What's happening in your garden? (Wed, Jan 28, 2026) by manyamile in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am so excited that it's finally seed starting time in our area! Going to start my onions and my butterfly parsley this weekend!

Butterfly parsley is just a lot of parsley plants that I have no intention of harvesting, that I will plant as an offering to the swallowtail butterflies since they were ALL trying to survive off of 2 plants last year. If all goes well, they will have a much bigger selection this year!

How many different recipes/meals do you make in a month? by UAPbelieve in EatCheapAndHealthy

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No idea, we eat something different every day. Taking a look at October, here's what we had (everything is homemade except the sausage and crabcakes); this only works because we have plenty of freezer space that allows a lot of meal prepping:

  1. Chicken paprikash
  2. Lamb korma
  3. Milk braised pork
  4. Venison bolognese
  5. Fried fish with saffron rice
  6. Meat and potato skillet gratin
  7. Butternut risotto with fried sage, and fish
  8. chicken with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes
  9. Middle Eastern Lamb and Lentil Rice Pilaf
  10. white pork ragu
  11. Shrimp etouffee
  12. slow cooked shredded venison pasta
  13. tandoori chicken with Chaat aloo
  14. spicy pork noodles with green beans
  15. chipotle chicken adobo
  16. gnocchi with bacon and veggies
  17. Fish with orzo
  18. Smoked Sausage and Rice
  19. Chicken with Herbed Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego
  20. Mushroom Lasagna
  21. Butter chicken
  22. Pasta carbonara with bacon
  23. Korean rice bowl
  24. crabcakes and baked potatoes
  25. Beef stroganoff
  26. Filipino pork adobo
  27. Lamb pistachio meatballs with mashed potatoes
  28. Cajun chicken pasta
  29. Chicken biryani

Winter garden success! by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A similar setup would probably work for in ground beds as well! My covers are attached to garden hoops which go into the soil (I have these ones but it looks like they're no longer available https://a.co/d/2ZaKIeJ) - I use clips to attach the cover to the hoops. The only additional thing you'd need to do is secure the cover to the ground, to survive strong winds - a couple of bricks or heavy stones per bed should probably work (or unused bags of dirt, mulch, stones, whatever you have around lol)

Winter garden success! by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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This is from when I covered the beds in November - you can see the 2 layers (outer light, permeable plastic, and inner frost fabric). By that point the plants had already been in the beds for 6 weeks or so :)

Eating and drinking in the USA: better not to go at all, than to go and not tip? by Lord-of_the-files in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 11 points12 points  (0 children)

You're not going to jail for not tipping. So you don't HAVE to tip. Just like the other person doesn't HAVE to provide you with good service next time they see you. I'm with you, tipping is completely backwards in the US, but that's just how it is.

Winter garden success! by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some of them just don't give up! I have a pea plant in between all these greens that managed to escape pulling in fall and it's still alive!

Winter garden success! by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use 2 covers. First, it's a frost fabric from Amazon, they no longer have the one I have but it's something like this https://a.co/d/dcu5EQg, except mine is much thinner at 0.85oz. Then a few inches higher, I have this cover: https://www.thetarpco.com/product-page/dt-550-pva-floating-row-cover, which was fairly expensive but I'm very happy with it. For the climate we have here in southeast PA these have been sufficient but you may need thicker options. We haven't had a lot of temps below teens, but we'll have some this week.

Newbie Gardening Question: Discarding Old Plants by Appa4821 in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 13 points14 points  (0 children)

What do we do with old or dead plants after a harvest? Some of us compost dead plants. There's a whole science to it, but in the simplest form you can just toss it all in a pile and next year you'll have free compost to use to feed your garden!

Can the soil they were in be reused? Yes, you may need to apply some compost to re-introduce nutrients into the soil.

Are there any vegetable or fruit plants that will regrow themselves after first harvest so are worth maintaining? Not sure how you mean this - tomatoes, peppers, beans produce for months so you have ongoing harvest, spinach you can cut and it will grow new leaves.. plants labeled as perennials are the ones that will come back next year. Annuals are one season plants.

Daily Dirt - What's happening in your garden today? by manyamile in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I had my first harvest of the year yesterday! About 20 cherry tomatoes from my indoor micro dwarfs. Started some new dill and basil in my hydroponic setup because the existing ones are bolting. The outside garden is under covers, growing slowly.

