What Did You Do In The Garden?

[SweetMissDaisy]

Yesterday I did a top dressing of soil and fertilizer on the the raised beds. Today I did much of the same on the potted pots on the patio. Cut down the patio peas, as this week’s heat will surely do them in. Left the peas in the garden for now — i suspect they’ll need to be removed from the garden by next weekend, though. Did a good deep water since it’s going to be so HOT here this week.

 

[flowerbug]

Yesterday I did a top dressing of soil and fertilizer on the the raised beds. Today I did much of the same on the potted pots on the patio. Cut down the patio peas, as this week’s heat will surely do them in. Left the peas in the garden for now — i suspect they’ll need to be removed from the garden by next weekend, though. Did a good deep water since it’s going to be so HOT here this week.

it isn't supposed to be super hot here this week so that is a relief. if it doesn't rain today well enough i'll get out tomorrow morning and water everything after i pick the bugs off.

 

[ducks4you]

having learned my lesson the hard way already from planting "Wildflower Seed Mix" and another which gave me yet another variety of Mouse-Eared Chickweed which i surely did not need and regetted it since. in both cases it has been hard to get them under control and on the way to eradication, but i'm getting there. both these weeds are kill on sight for me now.

i surely would not be planting some random seed package in the mail. i don't care who sent them to me.

I planted a $5 package of wildflower seeds. I got a handful of allysium, some kind of small and pretty white flower, ALL of the normal weeds I was trying to quash and...4 sunflowers. I dig up the offensive, but NORMAL to my yard weeds and covered them with a used plastic shower curtain bc they are right next to my 2020 cistern tomato bed, and I will dig and replant wilflowers and others there this Fall to establish.
Best place for chinese invasives is in the trash, or burn them.

 

[ducks4you]

Hardly vegetable gardening BUT on Saturday I sawed down all of the saplings along the street fence, like 70 ft worth, left a honesuckle I didn't know was there. My friend was over to help clean the horse shelter, but DH used to tractor to move 13 bucket loads of the saplings First. We cleaned 1/2 of the 16 x 19 horse shelter. The heat indexes were climbing so we quit, but plan to tackle the rest next weekend.
Oh, JOY!!! I was mowing next to my chicken run (minus chickens at the moment,) and found out in the last 2 weeks a swarm of honeybees has made their home in my upside down Rubbermaid 100 gal water tank!
Got stung on the leg, fortunately the stinger fell off. Got ahold of the guy who cleaned out the bee's nest at DD house a few years ago. Funny, I figured out their name, Olive Branch Apiary. There is a stream called the "Olive Branch". Gotta ask if they live nearby.
I figure a hive swarmed and split. I saw the bees entering at the bottom of the water tank where there is a gap. They must think themselves clever. I am More clever. I will report and if I am there when they clean it out I will post pictures.

 

[flowerbug]

I planted a $5 package of wildflower seeds. I got a handful of allysium, some kind of small and pretty white flower, ALL of the normal weeds I was trying to quash and...4 sunflowers. I dig up the offensive, but NORMAL to my yard weeds and covered them with a used plastic shower curtain bc they are right next to my 2020 cistern tomato bed, and I will dig and replant wilflowers and others there this Fall to establish.
Best place for chinese invasives is in the trash, or burn them.

we liked the little blue flowers at first. at first. then we found out how they spread and were really hard to get rid of. now they are getting rounded up and destroyed when seen, but with as many gardens and pathways here a few can be missed. plus they will bloom and set seeds even as very tiny plants in a pathway between the crushed limestone mulch so if you don't get them all they will be back...

 

[seedcorn]

Not what I did but coons. Destroyed the sweet corn. Luckily we got about 4-5 meals off of it.

 

[digitS']

Did a good deep water since it’s going to be so HOT here this week.

Are you re-adjusting to the Inland NW after those years in Texas and now considering these conditions "hot?"

We picked a bucket of green beans and what must be the last of the peas, of any kind ... (until September ).

One medium size zucchini and a few small summer squash came home. Also a few big green Walla Walla onions and all of the shallots. The pickup stayed home so the car filled with the fragrance of shallots. Shallots (& their fragrance ) rate right up near the top of reasons why I enjoy being a gardener.

The shallots were a scheme @hoodat and I came up with several years ago. What would be the result if we saved bulbs from hybrid plants and allowed them to make seed the 2nd year, then planted that seed in the 3rd year? And, continued ...

I'm still not sure what happened over the last 5+ years. I guess that we "dehybridized" them. They look much the same as the original seed-grown shallots. This year, they were all grown from bulbs and only 2 plants have flowered. I saved those for a little more seed. Their flowering and setting seed remains a mystery - what prompts it with some and not others and what if anything has changed with the plants. If I was to guess, it may be that they are losing their ability to flower. But, why not? The French and Dutch shallots that I have bought as sets never flowered over many years.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

@digitS' in onions when planting the small bulbs (commonly called sets) the size of that bulb can determine if it will flower or not.

i have no experience with shallots, but your speaking of them not flowering at all reminds me of people who are trying to get back the trait of flowers and seeds for garlic which it has been bred out of for many varieties. yes, there are still some varieties that will still flower and get seeds and they are available, but they are not common.

i love the smell of onions, but the smell of the roots of chives when digging them up (to get rid of them as we have too many) makes me rather sick to my stomach for some reason. the smell of the regular onion roots or the garlic roots does not bother me at all when digging them up. funny how that can be.

 

[digitS']

...
people who are trying to get back the trait of flowers and seeds for garlic which it has been bred out of for many varieties. yes, there are still some varieties that will still flower and get seeds and they are available, but they are not common.

Breed the trait out ... Try to get it back

See, I didn't know that! There is good reason to pay some attention to those who are actually gardening.```

I had a friend in southern Colorado who was unsuccessful growing the shallot varieties commonly available as sets. That was something of a surprise to me but he though that it was his latitude at 37° North - like long-day/short-day onions.

Okay, France has about the same latitude as where I am and Holland is about 52°N - way north. Dutch and French shallot varieties yes, but shallots are common in SE Asia, 14° North.

It's a wonderful world of plants out there - both wild and domestic. And, a great help that there are those with an interest in them.

We use little garlic but I have some from the garden curing outside the back door, right now . Where they were growing in the garden has been replanted to amaranth, both green and red. Amaranth absolutely doesn't like spring chill, let's see how it germinates and grows in summer heat.

Oh, it is a wonderful world for a gardener.```

Steve

 

[digitS']