What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Now why would I go there when there's all you great folks here to make conversation with?

Because they can give you the answers you have about your garden that is specific to your own zip code. Gardening practices do vary by local conditions.

 

[littledog]

Sorry I haven’t checked in a couple months, all the rain we got this summer made it impossible to keep up with the weeds and

Nice to see you back, and love your pictures! I am in an extreme state of envy of your loofahs! When did you plant them? And in what kind of soil? I've failed at them for the past two years, I might be planting them too early or late, in too much or too little compost, mulching too much or too little. In other words, clueless about what I'm doing wrong. They come up looking like healthy little seedlings, then either die right away or grow one or two teeny-tiny loofahs, then die.

My freezer at the moment is a nightmare. There was a time I had it organized. Not so organized now.

Same here. It needs defrosting really bad, but it's crammed full of 1/2 hog, 1/2 lamb, plus other random stuff, including treasures (?? or maybe old ruined crap) hidden in the ice. We need to wait until we have a few days of freezing temps this winter, then defrost it and see what all is in there.

replanted fall and winter crops , except the garlic, that will be done in November.

Oh, that's good to know, I'm not too late to plant my garlic.

Morning Gardeners may be able to close the garden down let chickens in there...

Ha Ha Penny, I love your new avatar!

 

[jerryse]

Morning . Yesterday I did some mowing and worked on the bookcase head board . Made a pumpkin pie from home grown pumpkin . My personal preference is to use a mixer on the ingredients . This leaves very small bits of pumpkin . I can taste the pumpkin better than if I run the pumpkin through the blender .

 

[Sueby]

I have a great gardening book meant specifically for New England gardeners, it's fantastic. She even breaks it down into the zones in New England. I constantly pull that thing out.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Nice to see you back, and love your pictures! I am in an extreme state of envy of your loofahs! When did you plant them? And in what kind of soil? I've failed at them for the past two years, I might be planting them too early or late, in too much or too little compost, mulching too much or too little. In other words, clueless about what I'm doing wrong. They come up looking like healthy little seedlings, then either die right away or grow one or two teeny-tiny loofahs, then die.

Same here. It needs defrosting really bad, but it's crammed full of 1/2 hog, 1/2 lamb, plus other random stuff, including treasures (?? or maybe old ruined crap) hidden in the ice. We need to wait until we have a few days of freezing temps this winter, then defrost it and see what all is in there.

Oh, that's good to know, I'm not too late to plant my garlic.

Ha Ha Penny, I love your new avatar!

I planted mine on the front fence. I didn’t add any fertilizer or amendments just hilled them slightly and neglected them for most of the summer. I planted in mid June I think. How hot is your weather up there it’s possible it doesn’t stay warm enough. Mine seemed to grow best during the hotter parts of the summer here.

 

[littledog]

Thanks, Artichoke, that helps. Our areas are obviously very different, but this tells me I planted them too early and in too rich soil. I do have a trellis I built just for them that's south-facing, so I'll try late June in plain dirt and ignore them!

 

[WthrLady]

I planted mine on the front fence. I didn’t add any fertilizer or amendments just hilled them slightly and neglected them for most of the summer. I planted in mid June I think. How hot is your weather up there it’s possible it doesn’t stay warm enough. Mine seemed to grow best during the hotter parts of the summer here.

We had extreme heat and humidity up here all summer. We're talking heat indexes of 105-118 for a vast majority of it. It wasn't until that broke in August that my luffa started taking off. Crazy plant.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning all. Running behind this morning. My rooster is sleeping later and later. I managed to clean up one of the garden beds this morning. I also pulled up the okra and pepper plants. The Dinosaur kale I planted definitely looks like it may make a comeback. I would love to know the title of the gardening book you were referring to @Sueby. There are so many different planting zones in New England and there is no one-size-fits all. I'm in a bit of a micro climate due to my property sitting near the bottom of a hill to the east. The only time I get early morning sun is in the winter after the leaves have fallen off the trees. The slope also affects winds and temperature in my backyard where the gardens are. The front yard gets sun nearly all day and is warmer there as well. As for straw. I don't use a lot of it as it is a bit expensive around here. Also, worrying about how clean it is is also a problem. I do plan on laying cardboard over some of my raised beds after I add the amendments. I have had better luck just using leaves from the yard and they are a lot more budget friendly. I have a mulcher/vacuum attachment for my leaf blower that chops the leaves up nicely so it makes that job much easier. We're having a bit of a warm-up here so I may finally get to power wash my siding. I'll leave the garden work to the cooler morning hours. I agree @WthrLady, the temperatures have been all over the place crazy this year.

 

[Sueby]

@Wee Farmer Sarah - this is the book. I like the way it's broken down into months with a checklist of what you should be doing by zone. https://www.amazon.com/Timber-Veget...60368724,1493010719,1591865468&srpt=ABIS_BOOK

 

[Sueby]

I know it's redic, but I just don't have enough leaves to use them in the garden! And we have GIANT old oak trees all over. I save them to add layers of brown in the compost throughout the winter & then I use them to spread on the snow for the chickens. I thought about asking my neighbor if I could have hers, lol. So I get straw for the garden, it seems to last thru the next summer as a weed barrier so I'm ok paying the $7 a bale or whatever it is. Gosh, it's probably doubled because of COVID this year.