What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

That'll make a lot of great bedding for your chicken coop and run. And garden mulch. And compost. Good investment!

That's what I said after he griped (briefly) about the cost. Our property is loaded with trees. We inevitability end up dealing with tons of limbs. We chop up most for firewood but usually have to burn the small stuff. The past year there's just been too much and with the drought he had no chance to burn so it just sits there in the way. Add to that the cost of buying mulch this year despite a huge pile of brush sitting there useless. After he thought about it, he decided it was definitely needed and worthwhile. It does jam a lot though....

 

[Cynthia12]

Hot here. 102 right now, tomorrow up to 105. Watered veggies twice today. Enjoying my pansies and I'm getting big tomatoes in my front bed. And, seeing butterflies and bees not only in my squash but on my Marigolds.

 

[Cynthia12]

I've gotten 5 yellow crook neck squash so far.
More on if course. Two plants if green squash. I've gotten one and have a couple that will be ready soon. Already made some zucchini bread. . Had to plant late here in Utah. Snow came forever. Now the heat is on!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Who else was growing Sweet Passion Melons? I had 2 that fell off the vine today. They were about the size of a softball. DH cut it open and, sure enough, they were ripe. Very tasty but I was just so surprised by how small they were.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I think that they need more compost to get bigger, they belong to a species of plants which need a lot of compost, people here sometimes plant them directly on a compost heap

 

[chickengr]

Because they get a little freezer burnt by the end of winter just in ziplocks.

they get freezer burnt anyway. I remember my mother always used vacuum sealer and they got burnt after maybe 6 months.


hot and dry here.

 

[littledog]

This weekend was SO hot, got up to 92 - at least compared to what we're used to, I definitely sympathize with you folks dealing with 117 !

So I picked some good hot-weather jobs to do, pruned and added more ties to my tomatoes, cleaned the chicken coop, and stained all my old beds to match the new ones. They look really nice - but if only something would grow in them! I'm at a loss - the soil in my beds tests good for pH and nutrients, I'm watering for two hours every three nights, the seeds I planted were this year's.

Is it possible for the soil to be too hot for seeds to sprout? I seeded a second round of lettuce and spinach in grow boxes that I put in the shade, and those sprouted, and so did my zucchini in a regular bed in the sun. But no basil (either in the bed I planted in June or the new bed I planted two weeks ago) no cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli or bachelor-buttons I planted last week, no beets or pumpkins I planted three weeks ago.

The things I planted from May to mid-June are doing great - cukes, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and lettuce I planted in the shade of the tomatoes, one beautiful butternut that's spreading all over, one sad melon and one sad pole bean that are still surviving, a whole bunch of dahlias that are thriving.

I'm most upset about the basil and pumpkins - the others are relatively inexpensive to buy though I'd rather not, but I NEED more pesto (I make a lot of winter meals with it) and it's hard to find eating pumpkins compared to carving ones. Anybody have any advice on how to pull some crops out of thin air this late in the hot season?

 

[littledog]

But, our new chicks are doing a lot better than the garden - they're getting good feathers and trying to perch on their feeders and waterers - it won't be long before they can go outside! Even the little one that was shrink-wrapped is doing great, but still half the size of the others.
Here are the big ones:

The little one:

We set 15 more eggs in the incubator, and judging by the 50% fertility rate from last time, we should get 7 or 8 more in two weeks. Our plan is to put out current ones outside then, but put the little one in with the new chicks, once they are strong and running around.

 

[fuzzi]

Hot here. 102 right now, tomorrow up to 105. Watered veggies twice today. Enjoying my pansies and I'm getting big tomatoes in my front bed. And, seeing butterflies and bees not only in my squash but on my Marigolds. View attachment 3579201View attachment 3579205View attachment 3579206View attachment 3579203View attachment 3579202

What's growing behind the tomatoes?

I love marigolds, they are my favorite flower, especially the petite varieties.

I think that the butterfly is a "lady" type, can't quite figure out which one.

 

[Smokerbill]

This weekend was SO hot, got up to 92 - at least compared to what we're used to, I definitely sympathize with you folks dealing with 117 !

So I picked some good hot-weather jobs to do, pruned and added more ties to my tomatoes, cleaned the chicken coop, and stained all my old beds to match the new ones. They look really nice - but if only something would grow in them! I'm at a loss - the soil in my beds tests good for pH and nutrients, I'm watering for two hours every three nights, the seeds I planted were this year's.

Is it possible for the soil to be too hot for seeds to sprout? I seeded a second round of lettuce and spinach in grow boxes that I put in the shade, and those sprouted, and so did my zucchini in a regular bed in the sun. But no basil (either in the bed I planted in June or the new bed I planted two weeks ago) no cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli or bachelor-buttons I planted last week, no beets or pumpkins I planted three weeks ago.

The things I planted from May to mid-June are doing great - cukes, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and lettuce I planted in the shade of the tomatoes, one beautiful butternut that's spreading all over, one sad melon and one sad pole bean that are still surviving, a whole bunch of dahlias that are thriving.

I'm most upset about the basil and pumpkins - the others are relatively inexpensive to buy though I'd rather not, but I NEED more pesto (I make a lot of winter meals with it) and it's hard to find eating pumpkins compared to carving ones. Anybody have any advice on how to pull some crops out of thin air this late in the hot season?

Is it possible that some critter is eating the seeds you're planting? Birds? Voles? Mice?