What did you do in the garden today?

[jerrey]

I used to spend my mornings in the garden when I worked full time too. It's all a matter of priorities and my priority has been the garden for a good many years...it's where our food comes from. I just got up earlier, went to bed earlier, worked harder.

that is nice hard work never hurt any one the young kids to day don't want to do anything

 

[Bugseye]

Beekissed, have you been able to find separate sources for your N, P, K? I'd like to identify a source for K, in particular.

Also, I am just now reading up on the beekeeping thread and wondering whether you continue to keep bees? I am in my first year with them and starting a beekeeping association of some sort in my area.

 

[Nofowlplay]

I had a wonderful day last week in the garden. It has rained so much that one bed I just gave up on and decided to let the girls loose in it to scratch. There were potatoes planted but they never bloomed and finally the tops just withered away. I didn't think there would be any potatoes. But I looked at the girls enjoying the dig and started seeing red potatoes being uncovered!

I got my spade and started helping them dig in the potato bed. They were right at my feet munching on bugs and worms while I harvested potatoes and some stray onions they dug up as well. We had a great time together and I now have enough potatoes to last at least a month! I love my beautiful girls!

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed, have you been able to find separate sources for your N, P, K? I'd like to identify a source for K, in particular.

Also, I am just now reading up on the beekeeping thread and wondering whether you continue to keep bees? I am in my first year with them and starting a beekeeping association of some sort in my area.

I never did keep up after I lost my first hive to drought conditions and inexperience on my part, but I always long to get back into bees....I feel like everyone who has the space and enough food supplies for them should keep a hive or two of bees if they can. It's just smart to keep thriving pollinators on the land if one wants to grow their own food. Unfortunately I'm living at my mother's house right now and she's reluctant to get into bees at this time, though she has had them in the past and works calmly with the colony, so is a natural for beekeeping.

I can find separate sources for all of those if need be...our feed store normally has anything of that nature I could want. They had a 46% nitrogen fertilizer down there!

For natural sources, wood ash is a great source of potassium and phosphorus and I'll be utilizing that on the garden and in the coop this winter. Nitrogen can be found in high concentrations in our chicken's poop, or any fresh animal manure....I've got some fresh cow manure in the compost bin as I type this. Manure is also high in potassium and phosphorus.

I've read that weeds are very high in potassium and that making a tea from your regular garden weeds is a great source for replacing this to the plants when used as a foliar spray.

 

[FridayYet]

I pulled weeds (found the leeks that were underneath them) and also found that I have a tiny baby watermelon growing, about the size of a silver dollar.

We had left for 4 days last week, and even though I watered and it rained the day we left, the pumpkins look terrible and I lost a couple of them. Pulled them out and tossed them. Next year I will plant them on the other side of the garden where they can get some afternoon shade.

Picked some crookneck and zucchini, need to get rid of a couple more plants because I can't keep up with the squash or the squash bugs!

Went to the local poultry swap today, picked up 4 OE eggs to put under my broody hen. Someone was selling ground cherry plants so I bought one and planted it. Never had one before, so it will be fun to see what they taste like.

 

[HenFriend]

Rain here today. Hoping it will clear so I can harvest some more of the blackcurrants. Need to chop back the wisteria before it starts growing onto the windows.

 

[Stuffedcritter]

Things are going good been hot good herb drying weather hard on the rabbits. Picked my first beans fought the urge for fried green tomatoes and made two batches of soap using borage and cukes. Stay safe

 

[A-K-A]

Sunflowers galore- Okra- rattlesnake beans and tomatoes- few squash. Everything else kind of Petered out. My Luffa project still doing well. Bout ready to plow it under. Been gathering the good and putting up. Sunflowers for the chickens and birds.

 

[FridayYet]

Weeded for 2 days to get control of the unplanted area near my new melons. Then, while surfing the internet read about purslane and how it's edible, realizing that I threw away a bunch of it. (compost bins are full and the weeds also had a bunch of goatheads in it)

Went out this morning and found some purslane growing in our side driveway. Brought it in, washed it, now trying to decide if I'm brave enough to eat it!

Edit: Forgot to add that my sunflowers are over 8 feet tall now - no flowers yet though.

 

[RichnSteph]

Our green bean plants just up and died over the course of a couple of days. Last week Friday they were looking fine, we even got a few dozen beans from them. Yesterday evening all the leaves and stalks are brown and dead and there are 5 or 6 new little leaves near the base of the dead parts. If I prune it all back will it start making leaves and beans again?