Not much going on here. Yesterday evening I took a 5 Gal. bucket of purple hull peas, 2 watermelons, and 7 or 8 Gal. of peppers, along with some cucumbers over to my daughter and grand daughter. I am trying to get them hooked on gardening, they love fresh produce, can even do pretty god on harvesting, but it's not "Lady Like" to get dirt under your fingernails. I am really just kidding, but, there is a very long learning curve on gardening.

It's hot and dry here, peppers are dying, but still getting much more than we need. My Roselle looks good, but no harvest yet. Sweet potatoes look good. I can tell the Vanguard are making potatoes, but, not sure the Oklahoma Red and Red Wine Velvet are producing yet.

The north garden needs a lot of clean-up, but producing Okay.

You won't see Rozelle blooms for a while, Larry. I kind of think it's dependent on day length, although being tropical, maybe not. I remember harvesting before the first freeze.

Trying to picture Jen's dogs with guineas .... II didn't think you could "train" guineas?

I'm so envious of those of you who've had decent rain. The Tulsa mesonet site has had .29" in the last 2 days. Skiatook .18. I'm in between and east I doubt we got that much. It makes enough noise to send the dog to the bathroom (he hides from thunder next to the tub), but not enough to keep the pots going.

A 5 gallon bucket of PEPH peas, Larry, wow! Shellies?

Ron's working on processing more tomatoes. The cucumbers are covered in squash bugs, so they're done. I think he has a butternut squash out there, but I don't know if it's surviving, same with the yellow squash. The pepper plants are bending over they're so heavy with peppers, but not much else is left, besides stupid tomatoes. Who would have thought I'd be sick of tomatoes? I haven't been out to inspect the native bed and its weeds.

I have a witch hazel doing well in a pot. Should I put it in the ground in the spring or fall?

I've been sick this week (digestive issues) so it's been less than productive. We did go to Bartlesville Thursday and place Dad's ashes.

Red headed grandson turns 4 today. Ron took him and his brother out to breakfast yesterday. We got him a bike, a little bike.

Have a good week everyone.

Amy, I am starting to get some red balls on the container plant, the garden plants are just now starting make the red balls. At what point do i start harvesting the balls? I think you may be right about day length, because the container gets a lot less sun than the garden,

Trained guineas!? LOL. I'll be waiting to hear about that, Jen. I'm sure we all will be! How fun, house hunt. Well, sometimes. I hope it turns out to be fun for you. And I hope you find the perfect place!

I'm so sorry you've been sick, Amy! I hope you get better quickly! Hahaha, stupid tomatoes!

We had just over 2" the past week, and I'm sorry the rain missed you.

I intend to put all my bushes in this fall when it cools off, in Oct. or Nov. They should be planted in the fall. I have several to get in the ground. https://www.directnativeplants.com/best-time-plant-trees-shrubs-flowers-best-results/

I had two exciting events today: A lady very close to me said she had eggs for sale. I jumped on that so fast! I can be a regular. Nice youngish woman--and at a price I can actually afford. YAY us. And no, Danny, if you want any, you have to come get them.

Also, turns out, Danny is another enabler, but I guess you all are finding that out. He and another friend of mine "talked" me into using the Kindle more. Determined to see it through this time, I even bought a Kindle Paperwhite and it came today! Yay. I already had 94 books on Kindle, but just bought 7 more--and not theology, and not gardening. But, rather, a couple biographies, a couple non-fiction, and a couple novels. I already started one of the biographies, and I am kind of psyched. I can DO this.

So it was a very good Sunday. Have a great week, you all!

Hi Everyone.

Thanks for starting this week's thread, Nancy!

Larry, I SO wish I could have pretty fingernails and live the life I do. I just can't.

And I don't have a roselle harvest yet, either, but the plants look really good. I don't quite know what I'm looking for either.

Amy, we haven't had a decent rainfall either. Just little bits here and there. Doesn't amount to much. A FB memory from two years ago--I was SO thankful for the rain that finally came. Maybe it's coming soon for us, Amy!

Jen, I am so excited for you! I can't wait until you find your new place.

The gardens are hot and dry. I still feel that weird August thread of coolness in the evening breeze. Except yesterday. I had to cut our walk short because the humidity was so unbearable.

