What did you do in the garden today?

[NewBoots]

Morning all, watering's done, the critters are all fed, dishwasher is running, and the ribs have been in the oven about an hour. They smell heavenly. Fireworks stopped here about midnight and I slept fine until about 4:30 when the boys (all 3) decided to salute the dawn.

Reminded me of the dark deeds that will be done this week. Got to send all the roosters and the bunnies in the grow out tractor. So then my brain decided to obsess about how I was going to do it. I'm looking forward to the meals but I'll be glad when the work is done.

I swear. When did common sense go out the window?

Sadly, there are examples of the lack of common sense all around us these days.

 

[Sueby]

@igorsMistress - CONGRATS!!!

@karenerwin I do freeze my tomatoes till I have enough to can. It makes peeling the skin easier because it just peels right off when they defrost too!

We were camping with friends all weekend, I spent last night in bed, under the covers with the TV & AC cranking so the dog wouldn't have a stroke from the fireworks. Ugh I hate them.

I was surprised how much the garden grew in the 3 days I was gone! The stupid japanese & mexican beetles are having a field day, I plucked a bunch today but probably need to do a million more tomorrow. My shade cloth showed up, will have to work on that tomorrow too. I had 5 yellow squash ready, picked them & took hamburger out of the freeze, I'll make stuffed squash boats & freeze them for lunches. I wish the cukes would catch up, I have only seen male flowers so far, I WANT CUKES!!

Have a good evening all, enjoyed all the pics & welcome to the new to the thread people!

 

[NightingaleJen]

Congrats on the new gig, @igorsMistress! Sorry to hear about the runaway fender bender, though. Ugh.

Very glad to hear your mom is doing better, @karenerwin. Those calls are scary to get. Garden looks great!

@NewBoots YOUR ROSES ARE GORGEOUS! *melts into puddle* Especially those peachy ones. Beautiful wildflower gardens, too...that wire over the beds is genius. Sorry to hear you have unpleasant things to handle in the coming week. Maybe get/make/plan yourself a little treat of some sort to take the edge off?

Cute new icon, @penny1960!

Nice to see your birds, @TropicalBabies. Since the police refuse to do their job, maybe it is time for a citizen-run type thing. Just a group of neighbors will to go out and tell folks what the rules are and ensure they adhere. We have a loose version of that on our road, for instance, when the new (city) folks were roaring up and down the main road in a four-wheeler, popping wheelies with a helmetless eleven-year-old on the back. (They stopped.) Actually...I think that is just old-fashioned neighborhood life, not an organization at all, but...

The canning cabinet looks really good, @WthrLady. The accessories on the side are smart!

So many beautiful daylilies. @BigBlueHen53 @NewBoots

Fun new neighbors, @Sueby. A friend lives in BC and bears regularly wander down the street, being caught on people's doorbell cams. Keep those garbage lids on tight!

Does the onion really work, @Wee Farmer Sarah? They and the bunnies have taken out my fenced-in radishes three times now!

Darling babies, @Acre4Me! Sorry to hear some died. :/ Maybe someone will have a possible answer... Your garden looks wonderful. Last year some of my bush beans did the same thing; one was almost 5' high. Some days, all you can do is roll your eyes at the disobedient plants.

Welcome, @Kelly Owl! Sounds like you have a wonderful garden going. What kind of lettuce is that frilly, light green stuff in your pictures?

SO many cherry tomatoes, @reddogmaster2! That marinara looks delish.

Gooood morning gardeners! She says at four. (PM!) It has been humid, in the low-to-mid 90s, with a toasty heat index and many air quality alerts for us here. That said, our little family gathering for Independence Day yesterday went really well! Everyone had a wonderful time! We set up a sprinkler for all of the kids to run in, which they loved, as well as horseshoes and a game of flamingo toss. As in you toss rings 'round the lawn flamingos...no *actual* flamingos were tossed (though maybe next year we can do a stuffed-animal flamingo toss...). This game, btw, is harder than it looks, and with so many wee ones around, there was no adult beverage consumption. It's still set up, maybe I'll run out and get a picture.

Such fun, especially after all of the...well, all of the 2020. Even the garden got into the act:

Then Hubby added on:

Everybody liked it.

Oh, we also bought bubble wands for the kids. I had visions of the girls running around, beautiful bubbles trailing behind them.

Real life: All the boys went into full light sabre mode.

