What did you do in the garden today?

[Mutchi]

I think I'm done in the garden for a few hours, I found a hobo spider nest and baby spiders started pouring out!

 

[Mutchi]

I'm also thinking of going to the plant store and buying some awesome tomatoes, and beautiful straw berry's if they have any!

 

[Secondof9]

Today...water, water, water because we are having really hot weather here for June! My Swiss chard is suffering the most and is all wilted and droopy. I'm sure it'll perk up again when it cools off. I've been gathering tips here on how to help keep my chickens cool. Thank you all who post these great ideas.

 

[oldhen2345]

Out this morning looking at the garden. My Asian lillies are blooming- I need to get taller stakes. I raked the leaves a couple das ago, now need to rake again. Finally weed whacked the front yard.

 

[Mutchi]

NOOOOOOoOoOooooOO!!
I found another spider nest! I actually found the mother or father,there was baby spiders on the ground. At any chance, may I ask the type of spider?

I also found some rolls poles!
I took this pic right before it tryed to get under my glove!

 

[WthrLady]

looks like a crabapple spider.

ROLLY POLY! We call those walking peas, hens love them! Peas we call vegitarian pill bugs!

 

[Mutchi]

looks like a crabapple spider.

ROLLY POLY! We call those walking peas, hens love them! Peas we call vegitarian pill bugs!

I know hens love them, but I'd prefer not to feed them. Till they go down you sleeve....

 

[pennyJo1960]

Today...water, water, water because we are having really hot weather here for June! My Swiss chard is suffering the most and is all wilted and droopy. I'm sure it'll perk up again when it cools off. I've been gathering tips here on how to help keep my chickens cool. Thank you all who post these great ideas.

I use frozen veggies also use ice cubes in their water

 

[chickengr]

Morning all.
Storm pounded us.
It stayed just below severe limits officially, but to go through it I'm shocked.

In came in looking like a classic plains mothership but it moved SO slowly.
It went midnight dark at 815 at night and the winds howled to 52 mph for over 15 minutes.
Sheets of rain knocked the visibility down to less than 50 yards and we got just under 2 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes.

The fact there was no hail was shocking actually.

As it passed the sun had just set so there was just enough light between storms to go out and check for damage; One crooked ear of corn and a broken elastic tie on the garden fence, and two snapped apple tree branches on a sapling that is already on the list to be culled.. OMG that was it! All of our wind mitigation put in last year WORKED! (This time)

I swear when I put the flashlight on the sunflowers they looked at me and said, "bit breezy wasn't it?!" LOL.

Chickens were sleeping, alpacas only glanced up from their evening cud chewing and yawned.

Remarkable.

DH and I decided to cull out the orchard. Me mostly, as I am the one that works it. There is something in the soil in half the orchard that is keeping trees from thriving or outright killing them. We have that problem with maples on this hill too. It's some fungal or bacterium, can't remember which. My neighbor on the next acreage has the same problem, No amount of feeding, spraying or irrigation fixes it. Trees not in the area are slow to grow but not moving backwards. So I'll mark trees that will be removed, plug their irrigation outlet and well let the whole area go to a wildflower field that will only be mowed in the fall. The remaining orchard trees will be allowed to do their thing and will keep their individual water lines in case of drought.

This has been a 7 year battle. All the 40 trees have been replanted at least once, if not 3 times, food, water, spraying, note keeping, soil checks, giant holes with fresh growing soil, root treatments, deer invasions, hail storms, freezes in June. Nope, there is a clear line of good soil zone and bad out there, so I will stop trying to force it to work and instead will work with it. (Yes, these trees are local purchased/grown trees from this area, for this area.)

I don't have good soil in my new place. that's why I will plant a lot of fig and pomgranate trees. they thrive in poor soil and don't need chemicals to survive. I already bought a few paulownia trees and hope they will make it.

 

[Mutchi]

It's 11:55. Still working on the garden!