What did you do in the garden today?

[Swiss]

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.

I'm stressed just thinking about all that planning! Being able to harvest in those later months will definitely be worth it. I'm excited, although worried that I shouldn't have planted root crops with moles in the garden.....

Yes, Michigan indeed! I love that there are so many people on here from Michigan!

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, Minky!
I'm in SW Michigan, but the packet of my Early White Bush Scallop Squash said there are 50 days until harvest. Most of what I planted for my fall garden will be pushing the limit for the first frost, but I wanted to at least try this year! Next year, I'm going to plan to plant for fall/winter much earlier (and hopefully do succession plantings from the beginning).

 

[Sueby]

Morning all!

I used too much oil on my last batch so they are tasty, but very chewy even after 10 hours dehydrating. How do you apply oil to yours?

Ha, I rarely measure unless baking! I just poured some oil in & mixed it up with my hands. We actually like them when chewy - the first batch weren't quite done & I wanted to go to bed so chewy it was. This last batch had plenty of time & feel like lays potato chips. Yum.

It was so nice out yesterday I decided to paint the hardware cloth run black. It came out so good, it's so nice to be able to see the chickens!

DH put my potting bench together yesterday. I think I'm going to let it weather for a year then seal it maybe. I don't really want to paint, maybe a stain/sealer with color. Not exactly what I had in mind, I pictured rustic & recycled, but I couldn't wait any longer so it will do. I need to clean up the sink.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Another cool morning and day. Rain is in the forecast for the day. Hopefully everything will get a good drink. Welcome to the gardening thread @Minky. We have gardeners from all parts of the US and I believe one is in the UK as well. It's nice to "mingle" with gardeners from different planting zones. I had an energy burst yesterday and got the front yard mowed, cleaned the big and little coops, then put down some fresh dirt in the former littles run. Randy has now taken up residence in the wee coop. Now he has more room to flap his wings and he can fit into this little coop. I put the littles in with the hens yesterday after free range time. It went very well for the first hour, then it didn't. I heard noise coming from the run and saw the hens had the littles pinned down in the old rooster pen. Goldie Locks was on top trying to protect her little sisters. So now the littles are hanging out in the old rooster pen. The two that aren't laying yet had some blood above their nostrils. Have I mentioned lately I hate integration. The really sad part was how happy Goldie Locks was when I put her into one of the nesting boxes. She acted like she was in heaven. True to her name, she tried out a couple of the boxes before settling down for awhile. I put some hay and extra pine shavings in the tiny coop she is sharing with her sisters right now. This morning they were all fine. So, knock on wood, I have five tiny poblanos on my little plant. I picked another colander full of blushing tomatoes along with 2 cucumbers, a few pole beans and another jalapeno. I have enough tomatoes to can now, but I need to go to the store and pick up some fresh lemon juice, so maybe tomorrow. I may make a trip to the orchard to buy peaches as well. I bought some grape jelly at the grocery store and it pales in comparison to my peach preserves. One thing that peaks my curiosity is even though we are in different growing zones we have all been plagued by insects this year. More so than previous years. Are they being carried in on the winds? I'll leave you with a picture of Goldie Locks enjoying her nesting box experience. Have a great day everyone.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Ok, I forgot to mention that my local mail seems quick as usual, however my medications are taking longer now. I did want to mention that I just love the potting bench @Sueby. I have a plain countertop in my potting shed. However, since I do most of my potting or repotting either in my sunroom or I use the table between the grills. However, if I had a lovely bench like that I would definitely use it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning Gardeners get to have two cockerel I sold come back freezer camp
Our new propane on demand hot water unit was delivered this morning ..

 

[Sueby]

@Wee Farmer Sarah integrating chickens stinks! She is adorable on her nest. I can't wait to get my BO.

& thank you, I'm sure I'm going to love the potting bench. My back will anyway, as of now I bend over on the deck stairs to do anything & that is no fun.

ETA: my dahlias are finally blooming

 

[WthrLady]

Fed the critters and peeked over the garden fence to check tomato status of the week. I bet there's another 30-40 pounds in there waiting on me to process tomorrow and Saturday.
Put your bets in now on numbers. (I'm grateful for each and every red fruit, but the processing season gets old really quick when the temperatures are as high as they are.)

Waving.

 

[NightingaleJen]

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

Whoa. Is there enough lemonade on earth? Try to stay cool!

And thanks for the seed order scoop. Considering ordering next year's seeds now... Apparently many of the seed companies are already warning about 2021 shortages.

 

[NewBoots]

Ha, I rarely measure unless baking! I just poured some oil in & mixed it up with my hands. We actually like them when chewy - the first batch weren't quite done & I wanted to go to bed so chewy it was. This last batch had plenty of time & feel like lays potato chips. Yum.

That's how I put the oil on everything . I decided to put them (all that are left ) back in the dehydrator to finish drying. I had a couple little containers of cherry tomatoes in the back of the fridge that were starting to dry out so in those went too. They're store bought but once dried they'll be fine for cooking. The not so sweet cherries I stashed in the bottom of the fridge got cut in half, seeded and put in the dryer as well. I could do the same with the one or two old apples that I always seem to have in the bottom drawer of the fridge. And it occurs to me that just about any unused and non-spoiled veg could be dried, and then ground to powder to add to soups and stews. I begin to see why some folks get those big dehydrators.

It was so nice out yesterday I decided to paint the hardware cloth run black. It came out so good, it's so nice to be able to see the chickens!

That looks great! Did you use a brush or spay cans? We've sprayed the lower half of the run (my smart DP's idea) and it made a huge difference in being able to watch the chickens. Why had I never heard of that before?

One thing that peaks my curiosity is even though we are in different growing zones we have all been plagued by insects this year. More so than previous years. Are they being carried in on the winds? I'll leave you with a picture of Goldie Locks enjoying her nesting box experience.

Goldie Locks is beautiful, she looks so sweet sitting there. This is our first full year here so we didn't know what to expect, but I am amazed by the size and number of slugs and snails we get here. I think they're the ones the have done the damage to our tomatoes, I've learned to pick any blushing fruit within a few inches of the soil level. We had a fly issue for a couple of weeks (crazy neighbor tried to blame us), and there are some mosquitoes (crazy neighbor also tried to blame us) but not any more than we expected.`

Morning Gardeners get to have two cockerel I sold come back freezer camp
Our new propane on demand hot water unit was delivered this morning ..

Let us know how that on demand water heater does, DP and I have discussed those in the past. Sorry about the cockerels.

Did the watering and critter care and picked a bunch more tomatoes. Hopefully I'll have enough to start canning soon. They are sure delicious fresh. I eat one every lunch no matter what else we're having. Actually we'll be lucky to ever have enough to can.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Had a natural gas one in Shelton at the old house .. thing to make certain on is that is rated for number of hookups GPM .. and is it propane or natural gas .. Had to do propane here