On this channel: updates of what is growing on in the gardens, gardening trials & discoveries, growing guidelines, cooking, and other gardening related topics.
Actively gardening since 2009. I have found that there is always something new to try. There are always new plants to grow, new ways at things. Many failures and successes to learn from. The garden is where I play, experiment, and relax.
Come along with me from season to season, through my gardens to see: what is growing, what is being tried, what has failed, and what has succeeded. Along the way, there will be cooking videos on how garden produce are cooked up and enjoyed.
Gardening in a warm & dry climate / Zone 10b / Los Angeles - San Gabriel Valley / Southern California / USA
Excellent video, thanks for sharing how to use this equipment, I just bought one and it’s not expensive and watching this video I realize that is very useful.
Thank you, I was wondering what was wrong with my figs. They were really tiny turned black and fell off and last year I got 2 figs. And I used to eat three to five a day. Brian. one thing I found out about the avocado trees Is when they're in bloom Go out between 11:00 AM .and 1:00 PM. every day that there's flowers and shake the bloody blue blazes out of the tree. As many times in that time frame as you can, and you will get tons of avocados. ru-vid.comD8jEz5mTxu8?si=qTDwHKwFWSUYaK9X
@@babetteisinthegarden6920 hopefully we get a cold winter this year. That should help with reducing the fig fly infestation. I also forgot to share my observation that the figs producing earlier in the season synced up with the life cycle of these flies. I found that my Violet de Bourdeaux was producing a normal amount because it produces toward the end of summer. Thanks for sharing the tip on shaking the avocado blossoms. You triggered an idea for atemoya fruit set issue. They need hand pollinating but my variety will pollinate on its own but rate is very low and looks to be zero this year! I don't like to hand pollinate but maybe if I shake the buds hard that may be less work than hand pollinating. Anyways I am talking aloud right now. Maybe it won't work because atemoya buds go through a sex change throughout the day...iykyk
@@neverenoughdirt He will answer pretty much any avocado/ mango. Question you have. And the blossoms. Are changing sex about midday? So I went out and started shaking the branch. Three days in a row. And I got one developed before I started shaking the tree and there's like 5 to 8 on each limb now. When I started shaking That particular section of the tree. So since you're home, make a note to go out several times between 11:00 and 1:00 and shake your tree. Next spring
Since being away from the "homestead" for a week of camping, I have remained out of my element. The summer temperatures were a catalyst for me to continue to stay indoors. As a result, the continuing supply of broccoli went away. With a big shift in weather, there are lots of chores to do. The cooler weather is going to be the catalyst driving my return outside to do work daily. I have a lot of summer foliage to trim back and collect as biomass; to have it eventually become rich compost and other things. In this video: Highlighting the importance of pruning fruit trees for a compact size so that the trees will not produce too greatly. This reduces wastes, mitigates rodent attraction, and leaves room for more trees to be planted. In warm climates like Southern California, late summer fruit tree pruning helps maintain adequate size while allowing for new fruiting shoots to grow for the following year. In cold climates, follow your best practice. I also talk about the strategic use of foliage to help regulate temperatures in the garden and the house. Plants and trees transpire and cools the surrounding area through evapotranspiration. Their shading will reduce the sun's radiation from warming the house. In the cool months when temperatures fall, we want the reverse. I trim back the leaves so that the sun may warm the house. Eventually temperatures swing back and the plants will have grown back in again. Well, as I said in the video, I have a lot of work ahead of me and I am excited to get back into it. Thanks for checking in on me and please visit again to see how the "homestead" looks going into autumn. I wish you well and stay vigilant (with your food security.)
Hi there and thank you for your informative video! I just purchased my prefabrication greenhouse a few months ago, and though from a different supplier, it is very similar to the Harbor Freight's 6 x 8). I thank you for updating us that an 8mm can replace the 4mm panels that come with the greenhouse. Thank you and happy gardening!
@@WebSurfingIsMyPastime I am glad that you enjoy that series. 😄 Wonderful suggestion. Those are a couple of tasty varieties. I have a Murcott growing on the slope. It is located where it is cumbersome to get to. It is difficult for me give it extra care. Hopefully it'll make fruit for the series.
If the corn was still sweet, the chewiness you experienced was likely nomal. Bantam is an old fashion corn and has old fashion chewiness. The old fashion quality also includes a very tight harvest window. The corn does not stay on the stalks for long. If left too long, the sugars become starch. You will know it is the case when it loses sweetness and moisture.
