WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD JULY 7, 2017

freerepublic | July 7, 2017 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

I haven’t seen many lightening bugs around here for quite a while. Not sure why.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the pics. I am always amazed and delighted to see your garlic. I had several bulbs that were extremely hard to get out of the ground - maybe I planted them too deep? The soil was very dry and hard so maybe a combination of the two.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the sympathy. I’m going to try the aspirin spray too on a volunteer summer squash plant that came up in the middle of my potato patch.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[SaveFerris]

I’ve lost both of my parents in the last dozen years or so. I still miss them every single day.

I’m looking forward to seeing them in Heaven, as they were both believers.

I knocked over my newest planting of radishes and they were just popping up, too. They’ll probably recover. I may go ahead and put another package of seeds in there. The ones that were in the clay did not seem to survive transplanting.

I’ll leave more of the clay when I transplant the California Green Peppers. They do OK until the Sun hits them. Then they look all withered and the water brings them back in 3-4 hours. A little slow today but they’ve come back many times. The other peppers don’t faint so easily but they are in better soil I think.

[greeneyes]

Congratulations on the produce grown so far. Regarding your question-I don’t use fertilizer or herbicides per se.

I add compost to my gardens after harvest and then grow a cover crop for the winter work into the soil for “green manure” in the spring.

I pull any weeds manually or sometimes lay down newspaper or cardboard to smother weeds.

Occasionally, I use some of the slow release fertilizer pellets to side dress veggies or some liquid fertilizer with extra potassium and phosphorus mid way through the season. More likely to side dress with bone meal, crushed egg shells, and Epsom salts.

Alfalfa meal is a good source of nitrogen, and generally gives the most return for the money spent.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for sympathy and you are welcome for the thread.

[greeneyes]

Nice pic - thanks for posting. Just curious-how long have you been trying to get that pond fixed?

We only have one acre and the house and front yard is probably 1/4 of that. Not enough for a pond according to the type of soil per the extension office.

I have been wondering if we could use an above ground pool and raise some fish, but with the Mo. winters that might not work too well.

[greeneyes]

Well you are getting more tomatoes than I am we have zero so far.

[greeneyes]

I’m hoping our produces kicks into gear soon. I’m thinking the beans and beets are just about there.

[greeneyes]

Yikes - we have some stray cats, but give the patio gardens a wide berth. The bushy tailed rodents are another story, but foil blowing in the wind seems to help.

[greeneyes]

I don’t know for sure. I’ve read that lack of water makes them bitter.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the picture. Really nice looking bouquet.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the pictures. Very nice place you have.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[greeneyes]

Mom passed in 2001, Dad in 2008, and my brother before they did. My sister was the last of my immediate family. I know what you mean about missing them - grandparents too.

[MomwithHope]

Thanks - we are very grateful. Carving a nice garden out in the woods has not been easy. After over 30 years here we had to have a service come in this May and take down 8 really tall oaks on the east and west side. The garden just was not getting enough sun. What a difference it has made this first year. Plants bigger and more produce, tomato plants a lot taller. Plus we’ll have about 6 years worth of wood when it’s all split. Hope you are feeling better.