What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

@igorsMistress I'm sorry about having to put down your girl. I meant to say that earlier & forgot. It's never easy.

We still have our mean girl because neither of us wants to do the deed. She's living in her own coop with 10 feet of shared fence line & I think it's getting to her, she starting to pace the fence when the others aren't near so it's starting to feel mean to keep her.

 

[igorsMistress]

@igorsMistress I'm sorry about having to put down your girl. I meant to say that earlier & forgot. It's never easy.

We still have our mean girl because neither of us wants to do the deed. She's living in her own coop with 10 feet of shared fence line & I think it's getting to her, she starting to pace the fence when the others aren't near so it's starting to feel mean to keep her.

Thanks Sueby. It's never easy but watching them suffer is harder. Maybe your mean girl would be ok with flock now?

 

[WthrLady]

I can't stand culling. But it's part of having them. I have ONE hen that has a free pass for as long as she takes a breath. Everyone else is totally on production and health. I always tell them thank you and tell them I hope I did right by them when I put them down. Something that family has always done with animals.

 

[NightingaleJen]

It rained last night and this morning so no watering 'cept the greenhouse, just starting some new seeds for this interesting sage, phlomis russeliana (Jerusalem Sage):
View attachment 2198643

That stuff is gorgeous! Wow! Good luck getting rid of the blossom end rot. Honestly, that is one of the most disappointing things about tomato gardening. At least it is relatively easy to fix once you spot it, though. Usually.

Hope those shots help your back, @Sueby...and that your DH gave in and made dinner.

Sorry you have to put down one of your girls, @igorsMistress. I know that is part of the deal, eventually, but no one looks forward to that regardless of the reason.

Did you see that new queen vibrational vocalization video? I think it was something like quacks and something else. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53029218

That is so cool!

Thank you for explaining the bee situation, @WthrLady. My father hunts, and learned from his father to thank God for the deer or fish once it is dead. It is a very respectful thing with Dad, and Hubby, too; something is dying so we may continue living.

Not much to do here today, just a light water for new plants after a deep watering yesterday and pulled a few suckers. Waiting for seedlings to pop up (plus Hubby took the week off, so we ran a couple of town errands). Nothing like a varmint-induced extended "waiting for and babying seedlings" season.

Have never heard of removing blooms from tomatoes—I'd be afraid to do that, too.

Since it sounds like many of us are about to be on the receiving end of heat & humidity, I will share this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html

Printed it out when it was initially published, and that is one raggedy set of papers—but it comes in handy when it's too hot to cook, especially now that the nearest restaurant with food I can eat is 30+ minutes away! Of course over a decade later, some dietary changes to the recipes have occasionally come into play, but they're not that difficult to make.

(Bittman's "Cook Everything Fast" is terrific, too—I looooove to cook, but when it is hot and humid and you've been working outdoors half the day...we've all been there, right?)

 

[Sueby]

Thanks Sueby. It's never easy but watching them suffer is harder. Maybe your mean girl would be ok with flock now?

She still tries to go after them through the fence. But I will let her in with them one last time just in case the littles got their big girl panties in the last couple weeks & can stand up to her!

 

[Sueby]

@NightingaleJen thanks for the link, I'm going to pull a skirt steak out of the freezer & have it with a salad from the garden!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

She still tries to go after them through the fence. But I will let her in with them one last time just in case the littles got their big girl panties in the last couple weeks & can stand up to her!

I would give her some more time alone to make sure she loses her status in the pecking order. Then try re introducing her.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I actually saved the entire document to word will love to go back to it often

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

We picked up some more sweet corn seed today, have made 4 plantings already with no success in getting any to come up. The first planting was too early I knew it was taking a pretty high risk chance. We changed seed sources in this today. While checking cows my wife picked some daisies out in the pasture. She took a picture of the roses by our farm sign. We thought they had died back earlier but now they have come out.

 

[TopazMaster91]

This is my first year doing serious gardening, and just a few questions for you guys: how the hell do you keep ants away from the raised bed + corn rows; why aren't my (three!!) huge tomatillo plants getting pollinated; what's your favorite heirloom tomato variety and why? Just curious