Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: May 17 - May 23, 2026

[SouthernBreeze]

It's supposed to be another 90 degree day. Partly cloudy with very high humidity. Rain is still in our forecast for this afternoon and the next 10 days.

Temp hit 90, yesterday, and the floor fan and open windows were not enough to keep us cool. The humidity was high, too. It was so late that Cary didn't have time to fool with uncovering the a/c and get it cleaned up, so we toughed it out. He will get it done, today, though.

My shopping lists are all finished. I added a few food items that were getting lower than I like. A flat of tomato sauce and a flat of lima beans. A few more items. More shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, spices, etc. I have a good stock of all those items, but more won't hurt. When I use up a flat of something, I buy to replace it. I keep 12 large jugs of laundry detergent in stock all the time. Use one, replace one. Same with everything else, but this time, I wanted to add more, especially begin to stock up on large trash bags and a few paint brushes. Keeping a fully stocked pantry seems to never end. It does concern me that, someday, it will come to an end, and all that we have is what we will have.

 

[Meemur]

Good job, SB! Yes, it's ongoing. I'm further ahead than I was last week.

I've got to go see a house and a car for sale today several towns over: a cousin of a friend of a friend passed away, blah, blah, blah. Those are the sorts of sales I like hearing about, even if they don't work out. It takes time to get connected to the local networks but private sales can really save money in this economy.

50s and rainy here. My salad garden is loving all of this rain. The lettuce and peas are very happy.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We just made it back with a big haul. Lots of food items added, along with paint brushes in different sizes, laundry detergent, shampoo/conditioner, and spices. Plus, my normal groceries for 2 weeks. Cary will be making out the order for Sam's tomorrow. Trash bags, more vitamins, plus a couple more cases of canned items. I managed to get everything on my list. I only had $20 plus change left.

Pizzas for supper, tonight. Too tired to make anything.

 

[patriotgal]

Rainy lazy day. Windows open. Put on my rain boots, my banana jacket ( bright yellow old school rain coat), a few bags of bearable trash and a blow torch and headed for our improvised dozer deck. It is now burning in the rain. Have some Claude projects to catch up on. We are all enjoying the break.

 

[philkar]

High temps and humidity. Feels like July. Pulled sugar snaps and English peas plants today. They did well this year. Garden looks good at the moment. Should have sweet corn by the weekend. I have my ear marked! Picked the first of the yellow squash. Cherokee tans had 100% germination. Hopi grays 10% germination. Win some lose some! New gate up and looks nice. So much to do but so much heat and humidity!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

91 degrees here atm. Humidity is very high. Hope we get rain soon. At least the rain will cool things down a bit while it's going on.

We decided to let our raised beds lay fallow this year. We'll be composting directly into them to build up the soil for next year. We have 5 gallon buckets of wood chips from all the firewood Cary has cut that's 2 years old. That will be added, too. Hopefully, next Spring we'll be able to plant, and the beds will actually produce again.

 

[Meemur]

Should have sweet corn by the weekend.

Yummy! No harvesting of corn here. It was just planted a few weeks ago. But I've got fresh lettuce and radishes I've been nibbling on.

No luck on either the house or car, but I'm thrilled they thought of me, and I gave them the name of a family I know from church who might be interested in the house, but whether or not they could get a loan is unknown. I know that their rental is getting sold at the end of their lease to the landlord's step-daughter who wants to start a vet practice there (or some such). It's a 5-bedroom house on several acres.

No real storm damage in my immediate area, but there's a lot of flooding going on. Portions of the lake bike trail are closed due to high water. I'm going to check out a different area tomorrow for my walk.

 

[feralferret]

Mainly a rain event here. Storm total of just over three inches of rain., I'm surprised that it didn't leak into the basement again. Otherwise just sleeping a lot. Body must be trying to repair.

