What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Watering and more everyday. We've gotten this weather pattern that bring 3 hot days, then cools off for a few, and repeat. My poor beans nd dahlias can't manage the extra hot sun in the afternoons and either burn or wilt. Picking raspberries and marionberries, red plums every other day, with yellow plums to ripen soon. They are 2 weeks earlier than normal, although bean and tomato weather was slow to start up. View attachment 4177218

Those look delicious

 

[TJAnonymous]

I always think about freeze drying but never want to pull the trigger. My thinking always gets stopped at the ‘what do you do with them?’ question. Yes, I know eating at some point is the goal but how you use freeze dried produce is the stomper for me, vegetables more so than fruit.

I can relate to some degree... I freeze dried EVERYTHING last year. Tons of stuff across every food group. But I've found that I rarely go back and use it. I've put the fruit in smoothies. I also use the freeze dried corn in my very awesome salmon salad... But outside of those, I just haven't really used anything. I think part of the problem is the reconstitution. If I were doing a stew or something, it would be easy. But I haven't yet figured out the trick to rehydrating in a way that would resemble fresh veggies.

 

[TJAnonymous]

It's sooooo hot today. It reached triple digits (heat index) before 9:30 am. I spent a good chunk of the morning making extra preparations for the animals. The ducks always muck up everyone's water so I placed extra water buckets and bowls in hidden places so hopefully the chickens and goats will have clean water in the hottest part of the day. I also froze water bottles and 2-litres to put out in the water bowls during the afternoon. We have tons of shade under the dozens of giant oak trees, but I also added a 2nd tarp over the bachelor pen since they have a few hours in the afternoon when their run is exposed. I already have a shade cloth over a portion of it so this is just expanding for additional shade.

Haven't done squat in the garden. I'm sure it probably needs watered again.

 

[WthrLady]

I'm going to freeze dry my celery!!! It's almost ready to harvest. Going to cut it all up and vacuum seal it in mason jars. Sure I'm not making bloody marys with it, but soup, salad topper, stuffing, etc.

I DO a crap TON of celery, onions, and herbs. I use a ridiculous amount of the stuff, but never all at the same time, which makes buying and using a whole bunch at a time wasteful, and freezing it, well that bottomless pit freezer issue. LOL.

 

[Smokerbill]

I pruned my cucumbers this morning. Should've started pruning weeks ago because they were a jumbled mess. I'm giving them a good, long watering with the drip irrigation to help them get over the shock.

Looks like the dam neighbor's cat is crapping between the cukes and zuchs.

 

[5.3acredream]

We had a family crisis this week and my garden time has been smashed to pieces because of it. I lost large branches from my tomatoes because they flopped and snapped in my neglect, so that is a bummer. My beans are growing but no flowers yet. Cucumbers coming out my ears, watermelons, musk melons, and pumpkins growing merrily but no fruit yet (late planting). I have a variety of grapes turning a lovely purple right now. I tasted them, sweetish but I'll see how far they go. It's my first year letting them fruit.

My shredded leaf stash on county property has been whisked away. I suppose when I "borrow" from a dumping ground of hundreds of yards of shredded leaves, I best move fast before it gets moved again. I am pretty bummed. I was going to fill my chicken run with it periodically.

 

[Rick589]

Looks like the dam neighbor's cat is crapping between the cukes and zuchs.

Bullet should resolve the issue.

 

[Rick589]

Do the hen raised chicks go out to free range? What percentage protein are you using for the brooder raised chicks? I would imagine it has to do with diet.

Yep, they’re out in the chicken yard and out on the property to free range with the rest of the flock. We have an all flock feed for the troops plus chick starter(which everyone wants to eat), plus they all get BSFL and sunflower seeds. You may be right about the diet because the only thing I can see that would be different is the variety in there diet as opposed to what our brooder chicks received. In any case, these two peeps are exploding……well, not literally exploding but like…….oh never mind you know what I mean.

 

[TJAnonymous]

This weather just sucks... About to go outside and give everyone clean water with some frozen water bottles.

 

[WthrLady]

This weather just sucks... About to go outside and give everyone clean water with some frozen water bottles.

View attachment 4177607

SUCKS it does.