What did you do in the garden today?

[Jenbirdee]

I'm done gardening for the day. Three raised beds are almost cleared of plants. Beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower and summer squash were grown in this bed this summer.
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This will be next year's tomato bed (with garlic on the far end). All the herbs will need to be moved to their new home soon. I will probably dig most of the grass-like crocosmia plant out and replant starts in places outside of the garden.
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Tomato plant graveyard...
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The butternut squash need to finish ripening and curing in the garden. I'm leaving one or two parsley plants for the pollinators next year.
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The small bed still has fall-crop kale, collards and carrots, but I don't think they'll do much so I might rip those out too.
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My chickens have a lot of stuff to pick through. I think one of them found a frog to eat. I learned that they'll eat zinnia leaves.
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looks fantastic

 

[Jenbirdee]

picked the rest of the peppers

 

[Sally PB]

The beans survived! There is some frost damage at the very top of the plants, but they're basically fine. I covered them again for the night. We're getting a warm up, so it might be the last night for a week.

 

[Smokerbill]

The beans survived! There is some frost damage at the very top of the plants, but they're basically fine. I covered them again for the night. We're getting a warm up, so it might be the last night for a week.

Just wondering, could you have planted those beans any earlier last spring so they would have had more time to mature enough to make seeds?

My rattlesnake beans had no problems maturing but the wax beans were another story. The pods never started withering and drying out so I gave up on them, picked them all and ate some fresh shelled beans which were pretty good. I never really liked the wax beans much anyway, so no loss. I'm sticking to growing only the rattlesnake beans. I really like them and they do well in my garden.

 

[Sally PB]

Just wondering, could you have planted those beans any earlier last spring so they would have had more time to mature enough to make seeds?

I planted these in July, as a second planting. The first planting didn't do well at all, so I figured I had enough time to replant and get some beans. I got several pickings, and decided to let some ripen for next year's seed.

This is a total crap shoot, and if I get some seeds, good! If not, it's not a big deal, as I have some seed left over from last year.

I also wanted to know what I might be able to do to save plants when an unexpected frost threatens. This is an experiment to gather information.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Would it be possible for you to run strands of cheap monofilament fishing line where the overhead net was? Hang a few pieces of fabric or other things here and there on the line and it might be enough to stop birds from passing in or out.

This thread mentions using fishing line.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hawks-fishing-line.1101729/

Unfortunately, no... My chicken yard is 35 ft x 125 ft. I also have a couple ancient oak trees around the perimeter. The limbs and debris that falls from the tree is what took out my nets and then the goats (who share the same yard) finished them off... For safety reasons, I was forced to take them down since they'd end up hanging low and either goats or chickens would get tangled in them.

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I’m probably digging up sweet potatoes today. Pic is from pre-frost, a few days ago. Looking pretty good. Today, they are rather unhappy with 2 nights of near/at freezing.
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Husband had surgery yesterday, is doing pretty well, but restricted for awhile. So, he’s going to help me from sitting in a chair. I’ll let him brush off dirt and place into containers. I have to set up the curing area beforehand. We use the portable greenhouses. Tented with plastic, a heater inside and a source of water. Give them 10 days to cure before storing.

Then, I’ll probably dig up a section of carrots to bring inside for fresh eating and cooking.

Peas, beets and mustard planted for the fall is looking good. Not sure if we will get much from the peas or beets, might have planted a bit late. But, time will tell - hopefully we have some success!

Your plants look awesome. I dug up mine today and the ground is like concrete where they are planted..we haven't had rain in over two months here. They are so small this year from it. I will still use them cut up in a jash this winter or such..

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I just got a delivery from Baker Creek, with some amaranth seeds thrown in as the free gift. Not sure what to do with amaranth, but I think it's edible.

I'm going to try planting some of the onion and shallot seeds in the garden this fall.

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I grow amaranth for their beauty. They are tall and bold red/burgundy..you will love them. The birds will also if you leave them over winter for them..

 

[TJAnonymous]

I've tried growing Amaranth no less than half a dozen times. Either it doesn't grow for me or the goats & chickens eat it before it gets very big...

 

[Smokerbill]

I grow amaranth for their beauty. They are tall and bold red/burgundy..you will love them. The birds will also if you leave them over winter for them..

I've tried growing Amaranth no less than half a dozen times. Either it doesn't grow for me or the goats & chickens eat it before it gets very big...

I've read that the amaranth leaves are edible, and the seeds can be popped like popcorn. Cool!

And I just read that it's not a favorite food of deer, which is good. I'll be able to grow it without fencing it in.