Glenda, I feel pretty good, but I have no stamina. I am dealing with 3 major health issues, so I doubt that I will be the same again, but I have really have no complaints. Madge and I are just growing old together, and for the most part, we are enjoying all of it. It is getting harder to care for one another, but that is the way life is.

Madge and I have discussed moving to an apartment, but she says, " you know you wont be happy there". I think that as long as we are together, we will be as happy as the situation will allow. I will miss gardening, but we all stop gardening at some point.

I tried to start a thread this morning, but it disappeared for some reason when I start a thread from my phone it never shows up so I was going to wait and hope someone else started it. Thank you. Sugars snap peas and calendula have slowed down dramatically because the pollinators are not there right now, this cold we’ve had the last few weeks. But the carrots brassicas all that are still holding on. I got my Roselle. Finally completely cleared out of the garden and the garden looks so bare. Amazing how much space those took up. I really hope none of them try to recede in the garden because they will have to be relocated next year.Larium really sorry to hear about your health declining. You still have lots of knowledge and wisdom to share whether you are gardening or not.

Glenda, thanks for starting the thread.

It's a beautiful day here, 74 degrees, and trying to rain.

This is the first time I have been to the garden in several days, but it looks okay for this time of the year. I have more aphids than I want, but it has been much worse.

I pulled a radish, I am not sure if it is a White Iclcle, or a Daikon, it looks like a Daikon, but it was where the White Icicle should have been. I sliced it, and it taste good so I guess that it does not matter.

I reached down and got a hand full of carrots, they are much too thick. I am thinking that if I thin the carrots they may still produce a few carrots, if not, I can still use them to keep my gophers fat this winter.

The Curly leaf mustard is the best looking plants (shown just above my hand ) in my garden, other than onions.

Jennifer I am glad that your project is over. I know how that feels. I am glad markets are over for now. It was a bit of a crunch. I still need to unload the car clean it out and reload for Christmas.
I am going to make jelly and spaghetti sauce yet for gifts. I have over 5 gallons of tomatoes in the freezer. I think I am going to get my wb canner out of shed to cook these in. I will can the tomato juice as well. I see lots of you tubers drain the tomato juice to the sink. What a waste. It makes a great addition to cook rice or beans. With so many tomatoes I will probably have lots of juice. Larry I saw a picture on fb. You and Madge look good.

Thanks, Kim, that is about all of the family I have on my side, but I have a large wonderful family on Madge's side. We will have another Christmas the Sat. after Christmas, that Christmas will be with Madge's family.

I just love family get together and sometimes I feel we don’t do enough, especially after last year

I did not even get dressed today, but I did go in and check the sweet potato roots that I stuck in a flat of potting soil on my seed starting shelf, some of them are sprouting. I expect to have a potted plant for 2 of my grand daughters. The purple color of these sweet potatoes doesn't turn me on, but they make pretty plants, and I have plenty of time to grow a lot of plants. I will have to shut my operation down and vacate the center bedroom for up to a week around Christmas so company can use the room, but that will be no problem.

I should have plenty purple sweet potato plants for the grand daughters before planting time.

I also went out to south garden, it sure needs weeding, but will have to wait, too much going on. My beets don't look so good.

I've been busy butchering a big pig. I'll slice the bacon and ham this weekend after they are done brining. I picked my first broccoli and cauliflower from the greenhouse. It's cheddar variety cauliflower. First time growing it.

Picked two of the ponderosa lemons today.

And a few late figs

Robert, I am very impressed. I had to look up Ponderosa Lemon and Cheddar cauliflower both, I had never heard of either. and I love all kinds of citrus, you are still King!

Robert that is amazing I like forward to the day when I can grow those.

Well, I ordered three bundles of onions from Dixondale. They will arrive the first or second week of January. My seeds haven’t come up and I don’t want to take a chance on not having big onions next year. I ordered two red and one 1015.

Make that four bundles of onions I just ordered. I decided I needed two of the 1015 and so they added that on for me I’m not taking my chance this year with the farm store onion bundles even though they’re Dixondale seems like they’ve been sitting there too long and that hot dry store Last year I had half the success I should have. most of the onions were just little dry shriveled up things so I wanted fresh onions and they’re shipping them today. So I will have them next week to start planting.

It is a little early for me to start planting, but if I had Dixondale available at a decent price I would buy them. I am pretty well stuck with Bonnie. I can sometimes find Dixondale at Atwoods in Fort Smith.. This brings up another question, how far do I have to drive over into Oklahoma to find Dixondale on the plant racks? Gone are the days I use to pick up what use to look like Dixondake seconds on display at the mom and pop stores along hwy 71 between Fort Smith and Dequeen for $1.50 to $2.00 a bundle. I had very good luck with rhose onions.

Larry your best bet would be to order Dixondale online if you can't find them any further over than Poteau.

https://dixondalefarms.com/product-category/onion-plants/

I'm lucky that my local feed store gets in crates of Dixondale around the middle of January

but that's around the OKC area.

Otherwise I would have to order them or be stuck with Bonnie from Lowes or where ever.

Rick

Rick, that all sounds good, but I am just going by Twin City Produce today and pick up a bag of onions. I can buy the onions for 1 dollar to a dollar fifty a pound, or $30.00 for a fifty pound bag. I like home grown onions, but my health is sliding, and I just don't feel like working as much as I use to, some things I will have to cut back on.

