What Did You Do In The Garden?

[digitS']

Managed to have enuf energy in the afternoon sun and heat to dig out what had been the garlic patch - about 4' x 15'. Admittedly, I didn't expend calories moving sprinklers in the AM .

Ornamental plants from the yard, spent bok choy and lettuce, garlic leaves, a bucket of kitchen trimmings - I didn't want to pile too much in. Shoulda used a couple buckets of compost but they can go on top after it settles a bit. It will settle over the Winter but for 2022 greens for the Fall will be seeded elsewhere and transplanted to this area. .

Better get a sprinkler on those beds today. Appreciated that the soil wasn't very heavy in my shovel but there are plenty of plants in those few beds that will need some moisture. Supposed to be over 100 next week (38°C).

Steve

 

[ZinHead]

I’m going to attempt to start some trees for planting next fall. I know my odds of getting good tasting apples are low but I have plenty of land and will be happy even if they are only good for baking or feeding the wild animals. I’ve also planted seeds for Pawpaw and Pecan trees.

PawPaw Asimina triloba?
Or papaya?
Seeds from which cultivars?
how are they doing?
As for apples from seeds, if it was self fruitful like Granny Smith & self pollinated, then a higher probability of good fruit.
If it isn't self fertile or a Crabtree apple tree was used for fertilization or if it is Triploid, pretty much impossible to get something good.
If a ploidy match between 2 cultivars of quality from parent varieties which have a good case history of superior quality seedlings, you have a decent chance of something good.
Else equivalent to playing the lottery.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Asimina triloba wild cultivar. We have a large patch on our land that I would like too enlarge or even maybe start a new patch. The seeds failed to spout in part due to an animal that seems fond of the seeds and dug through my pots. I plan on trying again this fall.
I got some growth from one apple that was labeled Granny Smith but it didn’t survive the winter.

 

[flowerbug]

Asimina triloba wild cultivar. We have a large patch on our land that I would like too enlarge or even maybe start a new patch. The seeds failed to spout in part due to an animal that seems fond of the seeds and dug through my pots. I plan on trying again this fall.
I got some growth from one apple that was labeled Granny Smith but it didn’t survive the winter.

plant the apple seeds in the fall, scrape a shallow line put seed down at whatever spacing you'd like and then cover. water good. leave alone. i don't think many creatures will eat apple seeds intentionally (arsenic poisoning). i had great luck with this method some years ago. i could have had hundreds of cider apple trees by now but that would have meant i'd have had to put up a rather large fence to protect the field out back where the deer roam even more than they do here up front.

if there isn't bare space around them to remember where you've planted them put up some markers as you don't want to mow them down by accident.

if you do have deer or other animals around you may need to protect the sprouts from grazing until they get big enough to no longer be a target (for here that's about 7ft which in some cases is reached by the end of the 2nd growing season).

 

[ducks4you]

Mowed. Push mowed along the fencelines and around the tree stumps and garden beds, DH mowed with the 5ft wide deck, and I used my riding mower. Goes a LOT faster with the tractor.
Had to rush before the 10AM rain.

 

[flowerbug]

weeded for a few hours. nice to be able to get out and get something done. most gardens are in decent shape but there is always something that needs to be done.

i hadn't weeded the strawberry patch for several months so i did make sure to get the weeds out of there that were getting close to being ready to drop some seed pods all over and once those opened up it would have been way too late. so that was good to get done. with the recent soaking rain i could pull entire dandelion plants out including all the roots. it's not too many gardens or times that i can actually do that.

a few more rounds i'll be done with almost all of the gardens. it's nice to get into this time of the year because the gardens get grown up enough that they don't allow as many weeds to sprout and i'm mostly going through spots i've weeded a few times already so there's not as many weeds to begin with.

here or there i also take some time to get after a few of the harder weeds to get out like some bushes/trees that want to sprout in the fencelines that need to be cut and pulled out without taking the fence down. when it's hot i don't have the patience for that kind of thing. today was cool enough i could take the time and had the patience.

 

[ducks4you]

I was Gonna post that I finally burned up all of the old black walnuts I collected last winter, but then I was mesmerized by an ad for a Peach Milkshake!!
Btw, the Next time I bake a peach pie, I am using Peach Schnapps!!! Needs more of a kick.
I Guess if I had bought a BlendJet for myself

BlendJet® 2 Portable Blender - The Next-Gen Blender®

The BlendJet 2 portable blender packs big blender power on the go. It blasts through ice and frozen fruit, recharges quickly via USB-C, and even cleans itself.

blendjet.com

--bought 4 for 3 DD"s and Son in Law--I would make my OWN peach milkshake.
Probably gonna Dream about peach milkshakes now!!

 

[Phaedra]

Harvesting leafy greens~just 16 days, they are growing so well.

After the harvest (only outer leaves) - good ventilation and sufficient growing space

I also pinched tops from all french marigolds.

See you next week!

 

[ducks4you]

Just in case you got to wondering...

Copycat Chick-fil-A Peach Milkshake

This Copycat Chick-fil-A Peach Milkshake recipe makes the best peach milkshakes ever! Made with fresh and frozen peaches, these summer treats are delicious! This homemade peach milkshake is so easy to make, and it's probably my favorite milkshake recipe. This post was originally published in...

www.meatloafandmelodrama.com

 

[digitS']

Weeding and soil prep with snow pea, cilantro and dill sowing following. Also, harvested a handful of peas, another of green beans, a few small heads of broccoli, and 4 small cucumbers! About an hour.

After firing up the sprinklers, sat right down and ate a cucumber . These are our usual Talladega and are not supposed to be small but the plants are small and life has been a little tough for them, so far.

Life has been tough but not-so-tough as 2021 for the Eastern Magic broccoli. Last year's extreme heat in June meant that I just cut off the buds, tossed them, and waited for late season - when Eastern Magic did wonderfully!

This year, the plants have grown and have begun producing but it isn't very early and everything is small. We will see if they can pull off the surprising encore that they had in 2021. This may be an entirely inappropriate variety for me to be growing here in the Wild West.

I'll tell you what. Sowing some extra seed late and setting them out after we became aware that 2022 wouldn't be a repeat of early heat - didn't work. I sprayed all the plants but not before the flea beetles nearly destroyed the little guys. If the current heat wave doesn't kill those, I suppose that there is some chance for them in a couple of months but, I wouldn't bet on it. Other than somewhat small size, the first planting looks okay. However, we have sure moved past the Cool Season.

It was 104°f (40°C) yesterday and may be as hot today and the next few days. We ran the pickup AC and arrived home at noon when it was 95°. Enuf of these Outdoor Activities!!! Gardens watered home and elsewhere. Time for relaxing in cool circumstances .

Steve