I didn't do much gardening today--just watered stuff. The plants and seedlings in the greenhouse look good. It got up to about 110 in there yesterday for a short time, but everything survived. It's quite a job to check the plants/seedlings often so they don't dry out in this heat. It's hard enough in the spring to keep them from drying out. It takes some time from my day, that's for sure.

The chickens are doing well. I have three fans going in the main coop and one on the babies. This will probably continue for the rest of the week.

I did take some time and cook a late lunch for us. I really do enjoy cooking but it, too, takes a lot of time. It was fun that most of it came from our property. The salmon that Tom smoked obviously did not come from our property. But, the cantaloupe, roasted potatoes and onions, deviled eggs, and okra did!

And, OH MY! So, I made fried pickled okra for the first time today. It is SO good. I had it at a restaurant a few years ago and loved it then. If y'all have some pickled okra from past years in your pantry, try it! I love fried pickles and fried pickled okra is a combo of friend pickles and fried okra. As you can tell, I'm a huge fan.

My jobs continue to cause a lot of stress. This morning was so "much". It was good too, but the things that are difficult keeps me from doing the things that are "good" to the best of my abilities because I'm trying to fix stuff that's wrong constantly. And these things have to be fixed or an alternative found "on the spot".

And the there's the covid issue.

Anyway...

I'm happy to finally be sitting down for the day.

Have a good week everyone!

Well, having broken the fully vaccinated and 4 month barrier, we've taken to doing outings and walks, though the temperature is not great :(

Saturday we did off-leash at Lake Wilson. Yesterday, we walked around the block. Today, we went to Lake Springdale. Today was the first with other people, he got several comments on how pretty he is and at least one on how well behaved (their 9 month old spaniel wouldn't stop barking at everything..they were carrying her vs walking to prevent).

And my spring planted hibiscus laevis opened it's first flower today. I'm sharing below....best shaped hardy hibiscus that I have ever had...course it probably has something to do with being isolated in the yard vs crowded in with other plants.

I'm not sure when you harvest roselle Larry. I haven't grown it for a couple of years. This is from a university of Florida article.

Plants begin to bloom as the days shorten (in 4-5 months) and the calyces are ready for harvest in October or November. Calyces should be harvested when they are tender and plump; they will stay fresh for about a week after picking. Harvesting encourages more flower buds to develop. You won't have to plant a lot of roselle to get a good harvest; one plant will give you many fruits—as much as 12 pounds with the right care.

If you already have fruit, you probably could harvest it and either dry it for tea or freeze it to use with main crop later.

Danny, I'm glad the dog is working out for you!

Yeah, still no rain here. There was thunder last night from a little pop up storm, but no water. We watered last night, in fact Ron forgot to turn the water off out front for like 4 hours, so the new trees got soaked. As all have said, too hot for gardening. I stood in the door when I let the dogs out and stared at the native/weed bed. I think the asters are blooming sparsely. The rudbeckia is brown. I don't think anything else is blooming. I can see the milkweed, but it never bloomed. I should ask Ron to water it.

H/J, remember to take care of yourself! I'm sorry you're stressed. I'm SOO glad I wasn't working through the pandemic. I can hardly imagine it!

The sleep center called and they had a cancellation so I'm going in tonight for the 2nd study.

Have a good week.

Amy, I hope you wake up feeling like you slept :) (you know what I mean)

Gf. I read some old threads but don’t know how to link.
Harvest when calyxes are firm but not dry. About 7-10 days after flowers

This is all over my laura bush petunia, mostly around the open seed pods. Stems feel sticky, and these little specks are adhering to the stems & leaves. Are they seeds? I cracked open a green pod & the seeds inside it looked the same, but I want to double check before I end up saving bug eggs.

I am not high of saving anything I am not sure are seeds. You most often get more seeds than you can use off any plant. I would save what I know are seeds, and if these fall to the ground and produce plants for nest year you are a little ahead of the game. I cant see the picture well enough to tell what it is, but the sticky part has me scratching my head.

My problem with petunias, Jen, was something that bored into the seedpod and ruined the seeds. I don't have an answer to what's in the picture, but petunia seeds are tiny.

Danny,I would have woke up rested if they had let me sleep. I am not a 5:30 am girl. I tolerated the mask pretty well and with out all the dame gunk and tape on my face that itched, it would have been better.

