yep been a wierd year

[sky otter]

been a strange weather year.. even more than other years..

cukes did real well early on and then crashed.. just about everything else crashed at one point or another..sigh

we had a week of 90 F and it is visible in the cabbage as a black layer about 2/3 from the center..then it continues normally
however the flowers are doing something else..





Echinacea / cone flower

growing new plants right from the seeds in the flower

the continued wet and cool/cold has also just killed a lot of the flowers and they are black sticks.. this isn't normal till late nov and several frosts







check out the growth on the flowers














and the leaves are turning and falling in early sept..4 to 6 weeks early
it's not a good sign

[Phedre]

That is truly spooky Sky Otter. Has the Echinacea ever morphed like that before? They almost look like the have been hit with something. Do you have any wheat fields around you anywhere?
I have a tiny garden, aside from the fact that several things that I bought where miss-marked, not what they said it was, everything else did O.K. We had a month of 90 and over temps, but my garden has some shade times, usually not good, but worked out good this year.   

[sky otter]

Phedre

no most it has done is have double flowers or one or two going to white instead of pink..nothing like this
yeah spooky it is..

[zorgon]

Okay so that is just downright weird...

mutation so quickly from fallout? Its not supposed to happen in one season though I guess its been two years and we still don't have exact numbers

[Phedre]

They almost look like they have been hit with what they used to call 2-4D, I think they call it ammeane(sp) these days.  It is a weed killer that kills weeds but not the grass and drifts like crazy. It will contort flowers and some trees.  And I have to admit that I just sprayed some weeds in my yard with it, I think it is called Weed-Be-Gone. If none of that , you have a real mystery,
Sky Otter, somethun made then go weird.   

[Shasta56]

We've had hotter than normal weather, interspersed with some impressive thunderstorms.  My backyard was taken over by wild morning-glory, and the squirrels ate my larkspur.

Shasta

[zorgon]

Had a big rat that was eatting everything left  got 1/4 of the pomemgranites  Finally got him last night

[sky otter]

well i don't think this has anything to do with radiation.. imo

but the original seeds were years ago  just one packet and then they spread themselves along the fence... total thugs as plants go but very pretty and the gold finches luv em - so it worked

i do have some biology background and can tell you that things can change on their own
but
i think what this was 
is that the seeds were ripe from the hot sun
and then the rain got the poor plant turning into compost without falling down
...and the seeds hadn't fallen off either
but started to grow where they were because the plant was rotting and becoming fertilizer for the seeds
some of the other things had gone dormant and then started to grow again...
weird but explainable..imo

it's weather that's the game changer in most cases


the cabbage got sunburnt in the week of 90's and since i didn't peel off that top layer the next growth spurt covered it up.. and left a black thin layer inside the cabbage
makes for using the cabbage a pain but nothing wrong with it

if you pay close attention it's amazing what you see happening

[Amaterasu]

I was kinda freaking out, considering z's explanation but only giving it slight probability, and I was relieved to see that an explanation came forth that both sounds and feels right.

[burntheships]

I have some kale that is doing wierd things,
it is growing little leaves off of the leaves.

Never seen this before, anyone else?

This happened after the rain a week ago.

[Amaterasu]

Well, it went back to being a bit weird again... One case of odd, with explanation, ok.  Now two People have sorts similar oddities... 

Yeah.  Back to weird.

[sky otter]

bts
this is my first year for growing kale so i looked it up..sounds normal


http://myfolia.com/plants/48-kale-brassica-oleracea-acephala-group
Leaf-and-spear kales: These are a cross between a curly-leaved kale and a plain one. It has curly leaves and produces side shoots that are somewhat like broccoli. As of January 2009, Pentland Brig is the only leaf-and-spear type kale available.


my mom gave me this recipe for kale chips.. i tried it today and was surprised

rinse kale and dry
(i'm a bit on the nutie side and always use a vinegar/water bath and then a plain water rinse....
takes care of any bacteria, fungus or bug eggs..lol)

cut leaves off the spine (next time i am going to leave the spines in)

cut or tear into one/on & a half inch pieces

either spritz with oil lightly  or put a bit into a plastice bag and shake

spread onto a cookie sheet

springle  salt if you like..but go easy

into over at 250
about 15 minutes or until they flatten out

very tasty


amy just saw your post..most things - even wierd ones can be explained..

[Amaterasu]

And once again, sky deweirds things!

[whew!]

[sky otter]

sorry  double post.. somehow.. must be wierd.
hahahahahahahahah

[burntheships]

Sky thanks!

Amy....whew! 

Ok, this is russian kale, so dont know if it is the same,
but calling it good for now.

I love the vinegar and water bath sky, i am finicky also
about getting all of the "stuff" off.

Those chips sound good, I am going to try them!
I also like Kale in soup, and it makes a nice gratin with Yukons.