Mastodawn

Gigi 🍄‍🟫Aug 20, 2025

Gardening things I learned (or remembered to do) this year:

1. Cut the fucking raspberry canes while I can still see the difference between this year's and next year's.

Most of my potted raspberries are single bearing (although I did just acquire a variety that weirdly fruits on the first year's canes and twice on second years canes). Despite this, I always forget until the new growth has turned woody. 🤦🏾‍♀️

2. Pin strawberry runners with paperclips!

I kept trying to use those cloche staples that are way too long for the little pots I wanted to start the runners in.

I know there are more things, but I got up early and I can't think of them right now. Will make it a thread.

[Edited to fix typo.]
#Gardening #ContainerGardening #GrowYourOwn #GigiGarden

Show thread

Gigi 🍄‍🟫

2/🧵

Getting a jump on seed saving.

My aim this year is to properly label every seed that I want to save or share, so that I'm not left with little jars of things at the start of next year thinking, "Well this is either this, or that, or maybe that."

And, of course, ending up with stakes that say "unknown X" or "mystery Y", or even "forgotten Z".

💡 I've also learned not to write directly on the plastic packages, even with a sharpie, because some of those letters are going to vanish, if not the whole name.

And that is why I am using blue masking tape as my labelling medium.

For items that it has become clear that the name I had for it is not accurate, I'm planning to describe the produce. For instance, image 4 is NOT a Mr Stripey tomato.
(It SEEMED reasonable at the time: it's stripey, and it's a tomato. But it is a green tomato when ripe, and Mr Stripey is supposed to be yellow and red. And also way larger than this variety.)

And yes, those are single serving yogurt cups that I'm sorting my seeds into. I reuse a lot of things; whether it's plastic tubs for lining my hanging plant pots or as drip trays for other parts, or chopsticks as stakes for dwarf tomatoes, or even bottle caps for holding the plant pots above the bottom of the drip trays, there are a lot of food products that can be reused.

Anyway, back to work!

#GardeningWithAnarchists #gardening #ContainerGardening #GrowYourOwn #GigiGarden

Show thread

Gigi 🍄‍🟫Aug 25, 2025

3/🧵

Another thing I learned:

The reason I have never seen an artichoke even though I've planted the damn things for 4 years running, is that they have to get cold for a period, as though they survived the winter, before they'll fruit.

And also that because I live in zone 5, they won't actually survive the winter.

So I put the fuckers in the fridge.

And they do seem to be sprouting, although I may have waited until too late in the season to do this, and I'm not sure that they have enough time to actually produce the bounty of artichokes I was promised.

But at least I now know what the secret is for next year.

#GardeningWithAnarchists #gardening #ContainerGardening #GrowYourOwn #GigiGarden