What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Good evening gardeners. Nothing happening in the garden today. I did get my seeds from Native Seed Search; I've been ordering different things from them for years. They're all heirloom, open pollinated and harvested from desert grown plants. I love that place! Built a new brooder from NIC cubes for the d'Uccle chicks and put 15 Turken eggs in my incubator today. The d'Uccle chicks hatched exactly a week ago so they should be out of the brooder by the time the Turkens hatch. They are super tiny though, they can still squeeze through a 1" gap between the bars of the NIC cubes. Pigeons and AC chicks won't get in though. Time for dinner, have a great night all.

 

[NightingaleJen]

I have never done a fall garden before. It always stressed me out, knowing I'd have to kill some plants to make room for new seeds/seedlings, and trying to schedule it out and figure out which ones will be done producing when and how early to plant the new stuff.... I haven't done succession planting, either. It is kind of difficult to do when you have a little garden.

You'll do just fine! (Try having a wee garden and doing a fall AND winter garden...good times, good times...) It is difficult pulling those happy, beautiful plants...but it is worth it in the end, it is. If nothing else it is lots of fun still harvesting goodies in early October.

So you are from SW Mitten State, I see! Michigan is my motherland as well! Beautiful Gaillardia! That is a happy flower.

Hope you feel better soon, @karenerwin. I'm glad your mom called you back! Good luck with the muffin recipe hunting. Don't you hate losing a great recipe? Maybe find a good nut bread recipe and add the zuc to it? Would probably mean removing some of the 'wet' component...

I don't mean 'glad'...but glad to hear I'm not the only one who has seen a dud tomato plant.

Message understood. Thanks for the electrolyte tip, did that with our flock today and they enjoyed it.

*Thank you* for that salsa recipe, @Wee Farmer Sarah! Oh, I'll have to try that one. Yum! Plus there is not a pound of sugar in it. Yay!

Your garden looks terrific, @Acre4Me! Those watermelon radish are such fun; they look fantastic in anything, really. Especially fun when you quarter them and sprinkle with black sesame seeds. And your wee chicks! They look so cute and happy in their run! How old are they, again?

Sorry about your pumpkins...hope those strawberries can recover and make it to next year.

I love the flop down and dust bathing. No wonder we get folks worried their chicks are having fits.

Yes, that startled Hubby at first. Now he is at the "I cannot believe what big hollows those little chicks make" stage. Happily, I grew up around small parrots, which do all kinds of ridiculous things, and have wanted chickens for so long I knew what to expect! They've been shavings/dust bathing in their coop for weeks anyhow. It is the funniest thing...One of the EE girls found a slightly damp spot in the run where Hubby had dumped the water from a container he'd accidentally left overnight (big rainstorm). Oh my goodness, chickie heaven! She flopped around in that spot for twenty minutes.

Your lunch & dinner sound fantastic! Yum! And don't we all hate wasting time & space on a tomato plant that does nothing? I'm on the fence about "Pear" cherry tomatoes. Our first year: fantastic! Second year: the blandest things we'd ever tasted. Boo. Also, the past few years "Black Krim" has not performed as well as it used to for me. Just saved/began fermenting a bunch of seeds from a good-looking one that a bug got to...maybe the plants from that good fruit will do well next year? If not...To the curb with Black Krim!

@WthrLady @penny1960 Sorry about the late/lost packages. :/ TBH I've had *far* worse luck with UPS than USPS...which is saying a fair amount!

It was another hooooot, muggy day today. Still, managed to bring a half-dozen tomatoes in, a bunch of greens, and collected a lot of seedheads from our poppy and nigella plants. Does the latter count as "in the garden"? With all the rain the past few days, only a few containers needed watering. Scrounged for green beans but didn't want to pull the tiny ones just yet. Thinking about pulling the pepper plants—not even a bud off them yet! Strange.

Mutant "Paul Robeson" tomato. Looks like two may have grown together?

"Blueberry" are coming back in again!

Calendula. Not enough to do anything with (varmints got the others), but we have enjoyed them and will save the seeds.

