What did you do in the garden today?

[Silviaschicks]

male flowers are followed by female!

Hopefully

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Today's harvest. Plus a HUGE tomato hornworm. Chickens got that. I wish there were some squash in there, but the squash bugs are ridiculous. I'll have to plant squash in a totally different place next year even though the raised bales are technically new soil.

 

[Sueby]

Morning all.

@gtaus we do have several raised beds - just typical ones commonly seen.

This is the area spouse wants to make into a bed. It would be approx 20x30' and additionally would have a 4-5' wide path between it and the bed you see in the background (with the pumpkins).
View attachment 2762414


Here are some of our raised beds. We are thinking of making them taller and doing the hugelkulture type, with rotting shredded wood and split logs in the bottom, dirt on top. Adding some kind of structure above for plastic and/or netting depending on time of year to extend our growing season in the spring. A door would be on the far side (near the roofed pen you can see). We think we would use cattle panels as structure/ kept upright with a frame that extends up wards from the inside row between the beds. It could be uncovered during the winter, but would hope to use it in March and beyond.
View attachment 2762416

Your plans sound a lot like mine, I'm just much smaller scale at this point. I was just looking at getting a couple cattle panels for next year, I want to do a trellis overhead for the beans & cukes to climb & yet make the most of the space I have so they'll go over the walk way. I won't be able to use them as a hoop house, but I have the hoops for that.

So I made my first garlic braid today, I think it came out pretty good for not having a clue. I don't intend to braid any more, I have bags they'll all go in, I just made this one to give to my sister.

It's hot & humid out there, expecting big storms & lots of rain tonight. My squash are looking sad from the mildew, it really got bad overnight. I sprayed with neem, if that doesn't cut it I'll bust out the copper, but I'm not too fond of using it unless it's do or die.

I'll pick some beans for dinner tonight along with some sungolds & cukes.

I'm going to pull the shallots today if I can get to it before the rain. I am going to try lettuce under a shade cloth & see where I can get. So the wrong time of year, but I miss having it. The worst that can happen is it doesn't grow! I have the room from the garlic so....

Have a great day all.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I sow them in early Feb in the greenhouse and transplanted in March, as they are quite hardy, normal frost won't damage them. I plant them majorly for the pea shoots, but after June I will let them flower and get some nice peas. I will plant some again soon for the autumn.

For the currants, I have originally red ones in the garden, all brought by birds, but they are too sour for me so all for the hens. The pink one I ordered last year from the gardening center, surprisingly a good mixture of sweet and sour, the summer here is not too hot and they are planted in the half shaded places, so far the growth is quite ok.

I also plant an entire row of raspberry, imaging that they might become a small fruit forest in summer and autumn few years later.

Saw all the flooding going on in Germany. So sad! Hope you haven't been affected

 

[TJAnonymous]

It's raining pretty hard at the moment.... We need it BADLY so I'm not complaining! I did get some much needed weeding done inside the hoop house before it started.... Picked some tomatoes, strawberries, and squash...

Oh yeah, let's talk squash for a moment. I've got an all out war against squash bugs going on in the hoop house. I mentioned that I walked into the hoop house a few days ago and my largest squash plant was in a wilted heap on the ground. I gave it up as lost but didn't have time to tear it out and remove it. This morning when I went out, I noticed that it had put out flowers... It also is trying to regrow new leaves.... So I trimmed off everything that was wilted or dead, hoping to redirect the energy into new growth. I killed a gazillion squash bugs in the process of cleaning up the squash plants.

Then there's the watermelon. I have 2 different varieties planted - one yellow, one red. I have 2 watermelons that I thought looked ready to pick. They sounded hollow when you tap on them. I waited a good week after I thought they were ready, just in case. Picked them both and put them in the fridge. I just cut into the bigger one (a red variety, I think) and I am disappointed to see that it clearly wasn't ready.... Unless somehow my watermelons cross-pollinated. It is mostly whitish yellow inside with a hint of blush. It doesn't taste bad by any means but not as sweet as it should be.... I might try it eat some of it anyway but I think the chickens will have a hey day with it.... Especially as hot as it has been.

I haven't cut open the smaller watermelon yet. Worried now it isn't ready either.... Oh well. Nothing I can do about it now.

ETA - after doing some reading, I'm pretty sure my watermelon cross-pollinated the red and yellow varieties. They were planted next to each other so makes sense....

 

[Elyrian1]

We've been over 90 during the day for a few days now. I'm watering in the heat of the day, much as i hate it, in an attempt to keep my plants alive. I'm going to lose some of them, just don't know which yet.

Little off topic, but the pregnancy is going well. This one is really beating me up, lol. I think at this point I'm resigned to not getting much of anything in the ground this side of winter. Physical, time, and weather limitations being what they are...

 

[NewBoots]

The oregano I sowed in early June, they grow very well after being transplanted into the raised bed.

I planted oregano in a couple of the raised beds last year and this year it went nuts! it filled every open space in the bed early this spring. I pulled it to make room for vegetables but I'll plant it again.

8 cloudy day tomatoes. I WILL plant these again next year.

I'm adding those to my seeds for next year.

So I made my first garlic braid today, I think it came out pretty good for not having a clue. I don't intend to braid any more, I have bags they'll all go in, I just made this one to give to my sister.

It turned out beautiful! Great job!

Not much to do in the garden anymore at this point. Just watering and keeping tomatoes under control as much as is possible. I made a huge quinoa & blanched kale salad that we'll eat on for days. And there's pork ribs in the bbq/grill with about 30 minutes left before I'll hit them with bbq sauce and finish them on the coals. I'll add some zucchini (ours) and onions (store bought). I wish I'd gotten some bananas to grill as well.

 

[oldhen2345]

Didn’t work outside today. Attended a funeral - sad. It was beautiful and touching. Will mow tomorrow and check the garden.

 

[MrLeeHo]

Thunder, lightning, rain and hail here this afternoon. Looking at my tall tomato plants leaning over their supports hoping they hold on until morning when i can get out and pick and re-tie. Had a pullet pass away out of nowhere this weekend. No clue what happened, seemed completely healthy and happy Thursday. Went out yesterday to check on them and she was just lying in the coop. No sign of fight, struggle, or injuries.

 

[Sally PB]

Nothing done in the garden today. I need to weed in the sandy soil garden. Still waiting for the first red tomato... I really want to have cherry tomatoes to eat while working in the garden. On a positive note, I'll be getting some beans soon.