What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

We just hit a heat index of 111 degrees. OMG. Blech. 40 gallons of alpaca poo tea is on the garden. The rest of the watering will have to wait until after sunset, or close to it. The tying up then too, as long as the biting flies aren't out.

I made a shade cover for the baby birds. I felt bad for them.

 

[WthrLady]

Yes! Calcium important. Interestingly, I added bone meal and OS in the soil prior to planting, and fish based fertilizer at planting. Then have added bone meal and OS to the soil at base of the plant! The tomatoes I planted in my compost bin (a year worth of crushed egg shells in there) are not having this problem. I think the soil in the beds was majorly depleted by previous owners who planted primarily tomatoes.

OH ya. If they repeatedly planted tomatoes, that soil is sucked dry! I add calcium and bone meal once a week. A good dose after cleaning the garden in the fall and another good dose in the spring before planting goes in each hole.

 

[jerryse]

Planted some hollyhock seed in plastic half barrels . Actually mineral feeder tubs for cattle . Bought them at the sale barn cheaper than the other ones .

 

[pennyJo1960]

We have a poultry sales at Chehalis auction weekly they do others first as in farm or house hold then poultry and yes great place to pickup old be it most anything

 

[MissChick@dee]

I've got a mole in my garden. He keeps knocking over my pepper plants. There's really no good spot to put a trap in there so I've had to go out every day and pile more dirt at their bases to stand them up. Really at my wits end with this pest. Otherwise my garden is doing fine. I'm days away from my first tomato. Ive harvested the broccoli 3 times now. I've got a few peppers growing but I know a mole is knocking them over because they aren't falling in the direction of the peppers on the plant (as if it was too heavy). We've had that happen before. I'm wondering if we should transplant them a little deeper for stronger rooting next year.

They sell traps fairly cheap. Tie a cord to a handle of a empty milk container. I used a empty fabric softener container then stuff the trap as deep as you can. The mole and trap can be pulled up. The jug and cord keep the mole from dragging the trap deep. And ... you know for sure you got em’

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

They sell traps fairly cheap. Tie a cord to a handle of a empty milk container. I used a empty fabric softener container then stuff the trap as deep as you can. The mole and trap can be pulled up. The jug and cord keep the mole from dragging the trap deep. And ... you know for sure you got em’

We've got a scissor trap and we dont know where the hole is. If I knew where the hole was Id flood him out

 

[cavemanrich]

We've got a scissor trap and we dont know where the hole is. If I knew where the hole was Id flood him out

I'm no means expert on moles, since we do not have any here, but my understanding is..... moles make tunnels that are just below surface. I have seen such in places such as forest preserves.
Here is a pix of what I'm referring to.

If you have such mounds , then it should be easy to locate those tunnels.

 

[karenerwin]

We've got a scissor trap and we dont know where the hole is. If I knew where the hole was Id flood him out

I'm no means expert on moles, since we do not have any here, but my understanding is..... moles make tunnels that are just below surface. I have seen such in places such as forest preserves.
Here is a pix of what I'm referring to.

If you have such mounds , then it should be easy to locate those tunnels.

My problem is that this year we have 20 or more of those tunnels! My husband's ex-wife and her husband run a mole trapping company (MoleNoMo)( the last MO is for Missouri) any way, I am about ready to call them and see if we can get some traps from them! I'm not sure why they are so bad this year. Our neighbor has been battling them every year that we have been here (13 years) because he didn't want his horses breaking a leg in a mole hole. Plus, he just doesn't like them tearing up his yard. He hasn't had the horses for 2 or 3 years now but this is the first year the moles have been bad in our yard.
ETA: I did get the grass cut this morning before the oppressive heat moved in. I also went and checked on the raspberry canes that I planted last year. The weeds in that area had overtaken them like crazy! All 3 canes were still alive or had at least put out new shoots that were alive. I pulled out the weeds all around them and saw a praying mantis on one of the dead canes. Hopefully, they will continue to grow and get established. The blackberries that I planted at the same time but in a different area are doing fabulous!
My son just called and said they just found a hornet nest in their attic about the size of a grapefruit. They (and I ) are trying to figure out the best way to get rid of them. They don't have the $ to call in a pest control service. Any suggestions?

 

[Sarahs Hens]

Ugh that is a lot! We have voles.. they tunnel like moles but close to the surface and have the face of a mouse and long front teeth. They tunnel in the veggie garden for earthworms. They looooove earthworms. In our garden, the only damage Ive had is a wilty plant or two and a couple seedlings sucked into the earth like a sinkhole lol. Our tomcat keeps them under control though.

Today in the garden I learned I should have thinned my cucumbers because they are taking over my 'three sisters' bed like Jumangi plants. Ive got squash, beans, corn and cucumber all growing together. Every time I turn my back watering, I feel as if the cukes are reaching out with their tendrils to climb me too!

 

[Beer can]

I LOVE Brandywine tomatoes but they seem so susceptible to blight, I had it bad last year. I'm happy to have found this idea. Do you do it only when you see signs of it or is it too late by then - the blight seems to come on quick & decimate over night!

Yup only time I had to deal with it, was pretty much overnight. Not sure if anyone else has answered this, haven't been on. I pretty much wait if they look good, once they start getting spotted and dead leaves which I don't know if it is a sign of blight was never a big deal before, but once I see it that's when I start spraying. And I only spray them after a rain, or occasionally once in awhile otherwise. I actually just sprayed mine today for the first time, and then we had rain off and on all day lol so I'll have to do it again. I try not to use it too much cause they say even though it's organic you can end up with a build up in the soil, probably doesn't pertain to us home growers prob more for commercial growers but I still limit it. Haven't lost a plant since I started using it.
There actually is late blight resistant tomatoes, but just resistant, from what I read that means they will live until you get some tomatoes and then they get the blight anyway. Not sure if they are worth it, I'd rather stick to the varieties I like that do good here.