 

[WanderLore]

Good morning all of you.
Boy we have had some heat and humidity wow. Then we will have 4 days in the 60s.
Going to run to dump, do laundry and get mower tire swapped.
Oil change wasn't too bad, $87. But my truck takes 7 quarts of oil. They said it was higher due to shortages.
I'll have to get a repair done. See what that will cost.
I got to hand it to my daughter. She has great people skills. She went over to the property that's going to be down. Woman was on the porch. She went up and had a nice chat. Put Scots ashes by the apple trees.
Woman apologized and said we were welcome to anything there we wanted. She's getting a dumpster. When we see that in place, door will be unlocked and we can get whatever we want. It's just a few things.
I still hate it but it is what it is.

Lots of mowing later when I get back and my son gets the mower tire back on the mower.
Hoping you all have a decent day.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Much cooler today after rain over night. 78 for our high, today. More rain starting around lunch time.

The man who owns the tree cutting service came late yesterday afternoon to look at the tree. He is going to charge $3000 to bring down this one. It's cheaper than the last one, because we're not going to have him grind up the stump. It is next to our fence line in the side yard, so it's out of sight, anyway. He was supposed to start cutting this morning, but he said they wouldn't come if it was raining. Now, we have 2 big projects being held up by rain. I'm not complaining. I know the farmers need it. We'll just take everything in stride and wait for better weather.

I have work to do in the pantry putting away everything I added, yesterday. Using up all the older food items that I've been working on has left me with more room in there to stock more of what we actually eat/use on a regular basis. I sure learned my lesson on that. Don't stock anything, unless you already eat or use it, I bought up several food items that I thought would make good storage food in case we needed it, knowing that we probably would never eat it, unless we were starving. I think people make the same mistake when stocking up for SHTF. Only stock what you already eat. I cringe when I think of all the money I wasted by not doing that.

I, also, have laundry to do, today. I bought several pantry moth traps that I need to put out, too. I use those faithfully. They seem to work, since I've never had a pantry moth infestation.

Time to get up and get started.

eta....I forgot about the basket of green bell peppers I bought at the farmer's market, yesterday. I also have those to chop for the freezer. I would have bought 2 baskets, but his supply was limited. I didn't want to get all that he had. It has opened for the year, so I'll be able to get fresh garden veggies that we aren't growing ourselves this year. Prices aren't too bad, either. All organic.

 

[moldy]

Got up early this morning and banged out the errands - post office, UPS, and the grocery store. Now back on will head to an online meeting for a bit. It is SO cold here this morning - about 46 degrees - so I am going to wait to put out the tomatoes.

 

[Meemur]

I like it cool and dry! It's in the upper 50s and we've lost that wretched humidity.

I looked at another house this morning, plus I walked on a new-to-me trail. The house is over-priced, but I'll keep an eye on it -- I have a feeling it'll still be on the market in late July at a lower price (I know the realtor -- she's not very bright). I've also got a truck to look at later this afternoon, from an estate. Lots of people dying lately! And since they aren't that old (60s), I'm wondering if they were victims of the clot shot, but I don't ask.

My energy has been better. Not being around a bunch of people with the flu and who-knows-what is helping, I think. I'll be getting another blood panel before long.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I've finished with everything I set out to do, today. Good thing, because our power is blinking. We have a thunderstorm with hail and very heavy rain over us right now.

Tuna pasta salad for supper, and I already have the eggs hard-boiled.

We almost had to turn on the a/c, before this storm arrived. The humidity went through the roof, although, our temp was only 81.

I got fire ant stung, twice, when I went outside, earlier, and I'm having a bit of a reaction to it. I took some Benadryl.

 

[Meemur]

Hope it goes away, SB.

I'm about finished for now, too, but I covered quite a bit of ground today, including starting to weed around foundation of my house, as well as checking for cracks and holes while I did that. That's where mice can get in.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Hope it goes away, SB.

I'm about finished for now, too, but I covered quite a bit of ground today, including starting to weed around foundation of my house, as well as checking for cracks and holes while I did that. That's where mice can get in.

Thanks. I took Benadryl, but I'm still not feeling well. I went to the bathroom and checked. I got more than 2 stings. I didn't even feel most of them. I must have stepped in a small mound, and the ants went up my pants leg. I'll take another dose of Benadryl, once this dose wears off.

 

[moldy]

SB, if you have any Pepcid, you might add a dose of that. it works like Benadryl does, but on different receptors.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

SB, if you have any Pepcid, you might add a dose of that. it works like Benadryl does, but on different receptors.

