Gardening 2025

[Animal]

So there was a sale on roses, I have planted 9 bushes of 8 different colors in 3 new beds that I put in in the past 2 weeks. I've also added 2 Hardy hibiscus, poppies, 3 trollius, orange creeping thyme, heucheras, pasque flowers, 2 more maltese cross, 5 lingenberry bushes, list count of the daylillies and iris, then ordered about 150 bulbs to play this fall. My back yard is going to be amazing next year.

i planted a few rose bushes at my ranch last year. Every one died. I didn't have them in a location that they could be watered. I assume that was the problem.

[Ricrude]

It can be. That's why rabbits can be so frustrating.
Nothing worse than cultivating a vegetable garden or flower bed and having a rabbit or 2 just decimate them.

Or deer. My wife's brother in South Carolina can't have any sort of garden now matter how he's tried to fence out the deer. Somehow they find ways to get in and decimate his poor veggies. They of course leave his chickens alone, so he at least gets eggs, a minor consolation.

Deer == forest rats.

This works for me in SC...have had great success with it...spray it around the garden and on your fence post. Smells like hell but that dies down in a day or two and last for a few weeks at a time. Depending on the size of his garden. One big bottle should work for the growing season.

[QillerDaemon]

i read the other day that banana trees really aren't trees. The trunks are just leaves that are tightly wrapped. In areas that harvest bananas they cut the entire tree down each year after the fruit is harvested. Then they grow back.

I have no idea if any of that is true.

A banana "tree" is actually a large non-woody herb where the stems of the leaves cover the younger leaf stems inside to form a sturdy false "trunk". The banana is distantly related to the ginger plants, some of which can grow into large "trees" themselves, usually ornamental rather than edible. And yea, after the tree makes the bunch of fruit, the tree quits growing and needs to be cut down to let new trunks start to grow. The plant grows from a "corm", the hard root knot in the ground the leaf stems grow from. The corm sends out new corm buds that can be used to start new plants. Banana plants grow from those corms instead of seeds, so most banana plants of one variety are actually clones. The small black spots found in banana fruits are what's left of the seeds which are sterile.

The common banana we eat is the Cavendish variety, but the banana flavoring used in candy is actually from the previous common variety Gros Michel or Big Mike, with a different banana taste. There are hundreds of other varieties including Goldfinger, Lady Finger, Apple, and Ice Cream. I have mini Cavendish that grow smaller and sweeter fruit than Cavendish, and are wonderful in banana bread. I want to use my other property to grow Big Mike if/when I can find the plants. And those grow huge, over 20' tall. Bananas are easy to grow, but require a lot of water to grow well.

I'm surprised there aren't banana plantations here in Florida and even Texas, both have environments perfect for growing banana plants. We had a few growing on our old farm in Galveston, even, and occasionally we got fruit from them, but we had to cook the fruit like plantains to eat them.

[QillerDaemon]

This works for me in SC...have had great success with it...spray it around the garden and on your fence post. Smells like hell but that dies down in a day or two and last for a few weeks at a time. Depending on the size of his garden. One big bottle should work for the growing season.

I'll tell my BiL about it, thanks!

[Ricrude]

This works for me in SC...have had great success with it...spray it around the garden and on your fence post. Smells like hell but that dies down in a day or two and last for a few weeks at a time. Depending on the size of his garden. One big bottle should work for the growing season.

I'll tell my BiL about it, thanks!

Welcome!

[BigChiefin]

It can be. That's why rabbits can be so frustrating.
Nothing worse than cultivating a vegetable garden or flower bed and having a rabbit or 2 just decimate them.

Or deer. My wife's brother in South Carolina can't have any sort of garden now matter how he's tried to fence out the deer. Somehow they find ways to get in and decimate his poor veggies. They of course leave his chickens alone, so he at least gets eggs, a minor consolation.

Deer == forest rats.

This works for me in SC...have had great success with it...spray it around the garden and on your fence post. Smells like hell but that dies down in a day or two and last for a few weeks at a time. Depending on the size of his garden. One big bottle should work for the growing season.

I love this stuff (except the smell). I spray it every two weeks or immediately after it rains. Keeps those fuckers away from my day lillies which apparently are like candy to deer.

[Animal]

[Ricrude]

It can be. That's why rabbits can be so frustrating.
Nothing worse than cultivating a vegetable garden or flower bed and having a rabbit or 2 just decimate them.

Or deer. My wife's brother in South Carolina can't have any sort of garden now matter how he's tried to fence out the deer. Somehow they find ways to get in and decimate his poor veggies. They of course leave his chickens alone, so he at least gets eggs, a minor consolation.

Deer == forest rats.

This works for me in SC...have had great success with it...spray it around the garden and on your fence post. Smells like hell but that dies down in a day or two and last for a few weeks at a time. Depending on the size of his garden. One big bottle should work for the growing season.

I love this stuff (except the smell). I spray it every two weeks or immediately after it rains. Keeps those fuckers away from my day lillies which apparently are like candy to deer.

Keeps everything away except bugs...

