[marthamfi]

sorry to hear about your dogs. except for trimming back stuff and digging up some trumpet vines ..not much has happened. my flowers are doing great this year. my roses and peonies are smelling great. got the rhubarb planted. ds filled the green bin for garbage pickup this week. was full last week.

pulled out some marigold seedlings by accident in the raised bed. still thinking if I am going to plant seeds in there or not. have to find homes for my plants I bought too.

 

[renmerc446]

The strawberries are pretty much done for the season. Half of them got munched on by ants. Oh well. The tomatoes are coming along pretty well. The peas are doing well, although I haven't seen any flowers on them yet, indicating peas. The cucumber plants are growing and do have the flowers (where the cukes are going to be). I was actually surprised to see some leaves which I think are the root veggies I planted using the seed tape.

I still have some more room to plant things so I think I'll plant some beans at some point or more peas later on for a fall harvest.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Something is eating the dianthus I planted a few weeks ago. I'm going to put some wood ash down around them, if it is slugs that will stop it. I seem to recall having this problem in the past.

Sprinkler got left on for 12 hours yesterday. Oops. Well, the lettuce and chard are good and watered for a while now.

 

[renmerc446]

CH, we have issues with people leaving the water on at the community garden. It's a big issue because the water company gave us a larger sized pipe than we needed (because it was just as cheap as what we asked for). And the connection leaks a bit.

Then there's the people who think that since it's a "community" garden and easily accessible (we're basically renting space on township land - that's what the dues are for), anyone can go in and take what they want. They don't seem to grasp the concept that "community" does NOT equal "public". It doesn't help that the fruit trees that the Scouts just recently planted are going to be available to the public once they start bearing fruit.

On the upside, people who are not part of the community garden are dropping off food scraps in the compost bins. It's nice that people are into helping 'recycle' that way.

 

[jettsmom]

Yesterday I made a last minute stop and picked up a nice half grown tomato plant, a cucumber plant, lettuce seeds and a couple of pots. Dgd has been asking about growing lettuce in the garden. She must have gotten that from watching Peppa Pig! So since she staying with me all day tomorrow, we are going to plant a container/deck garden. I already have the dirt. Just moving it out of the old raised bed, so we can repair it. I'm kind of excited to do this with her. I probably wouldn't have done anything this year, but she has talked about it a few times. I want to do this while she still has an interest. I told her about it last night and she was really excited. She's all about what different foods are good for. Like this or that will make you strong. But lettuce helps you go poop! She's a nut!

 

[renmerc446]

Glad to hear the Dgd is still interested in gardening. There's a herbalism academy/guild online that might be fun to look at, even if it's just you doing some research to be able to confirm what she's learning.

I picked up a rain gauge for the community garden. (https://store.almanac.com/vermont-garden-rain-gauge/) I left it there for someone to help put it up since I was on my way to work when I dropped it off.

Looks like the strawberries are done for the season. I think the ants got half of the crop. The peas look like they're starting to flower, which means the peas are on their way. It's been on the cooler side, temperature-wise, so I think things are going slow. Well, except for the thistles which I need to grab my gloves for, next time I'm in the garden. I'm thrilled that some of the root veggies are coming up. This is the first time I've used seed tape.

I do have to be careful in not stepping on the new lavender plant since it's really small at this point. I've been doing the 'chop-n-drop' method of weeding and putting the remains around the lavender plant since the hole where the old one created was larger than I thought it was. This way, the weeds can decompose around it and turn into soil.

 

[renmerc446]

Got some work done in the garden yesterday (Sunday). This time I remembered to bring in my gardening scissors and cut down some of the taller weeds which are a pain to pull. This way, the roots get worn out, trying to put so much energy into regrowing the leaves and seed heads. Also cut down the thistles. Pretty much used the chop-n-drop method since we still haven't gotten any of the compost from the township this year. I may get some at the end of the season and put in top once I pull up the plants for the year.

