Posted on 08/08/2020 6:08:23 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Rain this morning here in Central Missouri. I was on my way to the fishing hole when the lightning started. Decided very quickly that today would be a bad day to have my boat turned into a smoking hole on the water so I turned around and came home.
Mrs. Augie is still making pickles. Yesterday we finally got enjoy the first BLTs of the summer at supper time. This has been the worst year for tomatoes since we built this place.
The worms wiped out Mrs. Augie’s kale patch. For some reason she thinks casually mentioning to me that she saw a worm automagically registers in my brain that it’s time to spray some sevin. lol
Made some good progress towards the resurrection of Mr. Clarence. Finished up all of the electrics, installed the radiator, all of the belts and hoses, and did some engine tuning. Then came the set-back... while I was tuning I noticed a bit of coolant seeping out from between the cylinder head and the crankcase, then after shutting him down he was pushing steam out of the crankcase vent. So at he very least I’m going to have to pull the head and replace the gasket. Hopefully that is the only problem there. Also discovered that the clutch disk is stuck to the flywheel. If it’s not terribly stuck it should pop loose a little fiddling. If it is terribly stuck I’ll have to roll him into the shop and split him in half to fix that. Not really a big deal, but an exercise that I’d prefer to avoid if possible.
Candle Fire Okra. Only one - I don't like okra, but the plants are SO pretty! I grow it out for a BIL who loves the stuff.
'Zahara' Series Zinnia from Jung's.
Your basic Coneflower, 'Magnus.'
Dahlia. 'Moka'-something.
Zinnia. 'Oriole.' Another new favorite from Livingston Seeds bought at Farm & Fleet.
Thanks for the Kale recipe - something that I always plant too much of and can only eat so much of in fresh salads. I freeze a lot to use in stews and soups and quiche in the winter months. I make a Kale Pesto, too - I think I posted the recipe last week?
My sister raves about a similar recipe, so time to try it!
Kale Pesto———yum——a definite yes.
Greetings from southern New Hampshire!
After two tiring weeks, all but two of our garden raised beds are weeded, forked and leveled! I took a utility trailer load of weeds, garden debris and brush cuttings to the dump, this morning. The second load of this effort!
After I got home, I saw some brush that I had forgotten to load, and in the process of throwing it over the north electric fence, I started cleaning the dead wood out of our raspberries, which have been neglected for the past four years. It looks like I am going to need to back the utility trailer into a pocket by the north fence to load up the cuttings and the weeds I still need to pull in the two remaining raised beds.
Barb’s strawberry bed is really starting to produce! We have enough for strawberry shortcake.
Barb’s tomatoes have a promising crop. The late-planted summer squash are up and have true leaves.
We are planning on bringing in compost from the transfer station and really amending the soil this fall. It is friable, but the lack of earthworms is troubling.
This whole effort was because of benign neglect over the past two years. The body is not happy with me, but the place is looking a lot better!
Now, I am going to add a covered deck over the watering system manifold and provide a good place to hang tools, etc. I imagine that three walls will follow.
If it’s not well-composted, add it in the fall for sitting over winter.
If it’s completely composted and ready to go, add it in the spring.
Consider adding some peat to your garden beds, too, next spring. My usual combination for raised beds is 1/3 top or garden soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 peat. Get the lighter version of peat that comes in a compressed ‘brick’ if you can. Easier to manage and not as heavy as the wetter peat in a plastic bag.
We have a farm in Ridgeway Township (Dodgeville). Where are you, Neighbor? You can message me if you don’t want everyone to know. :)
Caprese Salad is in the rotation for this weekend. I have a big ‘ball’ of Mozz to use up. ;)
Oh, yes! My beloved Hibiscus started blooming, today! If I can ever figure out how to post on this site, I will send pictures. They are really quite spectacular!
Glad to see that Lady Bender is up and around already - and back to doing what she loves.
Great score on the plums!
Awesome choices - I’m writing those down for future use!
I only planted four Roma-types this season; one seemed to fail, but has now sprouted up again and is blooming, so it’s going into the greenhouse later for my ‘Evil Tomato Experiment’ this year to see how long I can keep tomatoes producing in our unheated greenhouse.
Re: Mr Clarence.
Beau just left to go to a neighbor to borrow HIS tractor so he can pull OUR tractor out of the woods where it died last week.
We have a 1954 Allis-Chalmers that still works. Sometimes. Maybe. Kinda. LOL!
Pick early..first blush is a good measure....I put crumpled newspaper in a cardboard box and close the lid. Then you can put the box anyplace and maybe not take up counter space. Take'm as they ripen.
I grow heirlooms (Krim) and the hard rains make them crack...another reason to pick early.
My mom would get mad at my dad for picking them early...but Dad was right....people don't buy cracked/damaged tomatoes. So Dad took their PERFECT tomatoes to market and would sell them all.
We live over by Lake Geneva. Much appreciate your advice. What does peat do for the garden? I’ve never used it. Might try it. Whenever we planted directly into the soil, the garden just didn’t produce much. I think it’s all the trees on the one side of the yard. They’re big shade trees and suck up all the water and nutrients. The southern side of the yard has no trees so the garden still gets enough sun.
Currently harvesting loads of LaRatte fingerling potatoes from 20-gallon buckets...they have an appointment with a dish of melted Challenge butter in a month or so...
Hmm, never know what could be in that tranfer station pile.
We make our own - ground up leaves, kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy), chicken manure, etc.
Stir it with an auger every week - end up with black, moist soil. Like magic.
Oh, Lucky You! Such a pretty part of our state. Well, it’s almost ALL pretty, LOL!
Peat, as an amendment, helps hold in moisture and then releases it right at the root level so that helps. It also helps to hold in other soil nutrients so they’re not washed away during heavy rains or over-watering.
I started using it when I worked for Jung’s and had access to lots of broken bags of ‘stuff’ for cheap. It’s also part of the mix they sell for ‘Square Foot Gardening’ which is insanely expensive (and wasn’t selling well at my store!) and I did some research and experimenting and came up with my ‘mix’ that customers could use in lieu of the expensive stuff.
It’s also good if you want soil that is more acidic for growing blueberries and the like.
It’s just an option, not mandatory. I like it. *SHRUG*
WOW! Those are such great varieties!
*Scribble-Scribble* :)
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