What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

There was and entomology course at university when I was there 30+ years ago, you couldn't pass without sampling the class specimens. Hard pass. I know those were lab grown 'clean' bugs, but no way would I eat something free roaming with all the chemicals out there.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I just took a look at last year's garden and on June 15, 2022 I was up to my ears in kale and lettuce. OK, so I'm hoping for some fresh greens soon. Last year I was swimming in kale. I still have one small bag of frozen kale in my freezer. I didn't plant very much this year because DD got tired of me nagging her to take more frozen kale home with her. LOL! I'll still plant another row of kale now that the carrots in the kale bed are coming up.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

How do you process and cook Garlic Scapes?
Need to harvest them now, but I don't want to throw them away...

 

[Sueby]

I feel like things are slow here too. I know they are. In years past I would have long been eating lettuce & it's still too small to even pick any yet.

 

[gtaus]

I bury them next to tomato plants when I transplant them. never found eggshells at the end of season.

Well, that's exactly my point. I thought the "missing" eggshells meant that they had decomposed, and all that good eggshell calcium was available for the plants to take up. Evidently, I was wrong because the chemists are telling us that the eggshell calcium is bound up into calcium carbonate and cannot be used by the plants. It takes a chemical process to break the bond of the eggshell calcium in order to free it up to be used by the plants. That's why some people are using a vinegar solution to break the chemical bound of the eggshell calcium and then using the liquid as a super concentrated fertilizer.

I would like to try that vinegar solution someday as described in the PDF linked to us by @Smokerbill , but right now I have too many other projects higher on my to do list. So, I crushed up a small bag of eggshells this morning and tossed them into the chicken run as is. The chickens can eat what they want and the rest will get scratched into compost. Maybe a couple hundred years from now that calcium will be released into the soil and feed the plants.

Obviously, I will not be around to see the benefit of those eggshells. However, at least I did not dump them in the trash to fill up our landfills. That's some benefit to mankind, even if in a very small way. Also, I'm hoping that the chickens will eat some of the eggshells and that their bodies can extract the calcium via their digestive system.

 

[Sueby]

How do you process and cook Garlic Scapes?
Need to harvest them now, but I don't want to throw them away...

I used to make a frittata with them. Yum. Or focaccia. I don't grow hard neck anymore, only softneck so I get no scapes.

Or make a pesto, or salad dressing or just roast & eat as a side! You can't go wrong with making anything with them, they are delish!

ETA: mmmm, garlic soup! Ohhh, hummus! Aioli!

(I can't stop, I miss scapes, lol)

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I used to make a frittata with them. Yum. Or focaccia. I don't grow hard neck anymore, only softneck so I get no scapes.

Or make a pesto, or salad dressing or just roast & eat as a side! You can't go wrong with making anything with them, they are delish!

ETA: mmmm, garlic soup! Ohhh, hummus! Aioli!

(I can't stop, I miss scapes, lol)

Do you take the peel off to use them?

 

[fuzzi]

If you don't like spaghetti squash then I'm sure your chickens will eat them. I'm growing some things I don't nessacerily like or extra, just to supplement my chickens, peafowl and pigs. They are very grateful.

On Monday I found out that my chickens like squash leaves, borage leaves, and bush bean leaves. Nothing left over the next day.

 

[fuzzi]

Good morning gardeners. Another smokey day here. I feel the same way about the growing being slow @TJAnonymous. I have gone through this the past 5 years. My "cure" for this is taking lots of pictures then looking at those pictures lets me know if the garden is slow or I really don't remember how long things take for real. Although that hard freeze in May really did throw a bump in the growing timeline. I'm not sure what's going on with the kale this season but that is definitely slow growing, I should plant more. My lettuce and radishes are doing well and just about everything else is growing normal. Oh, the tip about the egg shells and slugs, it also helps deter cutworms. Apparently the slimy creatures don't like the feel of the eggshells on their bellys. My sunflowers have defintely germinated and are starting to get their secondary leaves. I'll try to plug away a little at the outdoor chores, but that depends on the air quality. The up side of that is that it's cool enough I don't need to open windows to cool the house down. What little bit of sunshine that get through is darkened by the ash clouds. Wah! I did get a little work done on the new garden fence after I fed the chickens earlier. Still not done. Today is bread making day. The sourdough is on it's first rise now. Tomorrow I need to run some errands and Friday is picking up mulch at HD. I checked the prices and they have the best price right now. It's already ordered so this will be a curbside pickup. Hoping to find the time when the air quality improves to mow the backyard.

Something, cutworms I believe, has been killing all my vincas. I am going to save my eggshells to use specifically in making a border around each annual.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We bake the eggshells then run a roller over them. Now decide put them in the garden.
Or use them as decoration, I have herb garden in pots and succulents from my Ma's.
At the front of the door side there is an area with two huge bushes nothing else.
Been using oyster over weed block. Have to redo it takes like 6 50 lbs bags.
Morning Home Gardeners.