TOR Victory Gardens

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Everyone please let’s keep this thread on topic, no bs, jokes, memes, etc. that’s what BS thread is for...

DE815969-6762-462C-94C6-ABCC9488B590.jpeg


During any type of national or global crisis, history proves that food shortages erupt and shelves go empty. Food security will also be a significant problem for the U.S. in the next 30 years, our politicians are not acting or passing laws to stop the future shortages, while lobbyist continue padding their accounts. Many foreign business individuals, companies and countries are buying up farms here the United States. One example of this is right in my backyard, Texas has the lead in foreign bought agricultural lands/farms in ‘Merica. Don’t think for a minute that these foreign enterprises are here to make and sell the goods back to us, nope, notta, zilch, a lot of these agricultural products are being exported back to foreign countries. As more and more of America’s farms get bought, food cost increases, and the demand increases with population growth. So why not have your own Victory Garden, even if starts with a few raised beds, repurposed flower beds or grown in containers.

Interesting links;
Gardening for the Common Good

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/news/americas-patriotic-victory-gardens

Propaganda art for WWII Victory Gardens

Propaganda art for WWII Victory Gardens

Victory Gardens in World War II




Fast Forward to 46 seconds.

 
Last edited:

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Exactly two months ago on March 13, 2020, I started a new Victory Garden from ground up, its been 6 years since we moved, and I guess I hit the ground running with jobs, house and boys and got too busy to think about getting back into gardening. The only thing positive from the Covid19 outbreak, it got me back into gardening, because I didn’t have the access to fresh food. Every where this virus hit, the food supplies suffered and that gave me the motivation to start up again, which leads to why I started this new thread.


Why would I continue to call my garden a Victory Garden? I will not forget about those who served, fought and died for our country, and I’ll be dammed if I call it a Climate Garden that is currently being pushed by the Green Movement, Millennials, California tree huggin hippies and ultimately there is nothing better than eating a home grown mater, verses buying a tomato from H-E-B imported from Mexico.


I often tell the Laundry Fairy, with our next house, I don’t want any flower beds, because when I pull weeds, it only benefits ornamental plants and that means I can only look at the plant. I don’t want to look at the plant, I want to eat the plant or what the plant grows and not waste my time or energy on any plant/shrub that has no value to me.



PSA

“Statistically, gardeners live longer, and there are many potential reasons for this. They spend more time outside, get more natural vitamin D, and come in contact with the rich microorganisms found in soil. Dirt has benefits of its own and the simple act of getting our hands dirty can provide immune benefits.

Many people also report stress relief and better sleep from spending time outdoors gardening.”APRIL 4, 2020 — BY Katy Wells



Grocery prices surged 2.6 percent in April, accounting for 'largest monthly increase since February 1974'
 
Last edited:

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
"Suthnuhs"
Y’all enjoy, ya heuh!

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THE RULES

Southerners know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southerners know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick

Southerners know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southerners know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southerners know their religions:
Bapdiss
Methdiss
Football

Southerners know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

Southerners know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

Only a Southerner knows the difference between
a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you
don't "HAVE" them,
you "PITCH" them.

Only a Southerner knows how many
fish, collard greens,
turnip greens, peas, beans, etc.,
make up "a mess."

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of
"yonder."

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, as in: "Going to
town, be back directly."

Even Southern babies know that
"Gimme some sugar" is not a
request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty
little bowl
in the middle of the table.

All Southerners know exactly
when "by and by" is.
They might not use the term,
but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace
for a neighbor who's got trouble
is a plate of hot fried chicken
and a big bowl of cold potato salad.
If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis,
they also know to add a large banana puddin'!

Only Southerners grow up
knowing the difference between
"right near" and "a right far piece."
They also know that" just down the road"
can be 1 mile or 20.

Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between
a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as
a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

Only Southerners make friends
while standing in lines...
and when we're "in line"...
we talk to everybody!

Put 100 Southerners in a room
and half of them will discover
they're related, even if only by marriage.