Thanks. That's good to know, but I don't have any. I feel a bit light-headed and my chest/throat feels sorta tight. Usually, the Benadryl works for fire ant bites. I'm paying close attention, and if I feel the need to go on to the ER, I will.

 

[moldy]

Yes, please don't wait if you feel like you need to go. I don't know how much Benadryl you took, but 50 mg is not too much.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Yes, please don't wait if you feel like you need to go. I don't know how much Benadryl you took, but 50 mg is not too much.

I took 50mg around 3pm.

 

[anna43]

It has been cold here all day and the furnace was running earlier and likely will be again soon. I went to Bible study at 4:00 and by 5:15 when I left the temp had dropped. Computer says 57º but to me it felt colder. Inside is 70º and thermostat is set at 69º so furnace is going to be running in a couple hours. I had the oven on earlier which is why 70º now.

I took my car in for its "spring" checkup, and it passed with flying colors. Fortunately, it was not judged on how dirty it is. My vehicle is a 2007 and has less than 100,000 miles on it. I've been blessed with no major problems on it and pray that continues. Of course, last year I only put 962 miles on it which is about the same as I do each year so mostly it's sitting in the garage. Total gas expense for 2026 $27.45 in March although will need another fill in June.

Since a grocery shopping trip is 50 miles round trip, my once-a-month shopping saves me a lot on gas and wear and tear on both me and vehicle! I can walk to church and Bible study but do drive for local stuff. We have a local clinic, dentist, eye doc, library, banks and a Dollar General. The Dollar General is the absolutely worst store I've ever tried to shop, and I avoid it unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Wildwood]

The Lord was merciful beyond measure and I had a completely clear day today...very much unexpected. To make the day even better, DH took off today and between the two of us and our DGS we have the garden 90% done...at least all the heavy lifting. I planted 22 okra plants and finished up 80 sweet potato slips. DH and DGS completely cleaned out the remaining raised bed and it's a good thing because it ended up being a much bigger job than I expected...it's 25' x 4' and had some of the most interesting things growing in it including a patch of what I think may have been stinging nettle that we'd already cleared a few months back but rebounded and then some. It's fertilized and tilled with the trellises back in place and ready for bell peppers and cherry tomatoes plus a few odds and ends just for fun.

I did get one thing wrong the other day when I said every seed was sewn. I have four cattle panel trellises in an arch from one raised bed to the other and grow two arches in cucumbers and two in kajari melons that I sew directly in the raised bed but it's not much.

We did take in a little extra territory with the fence and plan to till it all and raise a few rows of beans on one side and cover the other side in ground cover and grow pumpkins and watermelons on it. We'll work on that as time allows but I'm thinking in a week or two that will be done. DH has a real good start on it.

When I was dragging myself out of the gate, I looked up and realized that by my standards, I no longer have a small garden as far as home gardens go but this is it...it's all I can handle and still enjoy.

Another thing I realized today is that I have regained the strength in my legs and I hope and pray I can maintain that. For the first time, this year when we started on the garden I thought I might not make it. All the squatting it takes to clean rows and sew seeds was torture and I was afraid I'd let myself go too far down. Today when I was planting the okra in the ground, I realized all the squatting down it took to plant them wasn't even on my radar. It was a huge relief and I'm going to do my best to maintain that strength through the winter this coming year. I don't think there is much in life that gives your legs the workout that planting a garden directly in the ground does. I hope this inspires someone else to not give up on failing strength.

 

[Meemur]

That's a good lesson, WW!

Cycling helps keep my legs strong, but I sure can't squat for long. That's why I've got containers and raised beds.

 

[Wildwood]

That's a good lesson, WW!

Cycling helps keep my legs strong, but I sure can't squat for long. That's why I've got containers and raised beds.

I'm convinced raised beds are the way to go and I'm trying to convince DH to slowly but surely build small raised beds around the bottom of all my cattle panels...even 6" would help eliminate most of the weed invasion but 9" to 12" would be so much better, make amending easier and cheaper, eliminate erosion, etc. and elevating the growing bed. You wouldn't even have to put down ground cover. You could mow and weed eat all around and between them...but what do I know lol.