Our hibiscus. Just love the colour combinations.

"Dragon Tongue" bush bean blossom. This variety can get tall and needs stakes, IMO.

Another mutant tomato, though not so scary as the other. These are both "Green Zebra". Round is the normal shape for this variety; not sure what is going on with the one on the right! It's Freak Tomato Day, I guess. Any thoughts/ideas? Could this be some oddball cross or a throwback?

The wages of dirt-bathing in damp dirt is dirtiness. Nice job, chickie.

Happy gardening and harvesting, all!

 

[NightingaleJen]

Good evening gardeners. Nothing happening in the garden today. I did get my seeds from Native Seed Search; I've been ordering different things from them for years. They're all heirloom, open pollinated and harvested from desert grown plants. I love that place!

You gush over Native Seed Search and don't tell us what you got? No pictures of the seed packets? *hurt*

 

[igorsMistress]

You gush over Native Seed Search and don't tell us what you got? No pictures of the seed packets? *hurt*

Lol here you go. The seed packets used to be very basic, I think I still have the old style in my freezer somewhere. Now they have a color pic of the plant or produce on the front.

Also saw this on the news. I'm going to be giving thanks to Mother Nature for sure!

 

[Minky]

Well hello!
I have never known that there is a garden thread on here!
How exciting!!!

I got some beautiful colours of phlox today from a neighbours yard. I love meeting other gardeners and getting free plants! Also finally got around to planting a few butterfly bushes I picked up in early August...... where did the month go!?

Where are all off you that you can plant squash at the end of August?
Lucky ducks

 

[Minky]

View attachment 2307762
Oh my. I'm so looking forward to the cool crisp fall days ahead...this would kill me.

 

[karenerwin]

Picked more cherry tomatoes and a couple of smallish slicing tomatoes. Got a few green beans. My yellow squash keep trying to grow squash but they shrivel up and die before they get as big as my thumb.
They bugs have been hitting the tomatillos hard now. I am finding lots with "worm" holes and some with caterpillars in them. @Wee Farmer Sarah I copied down your green tomato salsa recipe and I will try it with the tomatillos!
Went to see my mom today. She was in good spirits. Not eating much of anything but she did drink half the milkshake I brought her. I brought a peach too but I didn't do a very good job picking one out this time, it was mushy so she only ate 1 slice of it. She is a bit confused and has some trouble following conversations, so I have to remember to slow down a bit when talking with her. I did go through her phone and point out all the people that have been trying to call her or text her. I also went through her Facebook page so she could see what all her friends and family have been posting.
I butchered 1 of my meat chickens but the meat came out a lot more red than normal. I am guessing that it did not bleed out as well as they usually do. I did walk away to check the garden so I guess next time ( I still have 8 more to do) I will stay there and monitor the progress like I usually do.
I also melted down some old beeswax and "painted" it on the black plastic frames to see if that makes them any more acceptable to the bees.
I don't remember who on here suggested that I find a nut bread recipe and then add zucchini to it, but that is what I am going to try tomorrow (Thursday). I found a nut bread recipe from Pilsbury, soooo... I am hopeful!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Well hello!
I have never known that there is a garden thread on here!
How exciting!!!

I got some beautiful colours of phlox today from a neighbours yard. I love meeting other gardeners and getting free plants! Also finally got around to planting a few butterfly bushes I picked up in early August...... where did the month go!?

Where are all off you that you can plant squash at the end of August?
Lucky ducks

Welcome I too am looking at indian summer here and calm fall

 

[igorsMistress]

View attachment 2307762
Oh my. I'm so looking forward to the cool crisp fall days ahead...this would kill me.

Welcome to the garden thread!
We've had a record breaking summer under a constant heat warning. I think we have had 50 days over 110* and not sure how many over 115* but more than a couple weeks worth.

 

[Acre4Me]

Where are all off you that you can plant squash at the end of August?

Welcome!

I'm in Ohio, and planted summer squash a few weeks ago. They are just beginning to produce. Not sure how temperature sensitive they are, but hoping for a few weeks of production!