What did you do in the garden today?

[BReeder!]

Today we went to a White Sox game with a bunch of family on my side and then a carnival with my sister-in-law. It's been a fun day. Away from home all day, so no gardening.

I managed to light a fire in the burn barrel when we got back and burned some more scrap from the shed demolition.

I need to "hill" the potatoes - I'll be using straw rather than mounding dirt up. This will help prevent soil getting knocked into the pathway I just graveled, which the potatoes are planted right along side of this year.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

DH helped me clean the winter corral of all its nasty chaff and rotting hay. Then I blew it fully clean. Came in and showered and used my Nivage to clear my nose from dust, dirt, mold, and Lord knows what else (started the day with a sinus headache from cleaning the garage yesterday), a.....n.....d popped an eardrum in the process. FCOL! I cannot win today.

Deep drip irrigation is currently watering the orchard, then I'll switch over to the garden. OH wait, no I won't, I hooked the strawberry beds to the system, but am missing 3 T connectors. Disaster averted. Phew. I'll be watering by hand apparently.

Oh, I kicked the alpacas out into the pasture while I cleaned so I could leave the barn gates all open. They stood there and whined and moaned and sulked for two hours. It seems I was keeping them from sitting in front of their electric fan.

I hope your ear is okay!!!

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

View attachment 3513995
These are going to be the sweet potato rows. I have weed block fabric down to help warm up the soil. The slips are supposed to arrive Tuesday.

Pwetty!!!!

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

Sinus headache was ALMOST gone until I drove into the city, without sunglasses (they're on order still), and picked up a truckload of what turned out to be moldy mulch. OMG....

BUT the deer chewed oak tree is now in a WIDE cage and the irrigation is complete in the garden, to include the strawberry pots.

DH watered the air root balls for me and put out traps for ground squirrels, more traps. SIck of these rats.

Growing up, it was the job of my brother and I to pick off the ground squirrels and rattle snakes.

We spent a lot of quiet time together scanning the hills with our sites.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

Managed to get my sister to fly in and stay with our mom so I could come home for the night to gather my things for a longer stay. Got to check out the garden for the first time in 4 days. Good thing too because I found half a dozen breeding squash bugs on my yellow squash! One nice thing about vertical squash is that you only need to check 4 or 5 leaves which makes the process fast! Of course the plants are still rather small so they are only about 8" up the pole. I do have a couple of fruits growing. Even on the zucchini which I haven't pollinated. Ants must have done it? Or it'll end up just rotting off at some point.

I harvested the last 2 heads of romaine because they were close to bolting. Supposedly it will regrow as long as you leave at least an inch of growth above ground. We'll see what happens...

Also harvested 2 heads of broccoli and about a half pint of raspberries. Does anyone have fall gold raspberries? So far I am not impressed. They fall apart when you pick them and they are rather bland. Debating on whether to replace them with something else.

I had Fall Golds on my old place.

Yes, very crumbly, but very sweet. Did not produce heavily. I don't devote space to it any longer. I think it was hit by disease as well, but I might confusing it with the Purple Royalty.

 

[chickengr]

Before you spend that kind of money, check your local donut shop or deli! I can get food grade, 5 gallon plastic buckets with lids for $1.50 each at a donut shop. They get their fillings/icings in them, so they have to be food grade.

I get buckets for free from a place where they make salads for supermarkets and restaurants. buckets are from mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup.

 

[chickengr]

waiting for rain today. it has not started yet but sky is grey and ready to pour down.

 

[Swiss]

Saturday, my husband and I planted the elderberries in what we were calling Berry Lane, but is now Jam Alley. There is a mole in my garden, and I have declared war. It set the trap off yesterday, but I think the angle was off and it didn't get the darn thing. If it stayed away from my plants roots, fence posts, and trellises, I wouldn't be so annoyed, but I guess all the yummy things are in those areas. Yesterday, I did some weeding and my husband made me this sign:

Today, I need to get in there with the weed whacker. I also need to hand till up that last bed because we still haven't gotten the rototiller from FIL. The weather looked like it was going to allow me to plant everything that hasn't been planted, but then it says Thursday and Friday will have lows below 40°F. So, I'll probably hold off on the warm weather things until after then, unless the forecast changes again.

It looks like ants are eating the leaves of my new sweet cherry trees. I am going to double check for aphids. Has anyone else had this? I looked online, but everyone says they are either good for the tree or tending aphids.

 

[jerryse]

Good morning. More plants I tried. Hops was tried as shade for the chickens. Chickens were rough on it as it climbed on the wire. Killed it eventually. I found out I had it growing wild already. Still battling it. Chickory was tried for forced winter greens. Yep found out I had it growing wild. Morning glory planted on purpose has become invasive. Got into the garden and still trying to get rid of it. Sunchokes found out I had wild ones. Hard to get rid of.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

Saturday, my husband and I planted the elderberries in what we were calling Berry Lane, but is now Jam Alley. There is a mole in my garden, and I have declared war. It set the trap off yesterday, but I think the angle was off and it didn't get the darn thing. If it stayed away from my plants roots, fence posts, and trellises, I wouldn't be so annoyed, but I guess all the yummy things are in those areas. Yesterday, I did some weeding and my husband made me this sign:
View attachment 3514518
Today, I need to get in there with the weed whacker. I also need to hand till up that last bed because we still haven't gotten the rototiller from FIL. The weather looked like it was going to allow me to plant everything that hasn't been planted, but then it says Thursday and Friday will have lows below 40°F. So, I'll probably hold off on the warm weather things until after then, unless the forecast changes again.

It looks like ants are eating the leaves of my new sweet cherry trees. I am going to double check for aphids. Has anyone else had this? I looked online, but everyone says they are either good for the tree or tending aphids.

I hate moles.
I had them in CA in my lawn.
I tried everything. EVERYthing!

I had always hated any animal suffering but those moles brought me to the point of standing barefoot on my lawn in my nightgown in the wee morning hours, with my pitchfork raised in the air, raging with bloodlust in my heart. Willing one to move so I could pierce its dark little soul.