In the South, y'all is singular,
and all y'all is plural.

Every Southerner knows that tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits,
and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast
food;
that scrambled eggs just ain't right without Tabasco,
and fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say,
"Well, I caught myself lookin',"
you know you are in the presence
of a genuine Southerner!

Only true Southerners say
"sweet tea" and "sweet milk."
Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar
and lots of it -- we do not like our
tea unsweetened.
"Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities
at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway.
You just say, "Bless her sweet little heart"... and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southernness:
Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the
morning. Bless your little heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding
all this Southern stuff...
bless your hearts, I hear they're fixin' to have classes
on Southernness as a second language!

Southern girls know men may come and go,
but friends are fah-evah!

There ain't no magazine named "Northern Living" for good reason. There
ain't nobody interested in livin' up north and
nobody would buy the magazine!

Now Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or wish they
hada been!
If you're a Northern transplant,
bless your little heart, fake it.
We know you got here as fast as you could.
 
Last edited:

tex

That's Mr Asshole to you
I have not grown anything to eat in a few years and like you I also used more time at home to plant some things. I also filled 3 planters with peppers and beans that in the past were used for colorful flowers.
 

Oswego

n00b
My berry patch has become a super helpful stress reliever. Actually gives me motivation to get out of bed so I can water everything before I go to work. Pre-berry patch I would hit snooze until my back was up against the wall time wise and I was almost late. Now I spring out of bed like I did when I was a kid with motivation and a good outlook on the day. When I get home I go outside to check on things and water again. Prior I would think of how "worn out" I was from working in a high stress situation. Now thats out the door. No time for that pity party or my stuff dies or doesn't thrive like it could. Sounds silly, but moral is key to a long life IMHO. I'm a negative sceptic by nature so anything I can do to help keep my mind off of stuff helps a ton. I knew this many years ago when I forst boguth and put in a bunch of plants, but I slowly got away from it and it showed. Not going to say Ive ever been depressed more than a day, but I can say Ive never met a depressed DIY gardener in all my years. Pretty sure my moms garden and her dog are the only reasons she's above the ground right now

Oh and not being able to find chocolate chips or any blueberries during the covid shut down for my pancakes is what started me thinking I can just grow my own. Then I decided to grow more than I needed and add some blackberries into the mix. They both freeze great and are almost superfoods...+ native to my region
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
My berry patch has become a super helpful stress reliever. Actually gives me motivation to get out of bed so I can water everything before I go to work. Pre-berry patch I would hit snooze until my back was up against the wall time wise and I was almost late. Now I spring out of bed like I did when I was a kid with motivation and a good outlook on the day. When I get home I go outside to check on things and water again. Prior I would think of how "worn out" I was from working in a high stress situation. Now thats out the door. No time for that pity party or my stuff dies or doesn't thrive like it could. Sounds silly, but moral is key to a long life IMHO. I'm a negative sceptic by nature so anything I can do to help keep my mind off of stuff helps a ton. I knew this many years ago when I forst boguth and put in a bunch of plants, but I slowly got away from it and it showed. Not going to say Ive ever been depressed more than a day, but I can say Ive never met a depressed DIY gardener in all my years. Pretty sure my moms garden and her dog are the only reasons she's above the ground right now

Oh and not being able to find chocolate chips or any blueberries during the covid shut down for my pancakes is what started me thinking I can just grow my own. Then I decided to grow more than I needed and add some blackberries into the mix. They both freeze great and are almost superfoods...+ native to my region

please tell me more about growing those... chocolate chips :D

More okra, cucumber and tomato seedings will be planted tomorrow and more seedling transfers to the Victory garden. I have a small portion of the garden that needs to be completed, I hoping to finish all that with drip irrigation tomorrow.

