2024 Gardening Thread

Not all figs were destroyed by birds! :tada::tada:

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What are the plans for the figs?! Just eat them as is or do something else?

Today is apparently ā€œNational Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porchā€ Day!! lol

Here are some recipes for those big green honkers! I have one in my refrigerator!

I have been one of the outliers for years: someone who couldn’t grow zucchini. This year, though, we have So. Many. And I swear, they triple in size overnight!

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We will eat all of them quickly! My husband is already half way through. :slight_smile:

The variety is Desert King. I am surprised it ripens here in the PNW!

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Making a salad from home… no, more precisely, deck-grown cukes and tomatoes for lunch today!

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Zucchinis are definitely very sneaky in their ability to expand in a nanosecond! :laughing:

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Anyone else make liqueurs from their garden? In the winter I make limoncello from our Meyer lemon bush. I’ve often added a bit of thyme or rosemary from the garden to the limoncello. The thyme limoncello was especially good. In the summer I make basilcello, which has not been as successful. Two years ago I had a good batch, a pretty light green and tasted very good especially over ice with a little lemon. Last summer the color was a beautiful bright kelly green but it tasted horrible. I could not find my normal 100 proof vodka so used an everclear and it was just too much. This year tastes pretty good, but the color is an unappetizing pea green. What do you make liqueurs with from your garden?

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Last year I tried soaking blueberries in either gin or vodka (one batch of each). The results were reasonable but I think that next time I want to start with better quality gin or better quality vodka. This year the criminals (mice and chipmunks) stole too many of my blueberries so I was not as desperate to find something to do with them.

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I have 2 buckets of cling peaches from our measly tree… :peach: Freezing some for future pies. Eating some (they are not super sweet but oh so good anyway). Will make some freezer jam, too. Will make some ice cream. Any other ideas? We don’t do much desert, so no cobblers etc.

Basilcello, if my basil holds up to the summer heat.

Grilling? My wife and I got some peaches from Harry and David (her late mother’s subscription), and I plan to grill some this weekend.

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Grill, yum with either honey or balsamic glaze…

Muddle in a glass and add fizzy drink/water.

Make a yogurt peach ā€œshakeā€

Salad with peaches, red onion, fresh mozzarella or burrata - also drizzle with balsamic

Or see if there is anything good here!

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What alcohol do you use for your basilcello, and how long do you steep it?

Making peach ice cream :ice_cream: now. :slight_smile: My husband is jumping with joy!

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Hallelujah! Our quince tree has a few fruits on the branches. Which means we might get some quince in October! Of course, if we don’t let the birds get it. We have a bunch of marauding blue jays pecking at anything resembling fruit. :angry:

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Thank you!!

Last batch of the ā€œcatchā€ :slight_smile:

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Peach and tomato salad–I use variations of this recipe.

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Vodka. Here is the recipe that I use (sorry about any formatting issues):

BASIL-INFUSED VODKA (BASILCELLO)

(adapted from the Wall Street Journal, 07/16/22)

Ingredients:

375 ml vodka (i.e., ½ of a fifth of vodka)
2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves (can include green stems, but no woody stem parts)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water

Directions:

(1) In a quart-sized sealable Mason jar, combine the basil and vodka. Use a muddler or a wooden spoon to gently muddle the basil until it is very lightly bruised, about 10-15 seconds. Seal the jar and shake gently; then refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 1 week. (I put mine in the fridge for a week; if you leave the mixture in the fridge for that long, you will have a darker infused vodka but that’s okay because you will be mixing it with other liquids, so the resulting apertif will be lighter in color.)

(2) When you are ready to use the basil-infused vodka, make a simple syrup by putting the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, and stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves. At that point, remove from the heat, and let cool.

(3) Strain the basil-vodka mixture, reserving the vodka and discarding the basil.

(4) Rinse out the Mason jar, and pour the resulting infused vodka back into it; then add the simple syrup. Seal, and shake to combine; store in the freezer (it won’t freeze, because it’s alcohol).

(5) For the basilcello that I get from keeping the basil-infused vodka in the fridge for a week, I mix it with lemonade and/or seltzer water in these proportions: 1 part vodka, 2 parts lemonade, 2 parts seltzer water; or, 1 part vodka, 4 parts seltzer water. (If the latter, maybe add a slice or two of lemon.)

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I have a floribunda rose (the yellow Julia Child) that’s easily 4’ x 4’. For winterizing, I have tried:

Chicken wire around it, filled with leaves per David Austin directions. Plant did okay but mice did too and there was rot

Tarp and stray supports, bottom open … no mice, not too much freeze damage but the snow load was too much and the supports got a lean over problem by spring

We don’t want to build a big box, this sucker is gonna outgrow it. But I don’t want it to freeze more than it needs to. Looking for hive mind ideas.

Sigh. The 2 week long heatwave did a number on my tomatoes. The fruit that formed before the heatwave has lots of blossom end rot. The tiny ones that are finally popping up now will likely not ripen on the bush so my kitchen will be a depository for green tomatoes for a few weeks. Tomatoes are very picky about pollination conditions even though they are self-pollinating.

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