What did you do in the garden today?

[Sammster]

I bought calcium spray for my summer squash, that are suffering from blossom end rot. The label directs to spray "no more than every 5-7 days", but we keep getting rain. I've sprayed twice (second time after only 3 1/2 days, because of rain). And of course, it's rained, again!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I bought calcium spray for my summer squash, that are suffering from blossom end rot. The label directs to spray "no more than every 5-7 days", but we keep getting rain. I've sprayed twice (second time after only 3 1/2 days, because of rain). And of course, it's rained, again!

Wow, that's probably what I need to do to get it to rain here! Murphy's Law right?

 

[Sammster]

Good morning all. We managed to get through yesterday without any severe weather. A nice cool and dry front moved in over night. First look at the garden, lots of growing going on and lots of bugs munching. I’ll be doing some weeding and spraying with neem oil after I feed the chickens. Fingers crossed the weather stays nice enough to mow the backyard this afternoon.

I think the bugs in my garden like Neem Oil. They think of it as a condiment.

 

[Molly77]

I tied up the new growth on cucs and iroquois cantaloupe onto the arbors, weeded raised beds a bit, ate some strawberries the chipmunks didn't find, and fought off a multitude of No See Ums trying to bite me.

 

[Sally PB]

Sometimes the info we find on the internet is geared more for making money than actual knowledge, so gotta be careful about what we see on the web.

When I was looking for foods to eat to lower cholesterol, I googled the phrase, "Foods to eat to lower cholesterol." I'm not interested in what my mechanic's mother-in-law's neighbor's friend did, but googling that question got me a bazillion hits. In the top 5 ( or 8 or 15) "foods to lower cholesterol," was oatmeal. Ok, something to start with.

Then I looked up, "How does eating oatmeal lower cholesterol?" and started getting stuff from NIH and other studies that were done by reputable institutions.

Serious information is out there, but you have to learn what questions to ask, and how to ask them. Some of the studies have info that can go right over your head, but I'm not looking for the nitty-gritty stuff, I'm looking for the broad strokes.

They have to include the nitty-gritty, as that is how they "show their work," so to speak.

I pick them off to throw to a chicken

I collect Japanese Beetles in a bucket with an inch of water in the bottom, then take them into the run. They all know what "Bug snack!" means.

Are they still OK in the garden in their own pots just for the time being, though? My intention is to plant them in late fall, along the outside fence line, where I tried other trees that didn't grow - about 150 feet from the garden and 75 feet from other fruit trees. Do you think that's far away enough?

That should work. I think I've read that some -- most? -- of the juglone is secreted through their roots. Not sure on that. I've read to keep other plants outside the dripline, so maybe leaves secrete it too, and it washes down with rain.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Well, it was Supposed to rain last night, Rain all night long and this mornin...Not a single drop fell

So..watering before work & probably after work.

Hot & muggy!

 

[littledog]

I pulled out the last 5 bok choi plants since a couple were starting to bolt. Got some into the fridge and gave some to the chickens. Gave the garden a good shot of water then sprinkled a few Sluggo Plus granules around the potatoes and beans, which are the only plants with bug holes in the leaves.

It's time to start tying the tomato plants to the ropes and poles. They're loving this 80+ weather we're having right now and growing fast. In a couple days it'll be back down to 60s and 70s for the high temps.

I'm near your area, and did the same today with my spinach. Pulled up all the bolters and gave them to the chickens, still have a few to salvage, blanch and freeze.
Also did the same with my tomatoes! I usually start them out with poles and a low tie of baling twine for support, then add more ties as they grow. They love this weather so much, they're still pretty small and already starting some green tomatoes!
It might be because I probably got wrong which were determinate and which were indeterminate, since I bought some "new-to-me" varieties at a farm sale, and the only one I got right was "Sungold" which I've often grown before.
So, now the ones in the tied-up row are still small, but starting to produce lots of sauce tomatoes, and the ones I thought were determinate and figured would be fine in a regular tomato cage or a tire with a tripod of poles, are growing and spreading faster than I can keep up with them!

 

[Happy hen lover]

I went out this morning with my husband because he had to go to Visalia to deliver a load. I checked for the eggs and nothing. This afternoon, late morning, I checked again and 2 eggs. Then I started hearing this God awful chicken sound, I thought WTF is going on. I went out and sat with my girls and Bernadebt came down from the coop. I came back inside and decided to go get taco truck. When I got back I thought oh wait I need to check the coop to see why my 13 week old EE was in the coop. She laid an egg. That smallest one is from BernadebtView attachment 3868215

I love the name... Look at that cute little egg Bernadebt!

 

[Sally PB]

I need to go visit my tomato plants and get them back inside their cages. We've had some good rain, and they are taking off!

 

[Happy hen lover]

Another thing to consider, what fruits or veggies do you and your family like to eat that are expensive to buy or not available at all, in the store? Usually you can find some variety that grows well in your climate, so why spend the work and use up space in the garden to grow things that are inexpensive in the store (like the more typical varieties of potatoes and carrots that are $3.00 for a 5lb bag) when you can use that same garden space for less-available fruits and veggies?
For us, that's asparagus, garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, Sungold tomatoes, red skin potatoes. I do grow carrots if I have space, though.

Ditto this.
I will only grow red cabbage and onions and purple or yellow potatoes for that reason. Save that labor, water and space for expensive produce.