What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

It's amazing what people think about gardening - how can anyone not think the garden needs to be fed!? Just amazing.

Your soil may have had enough calcium, but with out the right balance of phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium the plant is unable to take up what is there. The calcium actually strengthens the tomatoes and allows them to fight off pathogens.
Last Spring, we had a horribly wet start and the battle to re-balance the soil was long and hard.

Tru dat. LOL. It did test perfect that year & they said it needed no amendments, but that was at the beginning of the year & things can change quickly. I haven't tested since & I really need to!

 

[DParker75089]

A lot of people did this around here down in the city. These are also the people that think gardening is a free, easy, and cheap way to put food on the table.

Yeah, I garden because I enjoy it...among other reasons, none of which are how "cheap" it is. I could buy groceries for a decade with what I've spent (and will continue to spend) on equipment, parts, supplies, etc to grow all that "cheap" food...half of which I give away to family, friends and neighbors.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Well can tell I've had grandbabies past two days! Tomatoes had gotten little wild!
I do have beefsteak starting to turn red...but why are they doin this on the bottom? It's mostly just on these first ones that grew.
First pic is good side and 2nd pic show weird twist going on.

Went ahead and dumped a container of potatoes. Total bust! What would cause the skins of the potatoes to be there but nothing but AIR!!! Is that not weird?!
So laid some cardboard behind the run and dumped the dirt and transplanted my hostas! Sure hope they grow to be massive!!!
Got the tomatoes all tied up and pruned...got all them and the cucumbers all fertilized with fish emulsion.
Let it grow!

 

[Elyrian1]

Morning all. Didn't get anything done this morning except feed the chickens. Not feeling 100% and also DH needs to sleep in due to work late last night. So I didn't get to beat the heat. I need to weed the garden this weekend, but it has to happen either first thing in the morning or late in the evening pushing sunset.

I set a bucket under the AC unit drain spout just for kicks and giggles. Want to see how much water it collects throughout the day, or if it even can. Since the water has an eight foot drop from the spout to the ground, it may all just blow hither and thither and yon rather than into the bucket. I have no idea how much condensation it puts out in a day and I'm starting to get kinda curious.

 

[Sueby]

Well can tell I've had grandbabies past two days! Tomatoes had gotten little wild!
I do have beefsteak starting to turn red...but why are they doin this on the bottom? It's mostly just on these first ones that grew.
First pic is good side and 2nd pic show weird twist going on.
View attachment 3196876View attachment 3196877
Went ahead and dumped a container of potatoes. Total bust! What would cause the skins of the potatoes to be there but nothing but AIR!!! Is that not weird?!
So laid some cardboard behind the run and dumped the dirt and transplanted my hostas! Sure hope they grow to be massive!!!
Got the tomatoes all tied up and pruned...got all them and the cucumbers all fertilized with fish emulsion.
Let it grow!

It's called catfacing. Generally I think it's incomplete pollination (maybe cold weather), but I could be wrong.

 

[pennyJo1960]

My potato is about the only thing producing

 

[ChicksnMore]

Are you in AZ? You can add some garden gypsum to the hole you’re planting tomatoes in and add it around the plant as well. Consider testing your soil pH levels, if they’re off it can have an impact on nutrient uptake. This stuff is amazing for fixing BER so all may not be lost if you can fix the issue before the plants quit producing
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...GBI1O&linkId=392394c9b260e3a12a2bcd7f46f8055a
Also, make sure you water consistently.

Yep...AZ.

I've tried hosing down the dirt in the run but they aren't interested in the mud. What they do like (which I discovered by accident) is standing in SMALL bowls of water. I tried to bring in a baby pool and put an inch or so of water in it hoping they would stand in it. No luck. They used it like a giant waterer. But I had these small rubber feed bowls I was using for fermented feed experiment. They are only 2-3 inches deep. I began filling them up as additional water bowls in the shade but I quickly learned that they all REALLY liked to stand in them to cool down although they drink out of them too.

I did put a 20" box fan in their coop to help with air movement. I know they don't sweat like we do but the fan helps lower the temperature inside the coop just through the air circulation so they are more comfortable, especially at night when they are locked in.

Another note, I've been dumping some eggs in the back corner of the pasture near the compost pile. These are eggs that are cracked, developed a couple of days and died, or ones that float. Basically not anything I want to boil and feed back to my flock. Anyway, the crows have been having a heyday down there with the tossed eggs. The crows will help keep the hawks away but they will also steal & eat baby chicks too. Luckily I only have 3 really small chicks (about a week old) at the moment and their mamas don't go down there and usually keep them close to the coop or within the cover of the oak trees & shade. I have about a dozen chicks who are somewhere in the range of 6 - 9 weeks old. They are just starting to venture further from the coop. They are almost as big as a crow. Surely a crow wouldn't kill and eat them, I hope?

Lastly, I planted 2 types of broccoli - purple broccoli and Lieutenant broccoli. As I mentioned the other day, the purple broccoli (3 plants) has tons of healthy foliage but ZERO florets. The Lieutenant broccoli, on the other hand, is STILL producing in spades. I just collected a gallon bag from 4 plants and it's probably my 2 or 3rd collection like that. In this ridiculous drought & heat, no less! I'm extremely impressed.

That's what I use to...shallow black rubber feed pans. I scatter several around the runs for the birds to stand in and they love it. Tried ice and they didn't like it...they wouldn't stand in the bowl with ice in it and it melted so fast that it didn't seem helpful. Not enough water here to spray the runs and I don't use fans either. My poor birds eh? But they do all have good shade, good air flow and those rubber pans to stand in. They seem happy and they're definitely healthy.

Think I need to tie up my cats claw vine on my arches....I'm short..but not short enough to duck under it anymore!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

It's called catfacing. Generally I think it's incomplete pollination (maybe cold weather), but I could be wrong.

Def no cold weather here lol....100s!

 

[Sueby]

Def no cold weather here lol....100s!

LOL, well not now! But could have been when the flowers were developing. Or just an incomplete pollination. I know we get that here when it's too humid for the flowers to self pollinate.

 

[Fishychix]

inconsistant watering

Im pretty sure thats my issue.
Its just boggling my mind how its just the paste type from Bonnie and none of the others.

It's amazing what people think about gardening - how can anyone not think the garden needs to be fed!? Just amazing.


Tru dat. LOL. It did test perfect that year & they said it needed no amendments, but that was at the beginning of the year & things can change quickly. I haven't tested since & I really need to!

I dont know how to test my soil. I have seen the “pills” in the stores as well as the meter, not for moisture, but I have no clue how to go about it. Yes, i can read instructions, but am not sure how accurate these are. And for what they charge? .....