The cool thing is, since I wasn't watching streamed TV, I landed on Antiques Roadshow on OETA. This was a 2 hour special filmed at Philbrook! After were back to back Agatha Christie movies. Not her stories made to films, but movies where she is the main character. I didn't mind not being able to watch my shows.

Nothing else to report.

Kim, have you grown roselle? I can't remember. I do remember that Dawn talked a lot about it during the summer of 2019. She wasn't growing as much that year because she wanted to start focusing on the landscape project....but she did talk about roselle and roselle jelly quite a bit. It's quite the interesting plant. Mine look healthy. They're not super tall, but they full and at least 3 feet tall...maybe 4. I'll try to get a pic of them today.

How tall are you plants, Larry?

Jen, I'm not sure about the LB petunia either. I have so many of these things that I rarely even check them over. I love them though!

I am sorta laughing about you saving bug eggs accidentally. You're such a seed saver that I can totally imagine that happening to you. LOL. :D

Amy, glad your sleep study is over. Maybe you can get a nap in today. I like Antiques Roadshow. Sometimes when I have a few minutes to sit down, I'll watch it.

Beautiful hibiscus. I'm laughing because while Ethan was in Albuquerque, he sent a pic of a flower that he thought was just beautiful (and thought I would appreciate it too). I sent back, "oh! That is pretty. You have two of those plants outside you east bedroom window" LOL I guess sometimes things look prettier when you're away from home. It was a hibiscus flower.

If I repeat myself, I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't remember if I think something or say something out loud (or in message form).

I'm enjoying my day off today. Getting the bedroom and bath cleaned. Some laundry done.

We're marinating chicken for a Jerk chicken recipe tonight. Tom's friend gave him some scotch bonnet peppers and I just made a pepper sauce with them. The fumes were brutal. It has a good flavor but is just too hot for me. Anyone grow scotch bonnet?

Other than that, I'm going to bread and freeze okra. And possibly puree cantaloupe and freeze it too. A friend sent a great recipe for an adult beverage made with cantaloupe...and there's cantaloupe sorbet. She knows I'm overwhelmed with them. They are so good but I can only eat one a day. And no one else really enjoys them that much. I've given to friends and co workers, but there's probably 12 still sitting in the refrigerator. And a few green ones still in the garden, (along with squash bugs).

I should really grow fewer cantaloupe in the future. About 10 cracked because I left then in the garden too long, and went to the chickens. I guess it's cheap chicken food. And full of hydration for them.

Do y'all ever beat yourselves up for letting things ruin in your garden? I have to stop doing that. There's only so much time in a day, right? We grow a lot of plants and a lot of food...and sometimes things get away from you. So frustrating though.

Oh, I did pull out a few diseased tomatoes. Normally I'll just leave them and they rebound when it cools down. There was no rebounding for these, though.

Jennifer, the tallest roselle I have is the one in the mineral tub, which is 56" from the soil up. In the north garden I have 13 or 14 plants that range from 38" to 54". It looks like all may be making fruit, they are so crowded I can get in to count or harvest. I think I have lost two, and may lose more because it is hot and dry. It is so hard to keep anything alive in this heat. We still have not had any rain to speak of, so far the rain has come through north or south of us. My neighbor told me that the last good rain we had was the 15th of June.

Jennifer I have grown roselle 2 or 3 times. I got a little harvest last year and got sick and it all molded. I found a thread I had started in 2016 and Dawn gave great advice about growing etc.

I was wrong about our last rain, neighbor told me this evening it was July 15 th.

I picked another good mess of PEPH this evening, but the quality is really dropping.

Neighbor and I are planning on harvesting the Ukrainian butternut in a few days, then the Walthum butternut shortly after, we are just being over run with insects. We plan on taking down trellises and reworking the soil for some type of fall planting. We are not sure what we will plant, but we have a lot of work to do before next spring.

It's definitely been a while, I haven't mowed the back yard in three (almost four) weeks now..and it only has a few patches where I water that needs it).
We saw 2 masked bandits on our walk, my first time to see a city raccoon (though I'm sure they've seen me).

Nancy, the right of this picture are some of the heads of the sunflower that I expect came from you. I think the other sunflower heads are volunteers from last years planting. The pumpkin is one of my strange Seminole volunteers, it is 16 pounds, 12 inches wide and 11 inches high, I moved to the deck because of so many insets in the wildlife garden.

