What did you do in the garden today?

[CNJ]

I was feeling a little off when I came in for lunch. Blood sugar 64. I ate some cookies to get it up. More work uses up the sugar. Time to cut back on insulin. Getting close to sunburn. Working on my summer tan. Resting a bit before going out. Got my mum starts today. Already potted them. Too small to plant in ground in my opinion.

I stumbled across a diabetes doctor on You Tube and his whole video was about how eating peanuts is beneficial to people with diabetes and it can also help border line cases from advancing.
I was eating salted peanuts when the video auto played. I love salted peanuts, so I am glad its healthy to eat.........

 

[WthrLady]

Not really a rash. There's a ton of mosquito-bite like bumps that itch like hell from the looks of it. They are slightly better today. I think the kids are on the mend now. Keeping the calamine lotion on them and giving benedryl.
I thought of jelly fish, but never thought of the infant forms (sea lice). That could be it... I am still leaning towards something in the sand, but sea lice makes just as much sense.

Where are these little bumps?

 

[pennyJo1960]

 

[WthrLady]

I have already gotten sunburned twice in the past two weeks while working in the garden. Tis that time of the year...

I already have a grand farmers tan.

 

[AMM10]

Have you tried equal parts of instant Honey Corn bread mix and baking soda? This combination killed off the rat problem I had. I know they are gone, since a cucumber from one of my plant is laying on the ground and nothing bit it yet.

No, I haven’t tried that yet. Does it work quite well? I’ve just been using snap and glue traps. Caught 5 big adult mice so far and haven’t seen any more action for a few days now.

That’s terrible!! Hope you catch/kill them all.

I hope so too...I HATE mice!

@AMM10 that happened to my friend last year, mice ate all of his starts. How frustrating. We have a lot of mice here & it’s a constant battle. Best we have found is multiple types of traps & set them with peanut butter & a bit of bird seed on top. They learn traps after a while so we use multiple types. I hate those little b@$+@(&$!

That’s what I’ve got going on here too. I’ve set up multiple traps and raised most of the plant flats so that they can’t reach them anymore. They dug out and ate most of my asparagus, cantaloupe, cucumber, squash and watermelon plants. I have since replanted more but still…I’m going to have to come up with a plan for when I take everything outside.*

 

[TJAnonymous]

The new strawberry beds are ALMOST done! Here's the rundown.

1. Started with a food grade 55-gallon barrel. Marked 2 overflow drainage holes 6 inches from the bottom - one on each side. I also planned out all the staggering of holes and marked them before starting. On the first barrel, I planned out 4 horizontal rows of holes for a total of 32 plant locations. On the 2 following barrels, I upped it to 5 rows (40 plant locations).


2. Used a 3/8 inch paddle bit to create a pilot hole. Then used a 3" hole saw to cut out each plant location.



3. Added a slotted 4" drain tile at the bottom to create a water well.



4. Used scrap chicken wire to create a center column to hold wood chips and small logs. This goes all the way to the bottom and should (hopefully) act like a sponge to hold moisture in the center of the barrel.



5. Added some cheap insect netting around the perimeter of the barrel to hold in the soil once it's poured. I used clothespins to hold it in place while I work.



6. Added some wood mulch and a little bit of soil. I chose to use container soil which should retain water a little better. Didn't add any amendments because they are already in the soil I purchased.



7. I still have a bit to finish but I put the (removable) lid on just to take a peek at what it will look like fully finished.



Still to do -

* add another bag of soil. I estimated 3 bags per barrel and it needs 4.

* add more wood mulch to the center column. I estimated 1 bag of mulch per barrel which is correct. It actually takes a little less depending on how much log pieces you add. I used pieces that were about 2 - 3" in diameter and approximately 8" long.

* drill a 3/8 hole near the top rim so I can fish through some drip line. The drip line will circle around the outside of the chicken wire column.

* cut an 'X' in the netting of each hole so I can insert the strawberry plant.

Between all 3 barrels, I can maintain 112 plants. This design should help with air flow and limit contact between the soil and the leaves so hopefully NO MORE LEAF BLIGHT!

 

[Sally PB]

I'm giving up on strawberries. I think I have 3 plants left our of about 40 or so. I'll dig them up and plant something that will grow and be edible.

I know I had leaf spot; probably something else too.

 

[CNJ]

No, I haven’t tried that yet. Does it work quite well? I’ve just been using snap and glue traps. Caught 5 big adult mice so far and haven’t seen any more action for a few days now.

I copied this guy and it worked..............

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

The new strawberry beds are ALMOST done! Here's the rundown.

1. Started with a food grade 55-gallon barrel. Marked 2 overflow drainage holes 6 inches from the bottom - one on each side. I also planned out all the staggering of holes and marked them before starting. On the first barrel, I planned out 4 horizontal rows of holes for a total of 32 plant locations. On the 2 following barrels, I upped it to 5 rows (40 plant locations).
View attachment 3464028

2. Used a 3/8 inch paddle bit to create a pilot hole. Then used a 3" hole saw to cut out each plant location.

View attachment 3464029

3. Added a slotted 4" drain tile at the bottom to create a water well.

View attachment 3464031

4. Used scrap chicken wire to create a center column to hold wood chips and small logs. This goes all the way to the bottom and should (hopefully) act like a sponge to hold moisture in the center of the barrel.

View attachment 3464032

5. Added some cheap insect netting around the perimeter of the barrel to hold in the soil once it's poured. I used clothespins to hold it in place while I work.

View attachment 3464036

6. Added some wood mulch and a little bit of soil. I chose to use container soil which should retain water a little better. Didn't add any amendments because they are already in the soil I purchased.

View attachment 3464038View attachment 3464041

7. I still have a bit to finish but I put the (removable) lid on just to take a peek at what it will look like fully finished.

View attachment 3464043

Still to do -

* add another bag of soil. I estimated 3 bags per barrel and it needs 4.

* add more wood mulch to the center column. I estimated 1 bag of mulch per barrel which is correct. It actually takes a little less depending on how much log pieces you add. I used pieces that were about 2 - 3" in diameter and approximately 8" long.

* drill a 3/8 hole near the top rim so I can fish through some drip line. The drip line will circle around the outside of the chicken wire column.

* cut an 'X' in the netting of each hole so I can insert the strawberry plant.

Between all 3 barrels, I can maintain 112 plants. This design should help with air flow and limit contact between the soil and the leaves so hopefully NO MORE LEAF BLIGHT!

That is awesome idea!!!
When u getting stuff in the ground over there?!

 

[CedarLane]

I'm jealous everyone has their seeds planted and are growing. I can't do anything with our weather just cause it still gets so cold at night

The 8 day forecast for us (I'm about an hour or so north of you) includes a BIG crash in temps after next weekend. Lows of 32 Monday and Tuesday night, Highs in the 40s and 50s during the day. Of course, that's 8 days out, and it could change.

You should be able to plant peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, and other frost tolerant plants. But I'd wait on beans or corn.

I'll be planting potatoes this week.

Carrots and beets are two other cool weather veggies.