles again! Plus the probiotics are really good for you. My Mom put us on to fermenting, not only cukes, but radishes, white onions, even garlic cloves. It stinks while you're making them, but the taste is awesome once its done (similar to how you make saurkraut). Basically make a 3%-5% brine solution, add spices, cucumbers, and let sit at room temperature for a week or two. There are some pretty good recipes online if you want to try it out.

 

potato harvest!

 

There's something wrong with some of those potatoes...

 

elaborate..

some of them grew too big and split..

 

Scott understands me.