What did you do in the garden today?

[Minanora]

Oh yeah and of course the nectarines are getting ripe now. I've been giving away fruit by the pound just trying to keep up. I'm going to prune all of the trees super hard this fall to combat the leaf curl, and build up the frame of the trees. I have had several branches snap under the load, even with boards propping up the branches. Hate seeing an 11 year old tree that I've shaped go and break limbs. We've had some wicked wind.

 

[FloridaChook]

cleared out all the summer old crop and about to plant fall/winter

 

[Smokerbill]

Picked a few freezer beans this morning. The vining rattlesnake beans are just starting to produce.

I pruned several big leaves from the zucchini plants. None of the fruit have set on yet, all shriveled and died so far. Thought opening up the bush would make the blossoms more visible to the pollinators.

 

[WthrLady]

It was already a HUMID 80' at 730am. I managed to get my 12 mile bike ride done before it was much more miserable than that.
But then we worked on new security cameras outside for two hours. OMG It's only 88, but the humidity is ridiculous and there is not a hint of wind.
Same as yesterday.
But I managed to pull weeds from half the garden before all the bending and standing up started to do battle with the heat.
I still have half to go, but there are no where near as many weeds. So maybe I go out at dusk, pull some weeds, and feed some skeeters.

We had hundreds of swallows playing at dusk at our place last night. The recent rains had the dragonflies massing for their migration south by the thousands. It was kind of fun and sad to watch. You'd pick a dragonfly, root for it, watch it zig and zag across the property until you either couldn't see it anymore, or zap, a bird would grab it.

Hey, I'm in the middle of nowhere. We take our entertainment where we can get it.

Made 100% Einkorn sourdough bread yesterday. OMG that is SO sticky! It set off all my OCD tactile issues getting that into the oven. Next loaf I'll go 50/50 with the red flour and einkorn and see if that helps with the sticky.

 

[igorsMistress]

We don't have an Aldi's, but cart theft is a thing here. We have a very large homeless population. They use the carts to move their belongings when the city forces them to leave their camps. The city throws away everything they leave behind. It's a really depressing and frustrating situation here.

I think that’s happening everywhere. Here we have a lot of working homeless folks too; there is state trust land where people can camp for $15 or $20 a year. People park there overnight and sleep in their cars, then drive back to town to hit the gym for a shower, then back to work. There are waiting lists for shelters and assistance for anything, but if you’re working you don’t get any of those things. Yet it’s $1,500 or more to rent even an apartment.

 

[igorsMistress]

I had a temporary shelter in the middle of the yard when Elvis and Toast were still here. Don’t need it now so I used the lumber to hold the roof over the duck pool

Collected a few pavers, the teenager will help move some more tomorrow, so I can cut down on the mud that gets into the pool. I think I’m going to rake all the big bits of wood left from the chip drop over to the xeriscape garden and then put out some straw for the chickens to spread around. It doesn’t last long but it’s easier on their feet. I was soaked after this so I’m done. Having some lunch, then we need to run to the feed store and get some groceries.

 

[chickengr]

People here will abandon their carts instead of walking back to get their quarter.

we have homeless and gypsies who take care of abandoned carts.

 

[PopoMyers]

That’s strange bc one of these butternut, not by the gourd is normal. This vine had normal ones except this one by the gourds. how can a vine produce 2 different fruits?

That is strange. Keep us updated on how they all mature.

 

[Supercow]

Done harvesting William's pride apples. To me the best summer apple. Disease resistant, can even be stored for a while. Aromatic, bit of a red blush under the skin that colors apple sauce convincingly red.

From a 15 year old tree,
- 110 kg (242 lb) for juice (2/3 yield)
- around 120 kg for apple sauce (a lot of cooking and many many jars... one can get a little bored but they bring happiness in the winter)
- some eaten fresh and shared with neighbors

They usually start in the third week of July but this year they started a month early and lasted until now. Very good crop despite a late frost.

Currently collecting and slicing pears for pear brandy distillation in winter *wheeze* it's a big daily task.

 

[Minanora]

Yeah, our homeless also come from the mental hospital, they get arrested, booked, taken to the mental hospital and then when they serve their sentence and are released, they have nothing, and nobody. So they live on the streets and can't get the services they need. Plus all of the homeless that are approved for section 8 vouchers but still can't find a place to live when they get them. The wait times for temporary housing is absolutely insane. Even if they can stay sober and get in, it's only for a short time. There was a safe parking place where you could get help to register your vehicle and live there in your car but the organization that was operating it was basically stealing the funding and not helping anyone. They closed that site. And a restroom/shower along with it. There's finally an adorable gym in town, but because of the traffic it won't last long. All the pay phones are gone. The drug abuse here is out of control. There's no public restrooms here either.

Rant over.

How does everyone store their seeds? I use a binder and trading card storage sheets. It works really well for most seeds. Beans and corn, depends on the packet, but I make it work.