@@johnnyshoe2229 thanks! The garden gave a bunch of good stuff for the party yesterday. I did the squash two ways: roasted it and also put it in a lamb braise. 😄
That is correct, it is also aka Vaniglia Sanguigno Acidless Sweet Orange. Sometimes it is also marketed as "Mango Orange." Saying "Vanilla Orange" is less tongue twisting, lol.
Gardening is like any activity-- we can go as far as our minds will allow us. Often it is our physical bodies telling our minds that it needs to rest. With a goal to grow as much of our own food as we can, I am taking it year by year to grow our endurance. For me, July is usually when the wall feels the tallest. With a lot of energy spent on the push to set up irrigation, I've hit the wall. The upshot is that I've set myself up for pushing this wall back another month when next year comes around. Speaking of milestones... (if my memory is correct,) I started this channel shortly after the birth of my son. He is turning 10. This also means that our channel is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Thank you, to my ardent supporters. Thank you, for seeing me grow as a presenter. RU-vid has been a wonderful place to hone a skill that I was very much lacking-- being a decent communicator. As a citizen, a parent, a spouse, a gardener, etc, communication is the key to harmony. A good communicator is able to assess the environment and relay a harmonic response to all parties-- like a conductor of a orchestra. The garden grows and it grows well because you've allow me to grow. Thank you.
@@lynnt3747 'huckleberry gold.' they are pretty interesting indeed. This is the third time that I am growing them. I had to buy the seed potatoes again this year because I somehow lost a harvest. I'll keep everyone posted on how I think they taste. The first time I had them, I wasn't impressed. My initial impression was that they had an old after taste-- kind of like diet sodas. This was my memory from a few years back so take that with a grain of salt.
Raccoons and possums are the worst pest for tomatoes.. they take one bite, and throw the tomato on the ground and they can climb anything. Supposedly they do that when they're thirsty.
Yes!! It is always frustrating when critters don't finish the fruit entirely before moving onto another. When something ate the only two peaches on our new tree, somehow it didn't sting as much because they left only the pits. Luckily we have little pressure on our tomatoes *knock on wood.* Since you mentioned that they go after fruit for water, maybe this is so because we have a shallow pool for the duck-- they are drinking from there instead; maybe.
I love cooking with garden tomatoes. We grow many varieties for sauces, salsas, soups and stews of many cultures. Outside of canning them, having a lot at once can be overwhelming. We grow them in succession and achieve this in a couple of ways. Staggering when we sow the plants and selecting varieties that have different days to mature. Also in this update, some of the other things growing like eggplant and peppers along with an informal avocado trees update. Thanks always for visiting and supporting our channel. I hope your summer is pleasant. Stay cool!
You can pickle watermelon RIND. Look up on google pickling watermelon rind, and it can be spicy, sweet, or whatever, but you don't have to throw it out ! Have a good week !
@@neverenoughdirt The exact same brand. If you're going to be under trees etc, you're going to have to wash the building more often. I rinse mine off quite a bit.
May grey, June gloom, and an unusual amount of rain months prior brought blight to my tomatoes too. Blight seems to be a constant enemy of mine. At least your tomatoes have remained productive. 🙂 Next year I might do an experiment and not start some tomatoes until June - beyond the danger of constant dampness and gloomy skies.
Sorry about your tomatoes. Hopefully next year will be sunnier. Pushing back the sow date by at least a few years may be a safer bet. Yeah, I am happy to get something from this planting. Speaking of June, I recently sowed for a couple of plants for a fall harvest.
I have been searching for krishna basil for 30 years as I didn't know its english name until last week. I could never forgot the flavor of the soup from my grandma's cooking when I was young.
I don't. I live where there is a lot of sunshine to drive the growth of side shoots. Perhaps if I grow where there isn't enough sun, I can see a case for classifying them as suckers and removing them early.
I am surprised to see blight on your tomatoes, because of your dry climate. When the weather is uncooperative, I guess it can hit anyone. Covering your tomatoes with dry plant debris to prevent sunscald was a smart idea! Several years ago, I decided to single stem two of my tomato plants since it was all the rage, lol. I had less tomatoes, major sunscald, and both plants died before the season was over from early blight. With very little foliage, it doesn't take long for blight to infect every healthy leaf on a plant. My plants get early blight pretty much every year because of my climate, but with minimal pruning they almost always survive until the end of the season.