He made my raised beds way too wide and has talked about redoing them and making them narrower. We could use the extra dirt to fill those little raised beds around the trellises.

Everything in my garden so far that is planted directly in the ground, is trained vertically and I know that sounds crazy but it's all tall or climbing plants and that is great for harvesting. The sweet potatoes are in a raised bed and so are the peppers. The new area we are breaking up where the melons and pumpkins will grow will be on the ground but with ground cover. I even grow my yellow squash in vertical cages. It has eliminated squash borers so far and I don't think I even saw a squash bug last year.

 

[Meemur]

The more that can be trained vertically, the better! I'll try more along those lines next year. This year, I'm sticking with previous techniques that worked. I want a decent harvest, especially potatoes.

 

[school marm]

We have snow with a high of 42 degrees today and a low of 27 tonight. Fortunately, all of the tomatoes and peppers are protected by wall-o-waters and frost blankets and the rest of the tender crops haven't been put out yet.

We had more snow on Monday. DD, DH, and I just stared at it. Something we've never in our lives seen before. We had to check the thermometers. And our eyes. And verify with one another what we were seeing. Snow. And the thermometer said 51 degrees. We've never seen snow above 42 degrees. Of course, it wasn't sticking, but it was definitely snow, all the way up the mountain. At least I was able to work in the yard yesterday and today. Supposedly there more sub-freezing temperatures are headed our way next week.

 

[Wildwood]

The more that can be trained vertically, the better! I'll try more along those lines next year. This year, I'm sticking with previous techniques that worked. I want a decent harvest, especially potatoes.

Yes! This year you need dependable for many reasons. You can still be considering plans for next year though.

Next year your circumstances will be different and it will be easier to do those little changes. When I started back gardening, I was still working full time more or less. Giving up the wholesale part of my business because of the huge increase in my supply prices was the best thing that could have happened to me but it was a hard decision at the time. I still have the retail but I can make that as slow or as busy as I want and I can become obsessed with my garden lol.

 

[hd5574]

I'm convinced raised beds are the way to go and I'm trying to convince DH to slowly but surely build small raised beds around the bottom of all my cattle panels...even 6" would help eliminate most of the weed invasion but 9" to 12" would be so much better, make amending easier and cheaper, eliminate erosion, etc. and elevating the growing bed. You wouldn't even have to put down ground cover. You could mow and weed eat all around and between them...but what do I know lol.

He made my raised beds way too wide and has talked about redoing them and making them narrower. We could use the extra dirt to fill those little raised beds around the trellises.

Everything in my garden so far that is planted directly in the ground, is trained vertically and I know that sounds crazy but it's all tall or climbing plants and that is great for harvesting. The sweet potatoes are in a raised bed and so are the peppers. The new area we are breaking up where the melons and pumpkins will grow will be on the ground but with ground cover. I even grow my yellow squash in vertical cages. It has eliminated squash borers so far and I don't think I even saw a squash bug last year.

We grow everything that we can vertically...tomatoes are by fencing and tied to them...we grow heirlooms...and indeterminate so they vine and we help them climb..in addition we plant both sides of our internal fences..1/2 the space and twice the crop..snow peas, pole beans, cukes, butter beans..we plant lettuce under other crops..like kale, broccoli, and such to shade it...some like black seeded Simpson...in pots to move to a cooler part of the garden as needed..we plant strawberries in with asparagus...shades the weeds out..

I friend truck farms and plants tomatoes in the dirt in a hop house...rolls the sides up...and down as needed...so very early tomatoes

We had our first BLTs tonight...her tomato as big as a slice of bread and our lettuce..cant wait until the vine ripened heirlooms start coming..

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We are under a flood warning, until 10am. It rained all night and is still coming down, hard. We might get a break late morning, but more rain developing this afternoon and overnight. Our power blinked off first thing this morning. It's back, now.

I took so much Benadryl, yesterday and last night, that I'm still a bit "droggy" this morning. My reaction seems to be over, though. Bite sites look a lot better, too.

