Posted on 05/19/2017 3:39:17 PM PDT by greeneyes
Greetings from southern New Hampshire! It is a miserable tick season. Barb removed one from my left hip last evening. I saved it in an old pill container, just in case. We are letting the chickens out into the yard to feed on them.
I checked both hives. The queens were released and the bees are really active.
I have one 4’ by 8’ and two 4’ by 4’ raised beds tilled, amended and ready for Barb to plant. Hope to get more done, today. We are putting down the fertilizer-infused paper on each bed, to see how it helps.
The asparagus bed I added last year has a few sprouts. No sign of the two new rhubarb crowns or the horseradish, yet.
Our main garden is on the farm in central MO. We head down to the Ozark farm this morning where we have a small garden that only gets intermittent care. I put in two Stark apple trees that were thriving last time I was down 2 weeks ago.
It rained all night here in central MO and I haven’t looked at rain gauge yet. I fear the worst since I just had two waterways built on the farm. They are newly seeded with wheat and fescue that has just emerged. Erosion is my enemy, just like the old media empire.
We eat all the Silver Hulls that we grow. I suppose I could retain seeds if needed. I have yet plenty to plant for at least the next two years. It is a delicacy that is rarely found in Missouri. Do you grow them?
We got a bit over 2 inches of rain here at the lake since yesterday. I got all the mowing done just in time to put more gasoline in the mower.
The Lake of the Ozarks was stained muddy three weeks ago and is still murky. We ventured out on a neighbor’s pontoon last Saturday and observed a dead armadillo floating feet up.
Yuck !
How bout some Black Walnuts. I have more than you can carry off.
Will you use a track hoe to dig your pond? It will take a year or more for a dozer to get in there.
Isn’t there a nut meat company near Springfield that buys walnuts ?
I just dumped 2 inches of rain from the gauge. We will pass thru lake of the Ozarks on the way to Wright Co today. The farm is on the Gasconade river which has likely formed a lake on the bottom field. I lived just south of Camdenton for a couple of years back in the early 70s.
At one time there was a market for walnuts. As you know they are dang difficult to crack. Between the farms, I estimate I have several hundred walnut trees. My wife is allergic so you can understand the dilemma.
The “Missouri Mammouth” hickories I planted are going well. Still no nuts...
Dead armadillo is the only good kind of armadillo!
Those varmints made it to the north side of the Missouri River four or five years ago. I haven’t seen any on my property, but there was a dead one on WW hiway between here and Columbia summer before last, so it’s just a matter of time.
MDC should offer a bounty on armadillos.
They are not part of “natural” Missouri any more than the wild hogs are.
I don’t think I’ve had a pixie crunch. There is a big orchard about a 45 min drive from me - most years we go and pick apples. They have lots of varieties, but mostly the usual ones. I have determined that when it comes to apple pie - I like the way the Gala tastes and the texture of the slices, so I am trying to grow my own. I think I do have a problem with pollination though, because my little tree hasn’t blossomed in the past two years (now that I think about it) because the deer have viciously attacked it in the winter. Even when we have netted it. :(
Sorry to hear of your respiratory problems. We have had a few record breaking hot days. The lettuce is giving out and so are the pansies. I’ve had a good crop of both. Planting summer flowers in the bare spaces. Lilies have lots of buds on them. Tomatoes developing buds. Had to resow bush cucumbers and basil as the original set have not sprouted. Hope the second sowing sprouts as they would go very well with the tomatoes. Be well!
We love them.
They’re easy to save seeds from. Just let one or two hulls/whole pods from each plant get dry on the plant. Pick those, shell them/etc and save for next year.
http://www.southernexposure.com/southern-pea-cowpea-growing-guide-ezp-53.html
“Seed Saving
Cowpea is self-pollinating and will rarely cross, although it can happen. Like all legumes, the flowers are visited by honeybees and bumblebees, but only the bumblebees are heavy enough to be effective pollinators on the short stigma flowers. On plants being saved for seed, allow the seeds to dry on the plant for as long as possible, gather and continue to dry indoors with good air circulation and then separate seeds from the chaff. Store seeds in a cool dry place and they will remain viable for 4-6 yr.”
From:
https://sowtrueseed.com/product/productmississippi-silver/
One thing I’d add is to dust the seeds with diatomaceous earth, DE, (we get ours from the local co-op) when they’re dry before you store them. This will prevent any bean weevils from making their home in your seed stash.
Had to really look to find these, only available at 1 website. Google Giant Destroyer smoke bomb. I found some similar at a garage sale a few years ago, only thing that has worked. Light them, stick them in the hole and cover with a rock. We have a mole and chipmunk problem and no more cats here.
Greetings gardening friends from west Michigan. Lots of blessings this spring. Hubby is retired now and loves to work in the garden. I am pretty much over my knee replacement and can work outside. We got the garden tilled 3 times starting mid April. Nearly all planted except the beans. Everything is doing well. Had to find shishito pepper plants online - yes I got a six pack from California and they arrived in good shape. Could not find any up here and my seeds did not germinate well. But my Costa Rican pepper and San Marzano seeds did great. So far eating green onions and asparagus. Can’t wait for the radishes. We have bush cucumbers, poblano peppers, tomatoes, asparagus beans, sugar pea pods, swiss chard, romaine, dill, cilantro, basil, broccoli, shisito peppers, costa rican peppers,radishes and green and red onions. Also trying a new pepper we have seen up here a tangerine (orange pepper). Still have a little room yet. Maybe some jalapenos. Love hearing about all your efforts. Hope to have some pictures this year.
I love beets! After I found out last year how easy they were to pickle and can, I made my Beet section in my garden much bigger. I’m looking forward to having lots of them. Although it’s slow going, I think too much rain all at once took out my seeds. The garden is on a slight hill.
That’s some crazy cycling weather you’re having! I thought ours varying from low 70s to mid 80s a lot.
I love harvesting seeds. Don’t ask me why, but it is one of my favorite parts of gardening.
I have some raised beds that I have set aside just to grow plants to get seeds from. A couple of them are plants that will only give me seeds the second year. I’ve only had luck so far with carrots and onions. The Swiss chard and beets haven’t made it through the second year – yet.
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