What did you do in the garden today?

[NewBoots]

I paid extra for 6 foot trees and not one was over 3 feet tall. They argue that roots count in the height measurement. Again...WTH?!

What's the name of the company so we know to not deal with them or at least be forewarned.

Well I had a good start in the morning, we had closed things and put away other things in prep for a good storm heading our way. I got the bid on moving and resetting the greenhouse, I picked about 14 pounds of tomatoes and next I was going to clear the squash plants and get the bed prepped for planting. Then I heard the sound of a lost kitten crying for help. One of the neighbors has an outdoor room that he spends a lot of time in and I could hear the kitten crying from inside the thing. Little thing had a guts to hiss at me when I scooped her up. She's a beautiful calico kitten of 5 weeks or maybe less, her eyes open, but just above the creeping stage. The neighbor doesn't want her, someone dumped her in his tent/thing. So...tiny as she is I went to the local feed store since I knew they had kitten milk replacement and tiny baby bottles. Before I left I bathed her to get rid of the worst of the fleas she was crawling with and gave her to DP to dry off. I came home to find the kitten snuggled next to DP's neck sleeping.

She woke up. We got some milk into her, and given how carefully the kitten did her cleanup after lunch, we think she probably knows how to use a litter box too. DP named her Stormy since she hisses at us from time to time and a storm was blowing in when I found her. We'll be fostering her for a week or two since the friend who is very excited to get her is out of town for a little while.She seems healthy and while she is much too little to be away from her mama, it's giving her a chance to be a house cat rather than a wild cat like I am betting her mama is. The lady who will be taking her recently lost her older dog and cat and just has one 3 legged cat she adores, and will take excellent care of Stormy.

So that was my day, now I need to freeze some tomatoes, I'm going to look up a recipe for tomato bisque.

 

[igorsMistress]

What's the name of the company so we know to not deal with them or at least be forewarned.

Well I had a good start in the morning, we had closed things and put away other things in prep for a good storm heading our way. I got the bid on moving and resetting the greenhouse, I picked about 14 pounds of tomatoes and next I was going to clear the squash plants and get the bed prepped for planting. Then I heard the sound of a lost kitten crying for help. One of the neighbors has an outdoor room that he spends a lot of time in and I could hear the kitten crying from inside the thing. Little thing had a guts to hiss at me when I scooped her up. She's a beautiful calico kitten of 5 weeks or maybe less, her eyes open, but just above the creeping stage. The neighbor doesn't want her, someone dumped her in his tent/thing. So...tiny as she is I went to the local feed store since I knew they had kitten milk replacement and tiny baby bottles. Before I left I bathed her to get rid of the worst of the fleas she was crawling with and gave her to DP to dry off. I came home to find the kitten snuggled next to DP's neck sleeping.
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She woke up. We got some milk into her, and given how carefully the kitten did her cleanup after lunch, we think she probably knows how to use a litter box too. DP named her Stormy since she hisses at us from time to time and a storm was blowing in when I found her. We'll be fostering her for a week or two since the friend who is very excited to get her is out of town for a little while.She seems healthy and while she is much too little to be away from her mama, it's giving her a chance to be a house cat rather than a wild cat like I am betting her mama is. The lady who will be taking her recently lost her older dog and cat and just has one 3 legged cat she adores, and will take excellent care of Stormy.

So that was my day, now I need to freeze some tomatoes, I'm going to look up a recipe for tomato bisque.

Awe, so cool you guys are caring for the little one and she’ll have a home! Stormy is a good name.

 

[WthrLady]

Good afternoon gardeners. @penny1960 I think @WthrLady mentioned she just covers tomatoes with a towel or blanket, might be easier than wrapping each one. Just a thought. I sold all seven of the youngest chicks today, risked life and limb getting the three away from the broody too! Holy hell you’d think the world was coming to an end. So glad they’re gone, the three new gals sure did change things and I’m just not in the mood for chicks right now. Going to get the AC cockerel on Craigslist and my sons farm page and see if we can find him a new home also. Then I’ll be set. The new gals haven’t missed a day of laying even with the move to my place, that sort of surprises me. The Nn girls are laying but Cuckoo is freeloading. I shouldn’t say that, she has been an excellent mama and babysitter. Not much happening in the garden right now, still just maintaining what’s here and trying not to forget to turn off the water...I forgot the other night and my kid turned it off after a few hours so the water bill shouldn’t break the bank but it’s gonna hurt. That’s about it I suppose. Have a good night all!

I cover with a towel on a towel on the counter for ones that are at least pinkish/orangish. The white ones I put in a cardboard box, each one wrapped in the dark in newspaper OR I have shallow flat fruit cardboard boxes that I line with paper, put the tomatoes in trying not to let them touch, and then top with more paper to trap the gasses in. Then I check them once a week religiously.

