[Red_Devil 232]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Ping List.

I hope all of you will stop by.

This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.

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[Arrowhead1952]

Not much to report since last week, since we really need some good rain.

[afraidfortherepublic]

ood morning, All.

Dry and moderate here. Could use a good rain because my water is not yet totally hooked up from its winter shut off. The barn swallows are having a field day eating up all the mosquitoes all day during their aerobatic flights.

As usual, I submit my request to the higher powers for after-dark rains only.

[Dacula]

I have got 6’ plus tomato plants with barely any flowers. Should I give them more time or take them out and try again with some other varieties?

[30Moves]

My tomatoes started rotting around the stem so instead of wasting time I ripped them out and got more. Those seem to be doing fine. The tomatoes I did get off the first plants were fabulous - instead of canning I froze them.

I grew mustard greens for the chickens and after they went to seed I pulled them out - I noticed they were seething with shield-shaped bugs with the coloring of psychedelic lady bugs. Yellow orange and red. I am sure they aren’t friendly.

Melons are doing well - yellow squash and cabbage. I am on my second round of green beans. Froze most of them.

I am putting in my fall broccoli this week. Not a great yeild in this years garden. Oh well. I am planning a greenhouse this winter.

[Sarajevo]

I've been leaving zucchini, cucumber, and peppers on the neighbors doorsteps for a few weeks now! I just wish that I had more tomato's. I get three of these monsters every week.

[momtothree]

I wish I lived near you because I would take some of your extra zuchini. I love it steamed with onion and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. My neighbor boils it first till relatively soft and then adds tomato sauce with a lot of garlic and spices. She serves it on top of mashed potatoes. I have a recipe at home if you would like it (I am at the beach for two days and don’t have my recipe books). It is a casserole that uses squash, onion, grated carrot, sour cream, a cream of something soup and stuffing mix. You add cheese as well. It is more of a “Fall or Winter” casserole (it does stick to your ribs and fills you) but very good.

[Dacula]

I enjoy listing to gardening shows on the radio, especially on Saturdays.

In the Atlanta area, I can listen from 6 AM to noon. Lately I have been listening via the web. I catch Cisco and various others. I have even found one in Australia. Does anyone have a favorite that they could share?

[neefer]

The week before Father’s Day, I hung dill in the sunroom because the dehydrator was full. Came back a week later to find a bunch of chubby caterpillars munching away and pooping everywhere. After an Internet search, I realized they are Black Swallowtail Butterflies. I went from disgust to delight. A female emerged from her chrysalis earlier this week (she had only orange-yellow spots). Two males have emerged this morning. The one with wing damage was a rogue caterpillar that crawled out of the box and hid. But he can still fly. Both are still on the windowsill. It’s overcast so they might hangout a while.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

We are in another hot and dry spell after getting about an inch of rain a week or so ago. Today we have cloud cover, which is helping, but the 100+ temps and 10 mph winds have really baked the ground again.

Somebody asked me yesterday why I had let the lawn die back, and I told them that I can't eat the grass ... I'm watering the garden instead. Watering both would cost $300/month in water bills. I have GOT to get a well drilled!

Here are some photos I took yesterday for my garden journal. They are okra, summer squashes, string beans, tomatoes, cantaloupe and speckled butterbeans.

In the photo of the stringbeans, you can see my tomato jungle on the right. Some of the tomatoes have reached 6 feet tall and have run out of rebar on which to tie them. They will soon start to bend over and intermingle, which really makes it a jungle.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the thread. We are having a glorious day here in my corner of Missouri. Temps this morning 77 degrees and partly cloudy. Perfect gardening weather. High will be 84 degrees and low tonight of 65.

Yesterday we got 2 inches of rain. I wish I could share it with all of you who need it. My corn was chest high on fourth of July with tassels. Everything else is behind due to late planting.

Tomatoes in pots from the cuttings of the indoor winter tomatoes are healthy with lots of blooms. Cantaloupes have lots of blooms. I will be planting more beans and melons this weekend. Wild blackberries are ripening I almost have enough for cobbler.

Hubby has been thrashing his wheat by walking on it. I think we'll get about 6 coffee cans (2lb. size) full of wheat kernels. It doubles in size after grinding it.

I am currently reading Small Scale Grain Raising, and How to Grow More Vegetables. Wishing every one the best. Have a great weekend. God bless.

[Ellendra]

It’s “wait and grow” time for my garden, everything got planted late, so nothing is blooming yet. Something dug up and ate my asian melon seedlings. That was the third time I’ve replanted them. Since it’s so late in the season now, I just planted beets in their place. Next year I’ll know to give them extra protection.

Dad nibbled a couple of radishes, they weren’t quite filled out yet, but he says they’re nice and spicy. I’m not fond of radishes myself, so I replanted the empty spots with beets.

[ApplegateRanch]

Finally had to water the garden yesterday, for the first time this season...not counting manure tea to fresh transplants. Got so ridiculous that I only half filled the large storage tank, and haven't put a drop into the small one so far. (1,600 gal total capacity. I also have a third, 400 gal metal I haven't used since getting the others, as the water heats up more than I like.)

This week we were finally able to pick some peas. Everything looks good, but being a month or so behind “normal”, it is problematical whether we'll get any of our longer season crops before frost.

[sport]

Does anyone know anything about tha Lunar Hiscibus? Specifically if it can be rooted or not.