The new neighbors (the city folk) set off fireworks, but only a few, and they were done by maybe ten. It was not too bad, especially compared to what some of you apparently had happening (my goodness, @WthrLady, your neighbors need a serious talking-to).

Unfortunately, despite my carefully spraying myself, yours truly has unwillingly contributed to another generation of mosquitoes. Must have gotten splashed on by one of the kiddos and lost some of my protection! I've become rather allergic to mosquito bites in the past ten or so years, despite having grown up in Michigan, where the mosquito is in fact our state bird and is also required to have landing lights, lest they interfere with road traffic. (This is only a half-joke.) Anyhow. The bites get ugly and uncomfortable and nothing touches them, it seems. Would rather not see an allergist, all they are going to do is put me on steroids; no thanks.

I *will* say that a mini-compress (cotton square) of witch hazel takes the edge off, anyhow. Even so, they got the tops of my feet (!) and by this AM it was so bad I couldn't go to church, because loving as the congregation is, a barefoot adult is probably unacceptable. Couple big bites on the back of my thigh, too, so sitting still is also a bit difficult. Oh well. Very thankful for witch hazel today, anyhow! And the BBQ was such a fun time it is worth it.

As you can imagine, with so many people here, not much got done in the garden. New seeds arrived Friday, though, and there was a lot of happy garden chat yesterday. My volunteer nasturtium burst into bloom just in time, as did my Flanders Field (apropos) and Shirley poppies, as well as a bunch of the nigella The bachelor's buttons and daylilies still looked great, too.

Since it is so hot and I can't get shoes on (indeed, I am more waddling than walking today, ha!) I kind of have to wait 'til early tomorrow morning or evening to do a whole lot. The tomatoes seem to have grown a foot since last Saturday and need to be trained back to the trellis again! I really want to plant the seeds, too—new cuke and pole bean seeds. Should I soak them first? Usually I don't have trouble, but since it is kind of late and I have had such issues this year, I would like them to get going!

Have a restful day, all, and stay cool!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Nice to see your birds, @TropicalBabies. Since the police refuse to do their job, maybe it is time for a citizen-run type thing. Just a group of neighbors will to go out and tell folks what the rules are and ensure they adhere. We have a loose version of that on our road, for instance, when the new (city) folks were roaring up and down the main road in a four-wheeler, popping wheelies with a helmetless eleven-year-old on the back. (They stopped.) Actually...I think that is just old-fashioned neighborhood life, not an organization at all, but...

We have a neighborhood watch but normally that is me. I am the one who stopped the guy across the street from running his boat mechanic business, blocking traffic and dumping oil. I then got rid of 2 crazy neighbors, one for animal abuse and the other for people abuse... I go out into the middle of the street and tell the kids if they don't slow down and stop at stop signs I will call the police. No one else likes to get involved, lacks courage or is lazy... not sure. I start off nice about things but don't wait too long b4 i pull out the stops. I don't want to see the kids get hurt or killed. I'm the worst and have no prob sticking my nose in neighborhood business that effects me or mine. I'm also the one who gives freely- eggs, mangoes, chickens, cages, time, medicines and tomatoes... when I have lol, most all the times.

So last night was awful. I've just got to do some more complaining lol. So, the dog relaxed but never knocked out. The neighbors a few blocks away, I have no idea who they are (yet), are making these bombs out of (I think) acetylene, used for welding etc. They are pumping it into balloons with a fuse and lighting and letting go??? So where it explodes is fairly far away from where they are lighting them. Never 2 in the same place. They are VERY LOUD and more than likely very dangerous. Last night we got these things going off randomly for hours, people shooting guns a few blocks away, immediate neighbors doing their lesser than usual show (thank goodness) but drunk and playing ukulele and singing badly, then the electricity goes out. First time was for 2 hours +, back on for 30 and back out for 1+ hour. I usually like the electric going out or at least don't mind, but, this time I take off on my scooter to see if I can find the repair dudes, as it was already called in, to check on their eta. I have eggs in the incubator and need to know if we should fire up the generator... The night was warm and beautiful and @11:30 the crowds were starting to break. The other half of Kekaha had electric and was quiet as a mouse. Everybody had driven to our side because we have the big beaches to make the noise and mess. Scooting back home I could see the big cloud of smoke and mess and people I don't recognize tossing firecrackers into the streets. I have never disliked my neighborhood more in that moment. Just a total inconsiderate nightmare. Think it was my last straw... I will be working on the plan to move with in the next few years.
Just wake me up when it is time to vote lol!!

