What did you do in the garden today?

[BReeder!]

All I did in the garden today is watched the water recede. The garden flooded with several inches of water yesterday. Judging by a bucket I had sitting outside that was empty yesterday morning, we got 4-5 inches of rain yesterday. Now it's misting out there after what was otherwise a lovely day. They closest river is over flood stage and flow through the back yards of houses along the flood planes. Our sunroom was within just an inch of flooding yesterday. That's going to be another landscaping project in the near future to ensure water is directed away...

DS and I did transplant a citronella plant in a new planter outside the front door today. I'm hoping it will help keep insects away from the door, and therefore prevent as many from getting in the house. It probably won't, but it's worth brushing my hand through it as I come and go to see if it will work.

 

[pennyJo1960]

That would be worth to me also

 

[karenerwin]

I'm not sure when I will have a chance to get caught up on this thread!
Hubby and I went and got another load of free manure. Got home and got it shoveled into the raised garden ( while it was raining). Still need several more loads just to get the raised bed filled halfway and that is with big logs tossed in there to take up bulk!
I am down to 15 out of the 17 meat chicks I got. 1 apparently wandered away one day while I was at work. Hubby told me the next day that he found 1 in the dog yard but caught it and put it back. Apparently there was a 2nd one that had escaped as well but was never discovered. This morning I found another 1 smooshed under the rest of them. I moved them to a new spot where they now have at least 3x's the space but cannot get out easily. We have been having so much rain that I don't want them to get out into the chicken yard yet!
Tonight at lock up I found that one of the 3 black chicks that had hatched in the incubator was also smashed flat under the weight of the other meat chicks.
It was in the corner so I guess it just didn't have a good way to get away because there was plenty of room to escape to. The meat chicks are not much bigger than the incubator chicks ( yet).

 

[pennyJo1960]

OH my Gawd @karenerwin dogs got in your chicken yard I was out yesterday
mental exaustion

 

[Sueby]

@karenerwin so sorry for the losses. As I was reading I was picturing fat little chicks that couldn't move (I've never had meat birds)!

@BReeder! that sounds scary!

@NewBoots I wish you were my neighbor, lol, I could use some lettuce! Mine is growing soooooo slowly, I should have had some ready weeks ago but the cold is killing me!

Haven't been outside yet to see if my stupid squirrel was back to destroy anything. I think I'm also going let mean girl out of jail today after everyone lays & see how she does. Maybe 1 more day, I can't decide.

Have a beautiful day all!!

 

[jerryse]

Morning . Rained all day Sunday and light rain all day Monday . Afternoon showers today . Garden is so wet . Below average temps . So much needs done outside . Need more heat to make things grow .

 

[littledog]

Thanks for the encouragement, everybody. It's true, some years are better than others for whatever reason.

Welcome to the thread @littledog. Sometimes things just work out that way. I remember how challenging it was to keep up with the garden when I was still working. Now that I'm retired it's more weather dependent.

I can't wait to retire! Need to hang in there for 8-9 years or so.

Good afternoon gardeners. I got the dirt onto the path and worked in. I gave it a rinse and will walk on it a few times a day for about a week then give it another rinse.

Your path looks amazing! So creative! I love the variety of shapes and colors.

@littledog the others are right. So often gardening life is just like that. Glad your employer is doing so well, though. that's honestly great news to hear! Wonderful to hear your perennials are coming along nicely as well.

Very true, I need to keep remembering that many of us are not as lucky as I am to still be employed, and the reality that it could end any time if things get worse. After all, what's one bad gardening year? My freezer is still pretty full - maybe we should just eat up what we have and concentrate on other projects like the chicken yard. The only things we're completely out of, besides fresh salad ingredients, are pesto and sauerkraut, so the smart thing to do might be to plant just basil and cabbage and tarp the rest of the area. Maybe sunflowers and my dahlia tubers as well, just for some color in the fall. The garden might like a year off and make up for it next year!
Thanks for giving me some much-needed perspective.

Had time for a ride on the beach this morning and hope to shovel compost this eve. Congratulations to all of the graduates!!! The best of luck in all future endeavors!!!

Is that your son? Congratulations to him! I love the way you describe your community, the way everybody swaps what they have for what they need, and shares with each other. We try to do that to some extent, but you've really developed a good network.
That baby mule is super cute!

All I did outside today was basic chicken chores, then take a stroll with our elderly dog around the field, check on all the baby trees, and enjoy everything that's blooming. Lots of bumblebees working through the blooms, which is nice to see. Also lots of wild rabbits - I know for many people they are pests, but there's enough wild plants bordering our field that they tend to not bother our garden too much. The small amount they might eat is worth it for the entertainment when they bring their babies out to play - so funny and cute to watch the little guys bounce around and chase each other.

 

[Acre4Me]

We had beet greens for lunch and tonight I think roasted beets, potatoes, and carrots.

YUM! We love beets here too. We are growing 4 different types. We have never had very good luck with them though - they never get very big. Not sure if they aren't getting enough water, if I'm supposed to keep covering them (the root) with dirt, or just the variety...hence the 4 types we are planting.

That's going to be another landscaping project in the near future to ensure water is directed away...

You and me both! Although, the water isn't coming near the house foundation, it does want to flood the yard and garden. We will have more water redirection work in our future.

The garden flooded with several inches of water yesterday.

But, the raised beds keep the plants high and dry, at least! Still annoying to see water surrounding the garden beds.

 

[Acre4Me]

tarp the rest of the area. Maybe sunflowers and my dahlia tubers as well, just for some color in the fall. The garden might like a year off and make up for it next year!

Sounds like a good plan. You could also get some cover crop seeds and plant those with the plan to till the green cover crop plants under in the late summer or fall so they rot in the ground - this is "green manure". Your garden soil will benefit. We are currently growing yellow blossom clover for this purpose in a large, lower quality soil, garden bed. We plan to let it grow for a few more weeks, then till it under so we can plant in that bed in June sometime. Of course, the weather here needs to actually warm up and quit raining.

 

[littledog]

Oh yeah, we are pesto fanatics! My recipe is almost identical to yours, except I sometimes use walnuts instead of pine nuts, because those are rarely available at our store, and price is an issue.
My DH is always asking, "When are you going to make The Green Stuff?" (He was a "ground beef, potatoes, hamburger helper and cookies" type guy when I met him, go figure) and I tell him, "I can't make it without pesto, we gotta grow some basil - just come to the store with me and see the prices, then you'll understand how worth it the garden is."
He does help a lot, but I have to give him "assignments" - but he's figuring out (thanks to the chickens and their eggs) that raising our own food isn't just a "hobby," it makes a huge difference in the quality, health, tastiness and expense of what we eat.

"The Green Stuff" he keeps asking for is just 2 12-oz bags of pasta cooked, 2 cups pesto, 8 oz flaky-style smoked salmon, and 1 pint pickled asparagus, all stirred together while the pasta is hot. It's the simplest recipe to make, delicious hot as a main course, or cold as a pasta salad.

Sprinkled every plant in there with miracle grow James the sone is watering tonight ..
I cut basil and sage for pesto with pine nuts and parmesan shreded cheese
This is one of easiet I do
Pesto
3 to 4 table spoon of Olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup dried basil
3 fresh cloves or 2 tsp jarred
1 cup Parmesan cheese
When I make it store in a mason jar but have a large processor For our pizza I spoon about t tbls into a dish add oil any guess will do but stick in freezer when you make it

I use almost the same exact recipe, but do large batches in the food processor and then freeze it. I need to experiment with making pizza like you do.