Posted on 07/23/2022 5:37:13 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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“Translation: Pollard and Pete like looking things up and typing a lot. :~)”
This place wouldn’t function like a well-oiled machine without you two! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPqplWC7jZI
It was another hot week here in Central Missouri. Several days with real temps >100°F. Still watering trees. Getting some rain this morning. Looks promising on the radar but I’m not going to put my hoses away.
In spite of the crazy heat our cucumber plants are still producing well. Mrs. Augie put up another half a dozen quarts of fermented pickles last week, and I made 14 quarts of spicy dills. Pole beans have kicked into high gear - I’m picking every other day now. I pressure canned seven quarts yesterday.
Tomatoes are just about ready to run me crazy. We’ve been able to eat enough BLTs to keep up with production so far, but I think that’s about to end. Yellow squash is done. The plants were still in good shape, but you can only eat so much of the stuff and we’ve had enough for now, so I yanked em. Zukes aren’t producing due to the crazy heat, but I’m going to see if they’ll snap out of their funk when the weather cools a bit.
For the most part, my pepper plants look great, but they’ve been a bit late to bloom this time. That’s starting, so I’m hoping they kick it up a notch real soon now because I’ll be wanting them when I start making salsa.
Okra looks like it’s about to start blooming. It’s been a few years since I pickled any okra, and we’ve been out for awhile, so I’m hoping for a good crop this time.
Winter squash has been mostly harvested. Wheelbarrow is half full. There are maybe half a dozen each of spaghetti and butternut that weren’t quite ready to pick over the weekend, but they won’t take much longer.
Liquid on top of the sauerkraut is staying nice and clear, so it looks like I’m well on the way to having a nice batch of that stuff.
Everything sounds great!
Since we’re having a cooler day, I’m going to make Bread & Butter Pickles and some Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins, today.
I promised both to the neighbor boys who are taking care of hauling my trash the two miles to the ‘curb’ with Beau up at Bear Training Camp this week. ;)
On an agricultural scale, hardpan is commonly tempered by breaking it up with a sub-soiler or chisel plow. A class-one compact tractor can handle a single-shank ripper in most soils. You might have to make multiple passes depending on how tightly the pan is packed, moisture content, rock, etc. The depth you’re able to go will greatly depend on the size of machine that you’re using.
If I was faced with shallow, rocky, clay soils I would skip the whole exercise and go straight to raised beds. Set up the boxes - 18”-24” deep, fill them with good topsoil and plenty of well-rotted compost, and not think about hardpan ever again.
My garden is 100% a raised bed so I’ve not had a real need to break up the pan there. I try to do at least one row double-dig/compost every year. Haven’t done that lately because I let myself run low on stable waste. Now that I’ve replenished my poo pile I’ll get that program back on track.
Once you’ve broken the pan and incorporated a good portion of compost into the top 12” of soil the battle is half won. At that point simply adding compost every year should keep your soils in good condition.
My best advice to someone who is fighting poor soils is to to find a horse training facility nearby and make a deal with the owner to carry off some of their stall waste.
It’s my intention to make two more batches of pickles this summer. I need some hamburger dill slices, and I need a batch of B-n-B. If the cukes hold out long enough to make that happen I’ll call this pickle season a success.
Thanks Augie!
I will say it would still be fun to watch the tractor doing its thing so Ernie could at least get some site drainage!
(Son of contractor lived edge of town! Enjoyed watching equipment used on dad’s job sites and the neighboring farmer work his property!)
Ern; Hope one or some of these suggestions prove useful!
Thanks for the info.
I plan on building up my soil over time the way I did in WA State which was using compost and fertilizers.
So the mixing of the topsoil and the soile beneath isn’t so much of s problem because I won’t be planting this year...only getting the soil ready. This year anything I can get planted for fall will be in pots.
The large back hoe the septic guys were using to dig test holes was doing wheelies trying to pound through the Caliche.
I don't think I'll have any problems with drainage as there are no wet spots on the land either either near or far from are from where I wanna put the garden.
2:00 & it’s 92 with 102 heat index - I am in for a break - have been mowing since 9-9:30. The mowing has been hanging over my head like a sword ... too wet in the morning with dew, hot as heck during the day, still very hot in the evenings & the times I’ve been ready to try it, thunder rumbles. I don’t mow if I hear rumbling.
So this morning, the grass was dry because we have a nice breeze. It’s still hot, but I’m trying to duck in/out of the few shady spots. Mowing is my mental health therapy & I REALLY need time to myself on the mower. I came up with another arrangement for propping up my leg a bit - so far so good & I’m doing bending exercises to loosen it up at least every hour. I learned my lesson when I mowed 3 hours straight a month ago - took over a week to get things back to where I Had started from when I first climbed on the mower.
Storms are supposed to be around by 3:00 as a front approaches & that is why we’re getting the nice breeze. On radar, they are starting to pop up, but still well to the southwest so there should be time to finish what I want to get done today. With that breeze, I have so much dirt & grass bits blown back on me that I think I’m going to have to hose off first (legs, anyway) when I do come in for good. Definitely evening out my ‘tan’ lines - no ‘farmer’s tan’ for me!
Casa Blanca Lilies:
Garden view facing East, first thing in the morning:
Purple 'Velour' bush beans:
'Valentine' cherry-type tomato:
'Fireball' Marigold. I cannot recommend this marigold enough.
Sweet Corn tasseling, with pumpkins in front of them. Growing 'Kandy Corn' and 'Ambrosia.'
Cukes and Zukes:
Great pics - especially those lilies!
They are SO fragrant, too. I think this is Year Three for them. They’ve expanded a bit and put up a few more little ones this year.
Just gorgeous!!!!!
Would welcome any suggestions on repelling a raccoon who comes in the dark and is eating our red raspberries. Irish spring soap???? Can’t afford that pricey deer repellant spray.
There are experienced trappers in any rural area. You’ll have to pay them. You could DIY. The traps don’t hurt them but they will hurt you if the traps don’t have a metal shield around the carry handle. Then you haul them miles away and release them.
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