A Seed Saver's Garden

[digitS']

... turning out to be a short. Or at least, lacking in heat for 1/3 - 1/4 of it.

Yes, we have had growing seasons like that.

While I was appreciating a ripe Crenshaw melon yesterday, I was thinking about melon preferences and how the Galias have come through, year after year. Are they a favorite? Well, for that consistency, they are.

This local climate must be on the periphery of those suitable for melon growing. DW says that we should go entirely with Lilly Crenshaw. That is risky because of its brief history in the garden and with the possibility of a "lacking in heat" growing season.

"It’s colder in winters and hotter in summers" ... @Shades-of-Oregon , DW says, "Cold, too cold, Hot, too hot."
Steve

 

[flowerbug]

...
"It’s colder in winters and hotter in summers" ... @Shades-of-Oregon , DW says, "Cold, too cold, Hot, too hot."
Steve

haha! yesterday i was so cold when i got up it was 70F inside, brr!!! i put on long pants and a long sleeved shirt to be warmer.

last night when Mom was standing at the counter helping cut up the last of the batch of tomatoes for canning she wanted the AC on her feet. she wore some shoes that weren't very comfortable yesterday so she was going to throw them away!? i just asked her to recycle them at the used clothes place but she said she cut the sides to fit her fat feet (i have wide feet too like a duck )... so they will go out with the trash.

 

[heirloomgal]

We have similar weather here too… Mother Nature is very Fickle lately especially since climate change . I think my zone has changed. It’s colder in winters and hotter in summers. It’s touch and go when it’s warm enough to harden off plants or when ground temps are warm enough to plant.

We have a very short growing season . I live 800’ above sea level and we can have some really wicked wind , ice and snow storms. Lightening and thunder summer storms.

But to be honest my growing saga isn’t really the weather it’s more the critters we have inherited … the horribly destructive ground squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, moles , voles , deer , bobcats, owls and opossums. The pastures look like a mine field from all the different critters digging as well as the gardens. Definitely dealing with constant critter wars around here, squirrels are even steeling tubers , bulbs and corms from pots. Keeping the garden safe from hungry animals and keeping my animals safe from the bobcats that are the predators attracted by the ground critters and quail. I barely have enough time to garden. After all the hawks and raptors seem to help with some of the field mice , since they were living here way before I moved in and of course living next door to a forest doesn’t help matters much either. Seems like I spend more time managing critters than the gardens planted many moons ago.

So … well… I have all the traps , and gadgets and techniques to scare the ground critters off as well and dogs and cats. But at this stage of the game I think I’m really just tired of cleaning up after the mess ground critters leave every day. Especially the ground squirrels that dog around the perimeter of the foundation. I’m ready for a winter break… but a it’s time for a Really Really nice winter nothing that will take out trees or homes this winter. No ice storms that shuts down power ior roads blocked as well as bridges turned into bumper cars navigating the ice.
Just a nice soft easy winter with a beautiful white Christmas is my plea to Mother Nature this year. Next spring will be another season to ponder later. For now… I’m hoping for a beautiful autumn.

Those little ground critters are formidable opponents. I have some peas this year very precious to me, and both a large black squirrel and a couple chipmunks started helping themselves as they started to dry down. I don't think there is really much that can be done to stop those guys. At least rabbits and groundhogs can be fenced out, but the wee ones are near impossible to prevent from pillaging.

 

[heirloomgal]

In UK it’s quite easy to find a mix of open pollinated double flowering hollyhocks called Chaters Mix. I don’t know how easy they are to find in Canada. I’m not aware of any single colour double strains.

The flowers are doubles and they'll come true from seed? Oh my gosh, if this is so I hope I can find some of those. That name actually sounds a little familiar. I'm going to peek around and see what I can find by that name.

 

[heirloomgal]

Hard to believe but it's taken me...I've actually lost count at this point. I started these flexuosums in either 2022 or 2023. Whatever the case, a long time to get these. Was it worth it? I dunno, I like a challenge and it is a hot pepper that puts a spark in you and then instantly fades. Most hot peppers light you up and then you run around looking for ways to put out your mouth fire. I'm happy I finally got them to successfully pollinate and I never used a paintbrush, just let the bugs do their thing. The overwintering however is a pain in the rear.

The magic of this species is it's hardy to -15C/5F but for me, there really isn't a lot of point to that when our winters go so much colder. It makes sense for a southern coastal climate where they never need to be brought in. Seems a waste to just abandon the project now though.

 

[flowerbug]

Those little ground critters are formidable opponents. I have some peas this year very precious to me, and both a large black squirrel and a couple chipmunks started helping themselves as they started to dry down. I don't think there is really much that can be done to stop those guys. At least rabbits and groundhogs can be fenced out, but the wee ones are near impossible to prevent from pillaging.

you can discourage them by using hardware cloth a few feet high around the area you want to protect the most. if they can't easily get to it they may go someplace else. sure it will not prevent them from getting in there entirely but it may help.

if you want complete protection you'd have to use an electric fence wire run part way up, but that will not prevent birds. for protection from birds you'd need a complete enclosure of either netting or fence.

with elk, deer, bear, raccoons, possums, etc you need a strong enough fence to deter them and for the climbers you would need either complete enclosure or electric.

we need to redo a fence here and i'm thinking i might hire someone to help next spring. i don't want to go through another summer like this one.

 

[Zeedman]

Those little ground critters are formidable opponents. I have some peas this year very precious to me, and both a large black squirrel and a couple chipmunks started helping themselves as they started to dry down. I don't think there is really much that can be done to stop those guys. At least rabbits and groundhogs can be fenced out, but the wee ones are near impossible to prevent from pillaging.

I sometimes have the same problem with chipmunks, when soybeans get close to drying. If allowed to do so unchecked, they can harvest EVERY SEED in a row within days. The only way I've been able to stop them (there are nearly always 2 or more) is to use rat traps. They are clever enough to steal bait from the traps without triggering them; but if I glue the bait to the trap with honey, I can usually catch them within a day or two.

P.S. I really miss all of you. This is my 2nd year year with only a very late garden - and no seeds. I have met a wonderful woman who has now become my fiancee. She too is a gardener,and is planning to move here next year. So hopefully gardening will resume in earnest in 2026.