Danny I saw 3 masked bandits outside my side door a bit over a week ago. They skedaddled when they saw me.

Larry I had a couple of butternut squashes... that did not develop normally. I harvested them today, and added them to my stir fry lunch. Yumm... and no need to peel, as they were so young. :)

All, I am tired of the heat. I think, next year I will plant sweet potatoes on the west side of tomatoes, and other plants that would benefit from shade. I will built a trellis and let/force them to climb, and be of benefit for me.

Moni

Moni, thanks, I have heard of eating immature winter squash like that, but have never tried it, but, now would be a good time to try some. I will have plenty to pick from, we are giving up on keeping everything alive. Most of our plants are old and tired. I did pick 6 watermelons this afternoon to feed to the donkeys. There will be some happy livestock for a while.

Larry I am like your plants old and tired

Kim, this heat can make us all feel old and tired just like our plants.

Gardening news: We watered tonight. I started more lettuce seed, harvested a few things, and just did some maintenance types of stuff. Pulling out dead plants, weeds, etc.

Lulu, the leghorn is ill because of the heat. Her comb has fallen over and she was not eating and panting hard. I found her yesterday and poured cool water over her and put her on the roost bar with a fan. She didn't seem better today, so I repeated the process. Then brought her in tonight and fed yogurt and water. She seemed a little better. She's back in the coop where the fan can reach her well.

I'm sort of ready for winter. I know that's a weird thing to wish for, but I'm tired and will enjoy a break.

Fall and winter gardening has been on my mind a lot over the last few days. I'm not sure I'm in a place for growing a full blown fall/winter garden. Starting 100's of seedlings and their care, while still dealing with summer crops and all the watering is a bit difficult. If I was home full-time, it would be different. Working 40 hours a week and dealing with home things--cooking, dishes, laundry, cleaning, animal care, shopping, bill paying, and all the other things that a person does PLUS dealing with summer gardens and fall/winter gardens. It's a lot. I finally finished up tonight at 9:13 and was too tired to fix myself food. I cooked the boys' dinner when I got home from work.

Some of you watch Roots and Refuge. She seems to be tracking with what I'm thinking so very often. A couple of videos ago, she talked about how we're not in a food crisis right now, so why are we growing things we don't even like to eat? She mentioned the year she canned 200 jars of pickles because she had the cukes for it....and Jeremiah doesn't even eat pickles. I take great pride in growing my own food....BUT, for me, it's not in the growing only that I love.....it's growing things and preserving things that we like to eat...things I'll use. I dumped some rotten turnips and beets just the other day. A waste. We don't eat a lot of those things, so storing them until they rot seems silly. It would (and will) be different if we were depending on the garden mostly for our food. Even people who grow a lot of food and seem to use it all the time, don't. They don't often eat their garden food.

I'm surprised by that. I am not a person who wants to store food for years. I want to plant and store food that I'll use.

And I use a lot of it.

And I want to plan what I can handle and what I'll use. Too much harvest can be stressful. Its another chore that I do almost everyday. Prepare things to either be canned or frozen. It takes time. I still have a refrigerator of cantaloupe that I wanted to deal with tonight but it's nearly 1030 and I need to get around for bed because tomorrow is a workday.

Still thinking on all of this....

What are y'all's opinions?

I'm going to come back with roselle pictures. The plants are nearly 4 ft tall, I think.

We are not canning anything, I do want to be able to can food. My goal is to get my kids interested in growing food, and, having the tools to do it with. If we were in better health I think we would can food.

I need to get up early in the morning and till an area for my neighbor to plant more peas. I really think it is the wrong idea, but we can use them for a green manure crop, we already have more peas than we need ( unless he can sell them ). I have over 50# of cover crop seeds which need to be used.

Jennifer, your roselle looks good. My in ground roselle looks better than the one plant in the container, but the container plant has more fruit, but I am not sure I can keep it alive without a break in the weather. The heat and insects are taking a toll on all of my container plants.

Old and hot and tired, so apt ;)

Yeah, I know where you all are coming from with wanting it to just be over. I did plant some black eyed susans and some basketflower to get going and plant once it cools, for bloom next year...but it was a fight (with myself) to get out and do it. I also harvested Monday morning, some spicebush berries to plant...they're soaking since last night and I will throw in a pot and expect germination in the spring. Yeah, I'm making myself do things...I want to just stay in the house and wait for the first frost (*lol*). I'm tired of watering (and I did very little of it..but still tired of it).

