What Did You Do In The Garden?

[flowerbug]

the cheap short hoses are a waste of $. normally we can find the 100ft hoses that are heavy duty which will last about 10yrs for us. on sale i think they've cost us about $20-30. we use one for the back and one for the sides and front. oh and we have a cheapie hose that some friends were getting rid of (moving to a retirement home) and we use that for a short utility hose up by the house to rinse out buckets or whatever. it's pretty thin, it kinks too easy, no idea how long it will last, we'll find out...

 

[flowerbug]

buried bean and pea plants and used up some of my ash buckets so Mom will be happy to have those gone. watered it all in good because the worms were sleeping so i wanted to wake 'em up and get them going. i was lucky that it was cool enough and cloudy enough long enough for me to get that done. the morning started off with the usual foggy bottom.

 

[Zeedman]

The hoses we use in both garden locations are commercially rated 3/4", since both hoses run 200'. Picked them up on sale, and been using them since 2000. We finally had to replace 2 hoses this year - one burst, and one was run over by a mower. Ooops... We found some good-looking 3/4" replacement hoses at Harbor Freight, only time will tell if they last as well.

 

[heirloomgal]

The red arils are sweet - very sweet for some varieties. Too slimy for my taste when fresh, but I've eaten a few of them dried. We added some dried arils to rice once to give it color, but it didn't add much to the flavor.

I think bitter melon causes a lot of people to be apprehensive. Justifiably so, IMO... its definitely not for everyone. It is very good for health reasons though, especially for diabetics. Of the more unusual vegetables in my collection, bitter melon gets the most attention - hence the avatar. I have 6 varieties in the collection, and grow 2 varieties every year (but 3 this year). Besides what we eat ourselves, we have quite a few Filipino and Asian friends who use bitter melon in their diet, and we give a lot away to them each year. Finding a way to successfully pickle bitter melon is my greatest culinary challenge.

The grand children have all been fascinated by the bitter melons hanging from the vines - especially when Grampa told them they were "frog cucumbers". It really is an interesting plant, and would be a conversation piece as an arbor cover.

I saw in the Baker Creek catalogue a white bitter melon, do you grow that variety? It is very impressive looking, and so unique. Many years ago I was experimenting with different health enhancing products, and I tried a liquid called 'Swedish Bitters' - or something like that. I drank the recommended dose exactly and only once I believe, despite the rather steep price, because it felt a bit like getting kicked in the back of the throat with an old boot. I'm on much into torturing myself for longevity and vitality; my avoidance of bitterness commenced from there.

 

[Zeedman]

I saw in the Baker Creek catalogue a white bitter melon, do you grow that variety?

Yes, I've grown it. The white color, and the description of mildness, made it worth trying. All the other white varieties I've seen were hybrids, and that one was OP. The trial however was disappointing. The white skins seemed to be overly sensitive to damage; it was hard to get an unblemished melon. I don't know, maybe it was just something unique to that year - but I've never had a bitter melon with that problem. When my seed is gone or expired, I won't grow it again.

Baker Creek does carry a lot of bitter melons, and their selection changes periodically - sometimes later in the same year! I check their online catalog occasionally for varieties not listed in the print catalog.

 

[ninnymary]

Just got my hay for this winter. BEAUTIFUL alfalfa/grass mix, heavy bales, $6/each, and straw. 400 hay, 50 straw.
My hay man thins that there will be a shortage of hay this winter. HE is investing in more building storage space. I am BLESSED bc I can store up to 500 bales in my loft.

I'm thinking of mulching with straw/hay/alphalfa, or something. But I keep forgetting which one NOT to use because of seeds/weeds. I only need 1 bale so I don't mind it being pricey. Which do you suggest I use?

Thanks
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Straw. It's been threshed to remove most of the seeds, the others haven't. Threshing doesn't get all the seeds out but it does most. If you pull the sprouts while young they are pretty easy to pull out.

I've used wheat straw. I don't know if your coop/run is big enough but I've been known to put a bale of wheat straw in the run and cut the string. The chickens soon shred it which threshes it even more, plus they eat a lot of the seeds. I still get some sprouts but not a lot. I have not tried rice straw or oats straw so not sure how those work.

 

[Zeedman]

Hay can be the biggest problem, as far as weed seed. It depends upon whatever the farmer allowed to grow in the same field. I had bad experiences with wheat straw, that had apparently not been threshed well & had a lot of seed. I've had good luck with some mixed hay; timothy and either clover or alfalfa. Pure alfalfa has the least weed seed; hard to spread, but long-lasting, and actually adds some nutrients during the growing season.

Whatever hay or straw you choose, be sure that it hasn't been grown with herbicides. I usually buy hay directly from a local farmer, explain to them how I will be using it, and examine a bale carefully for mold & noxious weeds. The farmer I bought from this year said there were no noxious weeds, and he was correct... but there was a lot of seed for a fast-growing Spring weed (shepherd's purse). That was already present in my garden, and I turn it under before planting - so essentially, he provided next year's green manure.

 

[seedcorn]

Unless the farmer signs a waiver stating no herbicides used, assume it has. No worries as neither can be harvested while the herbicide is active. IF there is something stunting growth, it was applied by the person who used it for bedding. In case of wet product being bailed, some will salt the bales to keep them from spoiling. Salt, not herbicides. Salt will “kill the soil”.

 

[flowerbug]

picked through two rows of beans that were fairly well dried on the vines. a nice harvest of Huey and some of the Yellow Eye beans. these look like the nicest YE beans i've grown in a long time. i was wondering how they would do in the heat but they seem to have done ok. surprised me.

heading out in a few minutes to check on the tomatoes to see if we have enough for canning today.

after that more dry bean picking if anything is ready.