What Did You Do In The Garden?

[Zeedman]

Squirrels only dig in my pots... usually just after I've put transplants into them.

 

[Branching Out]

It is starting to feel like all I do in the garden is water-- and the fun has kind of gone out of it. The plants are crispy, and I am clearly tired because this afternoon I ended up taking a two hour nap on the couch in the cool basement. Lol. Not much we can do but keep on irrigating, and hope for rain. I am hardly sowing any seeds because it is such a challenge to keep them hydrated until they germinate, and even harder to keep them going after that. I sowed Tezier French filet bean seeds a few days ago, and almost did a happy dance when I checked them today and saw that they had sprouted! My Purple Sprouting Broccoli seeds will have to start indoors under lights, where the temperature is hospitable. On a positive note I have been saving a ton of seed; our consistent hot, dry conditions have been wonderful for ripening seed. Today I harvested seeds from Blushed Butter Oak lettuce, and a few mixed mesclun mustard greens.

 

[Alasgun]

@Branching Out, i shudder to think of how hard it would be to keep this all going if the watering required ANY time at all. If at all feasible, drip can be a life saver!

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I'm dreading the water bill this month, which is billed every two months. With this heat, we've had to water almost every day!

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Don't forget, Rhodie, to look on the backside of your Zuc plants!
My second crop of yellow wax beans and my first green bean!!

Oh, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE patty pan squash!

 

[Zeedman]

I'm dreading the water bill this month, which is billed every two months. With this heat, we've had to water almost every day!

Since May, pretty much the same here; I'm fortunate to have well water in both garden locations. With this extended dry spell, it's been a constant race, trying to get mulch down to both preserve moisture and cool the roots... but being unable to do so until
each.
individual.
row.
has been weeded. And weeded again, immediately after I irrigate.

With help from DD, we are just beginning to get caught up; only 1-2 days of weeding left to do. We've finally had several rounds of rain in the last week; nothing major, but it made the ground soft enough to use the hoe (its really hard to hoe through dry adobe ). More importantly, maybe enough rain to save the local farmers.

Almost everything is behind. The pole beans are stunted, and only now beginning to send up runners. The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in the rural garden were all suffocated by weeds, and now that the weeds are removed, have just begun to green up & recover. Getting the mulch down really makes a difference, especially for the beans, peas, and favas. It looks like everything will recover; to judge by the rapid improvement - even after mulching - its obvious that the plants prefer rain to well water. The only real winner so far seems to be the cucumbers, which are absolutely going bonkers, and already nearing the top of their 6' trellis.

 

[flowerbug]

picked through a patch of beans so i could clean them up later and cook them. pulled a few weeds. did a look through of some patches and kilt a few Japanese Beetles.

rains yesterday afternoon, power went out for a while, read a book and contemplated the inside of my eyelids.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Squirrels only dig in my pots... usually just after I've put transplants into them.

I dislike squirrels. And voles. And rats.
I have to be careful about what I say/ask people on how they manage pests. Yesterday while talking to some friends, she mentioned that chipmunks are eating her cherry tomatoes. I asked if she sent her sons out with the bb gun to scare them away? Her reply was "we leave wildlife alone, I don't need my tomatoes bad enough to kill them". I like my tomatoes. Chipmunks can go eat whatever else they ate before

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Coffee and breakfasts were early today since its potato harvest time! We have a large patch (~35×35) with rows 12inches apart. We dug up 3 rows and were hot and sweaty. Decided to wash them and put them on the porch in the shade to cure (with a fan). We plan to dig more this evening when the patch is in full shade! It will take several days to get it all harvested. Last year being in a rush,I didn't wash them and ended up with dirty potatoes in the house. Every time I washed them to use for a recipe, I'd have to do that in a pot of water which had to be carried outside to dump (I don't want dirt going in to our septic ) and it was a pain!
I also plan to organize them based on size

 

[flowerbug]

lifted the garlic. all bulbs looked reasonable with just a few starting to split (which means they were left a little too long). size is good considering how much i had to water them. i did take pictures but i'm a bit too lazy right now to get that edited and posted.