Posted on 06/08/2012 7:26:30 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
Good morning! Hope that all of my FRiends and fellow gardeners have had a good and productive week.
Began the Spring harvest in my apiary yesterday, which yielded 7 gallons of beautiful honey from 3 hives. Still have 3 hives from which to pull the honey boxes, and the remaining hives will not harvest until Fall because they are relatively new. Bit of trivia here ... a gallon of honey weighs 12 pounds.
The wheat harvest is over and the farm is buzzing with tractors getting cotton and soybeans planted on the wheat ground. The field corn has tassled and pollinated, and the wells are running almost continuously to keep it watered. It is very hot and dry here.
My local garden center has all of their plants 75% off, and I went crazy in the hibiscus department. I'm adding them all over the property ... even at the gates to the donkey pasture. I also purchased several mandevilla vines to plant with some hibiscus around the back porch. We are really going to enjoy a tropical view!
My earliest sweet corn has tassled and is pollinating. I am hoping to get several acres of cowpeas planted today. Wish me luck!
Please check in and let us all know how your gardening ventures are going. I get such inspiration from reading what you're doing, and I'm sure that others do as well.
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
One more addition to the garden list: Two things that we have grown in the past but don’t have this year are strawberries and rhubarb. We’ll probably plant them again at some point. We really enjoyed the strawberries, but when you have a lot of them they become a lot of work.
One of my favorite things from the garden was during a year in which we had strawberries and rhubarb both ready for harvest at the same time. My wife fixed a strawberry-rhubarb pie, complete with the little cross-hatch dough top (whatever you call it). It was a gem.
Coulda been a racer. I’m used to regular black (rat) snakes here, so I was struck by the pencil-thinness of my one black racer... coiled as it was between the basement door and the car as I was headed out to work.
I’m glad yours wasn’t coiled for a strike because (hah hah) as I found out researching later, they are known to make a feint strike upon discovery, and mine was true to type. I tell you, I am not used to that behavior from a good ole black snake! In truth it really was only a half-hearted feint that didn’t come much beyond the center of its coiled mass. Just kinda freaky.
He hung out a little longer as if to make his point while I pounded the ground near him with a tool hamdle - I appreciate the vermin control and prefer a nonvenomous snake seize the niche before a poisonous one slithers into place. Once he turned tail and fled, the sucker was fast!
Anyways, I’m glad yours was allowed safe passage and no baby bluebirds to eat. Research said they eat tiny mammals & even bugs.
I am saddened to report that the two 2 inch green tomatoes I have been checking on every day have just disappeared. I assume it is due to furry rodents called squirrels.
Usually they wait till there is some red blush. Guess they are hungry buggers this year. They got the 2cnd batch of strawberries last week. sigh
Juice, soda, or other sugary drink, in a bottle, with a drop or two of dish soap. Works even better if you cut the top of the bottle off and invert it to make a funnel leading in.
Fly paper also works.
I thought I’d killed a snake in the bird netting.
It took a while to garner my courage...Seems he used the netting to help shed his skin.
the little cross-hatch dough top (whatever you call it).
Thanks. I guess that I need to check my thesaurus.
(What is another word for “thesaurus”?)
That is a great video on You Tube of how to do corn in the microwave. I love the presentation what a sweet man.
Thank you.
I have had an interesting experience with buying tomato plants from Amazon.
Could not find Sweet 100 tomato plants anywhere locally so tried Amazon. They came within a few days of ordering and looked good, so planted and they are beautiful. Think we’ll have tiny tomato’s soon!
Never thought of buying plants from Amazon.
Lol,
Someone gave me a bunch of zucchini they brought back from AL this past week..Apparently, there is a glut of it in AL, too.
I made zucchini bread until I was ready to go Saiga on zucchini bread. Then after two days of baking, I tasted it. Oooh, more zucchini. The bread was really good. I was triplig the recipe, as that is the most that would fit in my biggest bowl at a time.
I find it wrong to inconvenience folks by giving them food they feel obligated to eat before it spoils. ;)
Except for a couple of folks...
/johnny
Do you use sulfur, or what so it doesn't turn brown? I work so slow, that stuff turns brown while I'm still slicing it.
I saw a email about Cooler Corn today. When your feeding a crowd take a clean cooler (ice chest) shuck your corn,pour boiling water to cover the corn and close the lid. The corn will cook while you grill the meat or whatever.
I’m not in Michigan, I’m on the shore of Lake Michingan in Wisconsin! e have a few less liberals after Tues when we welcomed Walker back as Guv.
What variety of broccoli are you growing that can stand that kind of heat? I’d love to grow broccoli all year long if I could.
Usually they wait till there is some red blush.
I do pretty good at staying ahead of the birds and squirrels. I've been picking loads of cherry tomatoes, started picking Merceds and a hugely proflific mystery tomato which simply volunteered itself.
Last Spring I learned you can't trust your eyes. Squirrels can smell when a tomato is good enough to eat. For the first time, I planted two Aunt Ruby German Green tomato plants which produced a fair number of large tomatoes. The squirrels ate half of each tomato on the vine. I couldn't tell when the fruit ripened. But the squirrels could! They passed over the reds in favor of the greens!
Planted two more this Spring. They've produced fruit and you can bet I'm checking them every day for the slightest color change. Don't want to share them with no darn squirrels.
I’m getting ready to try Blueberries again.
Due to poor research and basic ignorance, my first attempt was a disaster. I basically killed the plants. I stuck them into 15-gallon pots filled with potting mix. What I didn’t know was Blueberries are acid loving plants.
This time around I’ve bought two Sunshine Blues which is a dwarf variety that do not need other varieties for pollination. The growing medium will be one third peat, one third compost and manure, one third potting mix and a cup of Espoma Holly-tone to lower the ph.
In another 15-gallon pot I have an Avocado tree which has yet to produce an Avocado. Not really surprised. I was told at the nursery they do not do particularly well in San Antonio. First, it is in a pot, not the ground. Second, it does not like a lot of wind and sometimes the wind really whips through the backyard. I bought it just to see what might grow. So far, nothing.
But, my Mexican limes, Mandarin oranges, and Meyer lemons seem to like their pots and have given me a lot of fruit.
My squash are fine but the peppers are really struggling...
Fly trap (esp. fruit flies): cut a two liter soda bottle in half so the bottom is longer than the top by an inch or so. Invert top. Before doing so place a banana peel, a little beer, or something to attract them. My wife likes to take it outside everyday and “let the free”. I don’t...
Tha’s what I’m talking about.
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