What did you do in the garden today?

[Paz]

We are STRUGGLING with voles. Nothing is working. Does anyone have advice. They keep eating everything

Get one of these: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/parson-russell-terrier/

I have a mix of this one and it works wonders on moles, rats, small cats and whatever, just make sure to keep it away from you birds.
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/whippet/

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Harvest day

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Now that you're going into winter weather, are there cool weather crops you can grow during the cold season, or does it get too cold for that?

I am looking into that. I believe spinach does OK. Will give that a bash, since I love spinach.

 

[Acre4Me]

Rain last night, about 1.3" So, now the ground is well saturated. Over the past 3 days we've gotten about 2.4" of rain. Now we just need some sun and heat. tonight lows will be around 50-52F....but daytime temps should be around 75-80 for the next several days.

Today I think I'll fertilize the melons - thanks for the reminder @Paz. The melon plants are still small, and I did put granular fertilizer down, along with some "jump Start" type of fertilizer tabs (mostly N) when I planted the seeds. But, I have a Compost Tea powder that I'll use today.

 

[BReeder!]

@BReeder! did you ever make the Victorian BBQ sauce? I am making some right now. Smells really good. Wondered if you’ve had any.

Others, if you are curious, It is 8C chopped Rhubarb, 3.5 C brown sugar, onion, raisins, salt, vinegar, and spices: allspice, cinnamon, ginger. Recipe is in Ball canning book.

I'm terrible. I cut up ask that rhubarb and then had to run to a party or something. I left it in a bowl in the fridge and never got to it. Had to toss it out. I have plenty more growing though...

 

[BReeder!]

Shed progress... building trusses. I have 2 built, and 9 more to go. I need to quickly figure out what we're doing with a pile of dirt from leveling the ground - there's multiple piles actually but one that is in my way. Nothing today though likely because I need to head into the office in the city and then do a quick concrete sealing job after work. Tomorrow is back in the city and a business event after work. So it may be until Friday that I get anything done.

I do need to fertilize melons and tomatoes in the garden. I may get that done this evening.

Edit to add: Forgot the pic.

 

[Acre4Me]

I'm terrible. I cut up ask that rhubarb and then had to run to a party or something. I left it in a bowl in the fridge and never got to it. Had to toss it out. I have plenty more growing though...

Too bad. But, try again. I got 4 jars, no extra. It’s good, but I’ll probably bump up the spices a tad when making it again, or maybe just bump up the allspice a touch.

I made rhubarb scones yesterday. Recipe made 16.m, there were 3 left last night. They were really good! Definitely a make again recipe.

 

[littledog]

My poor horses have lost so much weight from lack of good, consistent forage. It's only June and I have to hay already... (and finding hay is near impossible....).

I gotta figure out the best way forward. I think instead of spending another $600 on more grass seed, I'm going to focus on killing weeds and spraying fertilizer.

You probably are way ahead of me and I'm looking for straws to grasp at, but have you tested the soil in your pasture?
And you got me started on hay...in our area, so far it's a much better year for hay than last year, but have prices gone back to normal ? Of course not.

 

[TJAnonymous]

You probably are way ahead of me and I'm looking for straws to grasp at, but have you tested the soil in your pasture?
And you got me started on hay...in our area, so far it's a much better year for hay than last year, but have prices gone back to normal ? Of course not.

I haven't tested the soil... It's pretty rocky with very little top soil because I'm on the side of a ridge. I tried seeding some daikon radish to help break up the ground a little bit. I've also tried fava beans (winter) and clover/dandelions (summer) as a cover crop to help build nitrogen in what little soil there is. Unfortunately none of those have been hugely successful to justify the cost. Right now weeds are my #1 probably because it's choking out what little grass there is. I need to spray some 2 4-D. Since I use manure to create compost, I need to be careful what I use... Something like Graze-On will kill my garden in the compost application.

 

[littledog]

I'm so behind in the garden, but have been making progress. Potatoes are growing, lettuce, spinach and carrots I planted around them in different beds are sprouting.
I still have seedlings - leeks, tomatoes, melons and luffa to plant out once I get those beds prepared.
Last week I planted out all my butternut seedlings - all were healthy, all were hardened-off, and I put a row cover over them - but only one survived! So frustrating. I figured I'd just direct-seed some more, but where are the seeds? I don't think I used them all up, but can't find them..I think I'll just buy some pie pumpkin seeds next time I go to the grocery store to fill in around the one poor butternut - pie pumpkins tend to grow fast and do well, and mostly turn out fine in similar recipes.
I have 22 eggs in my new incubator, it's the first time I've tried to incubate chicks instead of letting a broody hatch them. In the first couple days I was having humidity issues, but got lots of help from people in the incubator threads (some from here, you know who you are, so thank you) and have managed to keep temp and humidity stable. I'm on day 8, and planned to wait until day 14 to candle the eggs, but I just couldn't resist, so today I grabbed a random egg and quickly candeled it - and there were veins and a fetus, about 1/3 the size of the egg, which seems about right - wish me beginner's luck!