 

[Flockincrazy]

dehydrated apple's and bananas and planted some strawberries

 

[Kelly Owl]

@Kelly Owl My silkie have their own coop a private tractor to play outside but never see the big girls or the two roosters

@Kelly Owl My silkie have their own coop a private tractor to play outside but never see the big girls or the two roosters

penny1960..for now the Silkie coop is attached to the Ausrtalorp coop and Im using lattice for the surround so they can see and hear the others and they stand at theyre coop door and answer them back. Its been a week since I moved them and felt sorry they were not free ranging like the others..they did fine with everyone for about 2 hour and then 1 was cornered..so back in they went...lol with some grapes as a treat

Congrats on the new gig, @igorsMistress! Sorry to hear about the runaway fender bender, though. Ugh.

Very glad to hear your mom is doing better, @karenerwin. Those calls are scary to get. Garden looks great!

@NewBoots YOUR ROSES ARE GORGEOUS! *melts into puddle* Especially those peachy ones. Beautiful wildflower gardens, too...that wire over the beds is genius. Sorry to hear you have unpleasant things to handle in the coming week. Maybe get/make/plan yourself a little treat of some sort to take the edge off?

Cute new icon, @penny1960!

Nice to see your birds, @TropicalBabies. Since the police refuse to do their job, maybe it is time for a citizen-run type thing. Just a group of neighbors will to go out and tell folks what the rules are and ensure they adhere. We have a loose version of that on our road, for instance, when the new (city) folks were roaring up and down the main road in a four-wheeler, popping wheelies with a helmetless eleven-year-old on the back. (They stopped.) Actually...I think that is just old-fashioned neighborhood life, not an organization at all, but...

The canning cabinet looks really good, @WthrLady. The accessories on the side are smart!

So many beautiful daylilies. @BigBlueHen53 @NewBoots

Fun new neighbors, @Sueby. A friend lives in BC and bears regularly wander down the street, being caught on people's doorbell cams. Keep those garbage lids on tight!

Does the onion really work, @Wee Farmer Sarah? They and the bunnies have taken out my fenced-in radishes three times now!

Darling babies, @Acre4Me! Sorry to hear some died. :/ Maybe someone will have a possible answer... Your garden looks wonderful. Last year some of my bush beans did the same thing; one was almost 5' high. Some days, all you can do is roll your eyes at the disobedient plants.

Welcome, @Kelly Owl! Sounds like you have a wonderful garden going. What kind of lettuce is that frilly, light green stuff in your pictures?

SO many cherry tomatoes, @reddogmaster2! That marinara looks delish.

Gooood morning gardeners! She says at four. (PM!) It has been humid, in the low-to-mid 90s, with a toasty heat index and many air quality alerts for us here. That said, our little family gathering for Independence Day yesterday went really well! Everyone had a wonderful time! We set up a sprinkler for all of the kids to run in, which they loved, as well as horseshoes and a game of flamingo toss. As in you toss rings 'round the lawn flamingos...no *actual* flamingos were tossed (though maybe next year we can do a stuffed-animal flamingo toss...). This game, btw, is harder than it looks, and with so many wee ones around, there was no adult beverage consumption. It's still set up, maybe I'll run out and get a picture.

Such fun, especially after all of the...well, all of the 2020. Even the garden got into the act:

View attachment 2228428

Then Hubby added on:

View attachment 2228432

Everybody liked it.

Oh, we also bought bubble wands for the kids. I had visions of the girls running around, beautiful bubbles trailing behind them.

Real life: All the boys went into full light sabre mode.

The new neighbors (the city folk) set off fireworks, but only a few, and they were done by maybe ten. It was not too bad, especially compared to what some of you apparently had happening (my goodness, @WthrLady, your neighbors need a serious talking-to).

Unfortunately, despite my carefully spraying myself, yours truly has unwillingly contributed to another generation of mosquitoes. Must have gotten splashed on by one of the kiddos and lost some of my protection! I've become rather allergic to mosquito bites in the past ten or so years, despite having grown up in Michigan, where the mosquito is in fact our state bird and is also required to have landing lights, lest they interfere with road traffic. (This is only a half-joke.) Anyhow. The bites get ugly and uncomfortable and nothing touches them, it seems. Would rather not see an allergist, all they are going to do is put me on steroids; no thanks.

