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Can anyone ID this plant? My plant identifier is insisting that it's a Jerusalem Cherry, but the next most likely thing is Silverleaf Nightshade. I've searched on both and it definitely looks like a Jerusalem Cherry, but I have absolutely no clue how it ended up in my yard if that's the case.
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Thrilled to pieces to see these bloom for the first time. 😄 I picked up these seeds at my town's local seed swap where they were labeled "Swedish Tall Red". I knew of a few other names for the cultivar but I wasn't expecting the absolute onslaught:
- Dead Viking (coool lol)
- Biskopens gråært
- Bishop’s Grey
- Bishop’s Red
- Swenson's Swedish
I guess people like this plant. Now I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it can set pods and dry in my short season!
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Rash Treatment and prevention
If you have been (or, think you may have been) exposed to poison oak or poison ivy plants, washing with a cleanser designed to remove urushiol (rash-causing oil from the plants) within 8 hours after exposure will help remove the resin before a rash begins.
There are two brands I swear by. Zanfel and Tecnu. Zanfel is expensive. At $50 for a small tube, I only use it after I get a rash. It has a gritty texture and really helps relieve the itch. After I've been in the yard doing things that may have exposed me, I always use the cheaper Tecnu. It's about $15 a tube and you get more of it. I wash everywhere with it. I mean, everywhere I may have touched.
https://teclabsinc.com/product/tecnu-extreme-poison-ivy-scrub/
Eradication
Poison ivy is a perennial. You have to kill it down to the roots.
Poison Ivy still has the urushiol oil on dry leaves. Urushiol WILL be carried in the smoke when it's burned. Urushiol is on the stems and roots, not just the leaves. It's less, but it's there. Don't burn poison ivy, you can wind up in the hospital. Don't pull it out, you will get it on you somehow.
To eradicate poison oak and poison ivy chemically, use an herbicide that contains glyphosate, triclopyr, or a 3-way herbicide that contains 2,4-D amine, dicamba, and mecoprop. Ortho GroundClear Poison Ivy & Tough Brush Killer works great. I hate poison sprays, since I'm a beekeeper, but I make an exception for poison ivy because it kills the plant down to the roots and it doesn't come back.
You can kill poison ivy without harsher chemicals by dissolving one cup of salt, one tablespoon of white vinegar, and one tablespoon of dish soap in a gallon of water. Spray it with a spray bottle. It may come back the next year with this method. Remember where it was so you can do it again.
I also like to use old rugs, tarps and cardboard to smother the plants. Leave them in place until there is nothing but bare dirt left. It may still come back.
You can also rent goats. Yes, goats. They love it. It may still grow back.
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This year's winter-to-spring transition in my part of zone 4b was rough and the garden is looking haggard because of it, so I took a cruise through last year's photos to find something to share as my first post. Absolutely cannot wait for this year's snap peas- something about the plants just delights me.
These are Oregon Sugar Pod II and Mammoth Melting. This year I added a few other varieties to the mix (Admiral, SS 141) as well as the Swedish Tall Red* just to see what happens.
Happy growing!
*a dry/shelling/field pea
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I was removing weeds from between the tiles in my garden and found what looks like basil. In autumn I usually let by basil flower before the first frost kills it. I think one of the seeds survived the winter. I didn't know basil seeds were so resilient. I let this one live (until I turn it into pesto).
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First real harvest off a hoop trellis. These are tasty green beans that tolerate heat well. Grown on a welded wire 6" x 6" cattle panel bent into a hoop between two beds of our vegetable patch. These sell very fast at the local farmers market.
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Planted these in Winter 2020, finally seeing some buds.
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