I watched lycoris, oxblood lilies, and fall scilla come into bloom, but I only saw each about once (because of how short the flowers last in the heat/dry/wind) and I can't say I enjoyed them this year. Sad for me...

You know, Dawn used to say when the water bill got too high it was time to close the garden gate and walk away. I haven't seen the latest water bill, but I expect it to be outrageous. On the other hand one of the FB meteorologists is showing higher than average chances of rain the first week of September, soooo what to do.

At this point, left to me, I would throw cereal rye everywhere and say I'm done. I'm kind of pissed. Ron wants to put the greenhouse where the native bed is. I have arguments against this, but he hates that bed and my onion bed. The only permanent plantings I have.

I read you all's posts, but there are distractions here.

Have a good weekend.

Well, I got up this morning to go till for the neighbor. Before driving my tractor down to his place, I checked tires and fluids, needed some hydro. fluid, grabbed a 5 gal bucket and poured in contaminated fluid. I knew that meant a trip to Ft. Smith for supplies to change the fluid in the tractor ( $250. plus). when I came home I found that something had gotten into sunflower seeds that I had placed on the deck to dry. I am wanting to save some of the seeds that have mutated, in hope to get more hardy plants. Thankfully the coon did not try to eat my special pumpkin. I have now moved my "project" seed into the house.

It is now 90 degrees and I have not started on the tractor yet, and we are supposed to hace company in 20 minutes.

It is too much work to live in the country when you are old, tired, and, have a ton of junk that always needs repaired. AND, if I lived in town I would be walking the floor out of boredom.

Have a nice day everyone.

Hazel when is that magic date again... and what is it called? You know, when daylight and night time are the same length... and isn't it kind of to late to put seeds out after it?

I garden because I love to... and because I love to eat what I grow. Last year was the first time since my kids grew up and left home, and my divorce... and I had beets galore.

I had to buy a new water bath canner, and ordered and finally got a new pressure canner. I used both.

I canned a bit of tomato sauce (which I have to be honest, my cooking has changed and I don't even think I opened one single jar) and a lot of pickled beets. Then, I did some Cuban beans with meat.. and have hardly any left. That came in really handy when I had no electricity (even so I have a gas stove) and could just cook some rice and put the Cubans over it, after heating them.

I planted only 4 tomato plants. I have more tomatoes than I can eat... and started to just toss the sungolds in the freezer whole (great way to keep them for some stews later on without the fuzz of canning) and I think, I will can some more tomato sauce...

I need to cut down on tomato plants.. :)

Watermelon was a bust, so was cantaloupe. But I still have Swiss chard, spinach, and butternut squash. I also have a lot of herbs, and lets not forget okra. :)

I need to get some salad started. I don't do fall plants indoors... I am waiting a bit longer, for cooler temps.

Moni

I think that after the middle of Sept. the seed planting list really starts getting short. I always have a problem with fall gardens, because, I am tired and hot, I am fed up with insects, and it is most often drier than a bone, but still, I have to plant something to keep from going nuts. Turnips, radishes, kale, collards, onions, garlic, lettuce and cover crops always help give me my "fix", and I still almost go nuts before spring gets here. For me, Daikon radish and turnips are a feel good crop, they both come up quick and the seeds are cheap, collards and kale fit into that group also. I have been able to buy the above seed for $4.00 a pound in the past, 4 bucks wont even buy enough gas to go see a shrink.

Larry what do you do with the Daikon radish and turnips? I have never planted/eaten turnips that I can recall. Kohlrabi yes, but those two?

Moni

Moni, the equinox? Both autumnal and vernal. Equal amounts of daylight and darkness. I think it's September 22 this year.

Normally it's when I put fresh batteries in the candles and string lights in the lanterns. And light a real candle most nights.

This year I've started a bit early. I guess I'm ready for some cozy, indoor time. I'm trying to hold myself off, though, because that time is so special to me and we have plenty of sunlight right now. It's almost a ritual for me.

Thanks, Larry. I think the roselle looks good too. I just need to know when and how to harvest it for jelly. I want to make some because Tim likes it so much and it reminds me of Dawn and 2019. And, I do like hibiscus tea. So, maybe I can dry some too once I figure it all out.

