RobertHively
a year ago
I'm a pro at getting poison ivy and poison oak. I even managed to get it last February. There was a vine of it wrapped around a cherry tree I cut up into logs.

I knew I was going to get it, but worked anyway. Before I moved up here I'd get it from along the banks of a couple rivers I wade fished. I used to stream fish for smallmouth bass quite a bit...

I have been using "Tecnu" brand poison ivy scrub for years.

https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/25308/45701/tecnu-extreme-poison-ivy-scrub?V=8&msclkid=f5d74b616b19155746ed2d10c1034210 

It does a great job at removing the oils and drying poison ivy out. Cortaid used to make a similar product but I think they discontinued it.

I have a lot of dried out poison ivy on my arms and legs right now. It looks bad, but I never itch if I use the scrub once or twice a day. I pack it on all of my camping trips just incase...

I also use the Tecnu spray.

I went down to an uncleared portion of my creek, wearing shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, and dug up 9 shrubs/trees. So I kinda figured I'd get da ivy. I had planned to get them last winter but never got around to it.

I'll give dawn soap a try next time. I'm always open to new remedies, because I'm sure I'll get it again before the year is over.

Oh, and both sides of my face match up again. No more Mickey Rourke look. It was trendy, but didn't last.

RobertHively
a year ago

Robert, you sound like someone out of a movie lol. Best of luck getting through the rest of the season with no mishaps.

jeebling wrote:



Well I've been called a character a time or two.

This place is out of a movie... Really nice land once we worked on it for a couple yrs.
RayR
a year ago

^

Our lettuce isn't doing that great. What's come up is growing ok, but most of the seed we put down didn't even start to grow. IDK why...

We got plenty of squash and zucchini though. Picked more of it this evening. We've harvested 48 of them so far.

I had a trash bag 3/4 of the way filled up with em today. Had the bag slung over my back. Lol

We're eating a lot of it, freezing some, giving away some and wife found a cold canned pickled zucchini recipe. She cut the zucchini into spears...

RobertHively wrote:



Lettuce seed needs cool temps, exposure to light, and of course, moisture to germinate. I typically start lettuce indoors in my basement grow area as transplants in April here. Don't bury lettuce seeds in the soil, it's best to start germinating the seeds by laying them on top of moist soil where they will see the light. When the seed germinates, that initial little root radical will drill down into the soil an away it goes. I transplant most of the Looseleaf and Butterhead cut and come again varieties into containers and grow bags, even alongside tomato and pepper transplants at the edge of the containers. Lettuce has shallow roots, so they don't compete much with deep-rooting plants. I'll plant all the extra transplants into the regular garden too, especially later varieties like romaine, but the others grow faster in containers for me and you don't get as many pests and critters munching on the leaves.
Whatever I have growing now will keep us with a good supply of lettuce through early-mid July. With the heat of the summer, they will eventually want to bolt, flower, and go to seed. That's fine, I keep some going so I can collect seed for next year.
I'll start the process over again in early August for a fall crop.


frankj1
a year ago

^

Our lettuce isn't doing that great. What's come up is growing ok, but most of the seed we put down didn't even start to grow. IDK why...

We got plenty of squash and zucchini though. Picked more of it this evening. We've harvested 48 of them so far.

I had a trash bag 3/4 of the way filled up with em today. Had the bag slung over my back. Lol

We're eating a lot of it, freezing some, giving away some and wife found a cold canned pickled zucchini recipe. She cut the zucchini into spears...

RobertHively wrote:


spiralize some zukes and use instead of pasta.
Jakethesnake86
a year ago
Good info on the lettuce ray. I’ve never grown much but when I did I planted mine in the fall with broccoli and turnips. End of august early September. They can take a little frost I believe? I know the broccoli and cabbage /turnips can take several light frosts without any real damage. So yeah you might just be a little late for an early spring lettuce.

I’d try some more seeds end of august ish
I’m the snake
frankj1
a year ago
my garden: Where vegetables go to die.
RayR
a year ago

Good info on the lettuce ray. I’ve never grown much but when I did I planted mine in the fall with broccoli and turnips. End of august early September. They can take a little frost I believe? I know the broccoli and cabbage /turnips can take several light frosts without any real damage. So yeah you might just be a little late for an early spring lettuce.

I’d try some more seeds end of august ish

Jakethesnake86 wrote:



Yes, lettuce can take a light frost.
Timing is the big thing with lettuce as with other veggies, as you know.
Lettuce doesn't have a lot of pest or disease pressures around here anyway. Slugs can be a problem on inground plants if you have a lot of those suckers around. Sluggo (iron phosphate) is the simple solution for that. I've done beer traps in the past too.

I'm in Zone 6 here in Western NY, so what I do is based on the climate here.
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/map-downloads 

Black Thumb Frankie, you are in Zone 6 too in Massachusetts.

jeebling
a year ago
I don’t have a garden this year due to medical aggravation. Last couple of years I sprinkled some seeds to see what would come up. The tender sprouts endured light frost no problem. The spinach and Romaine almost seemed to thrive on it. The summer sun wiped them out. I let them bolt and wither. The Romain now volunteers in Spring and Fall. Healthy, robust volunteers at that. I had hoped my pole beans and field peas would volunteer but they didn’t. Fresh tender Lima beans are the best! Yummo!
RobertHively
a year ago

Garden watered. Squash/zucchini picked. Got 5 banana peppers today as well.

