Posted on 07/10/2015 12:45:50 PM PDT by greeneyes
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That’s very interesting. We always have a few hornworms - boy are they hard to see. They blend in perfectly with the tomato foliage. I’ve never seen a wasp like that before, nor a worm with all that white stuff on it either. Thanks for the link.
I haven’t tried to dig spuds yet, because they are all intertwined with the tomatoes and melons that came up volunteer. I was skeptical that they would do anything, since the didn’t store very well last winter, and were kinda shriveled and I had to trim the roots.
LOL!
You have a lot of nice organic material there. Good for the garden! No, the garlic looks not so good...Potatoes are ok. I have heard that some people grow them in containers above ground. That might keep them from getting too wet.
You may already know this. If you use your cold frame to start seedlings and have access to fresh manure, here is something you can do to heat it in early spring. (Something my father used to do!) Dig out the topsoil in the frame down to about 1 foot, fill it with manure, cover it with the topsoil you took out. The rotting manure will provide heat for several weeks, then fertilize any plant growing in the soil in the cold frame. If you use trays it should keep it warm from underneath until you are ready to transplant the seedlings.
Gorgeous!
Shame about the hay! Was that for animal feed? We’re raising another Steer this season. This one is named, ‘Supper.’ Last years was, ‘Dinner.’ LOL! I want to name one, ‘Weber’ (as in on the grill) and then, since we like old re-runs, we’ll name a future steer, ‘Hamilton Burger’ after the (DA? Public Defender? - who never wins!) on Perry Mason, LOL!
Garlic likes water, but if you got a ton of rain and the bales are that rotted, that explains it right there.
I’ll plant Garlic in August and Tulips in September or October. I usually plant a bed just for cutting, because I can buy them in bulk so cheap. Gives me lots of pretty cut flowers for in the house, come spring.
Been digging new potatoes and I have a lot of tomatoes on, but it’ll be a while. Picked my FIRST Zucchini today - very late. We have had lots of rain and not enough sun and cool night temps. Cukes are coming along, but also slow due to the night time temps.
Salad greens and spinach were phenomenal this spring. Hoping for a repeat this fall!!
Rabbits are a REAL problem this season; since I lost my Yellow Lab, they’ve moved back in. It’s not unusual for me to see a dozen rabbits in the house yard at a time, enjoying the white clover and anything else they can get their teeth on this season. Mr. Woodchuck destroyed my red cabbage and chard. Grrrrrr! I’ve been here 25 years and have NEVER needed a fence. I guess The Times, They Are A Changin’.
My potatoes are looking great, so I won’t starve, LOL! I said to Beau the other day, “I am so glad we don’t have to produce ALL of our own food - we’d STARVE this season!”
There is a huge flock of American White Pelicans on Lake Barney, across the road. First time for them to live here, ever! They usually head further north (Green Bay area) but seem to like our little lake and are staying. They are magnificent! What a treat to have them around.
Made Red Lake Currant Jelly this week. 5 of the 8 jars jelled nicely - I’ll use the others for pancake syrup or over ice cream. Waste Not, Want Not! :)
Glad to hear from you. Sounds like a great harvest so far. I like your names for the steers. We didn’t raise one, but we did by a half from a local farmer that we buy eggs from.
Hubby always plants so much that we have so far had plenty - more than the two of us can use up in a year. I have around 18 months of green beans on the shelf and when the seasons over, I’ll probably have another year’s worth.
Then Hubby will let them mature, and we’ll have a whole bunch of dried beans to eat too. If I could I’d eat that corn every day and it would be Gone Girl Gone, but I just don’t have the ability to eat carbs like I used to.
Our cukes are coming along slowly so far, and we’re just eating fresh refrigerator cukes for now. I still have about 6 months of pickles left from last year, and a couple of years of pickle relish.
Now if we just had room to raise a steer, some chickens and maybe a goat, I’d just go to the grocery a few times a year for staples, but I’d need a bigger freezer. LOL
This was my first year using the cold frame. I built it over the past winter.
I filled it most of the way up with fairly fresh horse poo, then topped it off with bag soil. That stuff has rotted down nicely so the plan is dig it out and put that on the garden, then refill it for the fall season. With a bit of supplemental heat I should be able to keep green salad going all winter.
The hay was originally baled to be used for cattle feed, but we sold the herd a year ago and had quite a bit left over. These bales were stored outside and were starting to look pretty shabby so I decided to compost them. I’ve still got 40 or so that are stored under roof. I’m hoping the local buffalo rancher will give me a few bucks for those, otherwise I’ll haul them out and compost them too.
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