What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Good morning gardeners.

 

[Elyrian1]

I grew up in Georgia, so not terribly worried about the heat once I've had a few weeks to adjust back. Yeah it's hot here, but there's always wind and the humidity is low. However, the pregnancy does make me more vulnerable, so I'll be careful. The toddler has no clue about the heat, so I'll need to watch him closely.

Well, landlady has a pecan tree in the back corner, planted it straight into this red clay/ sand. Think I'll grab some compost and some wood mulch and give it a fighting chance. When I looked up soil type through the county extension agent website, turned out I called it after my little walk yesterday evening. Clay and sand. The topsoil and organic materials are long, long gone. So, no fancy mixes needed, just tons and tons of organic material mixed back in a bit and sheltered with mulches.

DH is excited to get started as well, but phase two of the move involves him going back for a couple of weeks to finish up his last job before bringing his tools and a few personal odds and ends back on the final trip. In the meantime, I need to draw up garden plans for the best use of space, and make a good hail protection plan.

 

[TJAnonymous]

It’s that hot here most of our summer. One of the biggest things is not getting dehydrated which is even more important in your area since it’s drier. But the other is simply avoiding working during the hottest part of the day. I usually spend about 6 hours outside 8-10am and 4-8pm. That way I avoid the hottest part of the day. But yes you will want to be very careful while you adjust. Especially if you aren’t used to looking for signs of heat stroke.

Same here. I go out early in the morning between 7 - 9 am and then again between 5 - 9 pm. Too hot throughout most of the summer to do it any differently but if we get a nice day below 80 degrees I will spend the entire day outdoors if possible.

 

[jerryse]

Cooler with rain starting around noon . Cloudy so hard to get started .

 

[Sueby]

I grew up in Georgia, so not terribly worried about the heat once I've had a few weeks to adjust back. Yeah it's hot here, but there's always wind and the humidity is low. However, the pregnancy does make me more vulnerable, so I'll be careful. The toddler has no clue about the heat, so I'll need to watch him closely.

Well, landlady has a pecan tree in the back corner, planted it straight into this red clay/ sand. Think I'll grab some compost and some wood mulch and give it a fighting chance. When I looked up soil type through the county extension agent website, turned out I called it after my little walk yesterday evening. Clay and sand. The topsoil and organic materials are long, long gone. So, no fancy mixes needed, just tons and tons of organic material mixed back in a bit and sheltered with mulches.

DH is excited to get started as well, but phase two of the move involves him going back for a couple of weeks to finish up his last job before bringing his tools and a few personal odds and ends back on the final trip. In the meantime, I need to draw up garden plans for the best use of space, and make a good hail protection plan.

That's so exciting! I love a good major shake up of the snow globe of life every once in a while. Of course you know we'll need pics... You should probably get on that today.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Best of luck to you @Elyrian1. I only have brief memories of Texas from basic training and tech school in the summer. Ugh! However, my "glass half full" perspective says congratulations, the climate in Texas provides 2 growing seasons. Double the fun. In my very limited experience in growing corn @oldhen2345, if you plant the corn too shallow it may not develop strong roots to make it sturdy enough to stand tall and strong. You can hill dirt around the base of the stalks to help them develop better anchors. My baby corn is doing well and I will be thinning the plants and hilling the soil either tomorrow or Sunday. A strong storm came blowing through here yesterday evening. Of course it started right when I was getting ready to fire up my new grill. It was a bit scary because it got so dark the "dusk to dawn" lights came on. We got over 1/2 inch of rain but the best part was the temps went from 90F to 70F. The gardens are all looking just fine this morning. I was concerned that some of the smaller plants might have taken a beating from the rain as it was coming down in sheets. But it's all good. Some of my lima beans appear to be germinating and a few of the beans floated to the top of the dirt. I covered those with some more dirt and will hope I get something going there soon. I planted some more basil this morning and finally got the jalapenos and ancho peppers planted in the large pots in the front yard. The chicks haven't arrived yet. DD is disappointed. She has never experienced baby chicks before and has already fallen in love with my chickens. My current side project now is giving my patio area a makeover. Nothing fancy and am working with a small budget. And who said retirement was boring?

 

[Sueby]

I'm jealous of the rain you got @Wee Farmer Sarah! We got a trace, the storm went just to the north of us. But they say we're getting a good inch/inch & a half on Fri night/Sat.

So I thinned out some of the bean plants, some are starting to climb. Pulled the suckers off the tomatoes & noticed a few have some flower buds forming, as do a couple pepper plants & the pole beans. Everything is growing so fast!

I need to get the new dahlia tubers in the ground today.

 

[Sally PB]

It is chilly here today! Farther north, chances of frost, even. I feel badly for the fruit farmers.

I bought 6 more tomato plants so that I can fill up the row that would have been empty because so few seeds sprouted. They're not heirloom, but I just can't wait any longer for starts.

Tomorrow will be cold -- not even 60!, and then nicer, though cool, on Saturday. When it's not raining tomorrow, I think I'll be digging the holes for all the plants and putting any amendments in. Then everything will be nicely watered in for planting.

Today, I'm getting some of the mess straightened up in the house in preparation for a friend visiting. I might work in a nap too.

 

[WthrLady]

@Elyrian1 how long do you expect to be at this place? I know it's not permanent for you, correct?

I'm dying, there is a Tom out in the yard trying to woo a peacock garden decoration I have! He's been at it for HOURS!

I'm so envisioning his buddies in the edge of the yard, "DUDE, she's SO out of your league."
"Nah, I got this."
"DUDE"

 

[WthrLady]

The cutworms and the bean beetles and I had a long, albeit one sided, discussion about what they're up to before I went to bed last night.

I thought I had made the deal QUITE clear, but alas, this morning two more tomatoes were on the ground this morning.

So I had to make my point quite clear this morning and dusted the whole garden. I am NOT putting up with pests on week ONE of the garden being in.

The severe weather went south of us, which is fine. We still got 1.5 inches of rain last night. The boys were ready to get out and stretch, but they better not go out in the field and roll in the mud. You can't keep them locked up for days, and I'll probably lock them up again tonight so I don't have to chase them in the morning.

I got sick of the chicks in the workshop this morning and chucked them into the main henhouse. The big girls know the chicks, but this is the first time they've shared the big lock-up. I literally chucked them in plus a bag of meal worms and said have a great day. LOL.

Go get muddy everyone!