Posted on 07/19/2013 12:45:12 PM PDT by greeneyes
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LOL. You can never have too many tomatoes!!!!!!!
No ideas for you on the city water. I probably got an inch or so, woo hoo! It was a lovely little rain the first morning and then a few spinkles a couple days later. It kept the temps down so that one of the black cherry tomatoes put on fruit and suddenly some of the peppers plants doubled in size. I brought in 5 cukes today, more than all summer. You can water all day but rain does special things. Ack, it also does special things to the weeds 'cause they've come back in force. I spent over an hour this morning pulling in one little spot that I had just weeded around the 4th. It looks like I haven't done a thing. Ack, the rain brought in the FLIES! They were solid on the bird seed and humming bird feeders. There were so many that hubby hung some fly strips on the porch (as if that was going to help the great outdoors) and they were covered within minutes. I also replanted common garlic and elephant garlic. Planted ginger in a pot to see what happens. Some bush beans got planted where the first 2-3 tomato plantings didn't work. Most of the newly re-planted yellow squash is up but there is one spot that wasn't so stuck an acorn squash in. I can't believe the mustard still hasn't come up that was replanted on the 9th and that was the last of those seeds. I thought the okra got eaten by deer but it is armadillos. They're digging up everything including the newly re-planted herb bed. Chamomille, basil and something else is coming up but they have dug holes in everything else. They've scattered bulbs everywhere. I was waiting to see if the okra recovered but it was eaten to the ground so looks like it will need to be replanted a third time. I'm now thinking it might have been armadillos that got the first round or two of tomoates and onions during the spring though it would have to be the younger ones to get through the fencing. One day the plants would happy and the next they had completely disappeared, poof! Mother Nature is slapping herself silly making me replant everything three times this year. I found a bunch of bugs, half inch long tiny black millipede looking things, chewing on a weed (who knew bugs lowered themselves to eat weeds?) so squished all I saw this morning so will have to remember to take the spray out tomorrow. I made a list of seeds on hand for next year and what was needed because getting seeds locally is iffy at best. The stores don't get them in until April and that's just too late. I found some I needed at an out of town Walmart this week but have put a list of needs/wants in my wallet just in case. At the grocery store last week, I bought a bag of mixed dried soup beans and separated out a few of each variety to try planting some day.
This ought to be one of the eternal truths of this world.
Make poppers!
That would take a lot of cheese and oil. :)
We have a lot of wrens eating here. I think we counted 15 varieties of birds one evening.
We use drip irrigation on all our flower beds and veg garden on a timer, so they get water. We sprinkle the grass every weekend to keep it alive, which is important because we live on a hill and erosion is always a concern, especially if a tropical storm decides to visit after a dry summer. I remember Houston and T.S. Allison in ‘01, even though we didn’t live in Texas then.
In Central Texas, it's at 99 so might hit 100.
I hear you. We need a rain event in Texas to fill all the lakes and then quit “inviting” more people to move here. About two years ago, the cities east of Lake Travis installed a 78” pipeline for future water needs.
Unlike the Taco Bell guy, I’m betting those little old ladies didn’t lick the beans before selling them.
My neighbor buried two 1500 gallon tanks in his yard when he built his compound. We live on solid limestone, so it took a lot of digging. Both have been full for the past couple of years. He is getting ready to install a pump for his garden and lawn.
We live on a hill too. A very steep one, but we never ever water the lawn. Whatever survives survives, and what doesn’t goes away. No way we are going to risk running our well dry to water the lawn or the garden either.
Of course, what other people do also affects the water table, so all those people that do water their lawn, reduce the whole level including ours.
We watered the perennials and orchard and nut trees last year and let everything else just burn up.
Last year we even used kinda clean shower water to water plants, and all the water from the water bath canner, and water used to rinse dishes etc etc.
It’s up to 84 now, but would be upper 90’s if not for the rain clouds. Just now talked to my wife in Houston and they were getting plenty of rain at her location.
We had some seriously hot days two weeks ago, well over 100 in the shade here at our place north of Houston.
Exactly my point. Government Inspection doesn’t necessarily mean food that is safer than what some granny makes.
I envy your neighbor. If I ever sell my investment property at a decent price, a cistern is right up there at the top of the list right after pay off the mortgage.LOL
I think I go one step forward and two backward.
