What did you do in the garden today?

[Fishychix]

Morning all. Chilly start here today. I was a bit worried about the littles since they had the option of a heat plate till they came here, but they were fine. I found them in a pile this am. I called my chicken neighbor yesterday & asked her if she thought I should keep them inside, she checked her trusty chart & said they were fine.

Should be a beautiful day then a rainy, dreary week ahead. Not good leaf collecting weather. DH want to just suck them up with the mower & be done, now on top of blowing them in a pile for me instead, I need to let them dry before putting them in bags. But leaves are too good to waste! Been thinking about asking the neighbor for his. DH will kill me, lol.

Do ya'll horde your leaves too or am I the only crazy one? On top of being great for layering the compost pile, they are great to spread on the snow so the chickens will venture out.

I can see savory oatmeal for sure. Seems kind of like grits to me, which are foreign because I'm from New England. I've never once laid eyes on a grit.

I'm rambling...have a great day all.

Do you have a bagging mower? It’ll be faster and even better than whole leaves for your compost pile.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Got any pics of yours? I'm curious, plus I just love pics. @igorsMistress & I are shameless when it comes to looking for pics.

I had to sprinkle some treats in the run to get some pictures this morning. My flock says thank you for asking for pictures. Here are a couple of the ladies:

Ida Mae was the grey color and as she grew and had her first molt, she started getting more brown in her feathers. The grey stands out more in the sun.

Eleanor had the same red on her neck that lightened to this:

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. I managed to get a lot of dirt moved yesterday. Will try to do a bit more today. I will likely use some of the dirt pile to top off the dirt in the raised beds, so that will be challenging with the rainy weather that's headed our way. Not complaining, we need the rain. I just did my once in "4 to 5" months curbside pickup order at Tractor Supply. I'll, get that tomorrow. I get my scratch there and I get meal worms for the winter. Laundry is the chore of the day but I think I can get a little bit done in the garden as well. Fingers crossed. I saved two bags of leaves last year @Sueby. I didn't really use them, but they likely composted a bit in the bags. I'll likely throw them on the garden beds to mix with some compost and fresh dirt. Then perhaps fill the bags again for next year. There are way too many leaves still on the trees here so I'm not in a hurry to blow them over the fence into the woods right now. I'm looking at Tuesday and Thursday to can some apples. Not sure what's happening on Friday but there's a snowflake on my weather app for that day. Perhaps I should check the snowblower. Now I'm rambling. Have a great day everyone.

 

[BReeder!]

Good morning gardeners. I managed to get a lot of dirt moved yesterday. Will try to do a bit more today. I will likely use some of the dirt pile to top off the dirt in the raised beds, so that will be challenging with the rainy weather that's headed our way. Not complaining, we need the rain. I just did my once in "4 to 5" months curbside pickup order at Tractor Supply. I'll, get that tomorrow. I get my scratch there and I get meal worms for the winter. Laundry is the chore of the day but I think I can get a little bit done in the garden as well. Fingers crossed. I saved two bags of leaves last year @Sueby. I didn't really use them, but they likely composted a bit in the bags. I'll likely throw them on the garden beds to mix with some compost and fresh dirt. Then perhaps fill the bags again for next year. There are way too many leaves still on the trees here so I'm not in a hurry to blow them over the fence into the woods right now. I'm looking at Tuesday and Thursday to can some apples. Not sure what's happening on Friday but there's a snowflake on my weather app for that day. Perhaps I should check the snowblower. Now I'm rambling. Have a great day everyone.

I love using Fall leaves in the garden. I like mulch them and then pile them on the garden. I'll to them in as needed or just in the early Spring. They have contributed greatly to our soil texture. I have heavy soil full of clay. The leaves break down into humus rather quickly, which helps to keep clay particles from clumping together.

