DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[heirloomgal]

Ducks is on Frost Watch!! Here are the next 10 days--
Sat 21
Partly Cloudy/Wind
70°/41°

Sun 22
Sunny
61°/42°

Mon 23
Mostly Cloudy
68°/54°

Tue 24
Partly Cloudy
78°/60°

Wed 25
Showers
71°/58°

Thu 26
Showers
64°/56°

Fri 27
Showers
62°/45°

Sat 28
Partly Cloudy
55°/44°

Sun 29
Partly Cloudy
54°/40°

Mon 30
Showers
52°/37°

Tue 31
Partly Cloudy
52°/35°

Wed 01
Partly Cloudy
50°/35°

Thu 02
Partly Cloudy
53°/37°

Fri 03
Partly Cloudy
56°/38

Weather channel is saying we'll get our first frost Saturday night! It's late October! Oh, please let these long, warm, gorgeous autumns last forever

 

[ducks4you]

Agreed!!
Yesterday I harvested 20 more cucumbers--simply bowled over that they have produced for me--AND enough green beans to blanche and freeze 3 quarts worth AND a handful of carrots.
DH has laid dibs on those carrots. We had a vegetable tray with Sunday's dinner. I had decided to boil the leftovers for lunch this week. DH also had his eye on the carrots and the ranch dressing.
Hoping These carrots taste better.
I plan to grow carrots next year in pots. We got very dry and I couldn't pull them out until we had a heavy rain. I scattered a LOT of carrot seeds and only got about a dozen.
Gotta be a better way!!
I also only harvested 6 ripe tomatoes. It's been chilly and the tomatoes have stayed cold and green.
Next week is our "Indian Summer" with temperatures up around 80, so I should get more.
Only canned 2 1/2 pints of tomatoes yesterday. I put the cucumbers on the porch, the others are in the fridge and today I plan to make sweet pickles.

 

[digitS']

Ducks', pelleted carrot seed works really well for me. They are sown so shallow and take so long to germinate that drying out becomes a good possibility. The clay around the seed holds moisture well.

Also, corn starch in water has also worked fine. I can't do it the  proper way that the farmers use for a gel seeding. It still works just to put a trail of gel down and sprinkle seeds on it. If I put the seeds in the gel, the drops contain too many seeds and too much thinning is needed later.

Steve, with arid conditions advice

 

[heirloomgal]

Do you thin your carrots @ducks4you ? Or did only 12 of the seeds you planted sprout?

 

[baymule]

Your wildflower garden is so attractive. I like the pumpkin vine meandering through the flowers. I bet it helps hold down the weeds.

 

[ducks4you]

Sad news, about a week ago eldest DD's cat, "Purrkins" passed away.
There was something REALLY physically wrong with him. He stopped eating after having had a fall a few months ago that left him limping and uncoordinated .
Then, he was just laying under a chair with jerking motions. The Vet couldn't make it out in timne, but ALL agreed that there wasn't much to be done.
He came to us 1/2 dead and maybe he was sick the whole time.
DD was devastated, but I reminded her that earlier in the year, when they were out of town and I went to their house to feed the 2 cats, that Purrkins had sought me out to be petted and to purr.
He was a shy cat, but he may have been hurting the whole time.
DD gave him 8 years that he never would have had, out of kindness.
She was the only one that he truly loved.
I found a spot in one of my beds for him to be buried.
2nd best animal friend to go this year.
We will miss him.

 

[ducks4you]

Do you thin your carrots @ducks4you ? Or did only 12 of the seeds you planted sprout?

Carrots thinned themselves. I need to find a better way. The ones I harvested were tasty, just meager.
Then, again, DH reminded me that his mom never could grow them.
I am in good company.

 

[ducks4you]

I missed this photo. When you plant the seeds package different flowers will sprout and flower at different times.

 

[ducks4you]

DD's were gone this weekend, so I had to feed their remaining cat, "Troll Bridge."
I left them a 30 pound present.
I honestly DON'T remember growing a pumpkin that looked like this one. I think the seeds are a result of crosspollination. Still, biggest one I have ever grown. The smaller one, still on the single vine, is also pretty big.

 

[Alasgun]

Carrots thinned themselves. I need to find a better way. The ones I harvested were tasty, just meager.
Then, again, DH reminded me that his mom never could grow them.
I am in good company.

In this part of the world several of us grow “Bolero” carrot seed, from Johnny’s seeds. I’ll till 4-5 inches deep in the fall AND spring then trowel the bed smooth and use a dibble board for proper spacing and depth. Then use a little seeder to keep thinning to a minimum. Once i started paying that level of detail Carrots became something to brag about.
This is what a 3x12ft. Bed will generate, dibble board spacing is 3 1/2 inches by 1/2 in deep. Stored properly, we’ll be eating the last of these about the time i lift next years crop!