1. Anti-squirrel pellets: If it rains, one has to put them down again - well, it's been raining almost every day, so they aren't down. However, I can't put them down until I get the white wire 14” tall fence down across front of dirt garden because Prissy, the Yorkie (any pet), can't be where the pellets are.
2. Bought the wire fence ($9 for 20 feet): Tried to stick the fence in the ground between rain showers, thunderstorms. I even have metal clips about 3-4 inches long to put in the ground to help keep the fence thin wire in the ground. Nothing would hold in the ground due to it was so wet, almost like mush. So, the wire fence is out there but not up. I have 50-40% chance of rain for the next few days and I just heard thunder. All that is put on hold until I get several dry days. Oh, there was thunder so loud, Prissy jumped.
I bought that fence this past Monday or Tuesday. Got that at Lowes and Walmart is there, too, so went in there. I was about to buy some frozen food and leave when I looked outside. The rain was so strong/thick, I couldn't see a car parked out there. I waited for a time until I could see the cars, then got frozen food and checked out. It was still sprinkling and I got the stuff in the car and was so wet I got cold when I started the car and air conditioning came on.
By the time I backed out the car, it was pouring again. I only live about two miles from there and I waited at home until the rain let up before I got out.
Tomatoes: I have these tiny tomato plants in the large tomato container with Miracle Grow Mix, but I don't know if I can grow a tomato plant to adulthood. I bought tomato plants already to plant earlier and those are through. I saw plants at Lowes, tomatoes ready to plant, basil plants, lots of other plants, and didn't buy them because I must grow them on my own from seed. So far, I'm SOL. Crap.
I have three little Sunflower plants also in grow bags that I grew from seed, but can I grow an adult plant? I know they should be planted in spring, but I wanted to see how they did planting now since we have a long grow season.
I did some research on Sunflowers and you can't mix up the different types. If you have black oil seed ones, they have to stay away from the striped eating seed ones. They will cross “breed” (it's that sex thing again) and the next year the seeds will be different than the ones you first planted. I couldn't find out for sure if the perennial ones that grow the editable tubers would cross “breed”, but I wouldn't take the chance to put them near the other hybrids. And, remember, those tuber ones will overtake the garden so they must be by themselves separate from the main garden.
WAYS TO GET SUNFLOWER SEEDS OUT OF HULL:
1. I put a cup of seeds in a gallon bag and spread them out so none were on top of others. I used the heavy marble rolling pin and it was a bust - it didn't work to crack the seeds. Now, these seeds were roasted and salted in the shell, so Johnny, would that roasting have made the hulls hard to get off? I'm thinking it might. The raw bird seed ones were on the other side of Walmart and I didn't go there.
2. There is another method to get the hulls off and that is to put the seeds in a baking pan, then put another baking pan on top, and walk on it. I haven't done that but the hulls are so stuck on these seeds I can't see it working.
I feel I am stuck in place with not much working in my favor - major depression, but while at Walmart I got a frozen daiquiri in a bag to freeze and try so maybe that will help my severe depression. :o) Which leads me to:
NOW, FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT: FASHION IN THE GARDEN
I am most troubled about this. :o) What do you wear to work in your garden? I know Johnny prefers to be nude to do anything, but he must have something on to work in his garden - what is it? What do you all wear? What shoes do you wear? Do your plants respond to your fashion choices?
I recently bought a new fashion item to wear in the garden when it gets cooler. In honor of Zimmerman, I bought a navy blue HOODIE. Never had one in my life but they are cheap to put on to work in a cool/cold garden. I have a pair of heavy duty plastic garden shoes to slip on when I go out there. I wear jeans or light weight sweat pants every day in or out of the house. I have several shirts that are one size too big for me and I wear those everyday in the house/garden. If I have to go somewhere in town, I put on a shirt that fits.
What is your garden attire? :o)
If it weren’t for hurricanes and TS’s, I wouldn’t water either, we have to pay for our water and it’s not cheap. We have several erosion walls along the hillside that help, but we are having to raise them higher. Raised one last weekend, got several more to go as I can afford.
In early spring when I'm opening it up from winter, long sleeve shirt, durable work pants, and work boots. Along with a big floppy hat.
Rest of the time, it's always a big floppy hat (skin cancer sucks) and as little else as I can get away with. ;)
/johnny
Yikes, sorry about the paragraphs.
Hear, hear!
Sometimes yellow leaves mean a shortage of nitrogen, or one of the trace elements/minerals.Thank you! This could be an issue.
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