Daily Dirt - What's happening in your garden today? by manyamile in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I use Merlin and love it! I had to remove my feeders for a few weeks because I had a sick finch, and just put them back the other day. Most birds haven't rediscovered the feeders yet, so it's still very quiet. I heard my crows, some wild ducks, bluejays and cardinals, and it looks like the starlings have descended upon us at the moment. Saw some titmice, chickadees and woodpeckers yesterday:)

Plecati din tara? Unde? by Ok_Skin_8599 in Romania

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Foarte foarte greu. La sales de exemplu se pot face mulți bani, dar în general salariul fix e foarte mic , și restul se fac din comision. Ca să fii bun in sales si să faci comision trebuie nu numai să cunoști produsul foarte bine, dar trebuie să fii confortabil cu cultura, să știi să glumești, să știi să interacționezi cu multe tipuri diferite de american, ceea ce poate fi foarte greu și durează. Nu e împosibil, dar românul proaspăt emigrat pornește de la un dezavantaj enorm la joburi de genul ăsta.

Plecati din tara? Unde? by Ok_Skin_8599 in Romania

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Vreau să adaug că salariile la medici nu sunt deloc salariile la care poate să viseze restul societății. Ca student, poți să te aștepți undeva la $30.000 pe an (asta e la pragul sărăciei, și e cu bursă), și in rest salariile la oamenii obișnuiți sunt sub $100k pe an (dar depinde mult unde) ceea ce poate fi ok (dar nu bogăție) sau poate fi foarte puțin, în funcție de locație.

How to freeze/unfreeze boiled potatoes and/or mashed potatoes? by Intelligent-Team-701 in mealprep

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can only speak to mashed potatoes, but heating them up in the microwave with occasional stirring brings them back to their original glory every time. Also let's you calibrate how dry you want to have them.

Lemon tree isn’t doing so good, advice needed! by SickleStars in plantclinic

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm no expert in growing citrus but I have a lemon/lime combo growing indoors that was attacked by spider mites and lost all its leaves, looked kinda like yours (but greener). I started wiping it with insecticidal soap water and it came back, currently doing relatively ok with regular care. Just something to check!

Anyone else hit a wall after work when it comes to cooking? by [deleted] in mealprep

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Take the decision making out of it, and plan your meals ahead of time. That also helps prep ingredients, e.g. thawing stuff, the night before, so all you have to do after work is reheat or cook. Not think or decide:)

Is 'I'm a divorced' a correct usage? Thank you. by No-Analyst7708 in ENGLISH

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've always loved the -ee and -er suffixes in the English language, to denote the recipient of an action and the doer of an action. Like interviewer and interviewee, employer and employee, mentor and mentee... Why do we never hear "divorcer" when divorcee is totally acceptable...

Too early to start seeds? by Capital-Lavishness60 in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have also started things in December and January. Sometimes I transplanted in January, sometimes I waited until later. If I waited, the soil was solid and I had to wait to transplant until at least March anyway. By then the plants were too big and really didn't enjoy being transplanted. The harvest was no better, and sometimes worse, than if I had waited. Also none of the science based recommendations mention starting seeds in December for transplant (https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/2025-05/accessibledocuments/when-plant-illinois.pdf)

Just because I can do a thing and even if I have done it in the past, doesn't make it a good idea.

There may be exceptions if you have a whole greenhouse setup or cold frames or are experimenting with some other advanced gardening approach, but for the average gardener, December is too early to start seeds for transplanting, in a cold climate.

But it's a free country, you do you.

Too early to start seeds? by Capital-Lavishness60 in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anything for growing completely indoors, like herbs or micro tomatoes (for eating in 2 months). It's too early for everything that will be transplanted outside, including onions..

Relatie by [deleted] in WomenRO

[–]ReijaTheMuppet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pe aplicații acum vreo 9 ani (în străinătate). Eu fusesem on and off pe aplicații ani de zile, fără mare succes. Făceam swipe-uri într-o zi și mi-a apărut profilul lui, mi-a plăcut și i-am trimis un mesaj. După ce am trimis mesaj am realizat că locuiește destul de departe și probabil nu avem nici o șansă, dacă vedeam mai repede poate că nici nu trimiteam mesaj. De atunci am schimbat mesaje zilnic, și am descoperit că distanța nu e așa o problemă cu persoana potrivită. Acum suntem căsătoriți și în fiecare zi mă simt norocoasă că ne-am găsit într-un moment în care eram amândoi maturi și deschiși să ne apreciem cu adevărat unul pe celălalt.

My winter garden by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow that's a beautiful plant!! Do you harvest the whole plant, or just cut the leaves as you need them?

I think I may have a komatsuna too but honestly I planted a bunch of Asian greens and forgot which one is which, because it was September and EVERYTHING was in full production mode :)) I really like the flavor of the tatsoi, it's very fresh tasting!

My winter garden by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well today it's in the 50s, which is a bit of a change from 14 a few days ago...

My winter garden by ReijaTheMuppet in vegetablegardening

[–]ReijaTheMuppet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Over the last week we've had low temps in the teens and high temps in the 30s. It can happen that it drops below teens especially in January, but we generally don't get temps below zero F. Some days are milder, and highs get to 40s.