Pickins from this evening, ton more cucumbers will be picked over the next couple weeks.
B9CC908B-5C21-4454-B1A0-6F5EE1E05DC6.jpeg


22ACB64E-EC61-4A77-988C-AAAE9893F848.jpeg


From mature mater plants to seedings, every week for the past 7 weeks I throw down 5 jiffy type peat pods of more mater seeds. Some folks throw down a bunch of tomato plants at the same time in the Spring and you end up with a mess tomatoes at peak maturity, I like to space the age of the plants out, to have a continuous amount of maters, it also makes it easy for me to replace a plant that might end up suffering from disease or insects.
4AAD3B1E-4020-4660-BD92-9CE098A80909.jpeg


853AD2A6-1BD5-4535-9ECB-5A72375A69A7.jpeg


714D74ED-30D8-4DDE-A9B3-283FB9F315C8.jpeg

4EA26B49-9E79-4650-A26B-A3D154D420C8.jpeg
191FB2B9-9D5D-4AAD-B1D1-A5411DA8A884.jpeg

927E0B5E-43AB-4F50-8DFE-5559B2A7718C.jpeg


These are rows that I need to finish and put in another 4-5 more mater plants for total 35iirc
CA607EE4-C754-42F5-BDB8-AC3775A442AD.jpeg
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Picked this up for $10 from a nextdoor neighbor, it needs a new standard clock for kits of homemade projects. It looks like 6mm or 8mm double wall greenhouse panel, full of seeds, WTH. I probably spent more money of stupider stuff before, but I thought it was cool, lol
81F13839-D27A-4EBA-8769-E7470C9FFA4B.jpeg
 

Oswego

n00b
please tell me more about growing those... chocolate chips :D

More okra, cucumber and tomato seedings will be planted tomorrow and more seedling transfers to the Victory garden. I have a small portion of the garden that needs to be completed, I hoping to finish all that with drip irrigation tomorrow.

Pickins from this evening, ton more cucumbers will be picked over the next couple weeks.


From mature mater plants to seedings, every week for the past 7 weeks I throw down 5 jiffy type peat pods of more mater seeds. Some folks throw down a bunch of tomato plants at the same time in the Spring and you end up with a mess tomatoes at peak maturity, I like to space the age of the plants out, to have a continuous amount of maters, it also makes it easy for me to replace a plant that might end up suffering from disease or insects.


These are rows that I need to finish and put in another 4-5 more mater plants for total 35iirc View attachment 23990

I'm growing chocolate cows - thats how you get it right? lol

I spread out my blueberries the same as your maters. Well, kinda different (annual vs perennial). I got 5 early/1 mid/5 late flowering varieties so Ill get a bunch early and late.

You ain't messing around - I'm thinking small garden - those are some long rows you got there.

Something keeps attacking my ground and Im starting to think racoon not squirrels. Came home yesterday to a ton of dug up dirt in my beds. Something is digging up and going after my tree roots now that I exposed some. I hope whatever it is isn't also pulling up and eating all my bulbs. I decided not to follow my plan I laid out so when I planted them I'm not 100% certain where they are. I just hope it's a squirrel burring his nutz. Need a trail cam, but I'm too cheap. Just let nature take it;s course at this point because there is really nothing I can do that I would pay to do. Already got a 6' fence and this is all bulbs and wildgrass so it's not like it's food for me.
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Freedom Friday includes making sure you take care of those Victory Garden pests.

D4C1A087-8FDE-4CB8-88D5-67E0DF27E0CB.jpeg
 

Oswego

n00b
Nazi New Jersey thinks differently lol

Think I could modify a couple of these so they look non-de script to the public eye should someone decide to put their head over my 6' fence. That said - this will be the last talk of this because laws suck in NJ

CHOKER TRAP WOODEN SQUIRREL TRAP

got good reviews lol

upload_2020-5-15_9-50-48.png
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
How did Ricky the Racoon take a nap? Fishing weight or spring loaded necklace?

Surf rod, casting speed was obviously below the sound barrier using a small lead weight.
 

Anathollo

Armorall is my choice of lube
Staff member

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
F9DAB40C-E4A9-45ED-BCE1-EBA275776D14.jpeg


With the additional rain, the 6 cucumber plants that I have started cranking out more fruit.