Me too. I was not expecting blight at all. It definitely humbled me; I'll need to be more mindful next time. Where I grow, I am in this small climate pocket where we can experience an extended period of gloom. On the flip side, we are pretty wind sheltered. But when it is not cloudy, the sun is intense. The general info for our parts is to prune but that creates a sun scald problem. I agree, foliage is important and foliage is an issue when plants are not healthy. Experience will garner healthy plants. On the note of foliage, I also found that multi stem is the way to grow for home gardeners. I keep at least a couple of main leads. Then I prune according to the conditions throughout the season.
I love how many tomato varieties you have growing! I am definitely missing growing multiple options. I have one big, beautiful two year old yellow brandywine still going strong, and I am so grateful. Through all of the cleaning and clearing of my growspace, it's a shining light☀️
Thank you Siri. I was able to get in a couple of more varieties than my limit 😉. Thanks for sharing how your tomato is growing. They are very resilient plants. Yellow Brandywines are pretty and delicious. I am also glad to know that you're back in the garden again. It also looks and sounds like you will have a good amount of biomass; it'll eventually turn into nice compost 😄
Hello. I cook freehand so I don't have a recipe per say. However, I did find the following recipe: thefoodietakesflight.com/spicy-cucumber-salad/ Do note that you can cut the cucumber into discs or like French fries; in addition to that recipe which smashed them.
I don't know for sure what will happen to the 🌲 tree Basil but basil is an annual and if it flowers it will begin to decline and make way for a new generation of basil seedlings. So I think it's necessary to keep planting seed to always have a crop to harvest for tea. Or it will reseed itself but the older ones will die back.
I got some Vana basil seeds and there's a trick to sprouting them. There's a seed sprouting soil mix that probably nobody uses normally because it's not necessary. But the Vana basil is such a tiny seed it took trial and error to figure it out. This sprouting mix has a lot of fine perlite in it and works perfectly. Use 3-5 seeds per well in a foam egg carton with holes punched in the bottom for drainage. Then sprinkle the seeds on top and mist with a spray bottle. Leave in a place with light and mist daily or every other day. Don't cover the seeds. After you are about ready to give up, keep them moist and eventually you'll see teeny sprouts. The only time I have used this method is with tobacco seeds and maybe poppy seeds. Very tiny seeds don't need to be buried. Good luck!!!😊
Again, sorry that you're looking to replace your tailgate. I got the budget paint job $400. Parts were close to $2000 (with 25% off MSRP through Longo Toyota in El Monte (which can be a drive from where you are.) Your question reminds me that I need to add up my invoices for a more accurate cost figure to share.
I feel you man. Infuriating !! Mine just got stolen 2 weeks ago at Costco SANTA CLARITA 1030 AM busy parking lot , incredible. Fortunately they got it on video , vehicle and plate, hopefully Sheriff pursues it and can recover. Doubt it !! I can’t believe how much time they put into yours. Mine took seconds they said but couldn’t let me see video. Mine is 2015 Tacoma TRD SPORT.
I am sorry this happened to you. Likewise , I know how you feel. Nowhere is safe these days-- this is a difficult reality to accept. Moreover, for the few minutes of work, they are making $300 to $500 but it costs us or insurance $1000 (for aftermarket parts) and up to $4000 for Toyota certified.
Awesome tutorial, information and assembly of your new tailgate! Was wondering if you took any preventative measures to ensure the tailgate won't be stolen again. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks. I took a few measures, yeah. Starting with adding vibration sensors and additional cameras (with settings for alerts during the prime hours.) This is not something I prefer but they decentralized crime prevention in my area-- making crime prevention up to the individual citizen. I got a tailgate lock-- I won't name the brand because I think it can be defeated. It is made of aluminum and it can be hammered or cut. A product like that can lead people to a false sense of security. It is on there as a security layer. Also, it can be defeated because it is a common product. When something is common, it will get figured out. Speaking of, I modified the locking mechanism to make it harder to shim. I also did one other thing. Sorry that I can't share. Mum is the word because if it's known, it will be defeated. (Aka, security through obsecurity.)
Awesome video and great surveillance footage! Here in the state I live in where Tacoma's is the most popular midsize truck, the tailgate is the most sought after and stolen item from the vehicle. Also the 1996 to 2004 Tacoma's are the most stolen. Sorry this happened to you. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks. Unfortunately, my number came up and I was very surprised by how quickly the lock can be defeated. Hopefully this video gets around to inform other Taco owners. I had now idea those model years are popular to steal.
