Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
The most useless garden kitty. While the squirrels naw on my winter squash, this thing just lays there. I want to speak to your manager! 🌱 #kitty #gardeningfeed
Chicago Zone 6 Gardening, Cooking, Artist. I design pop-up cards 👉 https://toadlypoppin.com
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view profile on Bluesky Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
The most useless garden kitty. While the squirrels naw on my winter squash, this thing just lays there. I want to speak to your manager! 🌱 #kitty #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Damn you squirrels! 😡 🖕 I guess that means I’m making squash tomorrow. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #urbangarden
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
If I could stop walking through #spider webs every time I go outside that would be great! Took my dog out and felt like Gulliver being tied down by the Lilliputians. 🕷️ 🕸️
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
When you get sick, what is your go to food? That something you crave when under the weather. 🍽️ #cooking #food
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
They’re so tasty if you blister fry them and serve them with a dip. I make a spicy mayo dip usually that’s mayo, sriracha, garlic, Worcestershire and onion powder.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
My shishito plant has been providing like crazy. I really think it should be renamed to the chili roulette plant though, cause you never know what you’re gonna get from one pepper to the next. My mouth is currently on fire like I just ate a habenero. 🥵 🌱 #gardeningfeed #urbanfarming
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
The #moon looks amazing right now. So big and orange!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I hear you. This type cut pretty easy. I just cut the top off an inch down and sliced down the middle.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
It’s a winter squash that is comparable to a butternut.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I forgot to take a photo of the inside, but they are surprisingly packed with seeds for their size. I’m a squash seed addict so I also roasted the seeds, buffalo hot sauce style.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I meant to take a photo of it split but forgot 🥴.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
It was very good. Almost identical to a butternut but more creamy.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
It’s very similar to a butternut, with maybe a more earthy hint to it. I will say it comes out way less stringy than a butternut and more creamy.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
I can’t wait any longer. I must know what it tastes like! So I’m roasting one of these red kuri for dinner tonight. This way I’ll be able to tell if they taste much different after curing off the vine for several weeks or not. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #wintersquash 🍽️
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Nice. I haven’t found a chrysalis yet either. But I can’t really get close enough to properly inspect it, since my 10 foot tomato plant tipped over in front of my patch and the milkweed is kinda holding it up 🤣.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Still finding caterpillars on my milkweed. I didn’t capture any this year but it seems like it’s been a good season for monarch caterpillars here. 🌱 #monarch #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
What do you do when you have some eggs that need to be used up…you make Dutch babies! Also had some leftover strawberries from shortcake so threw those in as well. 🍽️ #breakfast #cooking #dutchbaby
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Why are ice cream trucks always the scariest looking “you got a body in that freezer too?” vehicles? #tellmewhy #asksky
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Don’t eat the glow shrimp! abcnews.go.com/US/fda-warns... #health #food #walmart #fda
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
It’s been lightning and thundering for going on 5 hours now. I want to go to bed but can’t until I can get my dog, who’s doesn’t like thunder, to go to the bathroom. 😩 It’s a good thing she’s cute! #fml #bordoodle #dog #pet #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
I guess it’s storm week. We’ve had 5 storms roll through in the last 24 hours. #illinois #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
There’s a fuzzy butt party in my squash flower and the bouncer is right by the door checking IDs. 🌱 #insects #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
😆
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
The stink bug that keeps laying these eggs has so far escaped my multiple daily garden checks. Thankfully my squash is growing 6’ in the air and I can easily see the undersides of all my leaves. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Weighed my monster oxheart tomato and it’s 1.6 pounds. Going to make for some good BLTs! 🌱 #gardeningfeed #tomato
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I haven’t either. First year growing it. It’s similar to a butternut I hear with a sweet chestnut and smooth texture. We’ll see how well that holds up in a couple months. 🤞
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Squirrels are equal opportunity jerks. They’ll go after everything.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Kuri squash coming in nicely. Vine has about 6 on it right now. Hopefully the squirrels don’t get any bright ideas. These are mine! 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Every year I do this so you’d think I’d learn by now. My cukes are coming in like mad but now my dill has since seeded out & died. First dill patch is always self seeded & I really need to remember to start another succession halfway through summer. Cause now I’m scrounging for any usable bits. 😭🌱
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I have friends who are the same. I wonder if they’ve never tasted what a “real” tomato tastes like and think they only taste like hydrated cardboard. I may have to find out.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Exactly. Theres no way store bought tomatoes will ever resemble backyard ones unless the grower is local and in season.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
So now we can get sweeter cardboard from the produce section. Yay 🥴 www.earth.com/news/scienti... 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Damn! The #Milwaukee area got pounded last night, and it’s still raining. #wisconsin #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
A campfire, a cocktail, a warm summer night with a slight cool breeze watching a storm in the distance roll past. This is all I need. #illinois #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Pour water out into small bowl, add the salt and mix. Pour back in jar, place ferment weight on top. Cover and you have pickles in about 5 days.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I do mostly pickles and hot peppers for hot sauces. Pickles you pack a quart jar full of cukes, dill, peppercorns, garlic, whatever else you want to put in. Fill with water 1/2” from top. Weigh everything in grams, minus jar weight. Multiply that by 2% and that’s how much salt to add.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I love that!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
I will never not be amazed at how fast squash plants grow. I’d love to set up a time-lapse shoot sometime to record over several weeks time. I hack off a rogue 6’ vine almost every day to keep things tidy and workable. Photos are roughly 3 weeks apart. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #squash #garden
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Perfect time to try a ferment. No need for vinegar. Just need non-additive salt and water.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
It doesn’t matter how much it costs to garden. It’s a hell of a lot of cheaper than therapy. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Look at the size of it! Going to have to weigh this monster when it gets ripe. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
This big boy is ready to be a beautiful butterfly. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #caterpillar
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Not sure what that is. 🤔 a scarab of some kind possibly.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
They are destructive little assholes. They feed on cucurbit plant saps, reducing yields and killing them off if large enough infestations. extension.umn.edu/fruit-and-ve...
