Weekly Gardening Thread – 2009 Vol.11 – July 31

Free Republic | 7-31-2009 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning to all of you gardeners. The last day of July and I am wondering what August has in store for us weather wise? One thing I do know is the weather will continue to do what it wants and the only thing you can do about it is to accept it or move somewhere else. Of course once you move the weather there will change.

[MtnClimber]

It has been quite a cool summer here at 8,500 ft in the Colorado Rockies. My composted garden area has been used for fill-in with leaves, weeds, pine needles and kitchen scraps for many years. The soil is quite dark and loose and I am sure is better than the normal rocky soil up here on the mountain. In this area I am growing three varieties of potato, rutabaga, turnip, carrots and about four types of beans. The chipmunks can get in through the 1-inch chicken wire and in one day completely eliminated any trace of the carrot greens. Everything else seems to be doing very well. The potatos are very big and flowering now. My second garden area just has rows where rocks were screened from soil where trenches were dug and compost, top soil and composted manure was worked in. These rows have tomatos, squash and peppers. They are not too happy with the cool weather and are growing alittle more slowly. I added some larger tomato and squash starts from Walmart, but the ones I started from seed have recently taken off and overtaken the starts I planted.

The apple, cherry and plum trees I planted seem to be doing pretty well, with no signs of fire blight. The blueberries seem to be struggling even though they have their own beds with soil acidifier added. My yard is about 1 acre that is forested and right next to the Roosevelt National Forest. The pine bark beetles are starting to decimate the lodgepole pines. The trees on the west side of the continental divide have been really wiped out. everything is brown. As I take down infested trees (and burn for firewood before the new beetles can emerge) I have new places where I can plant fruit and nut trees. I might as well make lemons into lemonade!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

My gawd, trying to follow that woman in the video made my head hurt and I've had to make more coffee to clear the cobwebs that grew in the vacuum between my ears after listening to that little rant. Wow.

Anyhoo ... I think I have an eggplant problem. I only planted 2 plants -- not two packs of plants or two envelopes of seed, just 2 plants! Ten, fifteen, twenty eggplants a day. My friends won't come to the house anymore and I've resorted to trying to throw eggplants into vehicles as they speed past. Seriously, these BUSHES -- I can't even refer to these things as simply plants -- are going on 5 feet tall and they are even wider than they are tall. They have taken over the rows on either side of them. Large purple fruits everywhere and they are still stacking on the blooms.

Reminds me of that out-of-control plant in Little Shop of Horrors. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know ...

[tubebender]

That Bimbo is typical and common at CC meetings in Calif with Santa Cruz and Arcata being the worst due to Universities being located there. Some of them make it onto various commissions and committees and drone on for hours. Our Church added to the Fellowship Hall and a new office and I was the designated point man and sat through lots of city meetings but there was a planning commission meeting I could not attend so the Pastor went for me. One air head said she liked the design but would like to see more landscaping and the Architect told me the Pastor stood up and asked her if she could have viewed the wrong Church as we had just won the yearly KEEP EUREKA BEAUTIFUL AWARD three months earlier...

[painter]

I'm looking for a good salsa recipe. For the first time I'm being buried in tomatoes and need to make into something.

[Gabz]

Thanks for the recap, I really appreciate it.

Take a gander at this article........do you think I should post it and ping the Gardeners?

Food, Inc. challenges what we’ve been conditioned to think was safe

[goodnesswins]

Morning, all...from Salem, OR.....been eating zucchini (from potted zukes). I have a Bradley Tomato (in a pot) which is a monster, like someone else said...it’s like the plant in the Little Shop of Horrors....at least it was, until we hit 104 here a couple days ago. I’ve been pruning it....never had to prune a tomato before! It’s got several 2”+ diameter greenies on right now. (I read later that Bradleys are grown in the SOUTH....but, we seem to have southern weather this year, so I guess I did good). Got little cukes coming on and a bunch of Roma Tomatoes in the raised bed, and another pot. And my Lilies survived our move and 3 months in our travel trailer last summer...before we bought a house. Now, our YARD...is all ripped up because we live on BRICK, I swear. Putting in paths when the weather cools. Oh and the deer found our back yard and ate what little strawberries I had, and some of my radicchio....Thanks so much for this thread...

[goodnesswins]

Did anyone here see that they passed that “farm bill” in the House yesterday!!!!???

[painter]

Add me to your ping list.

I live in central Mo. and the weather has been perfect for gardens this year.

[goodnesswins]

I looked at it....I think you should post it!

[sneakers]

My tomatoes died.

Every

last

one

[cyborg]

When she was a kid, I think that girl’s parents dropped her on her head . . . for several hours.

-—Petronski sends

[tubebender]

Speaking of gardening ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305282/posts

[madamemayhem]

hey mama, sorry i have not gotten those directions for the blueberry patch for you yet. things are crazy here right now. my tomatos are going crazy. and i have too many cucumbers. i will try to find those directions for you soon. :)

[neefer]

Condolences.

[tubebender]

A little background on the weather in far north western Calif is probably in order. We get all our rain, 40 inches from appox November through May with a rare inch from from mid May until October. We get some fog drip over night but it just brings on blight and powdery mildew. The mountains just to the east of us get thunder storms, most of it dry lightening that starts numerous forest fires. Here is our 10 day Forecast We use city water that is metered and very expensive for our large property but I have installed thousands of feet of various drip lines with timers on all the faucets.

Meanwhile back here on Humboldt Bay I took a break from garden projects yesterday to cleanup the garlic that has been hanging one on the fence drying for a couple of weeks. 79 pounds of 7 varieties to give away plus seed for this falls planting. The new cages for the strawberries are doing their job as First Wife can start making puree to freeze for jam.

The corn is ready to pollinate but the foggy mornings are not clearing as early as I and the corn would like. Cukes and squash are a little sickly in their tubs. I hired a guy to cut the sucker trees coming up around the Redwoods as they can get out of hand fast. I used to do that every few years but age is taking it's toll on my beautiful body. He is a under employed floor layer and is a member of our Church....

[sneakers]

Thanks

~sniffle~

[Red_Devil 232]

YOU HAVE

ADDED TO THE WEEKLY GARDENING PING LIST

YOU HAVE

[Red_Devil 232]

Any idea why?

[hoosiermama]

Been thinking about you and your mother today. How is your mother feeling? Better I hope. My son is moving into my cabin today....It will be great to have him help me with dad..., the garden etc.

Wouldn’t have had time this week to do blueberries too.

[sneakers]

I don’t know. They were doing great until about two weeks ago, then they started getting black. Leaves and stems turned black. I even had a few extras that I planted elsewhere in the yard, and they did the same thing. We have a HUGE black walnut tree about 40 feet away. We tried to raise the level of the tomato patch a bit, because of the walnut. Problem is, I started them from seed, and gave a bunch of starters to a friend who lives 15 miles away. No black walnut near her, but hers are doing the same. Meanwhile, I gave a bunch to a freeper friend who lives a few miles away, and his are doing fine.

I’m very confused.

Well, at least my Three sisters garden and my cucumbers are doing great!