Dixondale onions are a little expensive at $16 a bundle but I'm sure my feed store cuts a deal with them for a discount on all the crates they get in. Then they sell them for around $3.99 a bundle.

Rick

Yes, the same deal is available to everybody. If you buy a crate onions you get a very good deal. The problem is the only place you can get Dixondale near me. They are already dried out by time you get them. I got four bundles for $36 I think.

I do think ordering from Dixondale gets you much fresher onions. I only order 3 bundles a year and they're about $10 a bundle when ordering 3. IF you have someone near you who also wants to order onions, it's good to go in together to get the best deal. But that's not really happened for me. DIfferent people like to be in control of their own ordering and/or order at different times. I do remember a group here that used to go in together to get the best deals.

It is a splurge, but one I'll do for as long as I can.

Kim, I meant to tell you on messenger, that I can share any herb seed that I have with you. I don't need a lot of each variety. I don't have my list with me at work, but I can check it later and message you.. I'm happy to mail them to you.

Oh, I can do that too. I will get in my seed stash and make a list and we can swap seeds for sure. Well, I broke down and ordered those onions today and guess what…….. my seeds came up. Now I will say that most of the onion seeds I planted are not short date onions so I really don’t know what to expect from them. I can’t cancel my order so I will have lots of onions.

I bought 3 different kinds of onions today while in Ft. Smith, I just bought a few of each kind @ .99 to1.49 a pound so we could try them. Around here I have to pay over $6.00 for a bundle of Bonnie onion plants, if I could find Dixondale at $3.99 a bundle, I would think I had won the jack pot.

I want to order some Potato onions, I have no idea what they are, but if they grow as well as the walking onions, and the Bunching/multiplying onions, you can have onions from now on.

Sounds good, Kim. I'm home now finally, but it's dark and I'm tired and want to sit for a bit before bed. (Ethan comes in tomorrow so I really should be getting some stuff done because I have to work tomorrow, but I'm so tired right now.)

I'll get that list later. I might have stuff that you already have, tho. Would you be interested in butterfly peas? It makes a pretty tea.

I have St. John's Wort seed too.

Sorry. I'm not making sense.

Hope you're all doing well this evening.

Jennifer that sounds good. I’m busy too for the next few days with Christmas and all and neither one of us need to plant until January so we will get together our lists when we can. Sometime before planting season. And I will let you know also what I’m going to order so that if there’s any of that stuff because I am ordering from Johnnie‘s and those are big packages. I do know that I have basil that is mixed seed of Genevieve purpleround globe, lemon and possibly tie basil. And I will have garlic chives, of course.

https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/how-to-grow-potato-onions-a-growing-guide?srsltid=AfmBOoq3Mv_8tRk5haZK4elnq9ZfU0QAGWUVErWOaubx0snlTu-Q-O66

I grew them once, but then I quit growing onions because they took up so much space in the spring garden. I think they were acceptable. I'm not understanding how they're perennial however. But that would be nice. Mine made a circle of bulbs around the main bulb. 4 or 5 of them. I guess you leave the main bulb and harvest the outer ring, which were above ground by the way. I planted them with the garlic.

I know I put hugs and kisses on the end of that. Wonder where it went.

Amy, thanks for posting the potato onion link. I don't know the proper way to grow onions or garlic, but I use many of them sort of like a "trash' plant. Many of my onion and garlic plants, I will just clean out a spot in the row large enough to plant my tomato or okra plants. I have been taking my walking and bunching onions and cutting about 3/4" to 1 1/2" off of the bottom and replanting at harvest. The small green tops are used as green onions, the larger diameter tops are cut and frozen to be used in cooking, the roots and cull tops are used as mulch, and tilled back into the soil later. I really need to work on my curing and storage of onion bulbs. If I am to have onions all year long, I have to rely on walking, and/or bunching onions to fill the void.

Kim and HJ, let me know what seeds you're looking for. I'm on a mission to clean up the seed hoard and would be happy to share.

Bruce usually orders from Dixon dale and has offered to organize a bulk order in the past. Otherwise I'm stuck with whatever Lowes has when I manage to get by.

Jen, I have tried to organize an onion order several years, but everybody plants at different times and didn’t need them as early as I need them. I usually plant the first or second week of January. So I just ordered and then my onions that are in my containers decided to sprout and so I have lots of onions this year. I don’t know if I said this, but I did find out that most of the onions that I ordered seed for I didn’t check because they were half off so I got them really cheap but they’re mostly long day onions so may or may not bulb up for me here in Texas. As far as seeds, I am doing a lot of herbs this year and some of the traditional I will just buy some plants, but I would like to winter sow most of my herbs. I tested my basil last year and got good germination so I’m good with the different basil, except for lemon. I would specifically like to have more lemon and I do not know what will come up with my basil because it is a mixed blend. I would also like to try the lime at some point. I also need to order strawberri plants, but I’m not sure when I’m supposed to order those. Many of my resources say they ship in March. I am going to be doing lots of farmer markets next year and I need bunches of onions and lots of herbs for my herb blends. That will greatly increase my profit.

And Jennifer yes to butterfly peas. I love that tea