 

[Battles house]

Morning all. Laundry is also my chore for the day too @Wee Farmer Sarah. My worst chore. Funny thing is when I was a kid outside chores were the worst. My 14 year old owed me $5. I made her pull all those dead flowers from the summer flower beds. We start walking that way and she is like YOUR GARDEN. I really am the worst. Laundry will be done soon and I get to go play at a friend's house With her new fancy kitchen toy her husband bought her. Some braun mixer/ chopper 9 thing. Have a fantastic day all.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I went out and started working a little on the garden beds between laundry loads. I managed to get just a little done (there's so much mess). My curly endive is still growing so I'll leave that for now. I pulled the bush beans and pole beans and found some beans that I hope to save for seed. I let them go as long as I could in the garden but time is up. Can I just let these dry in the sunroom in the pods, or should I put them in the dehydrator? I don't remember the name of the bush beans which is too bad because they were awesome producers. So I'm hoping these seeds make it to Spring. Any help here?
The ones on top are the bush beans. The other is the pole beans. I wasn't too thrilled with them but they produced well and had a decent flavor so I could plant them again.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning gardeners. I got the coops sanitized early this morning and transplanted the parsley, chives and artichokes. Also planted one of the oleanders, so two left and not sure where to put them yet. I looked at the tree in the xeriscape area and it’s got new growth so I have hopes it’ll make it. We need to get a few groceries and then I’ll spread some more dirt in the veg garden later. I can’t wait to get out there and plant some stuff. Temps will be in the upper 60s to low 70s for a few days and then we’re headed back up to the mid 80s. There’s one carrot that I haven’t been able to pull so hopefully it’ll give me some seed this year; I’ve never collected carrot seed before. Here’s a few pics, have a great day!

 

[Sueby]

Do you have a bagging mower? It’ll be faster and even better than whole leaves for your compost pile.

No (sorta), it's a giant 0 turn that's got a vacuum attachment. Mulched would be great for the compost, but if I layer them enough they don't clump up & compost pretty well whole.

I had to sprinkle some treats in the run to get some pictures this morning. My flock says thank you for asking for pictures. Here are a couple of the ladies:

Ida Mae was the grey color and as she grew and had her first molt, she started getting more brown in her feathers. The grey stands out more in the sun.
View attachment 2386466


Eleanor had the same red on her neck that lightened to this:
View attachment 2386471

I can totally see my 2 littles in your girls! My gray one is browner around her head/neck too & gets more gray toward her butt. Yours are both EE? I would be so happy if they turned out so pretty.

@Wee Farmer Sarah yes, you can just let them dry in the pods as is, or so I've read in my research. As long as they have started to turn color a bit, they should be good to go. I'm about to yank my last beans too for saving. I saw that forecast, they're saying that hurricane Zeta (or something like that) is going to get us at the end of the week & pull down some cold air & maybe end as a bit of snow. Yeehaw!

 

[NewBoots]

Hmm, savory oatmeal. How do you cook it? I dont know if i can mentally get past it being sweet.

I always make steel cut oatmeal and I've used Alton Brown's recipe for years for sweet and savory now.

Steel Cut Oatmeal
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats Episode: Oat Cuisine

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups boiling water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
In a large saucepot, melt the butter and add the oats. Stir for 2 minutes to
toast. Add the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and keep at a low simmer for 25 minutes, without stirring. Combine the milk and half of the
buttermilk with the oatmeal. Stir gently to combine and cook for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with remaining buttermilk, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

I've used that recipe for years now, this was the first time I didn't go for sweet. @Sueby, you're right, it was very much like grits (I make cheesy grits too from time to time). Here's a pic of the finished product:

I really loaded on the goodies. You can almost see oats underneath!

Do ya'll horde your leaves too or am I the only crazy one? On top of being great for layering the compost pile, they are great to spread on the snow so the chickens will venture out.

Our trees are all small but we can't wait till we have some leaves to rake.

I'm rambling...have a great day all.

Now I'm rambling. Have a great day everyone.

It's free association!

I potted a big chunk of ginger, repotted one of the peppers, trimmed back a couple basil and most of the rest of the peppers, (I can't make myself remove all the fruit) and stuck them all in the greenhouse. I collected all the seeds from the okra (there was a lot) and I'll give them another go next spring.

 

[Nigel27]

Monster butternut