Creek is getting low--never seen it run dry though. Have a nice deep area around main garden, but it's a shoal near where the corn plot is located.

It's really low there, so I moved a damn boulder and created a small little space for the hose and filter to fit right in its footprint. Added a couple small rocks on the hose for stability and was good to go.

Ray, thanks for the info. I copied and pasted it to my email and will add to my notes later. Wife and I still need to learn when to plant different vegetables. We know a few things but have a lot to learn.

Frank, thanks for the suggestion. Hadn't thought about trying that. I added a cheapo "spiralizer" to my Amazon cart. If we like zucchini prepared that way I'll get a nicer one when that one breaks.

Over and out.
BuckyB93
a year ago
My small deck garden is going good. Haven't really looked at it too much. Maybe once a week to make sure they still have water for the self watering thingy I put in. It's working like a charm. It wouldn't work for a real garden but for the deck garden it works well. Tomatoes are still popping flowers. I'm sure some that I saw last week have already pollinated and started to make fruit but didn't look at them too closely. Peppers still going strong and flowering. Noticed a baby sweet pepper about the size of a golf ball on one. Cukes, pole beans, and peas climbing up the lattice nicely.

Plenty of green growth. Looking forward to the flowers to start popping on the cukes, peas, and beans and the fruit to start growing.

Herbs are growing nicely too. Take a pinch here and there off of the plants when the recipe that I'm cooking calls for it. I might have to get an end table thingy when the season ends and bring them in to keep them going. I like cooking with fresh herbs when radially available.

Reading above, now I'm kicking myself for not growing some lettuce. I still have a couple unused grow bags and a couple bags of soil left. Maybe starting a container of a random variety of leaf lettuce might be on the to do list this weekend.
RobertHively
a year ago

If you’re sure you’ve been in poison ivy. Get to the shower and use dawn dish soap. It’s very good at getting the oil off. If you get the oil off in time you will not get the rash. Scrub yourself with a washcloth like you’re trying to sand a nice piece of furniture. It actually works. I used to do a lot of chainsawing and poison is pretty well the normal. If I got home relatively soon and used the dawn it nearly eliminated any rash. I get poison pretty bad so I am pretty damn good at IDing those suckers. Dawn is the best stuff I’ve found but you’ve gotta get the oil off as soon as possible

Jakethesnake86 wrote:



This evening I weedeated an area along the creek where I know there was poison ivy.

I walked back to the house, got in the shower and scrubbed with a chit load of dawn soap. Lol
RobertHively
a year ago
We have picked 72 zucchini and squash in 7 days.

Going to pick more this evening. It's a lot of food, a lot of the same food.

We've given around 20 to three different people.

Wife has frozen it, shredded it and canned it. Still waiting on my spiraliza.

She cut it into spears and cold canned pickled it. They taste great.
jeebling
a year ago

We have picked 72 zucchini and squash in 7 days.

Going to pick more this evening. It's a lot of food, a lot of the same food.

We've given around 20 to three different people.

Wife has frozen it, shredded it and canned it. Still waiting on my spiraliza.

She cut it into spears and cold canned pickled it. They taste great.

RobertHively wrote:



I love zucchini and yellow baked in tomato sauce with cheese and it freezes very well. But freezer space may be at a premium for you. Great job on your homestead, Robert. You are an inspiration.
RobertHively
a year ago
^

Thanks Jeebs. I appreciate you saying that.

We've been eating it that way. Love it. Didn't even think about making a bunch of it and freezing it.

That's a good idea Jeebs--we just bought a deep freeze last month in preparation for all of that corn.
Jakethesnake86
a year ago
Let us know if the dawn protected you Robert.

Squash sounds really good right about now. I chop mine up with onions and go low and slow with some butter (enough to keep it from sticking). Love it that way. Also grew up flouring it and frying it crisp and having it on sandwiches. Makes a good lunch when you want something light
I’m the snake
jeebling
a year ago

^

Thanks Jeebs. I appreciate you saying that.

We've been eating it that way. Love it. Didn't even think about making a bunch of it and freezing it.

That's a good idea Jeebs--we just bought a deep freeze last month in preparation for all of that corn.

RobertHively wrote:



😎
RobertHively
a year ago

Let us know if the dawn protected you Robert.

Squash sounds really good right about now. I chop mine up with onions and go low and slow with some butter (enough to keep it from sticking). Love it that way. Also grew up flouring it and frying it crisp and having it on sandwiches. Makes a good lunch when you want something light

Jakethesnake86 wrote:



I didnt get any poison ivy, but I also wasn't wearing a cut off t-shirt and shorts when I weedeated.

I'm sure the blue jeans, long sleeved shirt, leather gloves and FOX racing goggles helped as well. Lol

Didn't think about that aspect of it when I posted last night.

Either way I escaped the ivy...this time.
RobertHively
a year ago
^

I forgot to mention, we love fried zucchini and eggplant.

Wife made fried zucchini last Saturday. She makes some kinda spicy ranch dip too. Tasty.

RayR
a year ago

^

I forgot to mention, we love fried zucchini and eggplant.

Wife made fried zucchini last Saturday. She makes some kinda spicy ranch dip too. Tasty.

RobertHively wrote:



Ditto here. Breaded and fried especially. I love eggplant parmesan done that way.
RobertHively
a year ago
^

Yep. Not the most healthy meal, but delicious.
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