by OhioGardener Yesterday at 5:36 am
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» USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
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» Now is the Time to Start Preparing Next Year's Spring Garden
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» Aerogardening
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» N&C Midwest October 2023
by OhioGardener 11/1/2023, 8:49 am
» Fall Tree Colors
by Scorpio Rising 10/31/2023, 1:48 pm
» Freeze Dried Food
by lisawallace88 10/30/2023, 11:28 am
N&C Midwest—August 2022
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N&C Midwest—August 2022
Hoping to get my first mess of cherry tomatoes, starting to get ground cherries—yum them so much! Made more pesto and dried garlic from last year using the dehydrator. Now I need to get a mortar and pestle to make garlic powder!
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23 wrote:I can't believe it is August either! OhioGardener, you are having tremendous luck with your green beans! May I ask what variety you planted and whether it is a bush bean or pole bean? Thanks!
They are the Blue Lake 274 variety, which are available in both bush and pole beans. I think part of the success with them, in addition to the rich compost mixture, is that I always use bean inoculation when I plant the seeds. This year I am growing only the Blue Lake Bush Beans, but in the past couple years I grew the Blue Lake Pole Beans on the arbor.
This is this year's bed of Blue Lake Bush Beans. The left half of the bed was planted 3 weeks later than the right half, but they both started producing at the same time.

As you can see, the beans need to be picked again as soon as they dry out from today's rain.

As a throwback, this was the Blue Lake Pole Beans on the arbor last year.

"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23 wrote:Picking bush beans is killing my back! LOL
Yep, been there, done that! That's why when I started approaching my 80's I installed higher raised beds. Don't miss the bending at all.

"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
I do like this thing for regular beds, use it a ton it has definitely earned its keep;
https://www.gardeners.com/buy/deluxe-tractor-garden-scoot/40-131.html
I like it—has an adjustable seat. I ran into the basket on the back with my truck in the garage last winter….I miss it.
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
Join date : 2015-06-12
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
Yesterday, I saw the first butternut squash developing. They are babies, but I this is the first year that I am trying winter squash. I am so excited! Summer squash is still coming along and I should be ready to pick some in a few days. Hoping for some rain today!
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
sanderson and Scorpio Rising like this post
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
OG, Do you freeze the excess Blue Lake beans, and if so, what do you do? I boil for 1 minute, chill for 1 minute in ice water, drain and spread on a cookie sheet to pre-freeze. Then vacuum seal. My husband thinks they are mushy, which I disagree.
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
sanderson wrote:OG, Do you freeze the excess Blue Lake beans, and if so, what do you do? I boil for 1 minute, chill for 1 minute in ice water, drain and spread on a cookie sheet to pre-freeze. Then vacuum seal. My husband thinks they are mushy, which I disagree.
Yes, we freeze them. They are snapped, then blanched, and put into 1 quart freezer bags and put in the chest freezer. The blanching process is pretty simple: Water is brought to a boil, the beans dropped into the water, wait for the water to come back to a boil, the beans are pulled out of the boiling water and dipped into ice water, as soon as the beans are cooled they are put into freezer bags. The beans don't get soft or mush, and are still "firm" when removed from the freezer and cooked.
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
sanderson likes this post
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
Yesterday I finally picked my 1st patty pan and lemon squash. I was so excited! Tomatillos are really getting started and I picked about 3 pounds of those. Yeah! Picture from today's harvest. A little bit of everything.

JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
So my kids got me the Elechomes dehydrator for Christmas last year. I dehydrated my leftover garlic from last year in it, since I already harvested this years haul. I did it in the garage, per advice from YouTube—great call! I can still smell the garlic where i have it stored. I might try soaking the plastic parts in baking soda to get the garlic-ness out of it! But it worked great!JAM23 wrote:This little scooter is so cool Scorpio Rising! I may need one of these in my future for sure! What type of dehydrator are you using? I do not own one currently, but after reading some of these threads, I am thinking it might be nice thing to have on hand.
Yesterday, I saw the first butternut squash developing. They are babies, but I this is the first year that I am trying winter squash. I am so excited! Summer squash is still coming along and I should be ready to pick some in a few days. Hoping for some rain today!
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
sanderson likes this post
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
Location : Ada, Ohio
sanderson likes this post
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
Scorpio Rising likes this post
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
My tomatillos and jalapenos have gone crazy and a canned 8 pints of salsa verde and 5 half pints of of cowboy candy. Just took a peek at the garden and hauled in another huge bowl full of tomatillos! These will go into the freezer tomorrow for soup in the winter.
I have some hot peppers fermenting for hot sauce and more mild peppers fermenting for a milder hot sauce (first time I am doing this)! I have more peppers than I honestly know what to with. Maybe tomorrow I will roasted them and freeze them.
Made a few pints of refrigerator pickles today as well and have 4 more cucumbers sitting on the table! I love it, but man......spent all day in the kitchen!
However my squash this summer has been very underwhelming. Sad.
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23 wrote:I haven't planted anything for the fall yet either because it's been hot, humid and rainy here for the last few days.
Yes, it has been very hot an humid here as well. Temps in the mid-90's, with heat indexes in the low-100's, and spotty showers that make it feel like a steam room. I have only been able to work the gardens in early morning, or late evening, when the air is tolerable. But, my calendar says I have to keep planting for the fall crops. This evening I was watering the seeds I planted last week and noticed that the radish seeds are germinating. Can't wait for a few fresh radishes.

"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
My goals today are to pull my Oxheart Carrots (hopefully they are ready); pull the spent bush beans and plant my fall radishes, spinach, beets, lettuce, and mache. I have about 55 days left until my first frost (this depends on what website you check) so hopefully that will give everything enough time to grow.
Thanks SR and OG for keeping me on my toes!
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23 wrote:My goals today are to pull my Oxheart Carrots (hopefully they are ready); pull the spent bush beans
Something to give thought to for future activities is to cut the plants off at the soil level, and leave the roots in the soil to decompose instead of pulling the plants out. Leaving the roots in the soil not only continues to feed the microbial life, but the decaying roots open channels for air an water to move through the soil. The decaying roots also return return carbon to the soil.
I leave all plant roots in the soil except for a plant that may be diseased, which very seldom happens.
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022
I have done that for several years and it does help conserve the MM too.JAM23 wrote:Thanks OG! I will apply that today with the bush beans.
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8608
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Re: N&C Midwest—August 2022

OG- I think you were right about the minute pirate bugs. I got stung 3 times today by something! OUCH!
Pulled these Oxheart carrots. They probably could have been larger, BUT for my first try, I am pretty pleased with the results! Gonna roast them with some beets tomorrow night for dinner!

JAM23- Posts : 198
Join date : 2021-01-01
Location : Illinois; Zone5b
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