What did you do in the garden today?

[Smokerbill]

I'm such an idiot. I haven't grown any type of paste tomatoes in quite a few years, this year I did because I want to make lots of tomato soup. Well I forgot I grew them & had just been plucking off all the suckers like normal till I saw the first small roma shaped tomato. Now I have the worlds smallest amish paste & roma plants going. So much for a good tomato harvest.

Well dang! Maybe the tomatoes left will be huge because of the pruning.

I'm growing mostly Romas, and have four indeterminate plants as well. I decided to only prune the lowest suckers off of them to see what happens. Last year I pruned all the indeterminate suckers off and trained the vines up ropes. They didn't produce well at all.

 

[jerryse]

This morning before the rain started I found 4 tomato hornworms. 2 very small 1 a little bigger and 1 a little bigger than that one. The hunt begins. Not much damage yet.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I just saw local weather for the weekend. I already knew it was supposed to rain on Thursday... But apparently that cold front is going to drop us into the 90s during the day (big whoop... Still hot) and into the upper 60s at night! Of course it's only for a couple of days. It'll be back to triple digits by Monday... But... If it's going to cool down that much, I'll get up at dawn and go clean out the hoop house so I can plant fall vegetables.

 

[Smokerbill]

Well this one almost slipped by. I could only see it from the opposite side of the bed. A nice 9 inch zuch.



Another experiment, this time with the cucumbers. I've been pruning off all the suckers so far, but close to the top of the trellis I'll let 2 or 3 suckers form on each vine. I'll train them up the back side of the trellis and let them fall over the top and cascade down the front. Growing them this way is supposed to increase the harvest.

I tacked some foam pipe insulation over the top of the board so the vines have a cushioned surface to hang over. I doubt the foam is UV resistant so it might be dust by the end of the season.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Note to self - plant more than 3 okra plants

I was giving bags of okra away this time last year and the people are expecting the same amount- where’s the okra, they say!

I started planting okra here in New England because you couldn’t find it in the grocery stores here. Five years later the frozen okra are readily available. The fresh stuff here is obviously poor quality after a long shipping journey. I use okra for making gumbo so I freeze what I harvest anyway. So this year I skipped the okra. I also skipped peppers as well. Still yummy stuff.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

My electric nylon string weed Wacker can't cut California grass, so I am trying this round metal blade weed Wacker. I also needed something to cut a grass edge; the blade and trim protector can turn vertical without the wheels. It also comes with nylon blades and a rechargeable battery. The brand is called Wood Ranger. I see it on amazon.
View attachment 4185958

The nylon blades are not very good. Hopefully your grass is lightweight. The metal blades are great but can get choked on heavy grass. Good luck.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I did a little in the garden before breakfast. That’s my usual time. This is the 3rd day of our latest heatwave. Ugh! I pruned a little from the tomato plants in the big garden then treated with some epsom salts. I picked another 3/4 pounds of green beans and a handful of peas. Then I watered the new seedlings lightly. Tomorrow the temperatures are “plummeting” into the mid to high 60’s and we may get 3/4 inch of rain. I’m not holding my breath, I’ll believe it when it happens. Today’s pickings.

 

[OnlySympathy]

I was bored so I decided to try cross breeding a bell pepper with a jalapeño

 

[OnlySympathy]

I was bored so I decided to try cross breeding a bell pepper with a jalapeño

I shall see how it ends up in either a day when the pollinated one falls off from me not being good at pollinating or in a year when the hybrid seeds are producing

 

[OnlySympathy]

I shall see how it ends up in either a day when the pollinated one falls off from me not being good at pollinating or in a year when the hybrid seeds are producing

I’m like 80% sure it will be the first one