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To: Pollard; Diana in Wisconsin
The sun heat can be brutal on gardens. I am fortunate that I have about 4-5 hours of sunlight, then about 3 hours of shade, then sun for 6-7 hours. (We had an inch of rain today!)

Gardening/farming. This is year has been difficult. I do not think my small backyard garden would be doing as well without the low tunnels, good varieties, and drip irrigation.

I have spent too much of my life standing outside at twilight trying to water in the garden. I am retired now, can do it in the morning with a timer and drip irrigation. I try to get plants and varieties that do well in the Midwest heat and as you indicate, start seedlings early, plant under the low tunnel, and protect it until the last frost.

I hope your garden, goats, and chicken(s) do well! (Some things might benefit from shade clothe?)

Heat...Okra, sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplant, some tomatoes, corn, some herbs. I tried to select tomato varieties that had some indication they preformed well in the heat.

Herbs! A Czech woman I worked with told me that in Europe, the farmers feed herbs to the chickens and if flavors the eggs. Thyme, and Tarragon I suppose.

I have only been to local suburban farmers markets several times. They are located in areas that do not have much parking and traffic is congested. I have avoided the KC River market in MO for the same reason. (Who wants to pay for parking?)

89 posted on 07/07/2022 7:07:58 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission (Zone 6B KS/MO Border )
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission
I hope your garden, goats, and chicken(s) do well! (Some things might benefit from shade clothe?)

I started a good variety of plants from seed and got them to decent seedlings and transplanted them and they grew more. First time for all of that so I wasn't expecting much more. I'm happy with what I've done and more importantly learned. I also grew a few things I've never eaten or even seen in stores before. All brassica and two were basically turnips. Figured out the root is tasteless and lacks nutrition so if I grow them again, it will be for the greens, not the root which is where the nutrition is.

Goats and hen are doing fine. Keeping everything quenched is my main task. Mulching heavily helps with the plants. Animals, I just keep up on.

91 posted on 07/07/2022 7:57:13 PM PDT by Pollard (If there's a question mark in the headline, the answer should always be No.)
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