Pioneer Woman

That addition to your garden sounds fantastic, Mother! Kudos to your grandson!

It's been so hot and humid here. The squash plants have been getting diseased and not producing any squash, but there are some flowers now that the weather has moderated recently, and I see some baby squashes. The cherry tomatoes have done wonderfully and still are. As have the zinnias. The peppers died. I put a few sprouted supermarket potatoes in the ground behind the house [added some unused potting soil and some fertilizer]. All but one died, but that one still gives me hope. I've been hilling up around it. Supposed to be cooler all this week with highs in the 80s and lows around 70, which is phenomenal for this time of year!

Just in case... If you need ideas for gardening in a wheelchair, there are lots of videos on Youtube if you put in "gardening for disabled persons."

That's fantastic, Mother! Looks really beautiful.

I've gotten probably close to a hundred cherry tomatoes off my plants so far. The early ones were super delicious, but we got a heavy rain right as a lot of them were ripening, and some of them actually got filled with water. Haven't seen tomatoes do exactly that before. Next time, I'll pick them before it rains, or even during the rain, if they're almost ripe. I still got about 60 good ones after the rain. My two pepper plants haven't done well at all. Very puny. I've only gotten a couple of peppers. The squash plants have gotten huge and I've harvested half-a-dozen nice scallop and Desi squashes.

Thank you, all, for the info! I appreciate it.

Thanks for all this info, Dogmom4. Do you know of a cheaper place to order worms from? The places I've seen seem awfully expensive to me.

Probably would have been more tender if they were cooked longer, but they weren't super tough, by any means. I enjoyed them the way they were.

Just wanted to report that I tried eating summer squash leaves and they were great. I cut some young leaves off the plants, rinsed them, sliced them, and cooked them in a little butter in a skillet for just a few minutes, stirring often, and then added a little soy sauce. They weren't bitter at all. They were a little chewy and slightly tough, but not bad at all, and they were also slightly crunchy. I thought they were quite pleasant. I will definitely keep eating them.

Here are a few more, Mother: https://www.mrssurvival.com/topic/36712-hidden-garden/#comment-312239 https://www.mrssurvival.com/topic/44609-comparing-gardening-methods-for-when-tshtf/#comment-370365 https://www.mrssurvival.com/topic/36227-feral-food/#comment-309431 https://www.mrssurvival.com/topic/47660-guerilla-gardening/#comment-398253 https://www.mrssurvival.com/search/?&q="stealth garden"&search_and_or=or

What great gardens you all have! Mother, that salad looks gorgeous!

All of this information is very helpful. For myself, earlier this year, I started recording the price of everything I buy, so I can compare something if I don't remember. It's definitely a shocker going to the grocery store, and has been for awhile. I always look at the price per ounce of the different products, and I am astounded at how many are in the $.40 per ounce price range, or more. My expectation used to be that most foods were in the $.10 per ounce price range, or even less. There are still some foods that I can get for that, but not many other than canned and frozen veggies, beans, some soups, pasta, rice, etc. I may be dreaming and giving them too much credit, but I've gotten the feeling lately that Walmart is trying to hold the line on the cost of a basic list of simple foods [mostly all Great Value brand], so that people can buy enough food to live, while, at the same time, raising the price of their processed foods [which is the vast majority of what they sell] into the stratosphere. I've narrowed my purchases down to just a few different items and quit getting any splurge-y items. That includes not buying any processed foods. My strategy now is to buy mostly one-ingredient fresh and frozen foods, like carrots and apples and chicken drumsticks and colby cheese and frozen broccoli and brown rice, for example. And to look at the price per ounce, and if it is holding the line, to buy more of that item. I am only buying nutritious foods, because I can't afford anything else, financially and health-wise. And whatever foods I do buy, I am careful not to waste any of them.

Mother, thank you so much for all that excellent info. I'm copying the directions to grow pea shoots and tendrils, so I can remember what to do. I did read where you said you haven't eaten squash leaves. In one side of my brain and out the other. SusanAnn, I love zinnias because they need basically no care, are beautiful, and re-seed themselves. That's my definition of a good plant. I looked online and saw "Zinnias can withstand moderately dry soil conditions but do better with supplemental watering. In general, zinnias typically need 1 inch of water once every five to seven days." And "Zinnias are able to adapt to most soil conditions, but the ideal soil will be rich in organic matter and well-draining. Soil pH should ideally be between 5.5 and 7.5. If soil is amended with compost (humus), the flowers will grow more quickly." Here's a website on growing them in England: https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/plants/a-guide-to-zinnias-from-tom-brown-head-gardener-of-parham-house-garden/ It looks like you are growing a great garden. Congratulations on your blueberry plant! I had no idea there is a dry area in England. It sounds a bit challenging but I would imagine you don't have a lot of problems with diseases?

Thank you, Mother and Dee! Mother, I appreciate your mentioning that Sweet William and zinnia flowers and squash leaves are edible. I will definitely start eating them. Finding new edible parts of plants is a wonderful way to increase the harvest! I would expect the younger squash leaves are better? Do you eat them raw or cooked? I'm very excited to try those. I do sometimes eat squash flowers, generally just cut up in salads or sauteed with other veggies. Earlier, I saw you mentioned eating pea tendrils, which is not something I have tried, either. I think you said you grow them as microgreens? What is your procedure for that? I'm going to have to look up all the plants I grow to see if other parts of them are edible. Dee, your carrots are beautiful!

OK... photos of my little garden...