The peas are flowing more now but I haven't seen any actual pea pods yet. One of the tomato plants have green tomatoes on it but they don't seem to be ripening. The other tomato plants are flowing as well but no tomatoes yet. Same with the cucumbers - some flowers but no cukes yet. I think it's been a cooler summer than last year. It's barely getting into the 80*'s and have been mostly in the upper 70*'s.

The strawberries are done for the season but the raspberries are coming in. It looks like a really good year for them (and the mints).

The new fruit trees seem to be holding their own but I doubt we'll see any fruit on them for many years, anywhere from 5-10 years. Right now, they pretty much look like long twigs with small batch of leaves at the top.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

It looks like we might get rain today. Or not. Activity is not strong. I didn't get out to the garden at all over the weekend, but it looks ok from a distance. Nothing happening today either, as I am leaving for my quilt guild meeting in a few minutes.

I usually pinch off the first flowers on the tomato plants, as it encourages the vine to grow larger, which enables it to support more fruit later. The first cucumber and squash flowers will be male for a week or two, then female flowers develop and you'll start getting fruit from those. My cukes are still pitifully small.

 

[renmerc446]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll try it on the two tomato plants I planted later. Not too worried about the cukes being small - they're the pickling cukes.

Sigh. Between gardening yesterday and the con the day before, the backs of my legs aren't liking me too much at the moment.

 

[jettsmom]

I got the tomato repotted into a larger pot. Noticed it had 3 small tomatoes. Planted the cucumber and planted lettuce seeds. Dh and I were sitting on the deck last night. We really haven't used the deck much, but we really enjoyed sitting there with all our pots. Dh said I need to get some more! I'll head out later today and get a few more pots and some more plants and see what we can grow this year. I did see some strawberry plants a few weeks ago. If they have any left, I may get some, just to get them started for next year. I'm thinking maybe a pepper plant and maybe a pot for spinach. Just trying to think of what we would be eating and since it's a bit late, something that grows quickly. I saw some citronella plants and maybe I'll get a couple of those to hang up to help keep the mosquitos away. Maybe just some flowers to make it look pretty!

 

[renmerc446]

I'm glad you're getting more use out of your deck. And that your Dh is encouraging you to get more plants. :lol: I need to sweep my balcony. The building had been resided (I'm in an apartment) and the siding guys didn't bother to do much in the way of cleanup. There are nails all over the place, both on my balcony and in the breezeway/stairwell. Of course, I also need to get a chair for my balcony. I used to have one but I have no idea where it went.

We've been getting a lot of rain this week alone. I just hope I can keep up with the weeds in the garden!

 

[rujerro]

The spearmint has regrown and looks good. The strawberry plant that survived the hail has made a few tiny berries and DH bought 2 more. A jalapeno plant also came home and they were all planted in the cold rain.

The lemon plant is surviving outside, the peach tree still has only 2 peaches while the apple tree has none and we're still waiting for the walnut tree to produce. DH said he would be willing to sell the nuts but I will look for a holiday fair or something with cheap tables. The tables in my town cost $80 and I don't know how to price these. I will keep the nuts in their shells as they are extremely hard to crack.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

We're getting rain this weekend which is good for my garden but not so good for the already flooded rivers and farmland around here. Crops already lost to rot and fields unplantable for summer.

Tomatoes are doing well, mostly. I have little green ones on the ones in the ground. There is one variety I seeded which I am giving up on. Last year's seed and it won't germinate. Too late now anyway. Lettuce needs picking again. Not getting much else right now. Peas are getting big.

Hardware store had all plants at 75% off, tomatoes for .10, etc. I got a Ghost Pepper chili for $1, a new clematis vine for .99, catmint, and a yellow flowering perennial for .99. Now to wait for the rain to stop.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Ren, it sounds like you need a tool bag in your car for gardening stuff.

Sounds like some good buys for your garden, CH. Ghost peppers? You're much braver than I am! I'm expecting much higher grocery prices this year due to crop failures. The natural disasters are so widespread.

I replanted peas and beans a couple weeks ago, and those are up. I can't wait to get the first harvest of snap peas.

The potatoes are coming up in their tubs. Still disappointed I couldn't get blue potatoes to plant this year.