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Not today, jerks! This is why checking your garden multiple times a day is a good habit. Found 3 squash bug egg clusters today. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Well shit! Partner had jury duty this morning and just got picked for a murder trial. I feel so bad for him 😩 #chicago #fml
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Garden kitty aka “big balls”, has a built in bubbler with my irrigation. We call him big balls because, well he looks like he’s carrying a sack with two large potatoes in it. 😆 🌱 #gardeningfeed #cat
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
When it comes to preserving tomatoes, are you a canner or a freezer? I kind of do both but probably freeze more because it is so much less time consuming. 🌱 #gardeningfeed #canning
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I think you’re on to something there.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
I love dill pickles and I love hot sauce. I’m not sure I’d be a fan of dilly hot sauce though. Could be good on a burger 🤔 yay or nay? 🍽️ #recipe #hotsauce
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Do you have a favorite flower support? I really need to get something to keep my gladiolus and black eyed Susan’s from flopping over every year. Just ignore all the bindweed/morning glories, I’m losing that battle 😩🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I’d have to see if there’s a free service around here, because there’s 5 of them. 😳
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
These garden kitties are gonna eat me out of house and home! Every time I go out to the garden they beg for more food. Now I know what it’s like to have teenagers. 🌱 #cats #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
…or this weekend I mean.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
The mid 70s next week is gonna feel like fall and be perfect for catching up on tidying up the garden. 🤞
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
The most prolific question I see asked every year is “when can I pick this cucumber?”. Well, you can never pick a cuke too early. It’s actually my preference to harvest them younger, cause I hate large seedy cukes. They taste better too IMO. You can however pick one too late. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Putting this on my list of “to try”. 👍
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
That adorable little jerk!!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Well if that isn’t the most perfect cucumber that I’ve ever grown. These are Telegraph English cukes that I switched to this season and they’re doing really good. Currently #fermenting a batch to see how they are as pickles. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Now I just have to hope the asshole squirrels don’t figure that out. 🫣
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Baby red kuri squash. Not sure if it got pollinated or not yet. Should know in a couple days.🤞This is a new variety for me, so I’m really looking forward to see how it tastes this fall. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
This is why I check my garden at least 20 times a day. It’s a shame their caterpillar stage is so destructive, because the moth is so damn cool. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Batten down the hatches!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Please tell me that after tomorrow we’re done with the blazing 90s, humidity, and sweating the second you step outside. 🥵 #chicago #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Probably about 5 feet.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Now you’re talking!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Dove made a nest on our RV hitch. Thankfully it’s not going anywhere. But it made me realize that I’ve never seen a dove that’s not an adult. 🪶 #birds
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Saw my first one ever last year. Scared the crap out of me. We have such massive cicada hatches around here so I don’t know why I just started seeing them recently.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I do love gochujang. I’ll definitely be trying this in a meatloaf.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
You’re not wrong. Sometimes simple is just right.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Both those ideas sound amazing!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Not a salad but I don’t hate it!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
What’s your favorite cucumber salad type recipe? I picked 3 big ones today. I usually do the whole mayo vinegar thing but there’s gotta be something else out there. 🌱 🍽️
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Love those colors!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
What a beauty!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
You’ve done so much already. Take a break and just send the rest my way. 😆
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I prefer to pick my cukes premature for this reason. Smaller seeds and thinner skin.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
You’re right! Thats funny.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Overwintering pepper plants seems to be beneficial depending on the pepper type. My two jalapeño plants are exactly the same in size and peppers. My overwintered poblano (1st pic) however is leaps ahead of my seed started plant that has a single pepper on it. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
It was indeed! Although my jalapeños aren’t mature yet so barely any spice.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
If you’ve never made it, it’s super easy! And it tastes amazing. Although a pack of ginger beer is probably about the same cost as making it. But it’s more fun 😋
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I’ll be your first fan. 🤘
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
We got a couple days of reprieve where you could go outside and not feel like you were motor-boating the asscheeks of hell. But I guess we’re back in it after today. 🥵 A handfull of tomatoes managed to ripen but now this will delay the unripe ones for another week. 😠 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
That might even make them taste better! I’m guessing oat milk has a nutty sweetness to it?
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
😆
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Well if I was tasked with naming them I’d call them pink lemonade. So yellow and a strawberry red.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
I’m ready for a nap just reading that.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Yum yum gimmie sum!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
Very pretty.
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
My banana bread recipe that everyone always asks for when they have one of my muffins. My secret ingredient is Old Camp peach pecan whiskey 😎 🍽️ #recipe #bananabread #dessert
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
Big fan of the queen lime zinnias. I love the neon green under petals with the dusty pinks. 🌱 #gardeningfeed
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social)
This is the sky right now. It’s super trippy looking. Their called altocumulus undulatus clouds. #chicago #weather
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
One year when I grew some birdhouse gourds. The day before I was going to pull them off the vine. The little bastards dropped all 30+ of them off the vine and took a bite or two out of each one. Squirrels are assholes!
Joe (@itsjoe.bsky.social) reply parent
We have special squirrels around here. I’ve seen them carrying actual light bulbs around. 😂