What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

My mom sent me this; it can be used as a coffee mug, my preference, or as a pot for a small plant. The spoon is a wee shovel

 

[Sueby]

Yes. My spinach has failed (usually) or barely limped along (once or twice).

Or figure out how to prepare chard or kale so that we like it. There probably is a way.

One way that does not work is to eat it in the garden as it is picked. I did that yesterday and a spider bit my tongue. I think it was a spider, I squished it as soon as I spit it out so didn't get a good look. It was tiny and bright red like the ruby swiss chard stems and I've seen spiders like that in other parts of the garden. It hurt for quite a while.

My problem is I don't really like any vegetables cooked, they have to be raw. It's a texture thing. Cooked kale or swiss chard is slimy to me. I'm all about texture.

Oh my, that’s a heck of thing! I don’t blame you for taking your phone everywhere, I think as we age it’s a good idea. Now if Igor would just answer his…

LOL! My DH is away at work a lot, but all of us neighbors are friends so I could call any one of them & they'd rescue me. I did wear a watch for a while that was supposed to call 911 if I fell (before surgery my legs were so weak) but I fell off the deck & it did nothing. My watch just didn't care.

My mom sent me this; it can be used as a coffee mug, my preference, or as a pot for a small plant. The spoon is a wee shovel
View attachment 3637711

I LOVE this!!

Got a ton of sungolds picked before the rain.

& lost the tire on the tractor in the middle of cleaning out the coop.

 

[gtaus]

Or figure out how to prepare chard or kale so that we like it. There probably is a way.

I like Swiss Chard and Kale just about anyway. From raw greens in a salad, steamed with butter, salt and pepper, to cooked in many dishes. Dear Wife makes soups and if we have fresh Swiss Chard or Kale, it gets tossed into the pot. That might be my favorite way to eat both greens, but Dear Wife makes great soups. Point is, you can add a little fresh greens to the soup so as to not overpower your senses if you are on the fence about them.

 

[gtaus]

One way that does not work is to eat it in the garden as it is picked. I did that yesterday and a spider bit my tongue.

I love grabbing a cherry tomato, or two, when I am outside working by the raised beds. It's like candy that is good for you. But I always wipe it off on my shirt before popping it in my mouth. Most of the other garden food gets washed in the house before eating.

 

[akroberts1085]

It all started with a car accident years ago & just kept getting worse & worse, then one day I bent over to pick up the chickens food bowl & pop. DH had to come get me, I couldn't move. That's why I never go out without my phone, lol.

Another beautiful day but the rain is coming.

I wish I liked swiss chard or kale, seems easier to grow than spinach. But ick. I'm gonna get this spinach figured out if it kills me.

I planted my spinach under my peppers in the green house and had a decent amount. I love spinach but I planted it for the rabbits.

 

[Smokerbill]

I messed up this year and forgot to plant kale. Well, actually, I planted lots of stuff and ran out of raised bed space. I should have snuck some kale in somewhere because I sure missed it this year.

I though you mentioned that deer at your kale. Must've been someone else.

Here are a few pics of my kale and Brussels sprouts bed. The red Russian kale does great for me for some reason. Maybe it the soil, or maybe it's just a very hardy variety.

You can see the floating row cover on the ground, and the electric fence posts leaned over to the center of the bed. I drape the row cover over the bed every night to protect the plants from deer, and whenever I let the chickens out. They love eating kale and BS plants.

When I planted these, I combined a bucket containing some of the same potting soil the seedlings were growing with soil from the garden bed. That way the transplanted seedling roots had familiar soil to grow into before reaching the more dense soil in the bed. I also mixed in a good amount of Dr. Earth organic fertilizer. I mixed a good handful of the soil mix into the bed where each seedling was planted.

The seedlings were tiny when I transplanted them into the bed, and had just set on their first pair of true leaves. They've done really well in the last 6 weeks.

 

[Sally PB]

I wish I liked swiss chard or kale, seems easier to grow than spinach. But ick. I'm gonna get this spinach figured out if it kills me.

