Posted on 05/01/2024 6:00:41 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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At this peaceful 6-acre site in Waregem, Belgium, rest 368 of our military dead who gave their lives in liberating the soil of Belgium in World War I. Headstones surround a white stone chapel. Its altar is of black and white Grand Antique marble, with flags draped on each side; above it is a crusader's sword outlined in gold. Forty-three names are inscribed on the Walls of the Missing.
In the past week or so, I discovered a raccoon on my deck going for mealworms that I keep in a feeder that I bring indoors at night. Actually, I only bring in one of the feeders, as the other one is too high for me to reach daily.
So I cut up some Irish Spring soap bars, and rubbed it all over the railings and posts on the deck, and left a few tidbits on top of the posts. The last two days, the feeder that I can’t get remove hasn’t been raided. I’ll count that as a win and keep the soap coming!
I don’t care if the critters are out in the woods. I see that as their home. The minute they come across my lawn to get close to my house, they’re fair game.
Our grape jelly for the orioles sometimes gets raided at night. So I bring that in. Groundhogs, raccoons, snakes, please stay away from the house and garden.
We just package them raw. But either way would be fine. :)
*The Sabre Are In The Ground*
*I Repeat*
*The Sabre Are In The Ground*
*End Of Transmission* :)
ALL of the tomatoes are in the ground save for one. I forgot to plant ‘Juliet’ which is a small paste-type that is excellent for drying and snacking or with salads or pasta. When my tulips and daffs die back some more, I should be able to find a free spot for her. I need another tomato cage, though!
“Just when I thought I was OUT, they pull me back IN!” ~ Michael Corleone
Been working on this little project since 9am. Rain again, tomorrow - hopefully no rough weather. I broke the main stem on one of my ‘Goliath’ tomatoes, but there are a number of branches, so she should be OK. One ‘casualty’ out of 28 plants is pretty good odds. ;) Tomatoes are weeds - not much kills them if you don’t have disease issues. And even when they look their worst, they STILL put out tomatoes for you. Kinda nice. :)
Going to pot up the peppers into bigger containers (Cottage Cheese) and let them grow on another week. They are really lagging this season and I don’t know why. Too many overcast days, I guess. They like SUNNY and HOT. :)
Next, I can just piddle around and tuck flowers in here and there - which is my favorite part and get the pole beans and drying beans planted. Then comes watering and weeding and WAITING! :)
Thank you! Beautiful ad for this sad remembrance weekend. :)
Ahh yes, I did have an orange that had grape jelly on top in the center taken one night in the last week or so. We have multiple feeders at 3 stations at the edge of our lawn, where we can observe all the birds and critters enjoying what we provide. There are baffles on the feeding stations, so they can’t get up, but there is a lot that drops on the ground, and with 10+ feeders, there’s usually something for everyone.
The sneaky ones are the piney squirrels that get a running start and swing off of a nearby branch and launch themselves towards the bird feeders. Sometimes they land on them and feast, other times they miss the station and fall to the ground. They’re not really flying squirrels, but they try their best!
I am planning to use Irish Spring slices in and around the impatiens cart this year. Every year the deer have a gourmet meal, eat those, as well as the hosta and sedum. It’s like Christmas dinner for them.
Good luck with the Sabres. I don’t have room for much else at this point. Everything is planted.
Pictures from this year's garde...I have been fortunate with cool weather this year (so far...).
Front: Garlic and multiplier onions on the right, a small raised bed with carrots growing on the left. (Container soil was sifted ans screened to remove debris and rocks before planting the carrots.) Under cover....almost mature Rutabagas. (You can slice them thin and use as vegetable noodles, or mash with potatoes for au gratin, or just vegetable mash.) This shows my indeterminate tomato varieties, mortgage lifter, hillbilly, black from Tula under their fence post / blue painted conduit support. .
Rutabagas, turnips, beets in first three rows, tomatoes and peppers in the last 2 rows.
Picture of Baker Creek Hida Beni Red turnips (or, one may be a Nagasaki Aku Kabu.) Shred or sliver radishes and carrots and use as a relish in oriental dishes. (Or on your Ramen Noodles!)