First time canning, decided on Bread N Butter pickles, never helped mom or grandma... From what I heard from elders, not 100% sure about the B n B history, but I was told years before WWII started, extra produce was canned and some families lacked meat, so they would butter bread and add pickles for their sandwich, the pickle recipe got tweak(added sugar) over the years to have a sweet pickle instead of eating a sour sandwich.
The history and mystery of America’s long-lost pickle sandwich


The Laundry Fairy took off to help take of her Aunt this afternoon and left me in charge :confused:. So I took a few pictures. Complete experiment wether I followed instructions correctly lol so if the buttons pop inward during the cooling process, those jars go in the pantry, and if the button doesn’t pop, they go in the fridge. (While writing this, I have heard a few pops :aaaaa:).
Positives, the Break even cost per jar vs store bought jar on B n B pickles canning starts after you you fill and seal each jar, so the cost of the jar/ingredients essentially pays for itself. Estimated 18 month shelf life and Jars and rings are reusable.
Cons, canning is time consuming, and best to replace tops after each use, having sterile jars, rings, lids and utensils etc. is critical.
01D0CBC5-887F-4D79-A1DE-8DC1C5F9CCB8.jpeg

D23991C4-0901-448F-8CF5-C26A619AFB30.jpeg
8BF46DAA-1314-4D4B-A5CE-50F7D5F0A564.jpeg
5BD14510-A422-45C8-9863-36B054292CFD.jpeg
DF3D7C3B-7A46-4119-A5FC-5A920042E9E4.jpeg






Looking to add 3 inline fertilizer injectors straight off the water timer, with built in by passes using shut off valves but only using 1 reservoir tank for organic liquid fertilizer like worm tea, fish & seaweed etc. same or similar products that I’m currently looking at, the filters determine water to fertilizer ratio.
C76BA802-9B63-4C5E-A85C-50829B745298.jpeg
9F7CFEA0-2FFA-4B36-A970-B6284B23206E.jpeg


Its nice to have fresh ingredients when cooking
12C3B788-BCE0-419F-B6CE-2FD2DE354D70.jpeg



Edit Update: all 7 jars had their inward pop:banana: , took about 1 to 1.5 hours after bringing them out of the boil bath.
 
Last edited:

tex

That's Mr Asshole to you
Nicely done. Love bread n butter pickles. I have a jar that are a little spicy from some Thai chilies being added.
I am planning to can cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, salsa and okra.
I grew up with my mom making pickles, jams, and tomato sauce so plan to get her assistance when I am ready.
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Nicely done. Love bread n butter pickles. I have a jar that are a little spicy from some Thai chilies being added.
I am planning to can cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, salsa and okra.
I grew up with my mom making pickles, jams, and tomato sauce so plan to get her assistance when I am ready.

thanks. I recently staked up a 6 x 6 chain link gate and made another cucumber bed, I counted 18 seedings this evening, so in < 60 days, I will have a bunch more cucumbers/pickles.
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Looks like the vine borer(moth) found my zucchini plants, the moths leave larvae under the leaves and on stems, and when the larvae hatch, they bore through the main stalks and death of the plant like this happens in less than a day. Apply twice a week, DE and using a soapy water spray mixture on the leaves and stems help keep the plants with more protection from these moths.
1B9B24A2-0007-42D1-94F5-394DAB8CAC95.jpeg
F4A1BA3B-4C4C-48F8-BD61-315FE0025ED2.jpeg


what appears to be similar to an orange sponge like substance is obvious signs of the vine borers at work.
8E4D7205-8BA2-42F6-823F-37CA82D2DD89.jpeg


Dusted down the other plants with DE, I will probably lose more plants, the vine borers/moths are relentless.
F54F8625-3703-4170-8130-9896A071881D.jpeg


Pulled the plant, dusted DE and discarded the plant over an ant bed, they will eat every one of the larvae, about the only thing their good for.
90F5823C-6975-49F6-B578-E7D4B1CF7D5E.jpeg
 
Top