And tell us what you figure out? Please??

Or figure out how to prepare chard or kale so that we like it. There probably is a way.

Yeah...

Dear Wife makes soups and if we have fresh Swiss Chard or Kale, it gets tossed into the pot. That might be my favorite way to eat both greens

I have heard kale is fantastic in soups. Don't know that, but I'm willing to try it.

I love grabbing a cherry tomato, or two, when I am outside working by the raised beds. It's like candy that is good for you. But I always wipe it off on my shirt before popping it in my mouth.

Oh, me too. If it was on the plant and high off the ground, I don't bother wiping it off.

 

[Smokerbill]

Garden update: My garden is opening up with more space. I pulled all but one zucchini plant out and tossed them into the woods. All the turnips were harvested (for greens), and I replanted the roots hoping that they'd grow more greens. The cucumbers are about done for, and the butternut squash plants are dying down. Some of the butternuts might not make it to maturity.

Still have a few yellow wax beans coming on, plenty of carrots, and scads of green tomatoes. A couple of the indeterminate tomatoes made the climb to the top of the 8 foot ropes I set up for them.

There are a few green peppers on the plants, which is surprising because I direct seeded them in June when the ground warmed up. I think the seeds sprouted in early July.

I have a lot of dill, but not sure what to do with it, and lots of parsley, both flat and curley. My herbs did pretty well: basil, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Still need to dry some of those.

Overall, the garden was a success, even after the deer demolished my first attempt. It was nice have the flowers, too. Marigolds, zinnias and crocosmia.

 

[akroberts1085]

Garden update: My garden is opening up with more space. I pulled all but one zucchini plant out and tossed them into the woods. All the turnips were harvested (for greens), and I replanted the roots hoping that they'd grow more greens. The cucumbers are about done for, and the butternut squash plants are dying down. Some of the butternuts might not make it to maturity.

Still have a few yellow wax beans coming on, plenty of carrots, and scads of green tomatoes. A couple of the indeterminate tomatoes made the climb to the top of the 8 foot ropes I set up for them.

There are a few green peppers on the plants, which is surprising because I direct seeded them in June when the ground warmed up. I think the seeds sprouted in early July.

I have a lot of dill, but not sure what to do with it, and lots of parsley, both flat and curley. My herbs did pretty well: basil, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Still need to dry some of those.

Overall, the garden was a success, even after the deer demolished my first attempt. It was nice have the flowers, too. Marigolds, zinnias and crocosmia.

View attachment 3637872View attachment 3637873View attachment 3637875View attachment 3637876View attachment 3637877View attachment 3637878View attachment 3637879View attachment 3637880
View attachment 3637881

You could let the dill go to seed and collect the seeds and use them when cooking. You can grind them into a powder and use them for deviled eggs. I use mustard, celery seeds and powder. I love having unique flavors in my food. I use them for stuffing deviled eggs and macaroni salad.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Garden update: My garden is opening up with more space. I pulled all but one zucchini plant out and tossed them into the woods. All the turnips were harvested (for greens), and I replanted the roots hoping that they'd grow more greens. The cucumbers are about done for, and the butternut squash plants are dying down. Some of the butternuts might not make it to maturity.

Still have a few yellow wax beans coming on, plenty of carrots, and scads of green tomatoes. A couple of the indeterminate tomatoes made the climb to the top of the 8 foot ropes I set up for them.

There are a few green peppers on the plants, which is surprising because I direct seeded them in June when the ground warmed up. I think the seeds sprouted in early July.

I have a lot of dill, but not sure what to do with it, and lots of parsley, both flat and curley. My herbs did pretty well: basil, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Still need to dry some of those.

Overall, the garden was a success, even after the deer demolished my first attempt. It was nice have the flowers, too. Marigolds, zinnias and crocosmia.

View attachment 3637872View attachment 3637873View attachment 3637875View attachment 3637876View attachment 3637877View attachment 3637878View attachment 3637879View attachment 3637880
View attachment 3637881

Could have sworn there was a few eggs in there to.