I *will* say that a mini-compress (cotton square) of witch hazel takes the edge off, anyhow. Even so, they got the tops of my feet (!) and by this AM it was so bad I couldn't go to church, because loving as the congregation is, a barefoot adult is probably unacceptable. Couple big bites on the back of my thigh, too, so sitting still is also a bit difficult. Oh well. Very thankful for witch hazel today, anyhow! And the BBQ was such a fun time it is worth it.

As you can imagine, with so many people here, not much got done in the garden. New seeds arrived Friday, though, and there was a lot of happy garden chat yesterday. My volunteer nasturtium burst into bloom just in time, as did my Flanders Field (apropos) and Shirley poppies, as well as a bunch of the nigella The bachelor's buttons and daylilies still looked great, too.

Since it is so hot and I can't get shoes on (indeed, I am more waddling than walking today, ha!) I kind of have to wait 'til early tomorrow morning or evening to do a whole lot. The tomatoes seem to have grown a foot since last Saturday and need to be trained back to the trellis again! I really want to plant the seeds, too—new cuke and pole bean seeds. Should I soak them first? Usually I don't have trouble, but since it is kind of late and I have had such issues this year, I would like them to get going!

Have a restful day, all, and stay cool!

thank you for the welcome Nightengal Jen..the package said it was leaf lettuce..it was one of the survivors

 

[WthrLady]

Well I put soup in the canner and one jar exploded about 5 minutes in. The other two look terrible, so I won't be keeping them. It was an experimental recipe. Fail.

So at 1 we went out to hook up the PTO on the tractor and disk mower. It was 1 inch too long to hook up. I don't know how two people of science managed to do that, but we did. We worked on it until we were both dripping. We gave up and came in to cool off a bit.

Went back out at 230, re did our math, and cut off almost 5 inches. Reattached it and I started mowing about 430. Hungry, thirsty and soaking wet. Dh went in to work on lesson plans. I mowed for three hours. The hayfield is now a chicken paradise of dead bugs.

Came in to etsy orders, so I showered and did sewing. Now it's almost 11 and I'm beat and headed to bed. Phew. Night all.

 

[karenerwin]

I didn't even get to look at my garden on Sunday.
Saturday we had the day off work and so I mowed the grass and did some weed eating. I also attached the shortened cattle panel for the cucumber to climb up and over. I also made the new hive some sugar water. Was hoping to be able to look in there today (Sunday) but that didn't happen. Oh and last night I made some strawberry jam. It turned out horrible.
Today when I got off work I came home, showered, changed clothes and went to my friend's house. I stopped and bought more strawberries (and sugar). She had already finished putting up the apples that she wanted me to come over and help her with, so we made 3 batches of strawberry jam! They came out much better.
Tomorrow I will open all of the jars from my first batch and see if I can "fix it", otherwise I guess the chickens will be eating strawberry jam ( because it is pretty inedible. ). I added lemon juice like the recipe said to and it totally overpowered the strawberry flavor and made it very tart. Anyway, I think I can fix it by adding more sugar and cooking it again.

When I got home from my friends house all 3 dogs were out in the dog yard. I actually thought the puppies were in the chicken yard, but they weren't. I believe they had been. Circumstantial evidence says they got in the chicken run and chased a hen out into the yard and then killed her. Or else something else got a hold of the hen and took it out to the dog yard and then the dogs chased it off. Anyway, something killed and partially ate the hen.
I had reinforced the chicken gate but then my hubby bought me bigger carabeeners (can't figure out how to spell it). I had told him I thought they were too big and would still let the puppies get into the chicken yard. I had used them on the top of the fence and gate, but he apparently moved them to the lower part of the fence and gate. At any rate, it appears that the puppies had gotten in ( although no one caught them in there).
Hopefully that hen will be the only fatality as the puppies learn what is alright and what is not!
Anyway, I need to get too bed. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Retirement is not as relaxing you hoped right @karenerwin

 

[littledog]

So late in the game went looking for asparagus seeds none to be had around so went to Amazon found this soon as they get here I will plant them like 4 inches deep right can I start them indoors in a pot ?
Mary Washington Asparagus Seeds | Instant Latch Brand | Non-GMO | Fresh Garden Seeds

I've never started asparagus from seeds, have no idea whether to start them in pots or how deep... Our asparagus bed was here when we moved here, we've kept it going and I've occasionally dug up tubers to give to friends to start their own asparagus. But if you need seeds, I always have a few going to seed when I don't harvest in time. PM me, and I could send some your way.