What's going on in your garden (2018-2022)?

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caseydog said:
I am simmering a dutch oven full of Cuban black beans. For peppers, I used the tiny jalapeños I harvested right before the first freeze. They were barely over an inch in length. I had three of them that I finely diced, and sweated with my onions and garlic.

Holy Moly! I stirred and tasted my simmering beans, and set my mouth on fire. Those tiny peppers packed a big punch.

I should have taste tested a bite of one of the peppers. My last hot peppers of the season are always the hottest.

CD
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I take it seed in?

Russ
 
rascal said:
I take it seed in?

Russ
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Seeds and membrane -- the membrane/placenta is to hottest part. The seeds are not as hot. The placenta is the whitish part near the stem where the seeds attach to the pepper. That is the hottest part of a pepper.

But, even the green flesh is really hot on these little guys.

CD
 
Mountain Cat said:
My garden: well, the parsley and kale are still hanging in there, but everything else has either been harvested or is toast.
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Quick question - stuff like rosemary that I left out there and is now brown...do I need to cut that back or just leave it be?
 
TastyReuben said:
Quick question - stuff like rosemary that I left out there and is now brown...do I need to cut that back or just leave it be?
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If you have a mild winter, it should survive. I've had some rosemary survive. If you don't, it won't. It is what is called a tender perennial. Cutting it back won't save it. You could bring it indoors and pot it - I did that one year and it survived, although it was quite scraggly.

You can always cut it down and dry it - rosemary dries and saves nicely. Although some of it may be brown (and not so useful to save) there should still be some green portions.
 
TastyReuben said:
Quick question - stuff like rosemary that I left out there and is now brown...do I need to cut that back or just leave it be?
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I've been growing rosemary for at least ten years. I've had rosemary survive under six inches of snow. Then die the next winter with no snow. I tend to get about three years out of a rosemary plant. From my own experience, once they turn brown, they are done. I tried cutting one back, but it never revived.

My thyme plants are the same. I just recently had one die. I only got two growing seasons out it this one.

My oregano is about three years old, but it is looking rather sparse. I may replace it in the spring. It has survived under snow, too.

CD
 
caseydog said:
I've been growing rosemary for at least ten years. I've had rosemary survive under six inches of snow. Then die the next winter with no snow. I tend to get about three years out of a rosemary plant. From my own experience, once they turn brown, they are done. I tried cutting one back, but it never revived.

My thyme plants are the same. I just recently had one die. I only got two growing seasons out it this one.

My oregano is about three years old, but it is looking rather sparse. I may replace it in the spring. It has survived under snow, too.

CD
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Our climate is pretty good, rosemary thyme oregano parsley sage all grow year round, I just trimmed rosemary and sage back to almost the ground, it was huge and needed to be cut to let light into other herbs. Only stuff is seasonal is coriander/ cilantro and green basil plants. Both of these are growing now and have been for a month. I'm still picking these in May next year before frosts stop them. I freeze basil and cilantro and use it as I need it in curries or Italian dishes. I love basil in season for pesto, my kids love it.

Russ
 
Everything is tucked up right now. Hidden under covers for another cold night. We're forecast 3°C. Sweet potatoes, aubergine, tomatoes, the new squash and courgette plants, even the chillies and sorrell won't survive that.

My herbs will though, except for the coriander (tucked up). The oregano is quite hardy as is the rosemary, thyme, savory and a few others.

In the UK my rosemary often survived winters down to -14°C. So did the chives and many others (oregano, marjoram and another) butt occasionally I'd find one plant would just turn up it's toes and die for no obvious reason. I too have had rosemary survive under feet of snow as well, but a good covering of snow acts as a shield or blanket from the harsh frosts we'd get every winter. Here we are more sheltered and -10°C is not what they need to survive very often, just occasionally. Planting my 2 rosemary plants right up against the house had helped. Drought is the biggest killer here!
 
Mini heat wave here, watering twice a day, courgettes flowering. Lettuces ready and more just germinated. Corns about 18 inches high.

Russ
 
It was 1.4°C when I got up this morning, by which time the sun had been up for 60 minutes. The potatoes that had escaped being covered (the wind blew the corner of the cover off last night) were showing clear signs of frost damage so it was a good thing i covered everything over lady night and pulled the potted stuff on the veranda such as aubergine, tomatoes, dill, coriander and all the new squash and courgettes and cucumbers, in to the sheltered area of the front door (plus covered the tender new plants with another cover because they were showing signs of wilting from the cold when I moved them last night).

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It's still nowhere near as warm as predicted (29°C predicted) being only 25°C at the moment! Right now I'm wrapped up with 3 layers on inside because the house feels freezing (or I'm ill again and don't yet know it! )

Hopefully tonight won't drop quite so cold. I don't want to have to cover things over just days from the official start of summer!
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
It was 1.4°C when I got up this morning, by which time the sun had been up for 60 minutes. The potatoes that had escaped being covered (the wind blew the corner of the cover off last night) were showing clear signs of frost damage so it was a good thing i covered everything over lady night and pulled the potted stuff on the veranda such as aubergine, tomatoes, dill, coriander and all the new squash and courgettes and cucumbers, in to the sheltered area of the front door (plus covered the tender new plants with another cover because they were showing signs of wilting from the cold when I moved them last night).

View attachment 35134

It's still nowhere near as warm as predicted (29°C predicted) being only 25°C at the moment! Right now I'm wrapped up with 3 layers on inside because the house feels freezing (or I'm ill again and don't yet know it! )

Hopefully tonight won't drop quite so cold. I don't want to have to cover things over just days from the official start of summer!
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We've got heat, and now wind, one greenhouse cover blown off, batten down hatches.
On a brighter note you've had rain. Yay yay. :)

Russ
 
TastyReuben said:
Quick question - stuff like rosemary that I left out there and is now brown...do I need to cut that back or just leave it be?
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I wonder if there are different varieties of rosemary? We have huge rosemary bushes that have thrived on years of bad (in UK terms) winters. Our sage bushes take a bit of a hit but recover in springtime. Thyme really suffers in the cold.
 
rascal said:
On a brighter note you've had rain. Yay yay. :)
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Err, no, no rain. that's why we had the dust everywhere and the dust storm. Storms here in Aus (at least this part) are often very dry.

Within 5km of our old house and within the evacuation area there is a massive bushfire right now. Over 650 hectares already. The local 'lake' had no water so they can't use it for fire fighting. Major problem. Other local lakes are in a similar situation.
 
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