What did you do in the garden today?

[MissChick@dee]

I got out early this morning, around 7 a.m. and cleaned out my garden.

I have no idea why this keeps happening but I lost almost my entire gardent to spiders. It just happened in the last day and a half. I went out yesterday evening and saw webs all over most of the plants, with tiny baby spiders. Since the last batch of them were black widows, I am not taking any chances. I put Sevin all over the garden, but this morning they were still there, and active. I ripped everything out and dumped it far from the house. It is raining today, or I would have burned it.
I have no idea why the spiders like my garden. They have 6 acres of woods to live in, but it seems to be a magnet for them.
So now my only garden left is a cucumber plant in a container, and my planter on the porch that my husband built. The tomatoes are doing great in that on, and so is the lettuce.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I would feel the same way hate spiders do not scream so loud anymore but good grief
sure would there

I have never really been afraid of spiders...prefer them to stay outdoors, but I leave them be. With black widows or brown recluses, the fear is there, mostly because I have kids and I don't want them to get hurt.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

It wouldn't bother me if I knew they were harmless spiders, but considering the webs look like black widow webs, I don't want them!
This is the second year of this. It makes me wonder if my garden is doomed.
Last year there were black widow webs around all the stumps in the yard, with babies in them. We doused them with lighter fluid and burned the stumps. We have three trees in the front yard that have knotholes and black widows have taken up residence there both summers we have lived here.

Aaaaaugh!

We don’t have the truly scary spiders here. Good thing, because I’m afraid of the harmless ones.

 

[pennyJo1960]

This was my wicked potato salad use horseradish, and hot sauce

 

[karenerwin]

Good morning gardeners and Happy 4th of July. Talking bug repellent: I never had a problem with bugs, especially ticks when my little dogs were alive. They wore Seresto collars all year long and I suspect since they slept in my bed I was "covered" by the collar as well. I've toyed with the idea of getting one of those collars just for me. Instead I opted for the stuff you spray on your clothes. Yesterday my neighbor's gardener dropped by (unannounced, but that was OK) and cut down my sad, sick looking rhododendron. It was not healthy at all and growing tall under the power lines. So it's gone now and I have a new spot for planting flowers. This morning I watered the herbs I have planted in pots, then picked more peas and a couple of broccoli shoots. I also did a little weeding in the beds I didn't use the straw mulch. I could kick myself for not using the mulch before. Even though it's a bit expensive I think it is so worth it. No weeds where I put it and despite not having rain over the past several days the soil under the straw is still damp. Have a great day everyone.

Last year I read the thread here on BYC about gardening where you cover your garden in wood mulch, don't till the soil and things like that. I think it's called Garden of Eden (but I'm not positive about the name). Anyway I chipped up a bunch of branches and dumped them in my garden to see how it would do. All of the wood chips are suppose to make it so you don't really have to water your garden much at all. I found that they was true! You are suppose to dig down to dirt when you plant your seeds or plants, instead of planting them in the wood chips. I struggled a bit with that because I was/am not sure if you move the wood chips away and plant your seeds, then do you put the wood chips back or do you leave them off until after the sprouts come up or what?? Otherwise, I really liked the idea. In theory, over years the chips break down and add nutrients to your soil and the wood chips conserve water and you use less water plus your soil stays moist longer! I have not added more wood chips this year, so I found it much easier to get to the dirt to plant and didn't have as much of a concern about what to do with the wood chips after planting seeds ( the wood chip layer isn't as deep because some of it has broken down already.

 

[Acre4Me]

Garden looks good. That one tomato is dropping its flowers again - no tomatoes. The thin stem that leads to the flower turns yellow and the flower drops off (after it has bloomed). No other tomato is doing this, so dunno why this one is having trouble - maybe it just requires more nutrients, so I should try some fertilizer.

Ate some peas from the garden and picked some green beans! Two pepper plants on the deck (in pots) got blown over in the wind a couple of days ago - yep, they are dead and they had some baby peppers on them.


Spiders - we have them, but seem to be the pretty typical types. Early in the season, one bed was overrun with daddy long legs....they were everywhere! But, now they seem to not be as prevalent, and am only occasionally seeing them.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I have never really been afraid of spiders...prefer them to stay outdoors, but I leave them be. With black widows or brown recluses, the fear is there, mostly because I have kids and I don't want them to get hurt.

Yeah nothing like a venom that rots your flesh.
*Shudders*

 

[MissChick@dee]

Last year I read the thread here on BYC about gardening where you cover your garden in wood mulch, don't till the soil and things like that. I think it's called Garden of Eden (but I'm not positive about the name). Anyway I chipped up a bunch of branches and dumped them in my garden to see how it would do. All of the wood chips are suppose to make it so you don't really have to water your garden much at all. I found that they was true! You are suppose to dig down to dirt when you plant your seeds or plants, instead of planting them in the wood chips. I struggled a bit with that because I was/am not sure if you move the wood chips away and plant your seeds, then do you put the wood chips back or do you leave them off until after the sprouts come up or what?? Otherwise, I really liked the idea. In theory, over years the chips break down and add nutrients to your soil and the wood chips conserve water and you use less water plus your soil stays moist longer! I have not added more wood chips this year, so I found it much easier to get to the dirt to plant and didn't have as much of a concern about what to do with the wood chips after planting seeds ( the wood chip layer isn't as deep because some of it has broken down already.

I really don’t know
I use rocks. All my plants are in holes or beds that were dug down first then filled up to the top of a boarder or grown cover.
I worked a little bit on it each year.
The rocks keep the moisture in the ground. I deep/slow water as I do other projects/chores. Sometimes the ground will be wet a inch or so down then ... dry!
If I don’t. Rocks have stopped this problem for me.
But then again I’m in the Desert. Rocks don’t affect the Ph of the soil. Or leach things out of it.
And I have so many ROCKS

 

[karenerwin]

I worked a lot on my garden today. I am putting up the smaller spaced wire fence around the cattle panel fence. The other wire is from the turkey coop we dismantled. I also added a tall trellis tunnel that I hope my cucumbers and pole beans will climb. I am also using it to support some tomato plants. I discovered that 1 of my cherry tomato plants is a yellow tomato! I didn't know I had bought any of those!
I still need to cut one more section of cattle panel to finish the fence and I need about 32 more feet of the smaller spaced wire to help keep the bunnies out and then the new fence will be completed! Last night I planted 37 more pole bean seeds around a different fence. Not sure how many will make it because the chickens can get to that area to forage, so they may end up eating whatever comes up. The plan is to use some extra fencing to protect the plants near the bottom of the cattle panel fence and then they can climb up the fence and (hopefully) provide us with a bunch of green beans!!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

My tomato love fish fertilizer smells awful but works