Not much at all going on, today. I have ham and left over grilled chicken breasts, so it's going to be chef salads for supper, tonight.

 

[WanderLore]

Sheree I still say add that vinegar as a quick rub on. As well as the Benadryl.

 

[WanderLore]

Sitting at car repair while they fix truck

 

[WanderLore]

Was $550.00, now it's $813.00. he's going to give me a coupon. Maxing out the credit card. Lord.
At this point I may have to see if I can get a PT job.

 

[Wildwood]

We grow everything that we can vertically...tomatoes are by fencing and tied to them...we grow heirlooms...and indeterminate so they vine and we help them climb..in addition we plant both sides of our internal fences..1/2 the space and twice the crop..snow peas, pole beans, cukes, butter beans..we plant lettuce under other crops..like kale, broccoli, and such to shade it...some like black seeded Simpson...in pots to move to a cooler part of the garden as needed..we plant strawberries in with asparagus...shades the weeds out..

I friend truck farms and plants tomatoes in the dirt in a hop house...rolls the sides up...and down as needed...so very early tomatoes

We had our first BLTs tonight...her tomato as big as a slice of bread and our lettuce..cant wait until the vine ripened heirlooms start coming..

BLT's sound so good. I just got my favorite bacon yesterday.

I would love to be able to have tomatoes early. We worked in the garden til almost dark and DH was just saying that we needed to build something out beside it along the lines of a hoop house but we'd have to make the base and partway up a permanent build because of the creek. I think he's tired of moving my seedlings In and out of the house

 

[moldy]

@SouthernBreeze , next time you get bit, you might try a charcoal poultice to draw out the venom. Just a thought.

I do t know if any of you have read Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening ", but he advocates for lots of vertical Gardening, especially if you have raised beds and limited space.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

@SouthernBreeze , next time you get bit, you might try a charcoal poultice to draw out the venom. Just a thought.

I do t know if any of you have read Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening ", but he advocates for lots of vertical Gardening, especially if you have raised beds and limited space.

Yeah. I should have done that first thing, but I didn't feel the bites at first. It was later that I started stinging, itching, shortness of breath, tightness in my throat, and the swelling set in that I knew I had been bitten several times. I used a charcoal poultice on my brown recluse bite a couple of years ago, and it sure did help with that.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Back in the day, on the farm, we had lots of apple trees. I remember Granny storing apples, and they lasted a long time right off the trees. I don't remember how she did it, though. Why can't we do the same with fresh apples, today, that you buy at the grocery store? Most of the time, when I buy the bags of apples, they rot within a week or so. Fresh potatoes dug out of the ground did the same. They lasted a long time. Now, what I get at the grocery store is pathetic. I would love to know how to store fruit and veggies like my granny did. Is it a lost art?

 

[hd5574]

We have lots of space but intense verticle planting saves work and money and water and fertilizer ...we use the oldest ...we use fish liquid and dilute with water...never burns..and the plant gets both food and water..
When we double plant our wire...we use t posts and fence wire..and plant both sides ..we use less water..improve the soil on both sides..water and fertilize both with just one pass of spray or watering can..climbing beans produce until frost..unlike bush beans...we also go to a garden center up the road...and watch their perennial flowering plants...some are beautiful but no bees on them others are beautiful but covered in bees...later in the season they really mark all the perennials down...we get the ones that the bees love and scatter them here and there through out the garden..they are cost effective..plant once..and bring in the pollinators year after year..without a lot of starts to take care of..
As I have said we sprout as many things as we can...open a row..and place the seed carefully with that roots then gently cover...and water..in dry conditions the seed is already hydrated..and we know it is viable...and it begins growing as soon as it gets in the soil..we planted green beans this way in 90 degree weather about three days ago..in dry conditions...watered them and have all them we planted are now green bean plants...no gaps..
With prices and drought in much of the country we are doing everything we can to get good yields from our garden..with the drought I wonder how the how the American rice crop will do this year....we know there are problems with the wheat crop..we consider our garden vital this year...

 

[summerthyme]

Yeah. I should have done that first thing, but I didn't feel the bites at first. It was later that I started stinging, itching, shortness of breath, tightness in my throat, and the swelling set in that I knew I had been bitten several times. I used a charcoal poultice on my brown recluse bite a couple of years ago, and it sure did help with that.

