What Did You Do In The Garden?

[ducks4you]

Weeded the bed in the front of the house. Will be killing the weeds there, probably tomorrow morning...TOO HOT!!! Sweating SO MUCH in the humidity!!

 

[Prairie Rose]

Fixed my irrigation system; watered the veg beds and the hanging pots today. Was able to get out early enough to harvest tomatoes and a couple of peppers before it got too hot. Dug up a handful of almost-wild garlic out of the old garden to replant this fall; it came from my aunt and I don't want to lose it.

Battled the bindweed again. It's still popping up in my planting holes in the plastic mulch, and now I am having problems with it growing outside the vegetable bed and grabbing my tomatoes. Pulled it off the side of the house again, too.

Didn't get enough tomatoes to can, so I'm going to make a giant pot of spaghetti sauce this afternoon and divide and freeze.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Fixed my irrigation system; watered the veg beds and the hanging pots today. Was able to get out early enough to harvest tomatoes and a couple of peppers before it got too hot. Dug up a handful of almost-wild garlic out of the old garden to replant this fall; it came from my aunt and I don't want to lose it.

Battled the bindweed again. It's still popping up in my planting holes in the plastic mulch, and now I am having problems with it growing outside the vegetable bed and grabbing my tomatoes. Pulled it off the side of the house again, too.

Didn't get enough tomatoes to can, so I'm going to make a giant pot of spaghetti sauce this afternoon and divide and freeze.

The garlic sounds great!

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Moving old rabbit bedding still, weeding, harvesting and freezing. I had to clean out a freezer this morning that has been turned off for awhile and get it turned on and ready for things I am running out of room for in the other freezer.

 

[ducks4you]

Fixed my irrigation system; watered the veg beds and the hanging pots today. Was able to get out early enough to harvest tomatoes and a couple of peppers before it got too hot. Dug up a handful of almost-wild garlic out of the old garden to replant this fall; it came from my aunt and I don't want to lose it.

Battled the bindweed again. It's still popping up in my planting holes in the plastic mulch, and now I am having problems with it growing outside the vegetable bed and grabbing my tomatoes. Pulled it off the side of the house again, too.

Didn't get enough tomatoes to can, so I'm going to make a giant pot of spaghetti sauce this afternoon and divide and freeze.

You will have tomatoes until after the first couple of frosts, esPECIALLY if you have left them to sprawl, so 2 more months of harvest.
Regarding bind weed, a spade and a to go cup WITH the lid, saved, the kild you get from a restaurant, with weed killer mixed and a paintbrush are your best friends.
If it is coming up in your beds, pull the root and paint with herbicide using a child's watercolor paintbrush.
I you are working a bed, weed first, leave ALL the bindweed (so you won't lose where they are growing. Dump each shovelful into your wheel barrow (wear gloves for this), and manipulate the dirt to remove the underground runners. THROW THE RUNNERS IN THE TRASH, bc they will regenerate!!
If you find more runners lower than your spadeworth of a depth, "paint" them with herbicide. Mid American Gardener panelists have said that some bindweed runners go 30 ft deep. You only want to remove as much as possible before/during planting/harvesting. I have cleared a few areas completely of bindweed, others need more work.
When you put your beds to rest this fall, you can do some more digging and bindweed removal. REMEMBER, a weed can send out runners, but it cannot "run" away from you like a rabbit.
There are other beneficial plants that send out runners underground...like strawberries. So does quack grass, and they ALL are white!!
Always TRY to get the weed before it goes to seed.

 

[ducks4you]

I cleared ALL of the grass and weeds on the East (front) and South (other front, country door) stone beds of the house, outlined by a sidewalk!!!
I sprayed the WHOLE area with weed killer, so I won't have to go back. I piled it up in the inner sanctum, and the horses decided they tasted better than the grass there.

 

[flowerbug]

yesterday, picked beans, weeded a little, took a nap, cleaned beans and cooked 'em up, heaven.

today, watered, mowed a little, took a nap, not sure what i'll do next, can always weed, but most of the gardens are under control well enough that nothing is pressing and since i just watered them they're a bit muddy.

tomorrow, will have to pick cucumbers and check the tomatoes.

 

[Zeedman]

The harvest, while much less than in previous years, has begun in earnest. Yesterday picked 6 large cukes, several large bitter melons, some Fortex beans, several dozen okra, a small basket of grape tomatoes, and a larger basket-full of Gretel eggplant. Wow, Gretel is incredibly productive in pots... I highly recommend it. I'll try to post a photo.

The bitter melon & okra will be pickled. The eggplant will be steamed, peeled, and frozen with stem attached. The cukes & green beans will be served at Sunday dinner with the family.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Took a walk in the garden and DH pulled up two peanut plants to check how they are doing. There were several nice size peanuts on them! I might have a nice harvest this year. These plants are from seeds I saved last year. I hope I get enough for roasting and eating.

 

[Prairie Rose]

You will have tomatoes until after the first couple of frosts, esPECIALLY if you have left them to sprawl, so 2 more months of harvest.
Regarding bind weed, a spade and a to go cup WITH the lid, saved, the kild you get from a restaurant, with weed killer mixed and a paintbrush are your best friends.
If it is coming up in your beds, pull the root and paint with herbicide using a child's watercolor paintbrush.
I you are working a bed, weed first, leave ALL the bindweed (so you won't lose where they are growing. Dump each shovelful into your wheel barrow (wear gloves for this), and manipulate the dirt to remove the underground runners. THROW THE RUNNERS IN THE TRASH, bc they will regenerate!!
If you find more runners lower than your spadeworth of a depth, "paint" them with herbicide. Mid American Gardener panelists have said that some bindweed runners go 30 ft deep. You only want to remove as much as possible before/during planting/harvesting. I have cleared a few areas completely of bindweed, others need more work.
When you put your beds to rest this fall, you can do some more digging and bindweed removal. REMEMBER, a weed can send out runners, but it cannot "run" away from you like a rabbit.
There are other beneficial plants that send out runners underground...like strawberries. So does quack grass, and they ALL are white!!
Always TRY to get the weed before it goes to seed.

Thanks for the advice...I am keeping ahead of the bindweed in the garden bed. I will dig what I can when I pull the plastic during cleanup this fall. I know I am not going to completely eradicate it from my yard ever....there is too much of it and my yard is too big and my time is far too limited for me to get ahead of it by painting individual shoots. Ten feet away from my vegetable bed it has eaten a rose and is climbing my house.

I could spend every daylight hour for a month painting bindweed shoots and only start to make a dent on it. This year I am determined to keep it from going to seed. Every bit I pull gets tossed on the black plastic mulch or my concrete patio for 24 hours to crisp in the sun before it gets tossed. No point inspreading it elsewhere, if I can help it