What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Oh yeah, I also cut up my 2nd 20lb Desert King watermelon tonight. I only ate half of the last one and gave the rest to the chickens as a treat during triple digits. Even with this latest one, I only actually diced up half for the family to eat. The other half is wrapped up in the refrigerator.

And I've probably got at least 2 more in the garden that are close to harvest and at least 10 in various stages of growth besides those.

I wonder what freeze dried watermelon tastes like? I don't know what else to do with them...

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

And I've probably got at least 2 more in the garden that are close to harvest and at least 10 in various stages of growth besides those.

I wonder what freeze dried watermelon tastes like? I don't know what else to do with them...

Mix the juice with vodka and simple syrup?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

You can freeze watermelon. If you have a melon baller it makes nice round watermelon “cubes” and they freeze up nicely.

 

[jerryse]

Should see some sun today yeah. We have a Bobcat rented today with pallet forks for setting furnace on the concrete slab. Busy day.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I finally got the bed for the Brussel sprouts tilled, cleaned and put down a big bucket of old chicken run compost. I picked a nice little bunch of chocolate cherry tomatoes and some grape tomatoes this morning. I suspect my San Marzano tomatoes may be a determinate variety. I have several ripening now and very few blooms. I’m not sure if it’s the cooler temperatures or they’re done. Not all the plants thank goodness. I’ll plant the Brussels sprouts and carrots in there tomorrow.

I love Brussel Sprouts!
The seeds I got...not one grew beyond "just sprouted" phase. No garden centers around here carry Brussel sprout plants. I'd like to try again, but I won't buy that brand seed again.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Well last night I picked squash & zucchini after work...I did spray the squash plants recently but they did not look better. Upon closer inspection I saw the dreaded squash bugs. I fed some to the chickens. The leaves on 2 squash plants were looking rough & when I lifted them up & saw the darn eggs underneath & of course the stalks were in a state of decay, looked like they were melting into an ooze. I ripped out 2 giant squash plants. One of the squash was fine on top side, but a disgusting mush underside. That's so annoying, they've been eating away the interior & underside & the top leaves looked healthy & huge, a canopy hiding the destruction going on beneath. It was getting dark so I needed to get inside. I will address this today & try to save the remaining squash plants & check over the cucumbers. I used a whole spray bottle already the other day so I need to get more to address the darn bugs. I may not win this war, but I am grateful for this summer's bounty of squash, it was a good one while it lasted.







My sweet rodent catcher, she has claimed this as her private deck, it's just something to cover the ugly septic & doubles as a place to sit. Little Girl walks with me to get the mail down the road, sits at the firepit with us & watches us doing our chores.


I know, call me nuts right? A fox with Chickens, Guineas & Pigeons...but it works.




Actually this visitor here does more to tick me off, destroyed 2 of my apple trees.


My flock is doing well, but now the hawks are arriving every morning, throughout the day & right before dusk. One hawk is huge, a female Cooper. Less free ranging now. But they get melons, squash, tomatoes & plenty of bugs. I hear crickets constantly now, that time of year.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Funny but true I left the brussle sprouts over winter.
I have new brussel sprouts starting and filling in.
Darn things have regenerated.

Wow, I need some of those super Brussel sprout plants here!

 

[WthrLady]

Oh yeah, I also cut up my 2nd 20lb Desert King watermelon tonight. I only ate half of the last one and gave the rest to the chickens as a treat during triple digits. Even with this latest one, I only actually diced up half for the family to eat. The other half is wrapped up in the refrigerator.

And I've probably got at least 2 more in the garden that are close to harvest and at least 10 in various stages of growth besides those.

I wonder what freeze dried watermelon tastes like? I don't know what else to do with them...

Seeing as they are 99.9% water, they dont' freeze dry well. HOWEVER, you can squish the meat up and freeze (not freeze dry) the juice in cubes and add it to water later to flavor it.

 

[WthrLady]

I just came across a 12xl aerogarden. It's HUGE!

 

[Minanora]

@Liz Birdlover your property is fantastic! ETA: In a few years that buck would be great food! Gives you time to practice your game shooting skills. I'm only partly joking.

So many of you guys live where it's green in the summer. I miss that. I love seeing photos of everyone's joy!


We're at our large property this weekend. Enjoying the lake while it's still warm. Got an AT&T burner phone so we have cell service! And I can read garden stuff while everyone else is still sleeping. I get up at 6am at the latest no matter what I try.

Before we left yesterday I planted out my fall zucchini, added my hoops to the bed and attached a shade cloth to protect the soil moisture for the beet seeds while we're gone. I'm really hoping we get a bunch more squash. My potted squash was a bust this year so I only got a decent harvest from the two yellow zucchini plants in one of my raised beds.

I also seeded new lettuce seeds in my seed trays where the ones didn't germinate. One of the broccoli came up yesterday before we left so I am giving those a few more days before I add more, new, seeds. It's just crazy to me that every single cabbage came up but the broccoli and cauliflower is struggling like this. The other broccoli seeds I have are also the ones that the postie crammed into my metal mail box back in July. I planted broccoli-rabe from that batch and only one plant has come up so far. After I seed more test plants I'll reach back out to MiGardener to see what they are going to do for me. They're selling off their seed stock from this year so they are out of a lot of seeds. So I may not get seeds for this fall garden for some varieties which sucks.