What did you do in the garden today?

[MACCanadianCoop]

I watched DH spend 10 minutes looking for his cell phone while he was talking to his mom on it....

This is absolutely something I would do

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

We finally got a little rain late yesterday!
Hoping this gives the tomatoes what they needed to start turning!!! MUST get them tied up higher today! Should have done it last night but just could not after havin 2 grand babies all day and 7 chicks hatchin!

 

[Sally PB]

Two things to do today, in addition to the other things to do today. I need to water the gardens. And I need to redo the protective fence I put around the cherry trees. I want to make it bigger so that I don't need to make it so tall.

One of them has chicken wire over the top of the fence, and the tree grew through it. Very well, as a matter of fact. I'll need to cut up the chicken wire to get all the little branches free. The little cherry trees bloomed, but didn't produce. They're only about 3 years old, so I think they knew they were too young to become parents.

They sure grew a lot, though. Not getting browsed by deer? A very good thing!

 

[Acre4Me]

It’s raining again! Supposed to be 3/4” or so today. Cool temps today and tomorrow, with lows in lower 50s. Then, it goes back to hot and dry conditions starting Sunday for the foreseeable future.

The sweet potatoes have loved the rain! They are now going into full grow mode. It’s been 2 weeks since they were planted. Even the one I was sure was going to die is putting out two tiny leaves. Anyone interested in slips, I purchased from Sandhill Preservation. They ship 2 more times this next week I think. And everything is half price. But, read their site- it provides an email to use that goes to their phone so it can be answered quickly (under “news and updates”). Also, they are old school - print order, send in check. But, they have around 200 varieties of sweet potatoes! I ordered four of their collections (their choice of variety) so I’m looking forward to seeing what I might get. I have orange, purple and white varieties planted. I will be completely overrun with sweet potato vines soon.

 

[littledog]

The top left barrel will be the bog filter, the right tank will be for the carnivorous plants and the bottom center pond will be floating plants and a few mosquito fish. Then assorted potted plants will be sitting on the red rock around the whole thing and help disguise the cord and tubing.

That's so lovely, what a nice setup!

I think im going to do this. Shred and dehydrate zucchini for winter use. Adding it to meatloaf sounds really good right now. And if I can do a zucchini muffin in dec everyone will be happy.

I had so much zucchini last year, including ones too big to eat but I didn't want them to go to waste. So I made a huge batch of fritter batter and froze it in containers. It's worked out great, has held up very well to freezing/defrosting.

I built a garden tool storage unit using free pallets I picked up at our local Harbor Freight. Posted a thread with some pictures: Garden Tool Storage made from free pallets

Love this! Big fan of free reclaimed wood, especially with the crazy prices of lumber these days.

Speaking of Luffas, This is the only one that made it to planting outside stage. It has really taken off lately and even has a bloom!

So jealous! This is my third year failing at luffas, but I intend to keep trying, only because I built a special trellis for them. When I eventually manage to produce one, I might have to display it in a picture frame.

I feel like I've seen a recipe for cucumber soup on either this thread or the baking thread.

I have a cuke soup recipe that we really love:

Creamy Cucumber Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups peeled, seeded, thinly-sliced cucumbers
1.5 cups vegetable broth
0.5 teaspoon salt
.25 teaspoon pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1 avocado, diced
.25 cup chopped fresh parsley
.5 cup plain yogurt

Prep:
1. heat oil over med-high heat, add garlic, onion.cook until tender.Add lemon juice, cook 1 minute.Add 3.75 cups cukes, broth, salt, pepper, cayenne, bring to simmer. Reduce heat and gently simmer 6-8 minutes until cukes are soft.
2. Transfer soup to a blender, add avocado and parsley, blend on low until smooth. Pour into serving bowl, stir in yoghurt. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup cukes to use as garnish on top right before serving.

Super easy and also freezes/thaws well. Last year I had so many cukes I made several quadruple batches and froze most in meal-sized containers. We're still pulling out containers for meals, and it tastes just as good as the day I made it.

So glad I still have lots of these cuke soup containers in the freezer, as well as many jars of pickles, because this year's cukes mostly refused to sprout.

 

[Iluveggers]

Walked the garden this morning. Carrots and beans havent sprouted yet. Zinnias and nasturtium are popped out! About 10 flowers on my squash and zucchini…all male so no pollination necessary. Examined all 30+ tomato plants. All tomatoes are still green. One of the cucumbers has finally reached to the second rung of the trellis and has visible (closed) flowers, so hopefully the rest will take off soon! Thinking garlic will be ready to pull & cure in the next few days.

 

[littledog]

Oh, last week while I was visiting Mom in Florida, I took some pictures of their garden - her assisted-living condo complex has a really nice garden area for residents to grow what they want. My Mom's not a gardener, but of course I had to go take a look and see what they were growing, since the climate there is so opposite from here...
I'm sure you folks who live in that area consider these plants normal, but I was amazed at what I saw.

This pineapple is just as big as the rest of the plant!

A whole raised bed with pineapples growing more like I would expect, but still so different from what I've ever seen.

A raised bed with HUGE aloe plants.

Not sure what this shrub/tree is, but it's beautiful and the blossoms smell heavenly.

Whatever this flower is, it's really pretty, and the whole garden area is so attractive and well-cared-for.

These eggplants are 3-4 foot high, with huge fruits- mine are still barely out of the seedling stage.

Finally, I had to add one of my favorite paintings of Mom's. She's not mobile enough to walk all the way to the garden from her condo, but next time we visit she wants us to drive her there with her paints and easel.

 

[Elyrian1]

Pulled a handful of carrots from the garden for breakfast, mine, DS's, and the carrot tops for the chickens! Everybody is happy! Except for DD, who was mad that she had to stay in her crib for safety while I ran outside and monitored from the security cam.

 

[WthrLady]

LOVE the painting.
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We managed 1.71 inches of rain from one storm last night. It came down fast and furious and most washed downhill, but the giant open cracks in the ground took it all in and swelled shut.
Foggy this morning and warm, but I gave the tomatoes in the greenhouse a good haircut from the ground to two feet up to improve airflow. The tomatoes in the garden need the same done to about a foot.
I picked a handful of giant blackberries for Miss Merriweather's breakfast. The tomato in the greenhouse is almost fully ripe. I bet it will be ready Sunday or Monday.
I finally broke down and spent money on a large purple martin gourd house set. The more bug eaters, the better.

 

[DParker75089]

Concerned sunflower looks after sad friend.