Last year someone...Mom with hope or MetMom shared that she grew her potatoes in bottomless pots. This year I did this when I planted German Butterball potatoes and a few Clancy potatoes (not seed) from last year and getting good growth. ( Thank you for the suggestion!) Great looking and I hope that I did not over fertilize and can actually grow some potatoes. (Hopfully the weather stays cool for the next few weeks!
In the front of the photo under the white wire Dollar Store baskets (also someone's suggestion!) I planted some Baker Creek Caro-gold sweet potato slips, also in bottomless pots. It gets hot here so I hope they do well. I will train the vines on the fence and see what I can grow in their shade.
Very nice garden Pete. Yes I did try potatoes in a big pot. They did Ok but they were in soil. I got advice here and this year we just put them up, straw layered with rotted leaves. I should have some pictures next week.
Gorgeous! How lovely of the German people to have done that. :)
Looking good, Pete! :)
I did the bucket potatoes. Definitely keep me posted this fall on how yours do.
I got everything in fairly early. My garlic looks like your bed and I had to go out today and weed it. What a chore. Those plants are TALL.
The onions are next on the to weed list.
Mr. mm and I are still planting trees and bushes bought from the State Nursery. Most of them are doing very well, although a few look like they didn’t make it, but I figured there’d be some attrition.
I got my tomatoes in a couple weeks ago, and 6 of them are already putting out their first flowers. This is great, because normally, we don’t even get the plants in the ground until this weekend.
The asparagus is coming up and the asparagus beetles are joining the party but me and my trusty jar of soapy water are taking care of them. A couple spears seem to be particularly attractive to them for some reason and since they already have so many eggs laid on them, I’m just rubbing them off and going to leave those for the beetles to go after. We won’t be eating them anyways.
And the romaine is looking great.
The snow peas should be flowering soon, so hopefully in a couple weeks I can harvest them.
This is in Belgium, not Germany; I don't think Germany contributed, as most of Europe was devastated and the U.S. picked up much of the tab for initial restorations. Many soldiers from WWs 1 & 2 were buried in Europe where they were KIA, with the cooperation of the U.S.—in Belgium, France, Italy and elsewhere.
I’m so jealous, Pete! That looks like how I grew up. I know I bellyache a lot that I live in an HOA, so I can’t do these things without breaking every rule in the book. We are “semi-rural” here, and if I wanted to do that kind of gardening, I would have to go to a community garden, which, for me, defeats the purpose. So I stay within the confines and do herb gardening only. I am cheating already by having a single solitary lonely broccolini plant on my front walkway, my sunniest spot other than the middle of my front lawn.
So some please show me what bottomless pots are. I think I need to add this to my repertoire.
Have you ever seen the movie Uncle Nino? You would like it, especially the ending.
No, I’ll check it out.
I'm of the mind now that it will get done when it gets done. I've been neglecting other things.
Alliums;
Like yours, the Garlic poked up really early this year. Three leaf wrappers at the bottom have died and dried. Another 2 and I will check to see if its time to harvest.
As an experiment I planted shallots bought at the grocery store. They might be Dutch or French red shallots. Along with the Shallots I pulled up most of the multiplier (potato) onions today and they are drying on the back porch.
Walking onions bought last year have set bub-lets which I am going to remove and replant. They apparently cannot really be stored. Sounds like they are best used as green onions. I think I will companion plant them around the Tomato plants along with some Basil and marigolds. A picture of the Walking onions and Romain Lettuce (Like you!)
(For anyone reading, you tube info on walking onions.)
Walking Onions Robbie and Gary Gardening Easy
I have leeks seedlings in pots. They need to go outdoors and be secured with chicken wire over the pots till they are pencil sized then trench plant and wait for winter!
Once I pull up the garlic I may replant with some 45 day bush green beans. Last years wall of climbing beans were decimated by Japanese beetles and Green June bugs so I want something I can cover with an insect barrier.
I have decided that given the size of my garden...small...I am going with soaker hoses rather than an irrigation system. Easier to move and store. (If I had room and rows with a 50' run I would use something like 1/2" irrigation!)
Sounds like you have plenty of room if you are planting nursery stock! Hope it produces lots of Fruit (sand plums?) I will let you know how the potatoes work out.
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