Speaking of jelly, we have blackberries and strawberry in the freezer still. I want to get those make up at some point too. And the sauce tomatoes are waiting in the freezer too.

Amy, I'm not quite yet ready to shut the garden gate (I also often think of Dawn's words). We have well water and that can be good and bad. Not having a water bill is good.

Maybe you can change Ron's mind about your greenhouse....?

Moni, I love to garden too. But, I also work and care for a lot of critters, I need to be mindful about what I grow. If that makes sense. I need to grow veggies and things that we enjoy eating. That is where my time and energy should be spent. And limits have to be set at some point. I don't want gardening to become something I don't enjoy because I'm too stressed by keeping up with it and the harvest. And where to store everything. And making sure nothing ruins.

My mother-in-law had 3 large freezers in her garage and they were stuffed with all the food that my father-in-law brought in. Most of the food in it was many years old....and freezer burned. I don't want that.

I love that you're enjoying gardening again. Beets are a weird veggie for me. I've always been put off by pickled beets, but like them roasted. However, I have beeturia (yes, it's a real thing)....and it freaks me out. It's the only veggie that I can think of, that I feel weird about. And always have.

If we were closer, you could have some of my cantaloupe.

What salad things will you be starting?

Larry, I think if planting stuff helps you get your fix, then do it. Even if you don't eat it. If we had pigs, all the extra stuff could go to them. I just don't want it in my refrigerators rotting. I want a proper root cellar. Doubtful that happens...but it's a dream.

Dreams are good.

Working on a proper root cellar in Oklahoma?

Rick

Hazel I thought, you posted a name for that.. and thought it started with an R?

Anyhow, I have several different salad greens packages... and will just sow some toward the end of September, and then some more 2 weeks later. I loved having fresh salad out of my garden till it got to HOT for it in May.

Rick, I don't think we can have a proper root cellar in Oklahoma. The soil gets way to HOT.

Moni

Moni, I like turnips and turnip greens, I think they are much better after they have been exposed to frost and cold weather.

The Daikon radishes I plant get large and I use them for erosion control and soil building. I use them most in the wildlife garden where I have contoured the land in the to give a drainage path for the heavy rains we have in the winter and spring. I eat some of them, but I am not too fond of any radishes, they taste too hot till after they have had some cold weather. If you would like some seed I can send you some. I have more radish and turnip seed than I need. I think I still have extra kale and collard seeds also. I think that I only have Purple Top turnip seed at this time, but I plan getting some Barkant turnip seeds soon. I like to sow them and just let them grow wild for the wildlife. Most cole crops make a wonderful flower and seed pods the next year for bees and birds.

Just let me know if you would like some seeds to try.

Larry

Moni, I think you're thinking of Persephone days. Those are the days when there are less than 10 hours of daylight. Nothing grows, though it can "maintain". I think leeks are the only thing that actually grows then. In Owasso they are from 11/26 through 1/17. Should be similar in OKC.

I'm not thrilled with cooked turnips. If you had to provide for yourself, they grow well in fall and are hardy. However, salad turnips, small white turnips, raw in salads are good. You should grow some of those. About 30 DTM. There are Asian recipes for pickled tutrnips. I'm not crazy about raw radishes either, but I have roasted them and found them tolerable. Now Daikon....had a discussion with Eileen about them. Her husband thought they were a turnip, not a radish and apparently, in Asia they are called both. Turnip cakes are made from daikon. I've never eaten them, but they're good to break up compacted soil or clay. They'll grow through winter as a cover crop.

We ate our last sweet potato 2020 this week. Nearly a year after harvest. To be honest it was past it's prime, but not rotten. Ron feels like they're a useful crop. I wish we could get pumpkins without squash bugs. I definitely had more tomatoes than we needed. Had Ron put an umbrella over peppers, some were sun burned. We haven't discussed green house yet. Waiting till it won't cause an arguement.

Yes, Amy, thats it. Persephone days

I guess, I will have to start an Amy says file.... :)

You are full of awesome information today/actually you put it out yesterday. Thank you very much.

I'll go over to the new August thread now.

Moni

I know this should be a new thread day, but I'm chiming in as a reply. Daikon radishes are pretty good, I stir fry them, I've used them in stews. They're less intense in flavor than turnips.