 

[WthrLady]

@NewBoots
Raintree Nursery out of Washington State

 

[igorsMistress]

I cover with a towel on a towel on the counter for ones that are at least pinkish/orangish. The white ones I put in a cardboard box, each one wrapped in the dark in newspaper OR I have shallow flat fruit cardboard boxes that I line with paper, put the tomatoes in trying not to let them touch, and then top with more paper to trap the gasses in. Then I check them once a week religiously.

Thanks! I’m bookmarking that for future reference. I was half right lol.

 

[Sueby]

If they have a little color I cover with a towel. If they are completely green they get wrapped in newspaper or they get soft before they ripen. I had tomatoes ripening in newspaper till Thanksgiving last year.

OMG @NewBoots I'm not a cat fan but that is the prettiest little kitty I've ever seen! You & DP are good peeps to help her out.

 

[igorsMistress]

If they have a little color I cover with a towel. If they are completely green they get wrapped in newspaper or they get soft before they ripen. I had tomatoes ripening in newspaper till Thanksgiving last year.

OMG @NewBoots I'm not a cat fan but that is the prettiest little kitty I've ever seen! You & DP are good peeps to help her out.

I guess No Touching each other is required. Good to know, thanks!

 

[WthrLady]

I guess No Touching each other is required. Good to know, thanks!

Wrapping individually decreases the airspace around them and increases the gas trapped and helps the ripening. When they touch they go bad really quickly. They skip ripening, and go right to rot.

 

[NightingaleJen]

@Acre4Me That marbled squash is really cool looking! And all those tomatoes—beautiful! Those spinning gourds are darling...that might be fun to grow next year to give to the crumb-crunchers at church. (Much to their parents' delight, I'm sure, when a half-rotten one is found beneath the sofa...bwah ha ha.)

Thanks for the ground hornet death box with the old Rubbermaid, @WthrLady. That is a good one. That is awful about your trees, and I'm familiar with that nursery! Terrible shame. :/ Plus it is not only the money, but all of the care you gave them! Argh! Sounds like you're having a rough few days; I hope things look up! Maybe next time take your dog out for a pup ice cream after the vet and bath.

Some days that's all I feel like doing in the garden as well. That and tossing damaged 'maters to the ladies.

Ditto! Some of the winter crops are peeping up here, though. That makes me happy. Plus lots of seed to collect, which leads to hopeful thoughts for next year.

Beautiful kitten, too! Stormy is a perfect name.

Love that mutant carrot @ChocolateMouse!

Hope you are doing well, @karenerwin! Happy fishing. It is good to hear from you.

@penny1960, are you getting a new pup?

@Sueby, glad your canning went well. I do use those fermenting lids; they're very nice to have. A lot better than a cracked jar or bugs in your ferment! There's another kind with a water-filled valve-type thing that's also nice to have. Of course I cannot remember the name...Have fun with those pickles @igorsMistress! Fermenting is such fun!

It's really good to read that the smoke is clearing for many of you. @Battles house, glad you came through the storm safely. What about your seedlings?

We have been really busy here and it will stick for a while, I think! Getting ready for winter. I have spent several hours raking leaves and various woodland debris out of the woods near the house over the past few days. Usually I get only so far every year. I think I need to bribe all of my friends' children to come over here and help, there are about 13 acres of woods to rake! (I do make a wicked pan of brownies.) Actually, most of my friends are a little younger than I am...time to bribe them, too...At least then I'd be sort of 'on par' and only have a year's worth to deal with next fall. Anyhow. The chickens get a lot of the leaves and some of debris, which is mostly tree bark. They run from the wheelbarrow but race toward that fresh pile of leaves!

Last week one of our friends' children fell very very ill and spent days at Children's hospital; it turns out she had a very rare form of encephalitis, poor thing! Thank God, she is now back home and doing well, considering. Very scary.

We have also had very low nighttime temps—high 30s—and had a stretch of brisk days in the 60s. The garden is slowing down...my squash plants look beautiful, but I don't think we'll get any fruit. *pout* Ah well, the blooms are pretty and make my bee friends happy. The temps are returning to normal, though! No frost yet. I'm surprised to read of some already for several of you, but it seems like one of those years! Considering the alternative was probably Godzilla contributing to localized temperature spikes, I guess we'll all take early frosts.

Happy...well, watching the garden, everybody!

 

[Kiwibird]

It has never bloomed since I moved on here. I fed it with something that was supposed to make it bloom, but it didn’t work. It needs to go.

The most common reason for hydrangeas not flowering is pruning too far down, so if you want it to flower more than you want it to go, I can help you to identify the buds to save when you prune. You can see them as soon as it loses its leaves, and often before.

ETA: I guess in climates where summers are shorter, those buds might not form. Either way, we could check if you post a photo. They aren't flower buds in the normal sense, they are like fat leaf buds that the flowering shoots grow from.