What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

Nice score @Sally PB! Pounding posts is not a fun job. DH actually uses a jackhammer. He stands on a ladder with it & I hold the post square - it makes quick work of fence posts. He made a cup attachment for the hammer so it stays on the post.

Good to see you @BReeder!

Looks like a bit more rain today, thankfully since I'm not home to water.

Switched my soft shell layer to actual layer feed as I'm not home to get her xtra calcium. Hopefully that's enough for her, if not I'll have to cull.

I told DH I was thinking of pulling the strawberries because they hurt my back to pick & he was shocked, he's loving them. To my surprise he picked himself some the other day. So I guess maybe I'll leave 1 bed & pull the other.

Can you transplant strawberry plants? I might offer them to a friend if it's possible.

 

[Acre4Me]

Nice score @Sally PB! Pounding posts is not a fun job. DH actually uses a jackhammer. He stands on a ladder with it & I hold the post square - it makes quick work of fence posts. He made a cup attachment for the hammer so it stays on the post.

Good to see you @BReeder!

Looks like a bit more rain today, thankfully since I'm not home to water.

Switched my soft shell layer to actual layer feed as I'm not home to get her xtra calcium. Hopefully that's enough for her, if not I'll have to cull.

I told DH I was thinking of pulling the strawberries because they hurt my back to pick & he was shocked, he's loving them. To my surprise he picked himself some the other day. So I guess maybe I'll leave 1 bed & pull the other.

Can you transplant strawberry plants? I might offer them to a friend if it's possible.

Yes, I think so. I’m getting rid of one bed and offering the plants to friends. They will have plenty of time to get established as long as kept moist between now and winter.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

DH actually uses a jackhammer. He stands on a ladder with it & I hold the post square - it makes quick work of fence posts. He made a cup attachment for the hammer so it stays on the post.

Oh wow!!! My DH used a jackhammer to move our fence posts...that thing is extremely heavy! But on a ladder!? I can't imagine!

 

[Sueby]

He's very comfortable on a ladder. I could never hold that thing, but he has no problems with it.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning all. Will get caught up this afternoon but I have a question about fruit trees.

All four have new growth on the tips of the limbs, and in the morning they look mostly ok. The older leaves on one of the apricots are drooping no matter the time of day and it seems really stressed by the heat. There’s a good 4 inches of mulch around it and the soil is moist underneath it. Any thoughts on what I can do to help? I added a layer of compost when I planted, and intend to do that again in July, but maybe it’s need something else. Less water more frequently? Super thrive? Just some blue juice? I don’t want to lose that tree!

 

[igorsMistress]

Nice score @Sally PB! Pounding posts is not a fun job. DH actually uses a jackhammer. He stands on a ladder with it & I hold the post square - it makes quick work of fence posts. He made a cup attachment for the hammer so it stays on the post.

Good to see you @BReeder!

Looks like a bit more rain today, thankfully since I'm not home to water.

Switched my soft shell layer to actual layer feed as I'm not home to get her xtra calcium. Hopefully that's enough for her, if not I'll have to cull.

I told DH I was thinking of pulling the strawberries because they hurt my back to pick & he was shocked, he's loving them. To my surprise he picked himself some the other day. So I guess maybe I'll leave 1 bed & pull the other.

Can you transplant strawberry plants? I might offer them to a friend if it's possible.

Sueby your description of your DH on a ladder with a jackhammer reminds me of a pic my son shared of one of his job sites. He needed to get into the attic and his tall ladder wasn’t on his truck. He used an end table type thing in the garage and put his ladder on top of that. There was literally a centimeter of space between the edge of the table and the feet of his ladder. Those guys are crazy

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Welcome back to the thread @BReeder! The season is still getting started so I’m sure your garden will perk up soon. I planted a long row of carrot seed between the potato rows this morning. Also put some icicle radishes in between the summer squash and cucumbers. The kale is looking so good as well as the chard. The few green beans I planted are getting close to climbing up the poles. Most of the potato plants have flower buds or blooms on them. Both of my little tomatillo plants look like they’ll make it now so I’m happy about that. Rain in the forecast later today and overnight then nothing until Friday. Good warm growing temps coming finally.

 

[Sueby]

Sueby your description of your DH on a ladder with a jackhammer reminds me of a pic my son shared of one of his job sites. He needed to get into the attic and his tall ladder wasn’t on his truck. He used an end table type thing in the garage and put his ladder on top of that. There was literally a centimeter of space between the edge of the table and the feet of his ladder. Those guys are crazy

Oh my gosh, I would kill him! Thankfully DH is a Millwright & licensed for hoisting and all that safety stuff, they follow OSHA guidelines completely. At work anyway. Maybe not as much at home.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Good morning all. Will get caught up this afternoon but I have a question about fruit trees.

All four have new growth on the tips of the limbs, and in the morning they look mostly ok. The older leaves on one of the apricots are drooping no matter the time of day and it seems really stressed by the heat. There’s a good 4 inches of mulch around it and the soil is moist underneath it. Any thoughts on what I can do to help? I added a layer of compost when I planted, and intend to do that again in July, but maybe it’s need something else. Less water more frequently? Super thrive? Just some blue juice? I don’t want to lose that tree!

Well...I've killed all my apricots so not sure my advice is worth squat here, but i did notice that the apricots seem to do better with sprinkler watering rather then flood or soakers. My nectarines were the same. As long as I was willing to use a sprinkler they thrived. They only handled flood watering or soaker hoses if it was used rarely.
I know most people here use flood or soakers because of the evaporation (I do to), but I don't think most fruit trees handle that well.
I think planting them in September also helps. That gives them some time to get established before the horrid heat sets in.

 

[WthrLady]

I think a lot of the soaker problem is people don't know how much or how little they're watering. I have a line on each system that goes into a gauge and that shows how much is being put out. I also soil moisture test just past the drip line.1 inch a week in normal weather. 2 a week in hotter/drier times. Each head is also adjustable depending on the plant/tree needs. People forget you aren't just watering the plant but the soil around the plant. If you are only watering around the plant the bone dry soil around the wet soaks up a huge amount of the moisture, so your plant/tree isn't getting as much as you think it is. Add any sloping to that equation and you again have to adjust what you are putting in the ground.
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Steamy, foggy, thundery 74 degrees early this morning, so I went out and pruned, tied, and watered the tomatoes. I have reached the point when pulling and hoe-ing weeds/grass in the garden only makes them angrier, so the spray will come out in the morning and will only be used far from plants.
The mulch I put down a few weeks ago has already gone due to rot from the bag. This is ridiculous.
I need more mulch and more fertilizer on the next trip to town.
Drove past some Mennonite kitchen gardens yesterday. HUGE gorgeous things.