Rainy here. I need to pot 4 peppers, which should have been done a couple weeks ago.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Looks like the rain has stopped, it's 65 and breezy. Going to slather myself in bug spray and go out. SD, I put ghost pepper sauce on my eggs for breakfast. I don't think I would ever eat one raw, though. Might be good in a marinade. Will worry about what to do with them if it produces any this summer. I'm rather hoping some of the local squirrels and other pests give them a try.

FWIW, making hot sauce is easy. It's mostly vinegar and peppers in the blender. Adjust amounts to taste.

 

[Spirit Deer]

So you just blend peppers and vinegar? Our problem is we're particular about hot sauce and favor Tabasco. We both like the green jalapeno and I like the original red in soups and other ways. Our favorite way to eat avocados is on Triscuits with green Tabasco. Also like the green on eggs. We sometimes make that into lunch when we're camping. Simple, quick, barely any dirty dishes.

Got the stereo stacked on the stereo cabinet. It can sit there a few months. I left the amp hooked up to my old system so I can use it again. Even with the touchy volume control, it still works better than the old receiver.

Got my 4 banana peppers planted. I'm experimenting with putting 2 in a large pot. I grow peppers in the AGs, 2 per AG, and they do fine. I don't see why it should be any different in dirt instead of water.

I figured out I actually do have some heavy gray pack cloth suitable for the 2 corners I have to patch into the AAR. That helps. We're putting together an order for Amazon so we can get the fourth handle that goes on the back corner of the camper. It will be one of the attachment points for the AAR, so need to get that put on. I still think I will need to add a gusset up by the roof peak, but won't know till we get the room set up on level ground. But the first 2 things I need to do are get the AAR modded so it will seal around the ends of the camper, and make the skirt that will close off the area from the bottom of the trailer to the ground on the door side. I'm hoping neither will be as challenging as previous AARs.

Slowly getting little inconsequential things done.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Oops, thought I was posting about the AAR in the stash management thread. Sorry.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Yes, chilis, vinegar and salt. Of course you can adjust the salt, and add other ingredients like garlic, onion, carrot or tomato puree to thicken or tone down the chili, sugar, etc. A million recipes, but here is a basic one: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2016/02/15-minute-homemade-hot-sauce/ I used to like the smoky tabasco, but have not seen it in stores in years.

Plants are planted. The pepper is in. My tomatillo is doing well, I put a tomato cage around it to keep it off the ground. It is blooming. So. Many. Weeds. I think I finally got the grapevine and honeysuckle out of the lilacs, for now. Went half way down the fence on the other side of the yard with the clippers. Cleaned some trash trees out of the wild flower bed and planted a Butterfly Plant (aka Milkweed), a Daisy, and something called Bidens. I had daisies once but they seem to be gone. I have been trying to get milkweed to seed for years but the soil there is so bad nothing will come up.

Today was an excellent day to get tomato cages in, too.

My day lilies are blooming. It made me realize our irises never bloomed. They came up but did nothing. A friend of mine said her tulips did not bloom this year but her irises were great. I dunno.

 

[marthamfi]

my irises didn't do much either this year.

 

[renmerc446]

Problem is my tools wouldn't fit in my car. The community garden has tools I can use if anything happens to mine. So far, no one's stolen any of the tools. Fruits and veggies, yes, but no tools.

So far, I'm doing ok on keeping the weeds under control. I'm not someone who keeps a spotless garden other than the plants I want.

My pea plants have decided to take over a small trellis I put in for my cukes. The cukes I planted next to the peas have been pretty much buried under them. Fortunately, I have more cukes planted. It's been so cool and rainy, things are only now really starting to grow. I have some tomatoes but they're not ripe yet. I just hope I can harvest them before the critters get 'em. The peas are coming in so I should be able to harvest them soon.

Not sure if my new lavender plant will survive but I'll wait and see. If nothing else, I now have a new place to look for a replacement if I need. I'm also thinking of planting geraniums but there are several other people who planted some. Hopefully that will keep out some of the critters.