Use the charcoal as soon as you feel the bite! It works on brown recluse bites even days after the initial bite.

Summerthyme

 

[summerthyme]

Back in the day, on the farm, we had lots of apple trees. I remember Granny storing apples, and they lasted a long time right off the trees. I don't remember how she did it, though. Why can't we do the same with fresh apples, today, that you buy at the grocery store? Most of the time, when I buy the bags of apples, they rot within a week or so. Fresh potatoes dug out of the ground did the same. They lasted a long time. Now, what I get at the grocery store is pathetic. I would love to know how to store fruit and veggies like my granny did. Is it a lost art?

The apples you get at the store are already OLD. They've been in controlled atmosphere storage since the previous harvest. Essentially, CA storage puts them into "suspended animation".... drastically slows the ripening process. But once they are exposed to oxygen again...the clock restarts, and runs at warp speed!

Potatoes are similar. They have specific requirements to stay firm and fresh and not sprout....they have a natural dormant period of about 3-4 months after maturity (which keeps them from sprouting in the fall and getting killed by winter freezes). But once past that, they need it to be around 42-45°, and 90-95% humidity, and dark.

However, I also believe potatoes are being grown in depleted soil, and farmers aren't supplementing the micronutrients necessary to prevent gray or brown discoloration of flesh.

Also, in apples particularly, the varieties being grown are prioritized for appearance, flavor and texture..."storability" under less-than-perfect conditions is WAY down the list.

Miller's Nursery, in Canandaigua, NY (they sold out to Starks a few years ago) used to sell a collection they called, "apples 'til April". It was 3 varieties which ripened late, and kept well in a root cellar orr refrigerator for 6 months.

I'm using the last of a yellow fleshed potato variety we grew last year today...anytime I can use homegrown potatoes in a Memorial Day potato salad, I'll take that win! Ourr root cellar isnt humid enough, or managed well enough...but this variety (can't remember the name...gotta look it up) has stayed firm, crisp and is just now barely starting to sprout. All three other varieties (Kennebec, Red Chieftain and Satina) are looking pretty sad. We'll be planting all the rest next week.

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The apples you get at the store are already OLD. They've been in controlled atmosphere storage since the previous harvest. Essentially, CA storage puts them into "suspended animation".... drastically slows the ripening process. But once they are exposed to oxygen again...the clock restarts, and runs at warp speed!

Potatoes are similar. They have specific requirements to stay firm and fresh and not sprout....they have a natural dormant period of about 3-4 months after maturity (which keeps them from sprouting in the fall and getting killed by winter freezes). But once past that, they need it to be around 42-45°, and 90-95% humidity, and dark.

However, I also believe potatoes are being grown in depleted soil, and farmers aren't supplementing the micronutrients necessary to prevent gray or brown discoloration of flesh.

Also, in apples particularly, the varieties being grown are prioritized for appearance, flavor and texture..."storability" under less-than-perfect conditions is WAY down the list.

Miller's Nursery, in Canandaigua, NY (they sold out to Starks a few years ago) used to sell a collection they called, "apples 'til April". It was 3 varieties which ripened late, and kept well in a root cellar orr refrigerator for 6 months.

I'm using the last of a yellow fleshed potato variety we grew last year today...anytime I can use homegrown potatoes in a Memorial Day potato salad, I'll take that win! Ourr root cellar isnt humid enough, or managed well enough...but this variety (can't remember the name...gotta look it up) has stayed firm, crisp and is just now barely starting to sprout. All three other varieties (Kennebec, Red Chieftain and Satina) are looking pretty sad. We'll be planting all the rest next week.

Summerthyme

Thanks! I'm going to ask Mom how granny kept all of our apples and potatoes stored. IIRC, we had what was called a "corn crib" that was used to store them, but I'm not sure. I know we had one for corn.

 

[hd5574]

Old poor Virginia redneck..family..I knew....had well and out house...no root cellar....they grew taters...and put under the house with lyme on them to keep thru the winter
Can not verify...never tried this way ...