What did you do in the garden today?

[Three Little Bunnies]

Hey glad there’s other people with a lot of time on their hands, lol. Today I found a pair of conjoined twin zucchini, a lucky toad who’s might make my zucchini plant home, and I beat the horse to the first of the ripe Mesquite beans.View attachment 2212987View attachment 2212988View attachment 2212989

I have had conjoined pumpkins, but the zucchini aren't doing great.

 

[WthrLady]

Morning gardeners!

@Wee Farmer Sarah I did steal your rain! Sorry! Rain gauge says we got just under a half an inch, hoping for some more today. Your fig looks happy!

Productive morning. Got my mean girls fenced off area set up much more workable for me this am, super happy about that. I'm still debating a tarp to block her off so she can't see the others, not sure if it'll help or hurt. I've been noticing one of the pullets, Green, working her way up the pecking order, I'm hoping she'll take top hen & one day I can try & put mean girl back in & Green will put her in her place. Yes, I call my chickens their zip tie color, lol. Probably all wishful thinking & we'll have to cull her anyway.

I have lots of squash on the plants, excited for that. Going to keep hand pollinating them anyway, though it's probably unnecessary - the flowers are full of little bugs & ants all the time. Can't believe my lettuce hasn't bolted yet, the shade cloth has helped so much! The dill is finally growing, I didn't think it was going to make it.

Looking into doing some type of drip line in my beds for next year. I don't really want the little ports or sprinklers (or whatever you call the little heads that drip water), I saw a drip line tube that works kind of like a soaker hose - now I want that. I could just run 3 lines directly down the length of the 4 beds. & another 3 lines down the other 4 beds. Anyway, research this year, project for next spring.

Alrightie, have a great day everyone!

The little heads are nice because the screw adjustment ones can be just that, adjusted. I can turn them off for plants that are getting too much water and turn them up for those that aren't.

Lines that run above ground and don't drain out, hold the water, which heats up and gets over 100 degrees, that's like us dumping coffee in our laps to a plant.

So if you go that route, make sure your lines drain when the water shuts off.

 

[rocking chickens]

Yesterday I transplanted roses, yarrow and flax.

 

[Sueby]

In the hole it stimulates root growth. When mixed with water and sprayed on the tomato plants, it slightly triggers the plants immune response, so it up's it's game. Wounds heal faster, I get stronger branches, less disease, flavor increases. It's like getting a flu shot or allergy shot in small doses for the plant.

I should try that on my blighted tomatoes - I burned them bad one day with the copper fungicide, the sun came up strong before they dried. I'm sure they could use a flu shot!

The little heads are nice because the screw adjustment ones can be just that, adjusted. I can turn them off for plants that are getting too much water and turn them up for those that aren't.

Lines that run above ground and don't drain out, hold the water, which heats up and gets over 100 degrees, that's like us dumping coffee in our laps to a plant.

So if you go that route, make sure your lines drain when the water shuts off.

Huh, very good point. The one I saw was buried in the dirt, not deep, but I would think that would help. I also mulch a good 5 inches of straw because I can't weed because of my back. The whole garden is on a hill too, the end would be downhill so maybe I would be ok. So if you use the heads, do you have to re-cut the lines every year when you rotate crops? Or do you just put in a certain number in a 4x4 bed, say, & leave them as is & not direct them for each plant? & thanks for talking me thru this! My back sucks so bad I have to sit on a 5 gallon bucket to water by hand, I need to do this once a season & be done, I can't be messing around so I'm trying to find the most efficient way for that.

@Wee Farmer Sarah I will do a little rain dance for you since I stole. It is getting icky out.

I got a giant tractor bucket full of mulch in the run, which was 5 wheelbarrows full. Then I realized it wasn't aged good & there was some mold & I probably shouldn't have done that. Ugh. I hope I don't kill my chickens. My luck they'll all die from aspergillus except for mean girl since she didn't get any. Not really funny. *knock on wood*

 

[WthrLady]

My lines are like your arm, hand and fingers.
I have the main trunk that goes from the faucet to the garden and then that branches off into two lines, one for each side of the garden. It's 1/2 inch solid line.

Off that branches more half inch lines for each row. Also 1/2 inch solid line. At the end of each of these is a cap. All I do in the fall is remove the caps and gravity drain the system.

Off of that are 5 quarter inch lines that attach with barbs with heads on the ends. The tubes on each of these are long enough that I just move the head where I need it the next year.

I can deep water by just turning on the spigot. OH I have one line that drips into a rain gauge so I can see how much water the lines are putting out. When directly watered, that half inch or inch of "rainfall" adds up quickly. But you have to remember that since it is not spread all over the whole garden bed, the water you just gave each plant will be taken up by the dry soil around it as well. I still prefer it to standing there with a hose,

My whole garden cost me $100 to do.
1/2 inch line
1/4 inch line
drip ends
connectors
hose fittings, and caps
landscape staples

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning pretty certain we had a small rain squall go through still have to water
may add that asprin to tomatos

 

[WthrLady]

Aspirin spray is 600mg per gallon of water

 

[pennyJo1960]

Thank you

 

[Sueby]

Awesome, thank you @WthrLady, great idea to put 1 into a rain gauge! So you leave yours out all winter...I hadn't even considered that but it could be doable.

 

[Acre4Me]

Garden pics:


Hooray for bees! This one is working the melon flowers!

The single crookneck squash plant is doing well!

Butternut squash plant is happily producing several growing butternuts

Here is a potato seed pod - only a few here and there.