What Did You Do In The Garden?

[Rhodie Ranch]

I transplanted Zeedman's peppers he sent me. Both hot and sweet. Also got his Diamond Eggplants in the ground (he sent me those several years ago) along with Rosa Blanca and Caliope transplanted.

 

[digitS']

@Cosmo spring garden , I am curious about tulsi dried. First, does it hold its flavor? Also important to some, does it turn black?

Have the sweetcorn weeded.

I'm not sure if I have ever seen purslane so tall! It usually has good years but the 2023 Spring with its 90f days (32C) and the good rain that benefitted all the plants – were just capital for the purslane.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

@Cosmo spring garden , I am curious about tulsi dried. First, does it hold its flavor? Also important to some, does it turn black?

Have the sweetcorn weeded.

I'm not sure if I have ever seen purslane so tall! It usually has good years but the 2023 Spring with its 90f days (32C) and the good rain that benefitted all the plants – were just capital for the purslane.

It does stay green after drying and I think it holds its flavor. I do mix it with few types of mint when I make tea.
And it self sows each year!

 

[Phaedra]

Enjoy vibrant colors

 

[flowerbug]

Here at home in the flower beds, things can be a little different. Black medic is especially in the Hell Strip along the curb but it sneaks across the sidewalk, under the picket fence and into the flower beds. It's not in the big veggie garden but I was noticing how it's turning up in such numbers in the neighbor's lawn!

Curious why Michigan State University didn't have it on the list, I did some searching. Yep, here it is:

Turf Weeds

MSU Extension's focus on turfgrass management brings together faculty, specialists, and educators who work with both professional turfgrass managers and homeowners in managing turfgrass in an environmentally responsible manner.

www.canr.msu.edu

it's all over here, and also hard to get rid of, this season has been so dry that it is hardly anyplace at all, i'll pull it or dig it out of any gardens inside the fence if i see it, there's still a few spots of infestation which reseed and cause further mayhem, but the good news is that it takes some time to go from a start to giving off seeds. since it is a nitrogen fixer i have been known to take the time to strip off the seeds and toss those in the weed bucket but then to leave the rest of the plant on the surface to dry out and give me some sorely needed nitrogen. the bunnies help weed it out of the grassy areas. the grassy areas right now are mostly tan or brown and very little green.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Finally weeded the asparagus bed! Looks much better and the chickens appreciated the wheelbarrow full of weeds!
I harvested the music and German garlic I am saving for next year's crops. Music did amazing. German hardy did fairly well but not as well as music. I am excited to plant them again this fall!
My DD helped me prep the empty raised beds and I planted some black eyed peas. Not sure if they will do anything but wanted to try
Also sowed some bean seeds in the greenhouse where corn didn't sprout or was stolen by voles!
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day so I invited a friend over to have a play date with her kids. I plan to feed them loads of food!

 

[Phaedra]

A severe thunderstorm was on the way to us, so I harvested some flowers as I could.

They are like a dream - 'HERZOGIN CHRISTIANA' from Kordes Roses.

I also transplanted most of the Biennial plants to this pretty shady area. Next spring, I will bring them to the full sunlight spots.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Rained almost all day so went out and picked off Japanese beetles and bean beetles. Everything looks so green and has almost doubled in size with all this rain!
Tomorrow will be my first ever farmers market selling day! Wish me luck! I only have raspberries and garlic.

 

[digitS']

Arrived at big veggie garden to find the the marmot, who had only nibbled on a few lettuce plants before, had stripped the broccoli, trimmed nearly all the lettuce, chewed up most of the radish leaves, and sampled the beet greens 🤬!

I have had conflicts with marmots in the past but, somehow, had this idea that it takes some time for one to venture into a new diet. The most I have ever lost was a few heads of cabbage. That does NOT mean that I tolerate their presence. Last week, I saw Marty Marmot on the neighbor's stack of railroad ties. The neighbor doesn't want a confrontation with his little Dachshund again with another trip to the vet so I felt doubly motivated to confront Marty. Moving several ties, I determined where he was and poked a stick aggressively into the hole I found. He raced away on the opposite side of the stack. I came close, throwing the stick at him, but missed. Today, I returned to the garden to find that he must not have been in the least deterred from more visits.

It occurred to me as I was leaving several hours later that I should move every tire in a stack of tires once used for surrounding tomatoes on my gardening neighbor's property. Just doing that may compromise Marty's complacency at visiting the garden.

The soil in the garden was dry. A hoped-for rain fell hard & briefly at home. It didn't look like any fell in the distant garden. Ssoooo, it was a quick cultivation of part of a bed for Summer-sown (!) green beans, set up a teepee trellis for the climbing rattlesnake beans, harvesting a bit of this & that, and turn on the water. Marty will have a couple of days then I will be back to disrupt his environment. Hopefully, I won't actually lose any plant before then.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Finally finished planting the last section of the rural garden today, so everything is in except for the squashes. I hold those indoors or in the greenhouse until July, to avoid SVB. The kabocha & bush acorn will be transplanted & immediately covered with floating row cover - which not only protects from SVB, it (usually) protects from the first hatch of squash bugs as well.

Started thinning some of the beans & soybeans too, which came up better than expected. Not my favorite job, since I need to kneel/sit low enough to examine the close-packed seedlings, and its hard on my knees... but that allows me to select only the strongest plants for seed. In this weather, a job best done when the sun is low in the sky, which is when I'll thin a couple more rows tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll be planting Moringa, eggplant, and rooted lemongrass in a few left-over open spots. Then need to start putting up string trellises for the most aggressively vining pole beans. Time for me to find hay for mulch too. Beans really don't like having the soil splashed on their leaves, they won't really take off until I mulch them. The after-mulch greening is quick & pronounced, I'll try to take before & after photos.