What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Sorry for your fall and injury. I don't know the history of your little farm, but did you just purchase the property? Sounds like you need to do a good inspection of your property to prevent future injuries.

We purchased it in Feb 2020, right before Covid hit. The previous homeowner had passed away. We actually "adopted" his chickens & goats as part of the sale since his heirs had no earthly idea what to do with them. Because he had been elderly & sick for a while, the place was a bit overgrown. We've cleaned up most of the property but left some scrub brush around a giant oak that sits right in the center of our back pasture. We left the brush so the chickens could hide in them and the goats like to eat them. Seemed innocent enough. I had no idea that there was a cattle panel laying on the ground over there. And it has been there long enough that the grass and scrub brush has grown over & into it....which helped obscure it.

Believe me, we are finding all kinds of stuff in random places around this place. In the house, in the barn, in the attic. They left us all kinds of wood, roof panels, tile, cattle equipment, rope, shelves. Basically stuff that has been incredibly useful around the farm.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hallelujah! It's RAINING! And a GOOD soaking rain.... View attachment 2751498
View attachment 2751501

I was beginning to get worried. My grass is almost dead... Pond is SUPER low. And even though I have been watering the garden, it's not nearly enough.... Oh thank the Good Lord! ☺

According to my rain gauge in the garden, it rained almost an inch and a half last night!



There's a slight chance today and a high chance on Sunday. Sunday it's supposed to rain about a half an inch.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Sad surprise yesterday afternoon. I opened the main coop to let all the hens out and found poor Betty had died. So strange as she was looking just fine and healthy earlier. Yesterday was productive but not an ordinary day. Last night it was shortly after I had fallen asleep I heard the coyote howling down our street. Then we got two very loud thunderstorms in the early morning hours today. I was able to make some headway on the coop expansion yesterday. The new rooster coop is close to being complete. I still need to install a roosting bar for him and install the corrugated roof panels. Anticipating rain I covered it all with a large tarp. I started moving dirt into his new run this morning. I need to cut a few more boards but will have to do that in between rain showers. This morning I picked another 10 ounces of kale, 1/4 pound of chard and 1/2 pound of carrots. I may have to start freezing the kale. The rest of the garden is looking good. I think I should probably throw some more fertilizer into the plants in the containers. Elsa should be running close to the coast tomorrow, however, the storms this morning were definitely a part of that tropical system. Hopefully it will dry out a bit after that.

 

[Iluveggers]

Good morning gardeners. Sad surprise yesterday afternoon. I opened the main coop to let all the hens out and found poor Betty had died. So strange as she was looking just fine and healthy earlier.

Sorry to hear about your girl.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

rainy day, nothing to do in the garden, so just arranged the flowers for different corners in the house

 

[WthrLady]

The deer are topping off my deer resistant, very expensive, daylilies. GRRRRR.

 

[TJAnonymous]

rainy day, nothing to do in the garden, so just arranged the flowers for different corners in the house

View attachment 2751796

I'd love to know what flowers you have planted around your gardens to make these types of bouquets. I recognize some of them, but not all of them. I'm currently making a "wish list" of flowers I'd like to plant around the property to create bouquets like the ones you've posted. I've already planted two different types of lilacs, double tuberose, peonies, and have seeds for others like columbine, marshmallow, zinnias, daisies, cosmos, farewell-to-spring.

 

[NewBoots]

Not much rain this year, but we got about 6 hours of a light rain early this morning. I'll take whatever we can get from nature. Very hot and dry this year, but I know lots of people have it even worse.

I'd make a deal with the devil to get a good heavy rain even once a week. The one drip line I got installed is a big help, once my next check comes I'll get another 100' section done. I need to get the 8' t-posts too, the plastic 6' fencing has arrived so I want to get the run extension done. I read this morning that the price of lumber is starting to go down so maybe I'll even do a proper job of it and get some 4x4 posts.

Anyone have any experience with this? Just curious.... Most peppers I've picked and just left on the counter or in the fridge end up turning soft & wrinkly, just like the red Anaheim peppers. So I'm stumped on how to get a red, perfectly ripe and not rotten Anaheim pepper...

I love anaheims grilled and added to a hamburger. I'm about to give up on peppers completely but of the few that I've grown, they'll turn red on the vine and then start to dry where they hang. I got a few red serranos last year and added them to my salsa and cowboy candy. All the ones I planted outside had insect damage to the peppers (if any even developed) the only ones I got any fruit from stayed in the greenhouse all summer. Maybe that's what I should do, devote the greenhouse to peppers and okra in the summer. It's way too hot in there for anything else.

Can't use the gas mower in the yard anymore due to fire risk so I just trim with the battery weed whacker. Don't miss that sweaty job but I hate the scraggy lawn. Oh well, the chickens and rabbits don't mind. Got about half the watering done so far today, I'll work on the rest after lunch. I'm going to make another big quinoa salad later and talk DP into making a batch of deviled eggs. We actually have a couple dozen eggs since a customer asked me to save them some then canceled. I don't mind at all, we sell them so fast I don't always have as many as I'd like for home use. Now that the littles are integrated I have room for a couple cages to stick the broodys in, I'll try and get that done today or tomorrow. I keep hoping they'll stop on their own but one is one of my best layers and she's producing nothing now for more than a week. I'm rambling, stay cool, safe and dirty all!

 

[BReeder!]

I went on a stroll through the garden. It's growing very well for the most part.

Pumpkins and butternut squash developing

Check out these sunflowers. The talkers must be over 8ft and still no flower head.

The glass gem corn in the 3 sisters is doing great and growing very very tall.

Cucumbers on straight wire trellis

Cucumber tunnel

Onions I picked

Brussel sprouts growing actual sprouts finally

Jerusalem artichokes are getting tall, but no flowers there yet

This is a parsnip I dug around a bit to check rot development. It's certainly growing. It's about 1/2-3/4 inch wide.

A nice zucchini we might pick soon

A nice yellow squash too

QUESTION: These are celery. Should I put tubes around them yet to bleach them? Will they grow taller if I do?

Bandage
Babana peppers are doing well

A purple bell pepper growing

A rabbit clearly got in and munched on this marigold. I'm shocked because it's supposed to deter them.

And lastly, I trimmed this tree the other day that was hanging over the fence and blocking light on my raised beds.

 

[Acre4Me]

A Garden Contest: Which Pole Bean has nearly reached the top of my 10ft tall bean towers?


Entries:

Side by side, it is clear that Contestant #2 "Bingo" has won this contest! Nearly to the top bar! But, the rest of Bingo has not kept up! Wonder what the future holds for Bingo!