What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Liver....no thanks. You can keep it.

I've never eaten fava beans but I've seen lots of recipes. Might experiment....the hard part will be convincing DH to try them. He *hates* lima beans and they look very similar.

It's over 90 outside, but the wind is whipping around like crazy. My weather app says it's around 15mph but I'd bet it's gusting up in the 20-30s. I keep waiting for the temp to drop a little before going outside to work. I need to get some mulch down in the new raspberry bed. There's 5 canes in there....only one looks alive. I'm hoping that the others are just focused on root development. Regardless the bed looks really compacted. I'm hoping the mulch will not only keep the weeds down but allow the soil to loosen up a little because it stays moist.

Do you know where that came from?

 

[igorsMistress]

I did this once and it killed my blueberry plant. Proceed at your own risk.

You have to test the pH before you do so

 

[igorsMistress]

Unfortunately I saw that movie too. Scary stuff!

I always think of that movie when people mention fava beans.

 

[Sally PB]

I thought my blueberry bed had acidic soil... nope, I bought a pH meter, and it's nearly neutral. No wonder the bushes are a yellow green and I get a couple handfuls of berries, at most. I have added coffee grounds, oak leaves, peat moss, pine needles. I give them the whey when I make yogurt. This year, I bought a soil acidifier amendment, but it can take a year to do much.

I'm really tempted to try the vinegar idea. 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar in a gallon of water is what I just read online.

The coffee grounds are from Starbucks. Their label says they are not acidic, coming in at the 6.8ish pH range. I took a scoop of grounds, mixed them with water, and checked with my pH meter. Yup, just barely under 7. I used filtered water that came tested at 7.

 

[igorsMistress]

I thought my blueberry bed had acidic soil... nope, I bought a pH meter, and it's nearly neutral. No wonder the bushes are a yellow green and I get a couple handfuls of berries, at most. I have added coffee grounds, oak leaves, peat moss, pine needles. I give them the whey when I make yogurt. This year, I bought a soil acidifier amendment, but it can take a year to do much.

I'm really tempted to try the vinegar idea. 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar in a gallon of water is what I just read online.

The coffee grounds are from Starbucks. Their label says they are not acidic, coming in at the 6.8ish pH range. I took a scoop of grounds, mixed them with water, and checked with my pH meter. Yup, just barely under 7. I used filtered water that came tested at 7.

I think the amount of vinegar you use depends on the pH of your water.

 

[Sally PB]

I think the amount of vinegar you use depends on the pH of your water.

Good point. I'm going to check the tap water and the outdoor spigot. The filtered water (reverse osmosis) was 7. The tap water is treated with a water softener and also an iron filter. The outdoor water is straight from the well. It has a lot of iron in it; when it sits in the sunlight, it turns orangey-brown.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Officially wetest May on record

 

[BullChick]

It rained overnight. Not much, but enough to see the float go up on the rain gauge.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Do you know where that came from?

No, but given the reference to a scary movie on a previous post...I feel completely annoyed that I apparently *DON'T* know where it came from....given that I like to consider myself a 'Scary Movie Snob.'

 

[TJAnonymous]

You have to test the pH before you do so

I did...but it still killed my plant...sadly. But considering vinegar is a natural weed killer, it seems like a foregone conclusion (even after cutting it with water).