Oh my! bigggg oooops. I had a friend in Juneau who said their weather was better than mine. But I don't know much about Alaska except I often see mosquitoes that rival ours, and that's sayin' somethin'
Mosquitos are a plague here in the summer. Juneau is a different world from the rest of Alaska. Mainland Alaska calls the southeast part of the state the "Banana Belt", as the weather there is closer to Seattle than Alaska. Politics there are very liberal as well, while the remainder is fairly conservative. The Bush, however, votes mainly Democratic but they think conservative--a bit like the "Solid South" used to before Reagan.
My horseradish roots arrived. There were two larger chunks and a small piece. I planted them all in a large planter and waiting to see if they sprout or not. I also took one of the mullein plants and transplanted it to the front yard because they are getting large in the container. It is does okay there, I will transplant more of them and some of the new comfrey that is coming up as well. I was reading that people not only make mullein tea, but they smoke it as well, to help clear out the lungs. When we have large enough plants to try doing this, I will make some of the tea, and thinking about borrowing one of Bobby’s pipes and trying smoking some of it. Maybe if I mix in some mint, it will have a nice menthol flavor. Because of the CHF, I am always at least a little congested in my lungs, so I am hoping that the mullein might help.
Mullein is a nice mild tasting tea, from personal experience. Do you get pineapple weed there? Very short ferny leafed plant. When you crush it it smells of pineapple, Fun tea.
Be sure to plant your horseradish where you can mow around or otherwise keep it contained. Many folks find it invasive, but I have never found it so. Some people put it into a large pot and treat it somewhat like mint.
I started the horseradish root in a container pot, and once I saw that it was coming up, we moved it into one of the tire planters, and that should be its permanent home, assuming that it grows well there. I tasted a nibble of the baby leaves, and it definitely has that horseradish peppery flavor.
Gardening is over for this year. Wife has put all our canning and drying stuff away today, and we are buttoning down for winter. Parsnips, Brussels sprouts, leek and a few cabbages are left out there, but it has been too wet to do any kind of garden prep for next year. It dawned on me today that chickens might like alfalfa. I was cutting firewood today and as I passed my little decades-old patch of alfalfa the thought occurred to me, I was right...they do. We experimented with alfalfa when we first moved here, as regular perennial alfalfa does not generally grow here. I grew the annual type for a few years, but it just wasn't worthwhile. I tried the traditional perennial type and a few plants survived from the small patch I planted. They have been growing ever since for over 20 years now. It doesn't spread although it seems to reseed and I have just allowed it to grow year after year. Some people up here have asked us for seeds form our plants, but I am not interested at this point. The chickens seem to love it, so it will now go to some use. It was 28 F. here this morning.
On youtube I saw where people were supplementing chicken feed, mostly corn, with stinging nettle leaves ground up, for a vitamin supplement. My sheep are climbing the fences stripping the tall nettle stalks they can find. I never noticed that before but we didn't have it where the sheep could find it before either. Getting ready for winter? I am picking the last of the apples and pears this week. I can't wait for the brussel sprouts but they can wait till last. Picked my first pumpkin. It is a heritage variety and they did so well I will plant the seeds next year. Maybe somewhere other than the main garden because they take up so much space.
When I first got my garden in, I was looking at sewing alfalfa to overwinter and then plow under in the spring for the nitrogen, but it was too daggone pricey.
I think that was my thought at the time too. We had goats and sheep then, but I only planted it in a raised bed as an experiment to see if I could do it here. I don't recall thinking the seed was that bad, but I was only planting a small amount.
The moose came through.... I was going to harvest my buckwheat this morning, but a cow and calf moose have beaten me to it and it is completely gone. We had some unprotected sorrel and that is completely gone as well. A number of my wife's flowers that were protected from the weather under the deck cover are also gone and the pots are strewn about. Anger and sadness both....
Yup. I don't have moose but we sure have deer that make a mess. I even found one on my deck eating my ornamentals. But today I harvested brussel sprouts and they were better than last year. I love them and maybe the deer don't. Last year small critters ruined them. We had frost so the tomatoes are done. The brussel sprouts and pumpkins are the end. We can't find many potatoes, though. Not sure what would take them.
Our potato crop was less than expected too, but we attributed it to the wacky weather we had this year. Moose will take any of the Cole crops including Brussels sprouts. They are particularly deadly on cabbage and will destroy an entire crop in just one night. Think of them like deer the size of a cow or steer.
I have to transplant the banana trees and put them in the greenhouse which hubby has to cover the front and back with new vinal 'spl'.