[Blast]

So there was a sale on roses, I have planted 9 bushes of 8 different colors in 3 new beds that I put in in the past 2 weeks. I've also added 2 Hardy hibiscus, poppies, 3 trollius, orange creeping thyme, heucheras, pasque flowers, 2 more maltese cross, 5 lingenberry bushes, list count of the daylillies and iris, then ordered about 150 bulbs to play this fall. My back yard is going to be amazing next year.

i planted a few rose bushes at my ranch last year. Every one died. I didn't have them in a location that they could be watered. I assume that was the problem.

There are since roses that are easier to grow then others. Then again, Texas may be too hot and dry. Check your zone and let me know what it is. I know a chick who knows about roses.

[Blast]

The first of my Beefmaster beefsteak tomatoes came in today. Holy fucking shit is all I can say.

[Antknot]

The first of my Beefmaster beefsteak tomatoes came in today. Holy fucking shit is all I can say.

Looks like a small pumpkin.

[jsdspif]

I'm growing some pickling cucumbers and am starting to get one every now and then, but they are EXTREMELY bitter. I scrub them with water really good and cut the ends off and peel them and they are inedible. I had one that I continued to peel until it was about 1/2 it's original diameter and still inedible. Reminds me of the taste of denatured alcohol. No, I didn't drink it I just dipped my finger in some and tasted it years ago, but that's how the cucumbers have been. I've gotten 4 or 5 of them so far but there are probably 200 blossoms and there are tiny little ground bees working away in the blossoms. i have them in a large container with miracle gro potting mix and good drainage. The plants (2) are growing really good, but if the cucumbers remain bitter i won't be able to eat any of them. I had one today that wasn't quite as bitter so I sliced it and put it in some leftover vinegar brine I had just to see what they taste like after a week or so. Searching the internet makes it seem it's a common problem. Anyone else have that problem? Thanks.

[Ricrude]

The first of my Beefmaster beefsteak tomatoes came in today. Holy fucking shit is all I can say.

Some good bread, salt, pepper and Dukes Mayo...

[Antknot]

The first of my Beefmaster beefsteak tomatoes came in today. Holy fucking shit is all I can say.

Some good bread, salt, pepper and Dukes Mayo...

Don’t forget the bacon. Lettuce optional

[Blast]

I'm growing some pickling cucumbers and am starting to get one every now and then, but they are EXTREMELY bitter. I scrub them with water really good and cut the ends off and peel them and they are inedible. I had one that I continued to peel until it was about 1/2 it's original diameter and still inedible. Reminds me of the taste of denatured alcohol. No, I didn't drink it I just dipped my finger in some and tasted it years ago, but that's how the cucumbers have been. I've gotten 4 or 5 of them so far but there are probably 200 blossoms and there are tiny little ground bees working away in the blossoms. i have them in a large container with miracle gro potting mix and good drainage. The plants (2) are growing really good, but if the cucumbers remain bitter i won't be able to eat any of them. I had one today that wasn't quite as bitter so I sliced it and put it in some leftover vinegar brine I had just to see what they taste like after a week or so. Searching the internet makes it seem it's a common problem. Anyone else have that problem? Thanks.

Let then grow a bit longer and see if that does anything for then. You may have gotten a crappy cultivar that is a bit bitter.

[Biker]

The first of my Beefmaster beefsteak tomatoes came in today. Holy fucking shit is all I can say.

Nice!

[Animal]

I'm growing some pickling cucumbers and am starting to get one every now and then, but they are EXTREMELY bitter. I scrub them with water really good and cut the ends off and peel them and they are inedible. I had one that I continued to peel until it was about 1/2 it's original diameter and still inedible. Reminds me of the taste of denatured alcohol. No, I didn't drink it I just dipped my finger in some and tasted it years ago, but that's how the cucumbers have been. I've gotten 4 or 5 of them so far but there are probably 200 blossoms and there are tiny little ground bees working away in the blossoms. i have them in a large container with miracle gro potting mix and good drainage. The plants (2) are growing really good, but if the cucumbers remain bitter i won't be able to eat any of them. I had one today that wasn't quite as bitter so I sliced it and put it in some leftover vinegar brine I had just to see what they taste like after a week or so. Searching the internet makes it seem it's a common problem. Anyone else have that problem? Thanks.

maybe those are the same kind of cucumbers that Aunt Bee used to make her pickles.

[Blast]

I've already made 8 jars of pickles, adding in thyme and rosemarry.

[jsdspif]

I buy some cukes nearby (pickling) i made a quart jar of fermented pickles and I've ate about half that and i made a quart with vinegar brine with my farm bought cukes but haven't tasted those yet, I'm waiting a week. I have jalapenos going (2 plants , one per bucket) those are doing pretty good now and getting blossoms. The ones I did last year didn't do worth a shit. These I want to move to a grow tent I have when weather gets cold. I like them to get red but my growing season usually ends before I get red ones, or if the individual peppers are half red half green, that's ok , but last year they didn't do good. My friend tried growing 4 or 5 plants in the ground last year and they didn't do good. I started wondering last year if wildfire smoke had something to do with it, because we had alot of wildfire smoke last year. Have it this year also but not as bad. It comes to southwest michigan from canada mostly.

