What did you do in the garden today?

[Minanora]

I harvested squash this morning, and more tomatillos... Those are never ending. My carving pumpkin vines are still not doing great, I think I'm going to pull the two worst looking ones and replant while I have time.

Saw more melons developing on all the melon plants. I'll have honeydew to eat soon! Tomatoes are angry with the 110°plus weather we had over the holiday weekend. It's 101 right now, so it'll probably hit 105 today. Nectarines are almost ripe! Peaches, not even close, not a single variety.

Made a cobbler with the last of the apricots for the holiday camping trip. It was incredible.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Getting rain, precious rain... And Beryl hasn't even arrived yet. Predicting between 4" - 6" tomorrow. Hopefully a good deep soaking that will be a proper kick-off for the seeds I planted yesterday.

Gotta spray some BT on my broccoli and cauliflower. The worms have made it inside the hoop house.

And what is a good defense against grasshoppers besides covering? They are like locusts and decimating my plants inside the hoop house too. Will spinosad work against them?

Harvested my first 20 lb watermelon today. Also picked a cantaloupe... A 2nd one fell out of the sling and broke from the vine. It's not quite ready yet. Do they continue to ripen off the vine? I don't think so but can't remember. My cantaloupe isn't doing great. I think the early hot weather has stunted growth.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I use some Longaberger baskets that I inherited from my mom. She's probably rolling over in her grave... But I don't hang baskets on the wall as decorations and it seemed like a better option than letting them go to waste.

I remember baskets on the walls trend, the mid 80's , gave rise to taller ceilings so there was big spaces of tall wall to fill. I had that house, huge wall. When I got up on the counter tops to put some decor on tops of wall cabinets (after cleaning disgusting dust), I realized why that house was always so cold. That darn heat rose up to the cathedral ceiling, up there I was sweating! No more very tall ceilings for me! What a waste. They tried to make tiny houses appear larger.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I remember baskets on the walls trend, the mid 80's , gave rise to taller ceilings so there was big spaces of tall wall to fill. I had that house, huge wall. When I got up on the counter tops to put some decor on tops of wall cabinets (after cleaning disgusting dust), I realized why that house was always so cold. That darn heat rose up to the cathedral ceiling, up there I was sweating! No more very tall ceilings for me! What a waste. They tried to make tiny houses appear larger.

We have vaulted ceilings in our house. I don't think I can live in a house with "normal" 8 ft ceilings. I'd feel closed in... As for heating or cooling, we run ceiling fans 24x7 all year round. I need air movement... Especially if I can't have the windows open because it's too hot or cold. (Fresh air is best). Anyway, you can change air flow on the ceiling fan with a simple switch so it keeps the warm air from settling on the ceiling.

 

[Sally PB]

Do they continue to ripen off the vine?

I've read that cantaloupes do not ripen off the vine. Sorry. They may get softer, but not sweeter. If you find out differently, let us know! It would be great if they did ripen.

 

[Sally PB]

We had about 10 minutes of very light sprinkles. Not enough to do anything. Hoping we get some rain.

I did my best to encourage Mother Nature. I was watering the garden.

 

[Sally PB]

Last picking of black raspberries today. I'll use them to make jelly. Picked some blueberries, and there are more to come.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I made sour dough boiled egg sandwiches mixed with mayo, mustard and home grown salted/fermented relish. I added a piece of thin sliced ham and wrapped each sandwich in plastic film and put them in my ice box. I'll heat them up in my microwave for lunch or snacks when I want to eat them.

I got a lot of pickles and other fermented stuff from this year's harvest, and I am having fun figuring out what to do with them.

I still haven't figured out what to do with my fermented kale, onions, and green tomatoes......

Can you use the fermented kale in recipes that call for kimchee?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

We have vaulted ceilings in our house. I don't think I can live in a house with "normal" 8 ft ceilings. I'd feel closed in... As for heating or cooling, we run ceiling fans 24x7 all year round. I need air movement... Especially if I can't have the windows open because it's too hot or cold. (Fresh air is best). Anyway, you can change air flow on the ceiling fan with a simple switch so it keeps the warm air from settling on the ceiling.

Yes, vaulted is nice, I have that now, but the highest peak is not 30 freaking feet. Those steep cathedral angles...were way too much. And ridiculous to paint! Talk about a neck ache. No ladder could reach, we had to set up scaffolding Lol Sorry but a ceiling that tall is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[akroberts1085]

My ceilings are 8' 3", except for the dining and laundry rooms. The idiots did a add on and couldn't take the time to make it match the rest of the house. Haven't been out to the garden yet I had to take off to go look for a binder that is supposed to be in the semi truck my husband owns. I now have to get copies of all of the paperwork that's he needs in the truck. I'm probably going to be back and forth between the garden and the pool. We're still in the triple digits. I wish it would rain even if for only 5 minutes and just be a light sprinkling.