What did you do in the garden today?

[MrLeeHo]

Picked some beans, tied some tomatoes higher on the stakes. Had a friend with some fresh wahoo from a beach trip this week. Ate like kings.

 

[jkohlrieser]

Been busy in the garden. Loafs of zucchini bread in the freezer, cans of dill pickles and sweet pickles on the shelves. Unfortunately, something got into my sweet corn, thankfully the damage was minor. The worst part is we haven't had any rain for 3 weeks. Thank God it rained today!

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

No rain here. Hot and very humid! The chickens discovered more of my straw bale garden than grasshoppers yesterday, so they were grounded today until i can watch or protect it. Chicken coop went from

to

to

today. The siding that is up is attached to the frame. Both are the same color, one is dirty. Either going to cut off the high sides and use hardware cloth to cover the two smaller ends completely and add panels for winter (4x4 then up to roof peak) or keep them and add more of a frame and put 2 feet of hardware cloth around the whole top under the roof. Smaller ends are on the North and South sides. I'm going to get more cinder blocks for under the middle.

We have sheet metal for the roof.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Tomatoes are getting some color.

 

[karenerwin]

Didn’t get a chance to check the garden today. A big storm was blowing in with real intense lightening so I decided to stay inside. Unfortunately I am down one rooster. Something, I think our Tom Turkey, beat the rooster up and left him for dead. Now I have to finish the deed.

 

[Stablecoop]

Lots of watering! Picked some kale, green beans, tomatoes, and cukes!! It was a warm one today!!

 

[littledog]

There will be a roof for sure. Just making sure 1 inch holes aren't too big. I was thinking of half inch, but when she quoted me the price for 1 inch I was intrigued.

Hmm, I spent $180 for 100 feet of 1/2 " x 4' HC on Amazon. But the price you were quoted is tempting - what if you priced out doubling-up and offsetting the HC in certain lower areas to make a stronger barrier, and doing the roof in one layer of 1" HC? Would it be less expensive than buying all 1/2"?
You might have different predators than we do - for us, a 1" wire or net barrier on the roof works for the owls and hawks we have.

 

[littledog]

There I spied Jazz in a dog cage with her 14 babies, w/o food or water and babies popping in and out through cage.
So I went home, wrote a snotty note w/ my #, grabbed carrier and went and got them. I later got a call from the mom of the kids and all has been mended and is well. They thought they were doing the right thing. They just need more chicken knowledge... I can do that... So, the kids (w/ masks) will come help me with my chickens for awhile and come learn how to keep them while their uncle makes them a proper coop. I will then give the kids Jazz and 6 babies after they learn how to do a good job. I have another week for my chicks to hatch and I need to clean and switch the chicken circus around. Great time for them to come help God bless their brave mom for having the courage to call me and explain what had happened and good God bless a solid solution that is a win, win for all.
K. Garden gang, enjoy yourselves, stay safe as always- a hui ho aloha!

Good for their Mom, and good for you most of all. People like you make this world a better place, for caring for our animals, and for teaching our kids. Way to go, getting over your totally understandable snottiness, to be so generous in engaging the family and teaching the kids a new skill - and rewarding them for learning it.

 

[littledog]

So who has the best way to freeze zucchini?? I am thinking of shredding them first but don’t want them to clump together in a huge solid mass.

I've done that, when shredded they do freeze together in a solid mass, and when I've tried to cook a frozen container as-is, it was a mushy, disgusting fail. But when I've made something else out of them like to add to soups, or to throw in the slow-cooker along with other veggies and a roast, they add a lot of flavor and turn out great.
I've also tried to pickle them the same way as cucumbers, and the pickles set fine and came out nicely crispy but overpoweringly salty. I probably got the recipe wrong (most likely) or possibly Zucchini absorb salt much more than cucumbers.
You should experiment with some different recipes - after all, if you grow zucchini you rarely have a shortage!

 

[littledog]

I already talked about losing our little Maltese dog last Friday. This past Tuesday we lost our big Border Collie/Heeler as well. Call me an anthropormorphizing crazy person, but we believe Big Dog was trying to tell us he was ready to go.
Big dog didn't come with us to the vet when little dog went, but he sniffed Little Dog's burial box in detail, and was with us when we buried little dog under the new willow tree.

Big Dog had been doing well on medication for heart disease for about 18 months, then this past April he grew a lump on his leg, which was diagnosed as cancer. He was 14 years old, so we decided to not subject him to any surgery, just keep him happy and comfortable for whatever time he had left.
Still, we expected a few more months with him, not to lose him just four days after losing our little dog.
Every time Big Dog went outside, he either stared at Little Dog's gravesite, or just looked around at his outdoor environment, or laid down in the field. Finally, he quit eating - not even his favorite treats - then he collapsed in the yard.
Call me crazy, but we believe he was telling us that he understood Little Dog was gone and not experiencing anxiety or pain any more, and was trying to find a way to tell us that he wanted us to do the same for him as well.
So we did.
At the vet, he seemed to understand everything. He was not scared at all. What a brave boy.
Here's our little weeping willow tree, that they're both buried under.