What did you do in the garden today?

[Ms Clucky]

yesterday i picked about 12 cucumbers. my tomatoes, green peppers and banana peppers aren't doing so well. we had to stake them up. hard winds caused them up root

 

[Compost King]

I have Cucumbers, and 1 Carolina Reaper pepper. Super Hot Death Relish for lunch? If I never post again look for me in the Obituary lol

 

[adirondak5]

Its been so hot and humid the last few days I haven't done much . Picked a few cucumbers and yellow squash today , also 1 zucchini . I love squash and have some with dinner every night , just cut up and boiled with onions . The wife has been baking zucchini bread , and we still have a surplus . While I was wading through the yellow squash to get to the pickers today I found this hiding underneath the squash leaves . Another sugar baby .

Its about 6" across , biggest one in the patch . Last count now including this sneak is 12 melons from the 6 planted .
Stay cool and have a great day .

 

[WthrLady]

Got second batch of sweet potatoes in the canner. As soon as I get the pressure stable, I'll sneak out to the garden for a couple of minutes. 3 inches of rain over two days. Feast or famine.

Fox came around last night. He stood on top of the hidden trap to jump on the walls of the run. I'm sure it scared the littles half to death, but they didn't move, as fox looked on and moved on. The big girls are so mad at me for not letting them out. They're withholding eggs. No way they can do that two days in a row. Too bad too as it's decent out today.

Got my hayfield soil analysis back today. It just needs limed. 2 ton of lime needs spread. ARGH. OH well. I'll take care of that in October.

 

[esavvymom]

I picked 2 cantaloupe melons...first ones of the season. One more still in the garden. Yum!

Picked a bucket full of cucumbers (this is about the 4th or 5th bucket I've harvested...getting tired of cucumbers!! haha. Some of them were too big for pickles though, so I cut them and give them to the chickens as a cool treat (along with the seeds and rinds from the melon that I cut up). (I've already canned about 30 half-pints of relish (sweet and dill); 7 dill pickles, and 14 refrigerator garlic dill pickles.....not to mention a couple bowls of cucumber salad.)

And I have a small bowl of my first tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.

I also pulled up 4 of the cucumber plants that are "spent".

 

[MrsPapaBear]

I pulled several squash vine borers out of my winter squash vines and leaves. They're the bane of my gardening existence but I'm becoming a squash whisperer with an eagle eye for frass!

 

[NewBoots]

I have a question about growing lettuce. I've grown the heads but never loose leaf. If you cut the leaves at the soil surface do they continue to grow or is that leaf done because you cut it?

We pealed leaves off as we needed them when all the plants were small, even the romaine lettuce. Once they were forming nice big heads and I figured they might maybe be considering bolting (and we had a ton of plants to spare, I over did it kinda) I'd cut the whole head.

I forget who posted about canning potatoes. Sorry I went back a few pages, but couldn’t find it. If you have the freezer space, freeze your potatoes rather than canning. You can pre cook your potatoes such as fries or just cubes then freeze. Just a thought.

I was talking about that. The site I was looking at said to pre-cook and freeze the ones cut for fries but that for potatoes to be used for mashing, or soups, that canning was a better bet. I'm betting you've been freezing yours and they're fine? Are you pre-cooking the cubes? How are you utilizing them? We're going to have a load of potatoes (unless our potato bed is a big fail) and I don't want them to go to waste. We dug a few last week and half of them are getting squishy already. And yeah, freezer space it an issue, next big purchase is a freezer for the garage/barn. I will give freezing a try if only a few for a test so once we have the freezer space I'll know if I can make that work. Less trouble than canning for sure.

Picked a bucket full of cucumbers (this is about the 4th or 5th bucket I've harvested...getting tired of cucumbers!! haha. Some of them were too big for pickles though, so I cut them and give them to the chickens as a cool treat (along with the seeds and rinds from the melon that I cut up). (I've already canned about 30 half-pints of relish (sweet and dill); 7 dill pickles, and 14 refrigerator garlic dill pickles.....not to mention a couple bowls of cucumber salad.)

I am so kicking myself for not planting cucumbers, next year for sure! Mmm cucumber salad...


Just finished lunch, kale with shallots, bacon, and garlic and zucchini fritters. So good! Did the watering and fed and watered the critters. And I've learned something new. If I am doing the watering and I notice that the tomatoes need to be tied up, I should drop the hose and tie them up NOW. If I make a "mental note" to go back after my watering is done I will forget. Clearly, I can't write legible mental notes.

SO I tied up the tomatoes:

I have no idea what type these are since I was a dork and put the labels too close to the plants and they ate them a long time ago. Once the plants start to die back this fall, I'll be able to see them again and I am making notes in my garden journal. I have these planted in at least one or two other places in the beds and if they really produce good fruit in the amounts the bushes promise now, they are guaranteed to be on my next spring planting list.

I cut back and pulled up the peas that have died back and gave them to the rabbits who love them no matter the condition of the vines. We found out that the rabbits can eat the jerusalem artichoke stalks either dried or fresh which is nice since the plants are still growing and no sign of flowering yet:

DP is Vanna Whiting to give perspective. She's 5'4" and the chokes are in a raised bed about 15" above the ground level. They must be 9' tall at least! At the bottom of the picture are my delicata squash making their escape from the bed.

Welcome to the new folks and stay dirty!

 

[WthrLady]

I'm canning sweet potatoes, not white, but not sure you were talking about my post.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Been going since 7:30 this morning .. Bought 4, 4 pane wood windows one for the coop we enlarging the other three the new coop ..
Ran to Costco in and out ....
Cleaned coops, paid for second cord and half of wood for winter ... Made peanut butter sandwiches out the door ate them on the way to my Dr appointment.
Get home my shipped eggs are here resting.

 

[NightingaleJen]

Hi all, and welcome to the new folks on the thread! No chicks yet. Trying to remain patient and calm.

Everyone's gardens and harvests look terrific! My computer took an emergency trip to the repair guy today, so not much room to type. Planted more seeds and watered just in time for rain. ;D

@penny1960 be careful! Particularly in the heat, that's nothing to mess with.

By the way, if you have at least 55 or 60 days until frost, you can still plant many cucumber and squash varieties! Plenty of time for your fall garden!

Happy gardening!