What did you do in the garden today?

[Chicken poppy]

The pictures that you see of the hognoses playing dead- they're SO cute! And I agree, banana ball pythons are just amazing, and piebald bananas are just GOREGOUS!

I also find the bluff strikes that hognose snakes do hilarious, and the way they hiss and try to look like a cobra while all they are is a cute little noodle.

I love the detail in your reply, glad to know there's another hognose lover here!

Little boop noodles

Same! I love snakes, but hognose snakes are definitely my favorite! Along with ball pythons and a few others.


I love the bluff strikes! They look so funny and adorable.

 

[WthrLady]

7 straight hours of training violent thunderstorms over my place last night. System counted over 40000 strikes. Worked til 4am, and got up at 8. I am poofed.
Hail beating on the window sounded like large stones being thrown, which they were. Off to check the garden. I'm even more inclined to put up shade cloth now as a hail barrier.
Heat indexes in the 110 range for days to come.

 

[littledog]

We have two goats. They LOVE to eat the blackberry leaves but we have far too many for 2 goats to handle. I really want to get another female goat but prices on them have gone up too. First of all, unless you go to an auction, they are terribly hard to find. Lots of wethers and billies on Craigslist, few to none on the females. When you do find a female, they are usually $300 - $400. I simply haven't been able to justify that cost for another female.

Same here, goat prices here are bottle babies $50-75, auction prices for 3-month doelings are similar but I don't trust that they are from a healthy herd. Craigslist, especially at this time of year, has tons of goats for sale, babies for $100, 1-2-year-old doelings and bucklings for $175 up to $400 for registered dairy goats. Various health promises, mostly not.
When I go to buy goats, it will be from a local dairy breeder who lets their babies be raised by the moms, but handles them enough to be friendly. Gives them appropriate vaccinations, supplements, and tests their herd for CDE and Johnes. And sells their youngsters for a reasonable price, like $100-125 for 6-month-old wethers, $150 for doelings.

 

[CaroleW]

I strung up a bunch of tomato vines and got some more stringers and clips together for tomorrow morning.
Carried up a flat of miscellaneous seedlings to plant among the squash at the NW garden closest to the trailer home.
And before all that I put 2.5 flats of indoor seedling on the porch for hardening off or up-potting later this evening - like I need more seedlings...LOL... some are higher value like stevia or rare peppers so they get transplanted first- others may just get lazily dropped into the ground.

 

[DParker75089]

I planted pumpkins yesterday (7 each of "Big Max" and "New England Pie"). Hopefully I've timed this right and they'll be ready before Halloween.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

One of my best friends has a hognose, a male. She had a female. It ate once in a year and a half, before she finally died.

I let mine sprawl. I tried to get the melons on something, like a brick, or a block of wood, so that they weren't resting on the ground. That helped keep the slugs off them.

Also, about the 5th of August, any melons that weren't the size of my fist got removed, and I didn't let any more grow. This helped make the ones that were growing sweeter, since there were only so many leaves making sugar. Before I did that, I'd end up with lots of melons that were just... meh.

My first frost date can be about the 15th-20th of September, so if you have a longer season, you might get a bunch more melons than I did.

I'm not growing melons this year. The last couple were pretty much flops with ground hogs getting them juuuuust before they were ripe!

Ok thank you! My neighbor has a wooden fenced in yard and 2 small ground hogs have dug their way into her garden!
I guess the BIG boy is still hanging round my house or he moved on hopefully cuz I havent seen any signs of him lately thank God!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Same here, goat prices here are bottle babies $50-75, auction prices for 3-month doelings are similar but I don't trust that they are from a healthy herd. Craigslist, especially at this time of year, has tons of goats for sale, babies for $100, 1-2-year-old doelings and bucklings for $175 up to $400 for registered dairy goats. Various health promises, mostly not.
When I go to buy goats, it will be from a local dairy breeder who lets their babies be raised by the moms, but handles them enough to be friendly. Gives them appropriate vaccinations, supplements, and tests their herd for CDE and Johnes. And sells their youngsters for a reasonable price, like $100-125 for 6-month-old wethers, $150 for doelings.

I thought about reaching out to the local FFA and seeing if I can buy a doe from a high school kid or through 4H. Best way to ensure it is likely healthy and well-cared for....

 

[TJAnonymous]

I was only out in the garden for 20 minutes or so this morning. Just DRENCHED in sweat. It's soooooo hot and humid. Even at 7:30 in the morning. I needed a shower afterwards because I felt just icky.



Anyway, I pulled the zucchini plant that was majorly yellowing. I replanted it elsewhere outside the hoop house but I really don't have high hopes for it. I figure it will end up in the compost pile tonight... I also sprayed for squash bug nymphs. Grrr..... I still don't know how they got in unless they burrowed underground. Maybe laid eggs through the netting?



I had a big portion of one of my tomato plants that fell over. A pretty thick branch just seemed to bend in half. Not sure if a critter got in and pulled on it or if this was caused by the heat/weight of the branch. I tied it up with two straps. It had a TON of flowers and baby fruit on it. Hoping it recovers....



I'm going to have to prune up my Romas again. This is my first time growing them. They are SO BUSHY. It's ridiculous. My other tomato plants are easily 4-5 ft tall now. The Romas are so squat I doubt they even reach 3 ft.

 

[Elyrian1]

Watered heavily last night, not doing anything today except browsing garlic for sale online. I want to try a different variety that handles higher temperatures better. Taking suggestions!

 

[Iluveggers]

Watered heavily last night, not doing anything today except browsing garlic for sale online. I want to try a different variety that handles higher temperatures better. Taking suggestions!

Honestly, I’ve had the best garlic luck by buying bulbs at the farmers market that were grown locally, and planting those in the fall. That way I know it grows in the same environment!