Seriously thoughtful What's out in your garden now ....

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

what's "up the ying yang" ...

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Squash... whatever that is.

Okay, for our International friends, "up the ying-yang is a phrase used here meaning "in a ridiculously excessive amount." I have no idea how or why the phrase came to mean that, but I've heard it all my life. Where you might say, "By Jove, man! I've a ridiculously excessive amount of yellow vegetables from Central America on my hands;" in the South at least, we say, "I got squash up the ying-yang." (I don't believe it has anything to do with the Chinese philosophy of the Yin and the Yang, Geoff.)

From Wikipedia: "Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker."

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Okay, for our International friends, "up the ying-yang is a phrase used here meaning "in a ridiculously excessive amount." I have no idea how or why the phrase came to mean that, but I've heard it all my life. Where you might say, "By Jove, man! I've a ridiculously excessive amount of yellow vegetables from Central America on my hands;" in the South at least, we say, "I got squash up the ying-yang." (I don't believe it has anything to do with the Chinese philosophy of the Yin and the Yang, Geoff.)

From Wikipedia: "Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker."

So then in my constant quest for knowledge why do they call the/that game Squash?

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by kennyc

So then in my constant quest for knowledge why do they call the/that game Squash?

Well, that's because kumquat just doesn't quite have the same ring to it, now does it?

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by kennyc

So then in my constant quest for knowledge why do they call the/that game Squash?

The game was formerly called squash racquets, a reference to the "squashable" soft ball used in the game (compared with the fatter ball used in its parent game Racquets

Gotta love Wikipedia

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

Well, that's because kumquat just doesn't quite have the same ring to it, now does it?

Not being exposed to the vegetable in my formative years, I grew up thinking "kumquat" was an obscenity. I couldn't see telling someone, "I have kumquats up the ying-yang!"

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Not being exposed to the vegetable in my formative years, I grew up thinking "kumquat" was an obscenity.

Having once tried a kumquat as a child, I also thought it was an obscenity.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Having once tried a kumquat as a child, I also thought it was an obscenity.

Touché!

[FlorenceArt]

Here's what my windowsills (two of them) look like now, complete with depressing weather... plus a view of my neighbors' luxuriant garden. I hate them!

I think I see the beginnings of a flower on two of the tomato plants. What a suspense!

[dreams]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Here's what my windowsills (two of them) look like now, complete with depressing weather... plus a view of my neighbors' luxuriant garden. I hate them!

I think I see the beginnings of a flower on two of the tomato plants. What a suspense!

Wow, Florence, my tomato plant isn't even that big yet. But, Ta, Da! I just found a little tomato growing. It's about 1/2 inch big!

[BearMountainBooks]

I think I am growing SUN. Boy is it sunny and hot today (95F). I have tomatoes but at this point, it's a guess as to how long they will set in the heat--and I have to try to shade them to prevent cracking...

Cute plants, Florence. Those are gonna be very nice producers!!!

[WT Sharpe]

The wife and I just picked some squash, cucumbers, banana peppers, jalapeños, and a few strawberries from the garden. I believe a few potatoes are ready, but didn't feel like digging in the heat to check. Corn should be here shortly.

EDIT: Oh, yeah; we picked a few nice bell peppers as well.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

The wife and I just picked some squash, cucumbers, banana peppers, jalapeños, and a few strawberries from the garden. I believe a few potatoes are ready, but didn't feel like digging in the heat to check. Corn should be here shortly.

EDIT: Oh, yeah; we picked a few nice bell peppers as well.

Harvest Time!

Whoop!

[WT Sharpe]

Last year the so-called "jalapeños" that came up from my half-hearted first attempt at a garden were pitiful. No fire. About a half-hour ago, I tried one of this years' batch. I bit off the end. No fire. So I took a larger bite. WOW! I forgot about the SEEDS! That thing was FOUR-ALARM! What a difference proper preparation of the soil makes! After cooling down with a couple of glasses of milk, I made a couple of hot dogs and put some banana peppers and jalapeños from the garden on the bun and they were righteous!

I also wiped something off my eyelid, and now my eyelid burns.

Good stuff!!!

[ardeegee]

This plant isn't in my garden, but I ran across it tonight and for some reason it just seems to hold one's attention...

http://www.botany.org/plantimages/Im...a06-005&IS=700

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

This plant isn't in my garden, but I ran across it tonight and for some reason it just seems to hold one's attention...

http://www.botany.org/plantimages/Im...a06-005&IS=700

OMG! Audrey II, except they feed on the roots of certain other plants!

They seem to be little kidnappers and rapists as well. From the Wikipedia article on Hydnora africana:

"The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odor of feces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles, and carrion beetles. The flowers act as traps for a brief period retaining the beetles that enter, then releasing them when the flower is fully opened."