What Did You Do In The Garden?

[ducks4you]

Picked cherries, about 5 more pies worth. Moving ALL to the big freezer in a few minutes. I use a pie plate to measure, NONE pitted...do that later. Most will be pies, some may become wine, although the cherries that I canned have a better future as cherry wine. Eldest DD and I are going to start on our wine making adventure this Sunday.

 

[seedcorn]

Do you have any straw OR can you put grass clippings on top? I Think your seeds are sprouting and then drying out.

I cover my whole garden in straw. Otherwise sand & sun kill everything. Can’t walk in garden bare foot-too hot

 

[digitS']

Another llooong 4 1/2 hours in the garden. Tired!

This time, I didn't take the tiller out of the back of the pickup. Believe it or not, nearly all of that time was spent setting up the 4 sprinklers, putting all the hoses in place, doing a little plumbing, disconnecting the big sprinkler pipes so that a faucet and all the Y's could be installed with hoses attached.

The property owner says he will not be using his part of that garden this year. I have the 30' by 200' part but I'm not gonna take on the 60' by 200' plus. Nope. Therefore, using the big sprinklers would be watering weeds. So, it was rainbird-type sprinklers on tall PVC stands to throw water at 90° & 180° going out today. Each has to be held down with large rocks so as not to tip over from water pressure. Kinda crazy to be carrying rocks 200' when there is a huge rock pile on a different neighbor's property about 20' from one end. I imagine that they care not one bit if I take rocks but I don't want those in the garden either and don't want to be caught "returning them" at the end of the season. Make Enemies! Most folks hereabouts have more football size rocks than they could possibly know what to do with. So, not trying to fit the wheelbarrow in the pickup, I carried rocks from my rock storage at the FAR end of the garden to each sprinkler. Ugh ...

Steve
Edit: 82°f (28°C) today

 

[Zeedman]

5th time planting OKRA!!!! Nothing comes up. So I soaked for 1-2 hours in sun first. Then planted 3 different areas in garden. Where I want it, 5-6 seeds per hill then planted over the top about 1” apart the entire row. One spot is another store bought variety. Planted some in cup in dirt where they sprouted. Can’t figure out what is going on! Dang mole or vole runs his tunnel right under plants stunting and killing along the way! Maybe he loves okra seed!
Also did some weeding. That is a never ending job for those of us NOT in Cali…

After a lot of "iffy" results with direct-seeded okra, I tried using transplants a few years ago. I can germinate them at a controlled temp (indoors if necessary) which results in rapid & very high germination. If there are too many "helmets", it may be necessary to mist the emerging seedlings several times a day. I use peat 32's, with a few extra holes punched in the bottoms with an ice pick. 5-6 seeds per pot, thinned to the strongest 3, then transplanted 18" apart each way. A few plants always die, but that tray of plants gives me all the okra I can use (I love okra pickles).

 

[Zeedman]

Well, after a lot of indecision, I finally put in the home gardens today. Without my garden companion, all that I am likely to manage is the roughly 1800 square feet of the home gardens, and the 100 square foot garlic bed in the rural garden. I started most of the beans & cucurbits in pots on the 17th, to speed up germination & guarantee a good stand; many are already coming up. My brother - who has been calling or visiting me daily since DW passed - spent the day helping me prep & plant the gardens. All direct seeding is done, and spaces are already marked for transplants as they become ready.

The plans had to be revised, to triage what was most in need of renewal, and to accommodate more food production vs. seed production. Only a few purchased peppers & tomatoes (since I was unable to start any this year) and no cool-weather or long-DTM crops. That left room for 17 beans of various species, 8 soybeans, Painted Mountain corn, chard, some potato onions from seed (via the Experimental Farm Network), okra, bitter melon, luffa, cucumber, zucchini, and some of the Little Greenseed pumpkins. Tomorrow I will finish putting up the fence, then start putting in the transplants.

So... without my DW's unfailing help, it appears unlikely that I will be able to maintain my seed collection in its current size. I will clean out a chest freezer to dedicate it for seed storage, and begin packaging & transferring as much as will fit. Hopefully I can still maintain much of the collection, on a reduced renewal schedule... but a lot of commercial varieties (or even widely-grown heirlooms) will likely be dropped, so I can focus on those most in need of preservation. I'll post a list when I know which varieties will be dropped, and offer seed to anyone interested.

