Summer 2012- Gardening and summer cooking (preferably outside)

[J. Eriksson]

New year, new season, new thread

Simply put its spring,  the beginning of barbecue and gardening season.

What are your hopes, successes, failures, experiments, new toys(tools), disappointments and general wishful thinking for this season and next year.
Wishlists for tools and plants.
Has anyone learned anything new?

Going out to the garden
James

[J. Thomas Shelley]

Too soon (last frost often at Mothers' Day and sometimes Memorial Day) and, now, too soggy.

But in the fullness of time there will be the usual tomatoes on the perimeter in a vain attempt to keep der grundsau (the groundhog) away from the peppers and, especially, the various types of summer and winter squash.

I have come to the conclusion that God sends der grundsau to be sure of receiving the first fruits.

[Evangel]

Pared back my planting this year.  Tried for two years to cultivate a garden in the poor excuse we have for soil here.  Year 1 was terrible, so I tilled in manure before year 2 ... It was still awful ... so this year I'm sticking to a couple tomato plants and a jalapeno plant in pots filled with Miracle Grow potting soil on the patio.

BBQ I have much more success with.  I've already made a few Boston Butts as well as grilling up plenty of Chicken (very inexpensive this year) and a few hamburgers (very pricy unless I catch a good sale).

I've been experimenting with rubs for the pork (keeping records of what I used since the beginning of last year) and I hit on a really good combination first thing this Spring.

Now, wishful thinking for this year is that I hope to actually get to grill up some pork and venison that I take from the woods to the table.

[Team Hesse]

Acreage is up over 1700 this year. 300 acres of triticale to double crop into either corn for silage or dry beans, otherwise all in corn or dry beans. Lots of rock picking on the new farm this year. Probably need to buy a second 4-wheel drive tractor (300 hp or more) because the planting tractor has occasionally been delayed waiting for tillage operations to be finished. Exiting the hog business due to time and workload constraints. Will finish first crop corn planting tomorrow, need to start spraying, probably be chopping early next week, will begin dry bean planting next week also.

Love my gardening..... nothing quite like being in the dirt...."I am dirt and to dirt I shall return...."

Lou

[Charles_Austin]

An unneeded "renovation" of the community garden where we have had a 16' x 16' plot for 23 years in 2011 cut back on our production, for it ripped out much of the soil we had nurtured and rebuilt over the years.
We are now bringing the soil back. Raised beds installed. Horse poop worked into it, some appropriate chemicals added.
The peas are crawling the trellis, we have already harvested spinach. Tomatoes are going in, along with much basil and several kinds of hot peppers. There will be some lettuce and a small amount of zucchini.
At home, big pots with rosemary and parsley are being tended. Another pot of dill and one of thyme. Some tarragon and oregano as well. Mint is growing in its own pot. More basil. You can never have too much basil.
Master Gardener wife has all the know-how to make this stuff produce in abundance; I do the donkey work.

[GalRev83]

Afraid that I have gotten out of the gardening business since we moved here, aside from some hanging baskets and deck planters.

BBQ is my arena, hover. I am reprising a great success from last year: Orange Bourbon Marinated Salmon. Personally, I am not a big salmon fan (even though I love fish) but this stuff I cannot get enough of. The recipe is here:  http://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-orange-and-bourbon-salmon-25567 I do enjoy a grilling experiment now and again!

[Erma S. Wolf]

     Parsonage yard doesn't really have any garden to speak of (outside of one row of peonies) so we're starting from scratch.  I have some flowers that need transplanting into pots, and have some tomato plants that will hold until husband borrows a tiller and a smallish garden plot is tilled up.  Eventually want to put in asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb, but not this year (want to get rid of perennial weeds and grass before putting those in).  My potted chives survived overwintering in the house; now to get some more herbs and mint for potting. 
     Eventually I want to put in some perennials around the house, but as there is rock for mulch (ugh!) all around the foundation and I want to get the vegetable garden started first, the decorative stuff will have to wait. 

     Barbecue season hasn't really started yet.  But I am looking forward to having more of that later, esp. after my daughters get home from college!

[Coach-Rev]

Now that we actually own our home for the first time (yeah, I know that God is the maker AND owner of all things!), we have all kinds of things to do to clean up and landscape the yard.  We also must replace the grill which was left in Illinois.  No great loss there - it would have required too much work to repair to make it worth moving.

[James S. Rustad]

Have been grilling outside all year -- we Wisconsinites don't let a little snow stop the fun!

Just ordered a bunch of parts for my Ford 2N tractor.  Now to see if I can find time in between mowings to get them installed.  If so, maybe this year will be the year the tractor changes from blue, gray and rusty brown to the correct dark gray color...  Or maybe NOT...

[Dave Likeness]

And God seeded the earth with broccoli, spinach, and
cauliflower.  God planted apple, peach, and orange trees.
In this way with fruits and vegetables Adam and Eve and
their descendants would live long and healthy lives.
AND IT WAS GOOD.

And Satan created McDonalds.  And McDonalds brought
forth double cheeseburgers with bacon, supersized french
fries, and kingsize chocolate malts.  AND IT WAS BAD.
And man went into cardiac arrest and needed quadruple
bypass surgery.

[edoughty]

Scott and I have mostly given up gardening in our yard.  The creeping charlie takes over, or else the raspberries do.  We need to tear down and rebuild our herb garden; it has been taken over by weeds in the last year or so.  But we will plant herbs.  We also will plant tomatoes, and possibly a serrano and/or jalapeno plant.

For the rest, we bought a share from a local CSA.  So we will have veggies comin' out our ears this year.

[Matt Staneck]

Planted a couple tomato plants and a few cucumbers at my parents on Monday.  Next step will be to get some sunflowers in the back and groom a few of the garden spots there.  We've always seem to have done several smaller gardens, I'm honestly not sure of the dimensions.

Here in the city we have a gigantic roof space that I am thinking of putting a few raised beds of vegetables and flowers on.  A ton of sun throughout the day.  I just want to talk to a few people and see the probability of attracting mice and rats disguised as house cats if we do this.

Pr. Osbun, how long do we have to wait for a website to pop up where we can buy some of that stuff off of you?

M. Staneck

[Coach-Rev]

buying a grill today.  Grilling season is already in full swing out in the great plains!

[George Erdner]

buying a grill today.  Grilling season is already in full swing out in the great plains!

I have seen this grill (or ones like it) in some Kroger stores. It is a cooking tool I wish I had. It has a propane side for those things that propane is best for, and a charcoal side for things best cooked on charcoal, and a side burner.
 
If I had one of these, I might be able to get along without a stove. Back in 2005, my wife and I moved to an apartment that didn't have a stove, so we cooked all meals on our gas grill. That included things like spaghetti and baking biscuits.

[Evangel]

buying a grill today.  Grilling season is already in full swing out in the great plains!

I have seen this grill (or ones like it) in some Kroger stores. It is a cooking tool I wish I had. It has a propane side for those things that propane is best for, and a charcoal side for things best cooked on charcoal, and a side burner.
 
If I had one of these, I might be able to get along without a stove. Back in 2005, my wife and I moved to an apartment that didn't have a stove, so we cooked all meals on our gas grill. That included things like spaghetti and baking biscuits.

That's the one I have George - plus the side box to make it into a smoker.  If you go into your Kroeger frequently enough toward the end of the season you can catch these grills on clearance for 1/2 price ... I wouldn't have it otherwise!