What did you do in the garden today?

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I used insect netting over my hoop house but the squash bugs have managed to crawl UNDER the hoop house walls to get in.

I can partially bury the walls in the dirt next year which will help....but I have to figure out what to use as mulch. I won't be using wood mulch again since they clearly LOVE that.... I can't just leave bare dirt because the weeds become too aggressive and take over. I used animal feed bags as a weed barrier but the white color allowed the sun to penetrate so I had a big problem with weed growth BENEATH the bags. Maybe if I paint the bags black? Or perhaps several layers of newspaper or cardboard? I'll figure something out....

I use rugs but some weeds still make it through. They are easier to manage though.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

We are in a heat advisory again. Just finished doing over an hours worth of bird and pig chores outside and my youngest boy (13) helped me pick some tomatoes.
Now to peel off these sopping clothes and shower. This heat is ridiculous but expected for southern Iowa in August.

 

[vall]

Still getting too many cucumbers.. I saved that soup recipe. Made quail stock, relish and ketchup over the weekend along with zucchini brownies (for a party) and stone fruit cobbler for myself. Fridge is full of watermelon and yellow scallop squash. Irrigation is fixed - I found a rats nest in one of my valve boxes, luckily it didn't chew any wires.

i’ve been considering trying to raise butterflies in my aviary for over 2 years now!!! like i don’t raise enough critters already!

Zinnias and fennel are my favorite butterfly plants, and then you have zinnias to cut and fennel to eat

Mine are cinder block and I love them. Just be sure to put capstones on top- weeds like to grow in the holes- once had a watermelon get stuck in a hole- it had grown too big to get out.

I have a watermelon stuck in 2" chicken wire I'll have to cut out once it's ripe

 

[TJAnonymous]

I use rugs but some weeds still make it through. They are easier to manage though.

That's actually a good idea. I can probably get some cheap rugs at the dollar store. Just throw those on top of the feed bags...might help them from rotting or getting moldy? And easy to lift to look underneath for bugs.

 

[Sally PB]

Last night it was potatoes, tonight it was beans. I am IN LOVE with my air fryer lid for my Instant Pot.

DH said both were home runs!

 

[Scottin8a]

My Spicy Pickled Beans recipe from Martha Stewart was a flop. Nobody in my family likes them. In short, they taste too much like vinegar. The spicy part is good and I like the crispy beans. But, I too, find these pickled beans much too strong in the vinegar taste.

Shout out to anyone who has pickled fresh garden beans that might be able to offer a better recipe for refrigerator - no pressure canning - beans.

Here is the Martha Stewart recipe I made and that nobody in my family likes....

If you like dill green beans I use packaged Mrs Wages Dill Pickle mix. Since I don’t need 7 quarts of “dilly beans” I just use a little math and do a pint at a time. That’s about 13 grams of mix. I do the same for cucumbers. That way I can pickle a pint or a quart at a time while cucumbers are never more than a day old. I use Mrs Wages Bread and Butter Pickle mix also (but never tried it on green beans).

 

[Happy hen lover]

I too put down a tarp then threw all my coop mini shaving pine litter from 10 months on ground right next to squash plants well now I have NO pumpkins , spaghetti squash or watermelon plants because of the squash bugs.!
But I do like the rug idea. I may modify area before next year. I read a YT to wrap your vines in alum foil to prevent vine borers . Got good reviews. On another note my scallops are planted randomly in flower garden and have done well with no wood anything anywhere near them ! Live and learn

 

[Happy hen lover]

If you like dill green beans I use packaged Mrs Wages Dill Pickle mix. Since I don’t need 7 quarts of “dilly beans” I just use a little math and do a pint at a time. That’s about 13 grams of mix. I do the same for cucumbers. That way I can pickle a pint or a quart at a time while cucumbers are never more than a day old. I use Mrs Wages Bread and Butter Pickle mix also (but never tried it on green beans).

I've wondered how that mix would be one jar at a time

 

[WthrLady]

Felt like 117 this afternoon.
The morning walk was brutal. Morning chores and garden picking were miserable. Afternoon chores were mind numbing.
Canned all afternoon inside.

 

[Happy hen lover]

It actually read 115 on my car thermometer on way home from Dr. All I could stand to do outside is just water all of it and hope it rains a little tonight. I think I got dehydrated the other day in this heat. Coconut water really helps replenish electrolytes . Oh I did get some fresh cukes so I can make bread and butter pickles tomorrow. I'm planting a bunch more cucumbers next year. We LOVE pickles .