 

[flowerbug]

I cover my whole garden in straw. Otherwise sand & sun kill everything. Can’t walk in garden bare foot-too hot

might have to start them in pots then.

 

[ducks4you]

Well, after a lot of indecision, I finally put in the home gardens today. Without my garden companion, all that I am likely to manage is the roughly 1800 square feet of the home gardens, and the 100 square foot garlic bed in the rural garden. I started most of the beans & cucurbits in pots on the 17th, to speed up germination & guarantee a good stand; many are already coming up. My brother - who has been calling or visiting me daily since DW passed - spent the day helping me prep & plant the gardens. All direct seeding is done, and spaces are already marked for transplants as they become ready.

The plans had to be revised, to triage what was most in need of renewal, and to accommodate more food production vs. seed production. Only a few purchased peppers & tomatoes (since I was unable to start any this year) and no cool-weather or long-DTM crops. That left room for 17 beans of various species, 8 soybeans, Painted Mountain corn, chard, some potato onions from seed (via the Experimental Farm Network), okra, bitter melon, luffa, cucumber, zucchini, and some of the Little Greenseed pumpkins. Tomorrow I will finish putting up the fence, then start putting in the transplants.

So... without my DW's unfailing help, it appears unlikely that I will be able to maintain my seed collection in its current size. I will clean out a chest freezer to dedicate it for seed storage, and begin packaging & transferring as much as will fit. Hopefully I can still maintain much of the collection, on a reduced renewal schedule... but a lot of commercial varieties (or even widely-grown heirlooms) will likely be dropped, so I can focus on those most in need of preservation. I'll post a list when I know which varieties will be dropped, and offer seed to anyone interested.

We NEED a seed exchange thread late this Fall and Winter.

 

[digitS']

Tilled up a bed for late green beans. It doesn't look like there is any chance that I can get the peas out of the way to plant beans this year. Pea life had too many weeks in slow motion through this Spring. This will likely be the latest for a pea harvest in, probably, 15 years in that I won't be able to follow them up with green beans with the expectation of a harvest before cold weather sets in.

It certainly wasn't cold weather when I was doing the tilling - a high this afternoon of 82°f (28°C). Oh, and @flowerbug - I wore a pair of insulated gloves. They weren't too warm and seems to have helped with the sore thumb .

The cucumbers do not look happy! More cukes & summer squash have been started and should be able to be set out in a couple of weeks. They can be babied here at home and, maybe avoid any extremes. Supposed to be 94°f (34°C) Monday. Anyway, I tilled more ground for the new starts.

Sprayed the potatoes a 2nd time for beetles. Kinda in the middle of those 80 degree hours but it was really time to go home. Hope the Spinosad is mild enough & the young plants are tuff enuf to get thru those hours before sunset. Also sprayed the bok choy that is in the big veggie garden. It's either kill the flea beetles or that planting will be lost. With slugs in the May hoop house and flea beetles in the open garden, this has been a bok choy deprived year! Doesn't matter much since other greens filled the void and they are doing just fine in the backyard beds right now. Dinner included some along with kailaan .

I'll be back to the big garden tomorrow to run the sprinklers. I'm still learning what it means to not have the big field sprinklers this year and relying on the little sprinklers which I have used to cover much smaller areas in other gardens. They look like they will do the trick so I guess there's no need to worry.

We have been pleased to see that the Robins have finally returned to the garden in about their usual number. Maybe it was just the males for weeks & weeks. There is a Song Sparrow defining his territory nearby and we saw another flycatcher . Where are the gold finches? Some years, it has been nearly chaotic out there with their activities.

Steve
Edit: gotta be more careful with my editing!

 

[seedcorn]

So,,,,,,, last try for okra this year. Placed seed in pots, direct sowed seed that had been soaked for 24 hours. Lastly bought a different variety, soaked for 4 hours then planted, then poured water on row. Will place straw over it today as it sprinkled yesterday.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

It was a busy morning. The boys mowed and weed whacked the yard. I transplanted Soybeans and watered then in. Kids helped me plant more corn and beans. I hope they will do well and I'll get a harvest. It's hot so now we are taking a break inside and watching a movie.