What did you do in the garden today?

[igorsMistress]

Today for at least the next10 days will be the only day above 84 it'll be 90. I'm ecstatic but a bit confused by this very cool August. While June was almost intolerably hot. I have some tomato sets on a couple different heirloom tomato plants which I thought weren't going to do anything but look pretty. Pumpkins are coming along...have only lost one squash to borer beetle. Should be a nice day.

I happened across two articles this morning one from Australia and one from the U.S both stating something along the lines of "have chickens? You probably consume 40x more lead" or "growing veggies, don't give them to your children they have 10x the heavy metals"
Hmm seems suspicious to me. Read the articles, the aussie one compared eating a "free range urban egg" to eating lead paint. Both were very broad and vague. Seems there is a push to get people out of the country side

I’d like to know how eating a store bought egg is any different. Lead paint had been a big no no for a long time so it’s not like chickens are getting it from paint they’re eating off the siding. If It comes from the water, then we’re all screwed and who will get sued over it? If it comes from the feed, who is going to get sued? Where can I get the feed commercial egg producers use? Scare tactics? Maybe, but thinking things through should clear it up for most folks.

I did look it up though. The article I found says folks should have their soil tested for lead. Not a bad suggestion.

 

[esturtz27]

It's going to be miserable hot today but supposed to rain by Wednesday which will cause a blessed cool down. I don't want to jinx anything but it's almost like June weather was skipped altogether. We got July weather in June. August weather in July and September weather in August... Wonder what that means for winter?

My husband and I have been having that exact conversation. He said it seems like all the summer heat shifted to earlier in the year and now we are starting to feel that late day autumn breeze. Last year was similar but it was only 2 weeks or so before autumn. Is a season shift even possible?

 

[Sueby]

@Sueby did you like it?

I haven't tried your recipe yet, that was one I threw together last night for dinner, not to can. But it was pretty close to yours & I'm positive I'm going to like it. My next batch I'll use yours & can it.

 

[ChicksnMore]

My plumbago is back in bloom with the rains. I just love this stuff. It needs so little water even in a desert and just pleases me.

 

[NewBoots]

Those "scary" veg garden and chicken stories sound like click bait to me. Like when the TV news would start with, "Are you poisoning your family? Tune in at eleven and see!" BS based on nothing but rumor and half-truths. If it bleeds it leads, scary stories grab eyes.

@WthrLady, I copied your tomato soup recipe, can't wait to try it. How long do you process yours when you can it? My tomatoes are just starting to take on a bit of color so it will be a while. I plan to stuff myself with fresh tomatoes as soon as I have some.

Shopping run today, hoping to find pickling cucumbers. My plants are producing well but so many of our neighbors love bread & butter pickles it's hard to keep up and still have enough for storage. Getting more jars too. Oh and every time I make cowboy candy, I don't get the yield the recipe says I should. I get about 30% fewer jars. Do I pack the jars too much? This last batch was 5lbs of mostly jalapenos which the recipe said should have made 10 pints, but I got 6 pints and 1 pint of the liquid. What are you folks getting?

 

[MotherofOrpies]

We finally got some real rain, badly needed, I fear my big walnut tree didn’t survive the drought ( half of the leaves turned yellow) and my elder bush lost all of it’s leaves after they turned brown all week temp. were around 87 F and the last 5 weeks no rain
I did water the tomatoes, apple trees, peach and cherry tree and the cucumber and zucchini ….but I couldn’t water everything, not to mention mention my 5000 l water tank ( collects rain from the house roof) runs dry after 1 week of watering …so I only water what is really very important

 

[Elyrian1]

My plumbago is back in bloom with the rains. I just love this stuff. It needs so little water even in a desert and just pleases me. View attachment 3224126

Do you find pollinators like the plumbago? I've been thinking of planting some, but haven't seen bees or such on it at the store so I've held off.

 

[Ascholten]

Do you find pollinators like the plumbago? I've been thinking of planting some, but haven't seen bees or such on it at the store so I've held off.

Get some bumble bees to pollinate your stuff. From what I have seen over the years, BB's are very unselective, they love EVERYthing, where regular honey bees can be picky.

They sell them for this purpose too, and you don't need to be a beekeeper or do anything special,basically set the nest out and walk away from it, they'll do the rest.

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/bumble-bees-natupol/

Aaron

 

[Iluveggers]

So I quick ran out and threw down some lettuce seed and worm castings, since my weather app notified me of rain in 15 minutes…still waiting for the rain…

 

[WIchickMama]

Not much today. Overcast the last two days so nothing has gotten any closer to harvest. I do need to weed and dig up some potatoes, but I just want to spend time with my chicks while they are still young! LOL--Yep huge dilemmas I know.

Baker Creek seeds shipped today so I will be planting carrots and lettuce this weekend. Not sure if the weather is going to turn back into August or stay September so I will have to peek at that first, but feels like closer to fall than still in summer. Stinks because all it does is shorten my growing season even more.