[nerd_alert]

maybe those are the same kind of cucumbers that Aunt Bee used to make her pickles.

Lol, I just watched the pickle episode yesterday!

[Animal]

maybe those are the same kind of cucumbers that Aunt Bee used to make her pickles.

Lol, I just watched the pickle episode yesterday!

my favorite is the one where the State police stop by to put a prisoner into one of their cells for a few days. Barney gets the idea to go under cover into the cell to get some information out of him. So barney puts on a suit while the guy is napping and sneaks into the same cell. When the guy wakes up he asks barney what he's doing in there and barney starts acting like he's a criminal. The guy is asking Barney a lot of questions and spots a news paper clipping on the wall across the room of barney in a uniform. so he says, "So, what's your name?" And barney acting all tough says, "Pudden Tame. Ask me again....... and I'll tell you the same".

The only thing better than Andy Griffith re-runs might be My Cousin Vinny.

[nerd_alert]

maybe those are the same kind of cucumbers that Aunt Bee used to make her pickles.

Lol, I just watched the pickle episode yesterday!

my favorite is the one where the State police stop by to put a prisoner into one of their cells for a few days. Barney gets the idea to go under cover into the cell to get some information out of him. So barney puts on a suit while the guy is napping and sneaks into the same cell. When the guy wakes up he asks barney what he's doing in there and barney starts acting like he's a criminal. The guy is asking Barney a lot of questions and spots a news paper clipping on the wall across the room of barney in a uniform. so he says, "So, what's your name?" And barney acting all tough says, "Pudden Tame. Ask me again....... and I'll tell you the same".

The only thing better than Andy Griffith re-runs might be My Cousin Vinny.

You're in luck. That episode is upcoming. Its S02E18, "Jailbreak". Its going to air on MeTV this coming Wed @8:30pm, er... probably 7:30pm for you.

[nerd_alert]

I wonder if she got the recipe from Aunt Bea?

https://variety.com/2025/shopping/news/ ... 236486847/

[Animal]

I wonder if she got the recipe from Aunt Bea?

https://variety.com/2025/shopping/news/ ... 236486847/

hopefully from Clara.

[Ricrude]

I'm growing some pickling cucumbers and am starting to get one every now and then, but they are EXTREMELY bitter. I scrub them with water really good and cut the ends off and peel them and they are inedible. I had one that I continued to peel until it was about 1/2 it's original diameter and still inedible. Reminds me of the taste of denatured alcohol. No, I didn't drink it I just dipped my finger in some and tasted it years ago, but that's how the cucumbers have been. I've gotten 4 or 5 of them so far but there are probably 200 blossoms and there are tiny little ground bees working away in the blossoms. i have them in a large container with miracle gro potting mix and good drainage. The plants (2) are growing really good, but if the cucumbers remain bitter i won't be able to eat any of them. I had one today that wasn't quite as bitter so I sliced it and put it in some leftover vinegar brine I had just to see what they taste like after a week or so. Searching the internet makes it seem it's a common problem. Anyone else have that problem? Thanks.

Never had that issue...maybe this will help.

Cucumbers can taste bitter due to a compound called cucurbitacin, which is influenced by growing conditions and plant stress.
Causes of Bitterness
Cucurbitacin: This naturally occurring compound is present in all cucumbers but is usually confined to the leaves and stems. When cucumbers experience stress from environmental factors, such as extreme temperatures or inconsistent watering, cucurbitacin can migrate into the fruit, resulting in a bitter taste.
2
Growing Conditions: Factors such as high temperatures (above 85°F), drought, or irregular watering can increase the production of cucurbitacin. For instance, prolonged heat can lead to bitter cucumbers as the plant goes into defense mode.
1
Pollination Issues: In older cucumber varieties that produce both male and female flowers, leaving male flowers can lead to bitterness in the fruit. Pollinators may fertilize female flowers, resulting in bitter-tasting cucumbers. Growing all-female varieties can help mitigate this issue.
2


5 Sources
Prevention and Remedies
Consistent Watering: Ensure cucumbers receive regular and adequate watering to prevent stress. Aim for deep watering, especially during dry spells, and consider using mulch to retain soil moisture.
2
Temperature Management: Provide shade during extreme heat to protect the plants. Using row covers or shade cloth can help maintain a more stable temperature.
1
Harvesting Tips: If you encounter a bitter cucumber, you can cut off the ends and peel the skin, where bitterness is often concentrated. However, this may sacrifice some nutrients.
2
Soil Enrichment: Enriching the soil with organic matter can help reduce stress on the plants, leading to better-tasting cucumbers. Regularly adding compost and balanced fertilizers can improve soil health.
1

By understanding the causes of bitterness in cucumbers and implementing these preventive measures, you can enjoy sweeter, more flavorful cucumbers from your garden.


4 Sources