What did you do in the garden today?

[oldhen2345]

OK... A moment of mourning. I had moved 3 chicks out to the coop with my Silkies and 2 game hens. The chicks are at least a week old, probably 2. I had places for the babies to escape the adults. The chicks have been out there for at least 3 or 4 days now.... But this evening I discovered my favorite little chick has been pecked to death.

Why is it always the favorite?? So sorry for your loss

 

[oldhen2345]

And if I don't mow this Prairie grass every 7 days on the dot, I'm up to my eyeballs in hours.
OC this stuff grows at half and inch a day or more.

I have St. Augustine grass and have to mow every 6-7 days. I have decreased watering to twice a week - was watering 3 x a week. With a $150 water bill, I decided I would rather keep the lights on than have green grass.

 

[oldhen2345]

Today, I made 7 hydrangea cuttings. It may be late in the season, but still gets to 91 degrees here- tomorrow, will separate the variegated Loriope and put them in containers To keep in the house over winter. Next year, will submerge the containers in a stone garden- will make future separations easy.

 

[Acre4Me]

Normally spiders aren't very social... but, I spotted these two while looking at the bushes they still had in the garden area.


Here, they look like they are on same web, but one is in front of the other.

But they are only about 1-2" apart. Pretty sure the larger spider has the better spot for catching bugs! Maybe it's the male version of the larger spider.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Got another inch of rain overnight. I picked another half pound of green beans, a couple of lima pods, and a few tomatoes. The tomatoes are just about done. I need to run to the store and pick up some lime juice to make salsa. Yesterday I had thyme in the dehydrator, today it's parsley. My chives finally bloomed and are looking more robust so I'm looking forward to being able to harvest them next year. I still have about 12 to 15 pounds of peaches left so I'll try to get more trays into the freezer today. I had to drive into Boston yesterday so that pretty much burnt up my entire day. Besides it being a long drive, Boston traffic is very stressful. I'm hoping to get a break from the rain so the grass will dry out enough to mow. The backyard takes forever to dry out after a heavy dew, but with rain it takes even longer. Love the spider pictures @Acre4Me. I love seeing spiders in the garden because I know they are feasting on bad little bugs. I'm really looking forward to getting beyond the peach harvest so I'll be ready for the Gala apples harvest. They will be ready in another week or two. As soon as the apples are processed it will be time for the local Concord grapes. Then I'm pretty much done for the season. Because of the squash bug problem this year I'm thinking about using grow bags / feed sacks to plant the summer squash and cucumbers next Spring. Bell peppers, jalapenos and poblano peppers do better in the containers as well, so do the okra. I hope your recent bout with shingles is over soon @Sueby. I believe you can get the shingles shot at CVS and Walgreens. I've never had chicken pox so I don't need the shingles shot but I really try to avoid small children. With so many anti-vaxers you just don't know for sure who's a carrier or not.

 

[jerryse]

Did a third batch of tomato juice for a total of 17 quarts . Think I will do paste next .

 

[Sueby]

Thanks @Wee Farmer Sarah - I'm not doing too bad. Just tired really. I would HATE to drive into Boston, ugh. I don't know how you do it.

Morning all. Got some rain last night here too & lost power about 4am. I panicked because the chicks could be here today & that would mean I'd have to run the generator myself as DH is working an outage. He typed up a very detailed instruction sheet on working it, but I still don't like to have to do it. Thankfully it came back on pretty quickly.

My squash plants pretty much gave up the ghost over night. Looks like a combo of powdery mildew & maybe vine borers. I haven't seen any bugs. It's ok, it's almost that time anyway. I'll pull them out over the weekend. Going to clean out the big coop too.

I have a sungold plant that has it's own 4x4 raised bed so I just let it grow out of control - holy cow the tomatoes on that thing are insane! Makes me wonder why I prune. If I had space I'd just let them go - that's how my mom always did it & she had beautiful tomatoes. But alas, I do not have the room.

I have lost all control of the strawberries. I had them all planned out & spaced perfectly but I couldn't keep up with the runners. I haven't gotten a single strawberry yet & I want to rip them out. It's prime bed space, great 2.5 foot high beds that I don't have to bend over for. I need to talk myself off the ledge & wait till I at least get 1 harvest. Don't I? LOL

 

[Sueby]

@Acre4Me I've never seen 2 spiders living like that! How cool! I try very hard to leave the spiders be. But sometimes they just get in my face & have to go, lol. Sorry spider, you're not allowed in my shower where I have to close my eyes to wash my face!

 

[Acre4Me]

@Acre4Me I've never seen 2 spiders living like that! How cool! I try very hard to leave the spiders be. But sometimes they just get in my face & have to go, lol. Sorry spider, you're not allowed in my shower where I have to close my eyes to wash my face!

Oh, inside spiders get killed..I figure it a little bit of Darwin in play: fittest survive…if so dumb as to try to cohabitate in a human’s space, you’re not able to pass on your genes.

 

[Sally PB]

Cooking down some salsa right now. I can feel the habaneros in the back of my throat. I'll can it this afternoon. I have the door open for fresh air even though it's only 62 out there right now.

I'll can the rest of the tomatoes I bought tomorrow. Then the canner gets put away until applesauce time.