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Post by desertwoman on Jul 21, 2021 22:31:01 GMT -5
With the rains we've been getting, all those siberian elm seeds I didn't get vacuumed up are sprouting. So today I was hand weeding all the sprouts between the flagstones and in the native grass (that I can't get to with a hoe. If they get too tall they will be very difficult to pull out. Their roots go deep. Fast. Also did a bunch of regular laundry and well as laundry I have "been meaning to get to", like my down jacket (now it can be put away for the summer ) some winter scarves and a sweater that all needed hand washing.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 21, 2021 23:56:24 GMT -5
I did little outside today, due to the disgusting humidity, and that horrible air quality, which fortunately, was washed out of the air with those storms later. I did clear a lot of the veggies out of the kitchen - all of those chile peppers, de-seeded, diced, and 4 shelves loaded in the dehydrator, and 2 shelves worth of halved tomatoes. And I used most of the smaller cherry tomatoes for dinner. I also did an experiment, with that oversized bottle gourd - freezing some of it. I peeled it, scooped the pith out, like you do with oversized zucchini, though the seeds were barely formed! I cut it into approximately 1" squares, and steamed it, in the IP, for 3 minutes, then rinsed it in cool tap water. I got exactly two one pound batches, which I vacuum sealed, and froze. I did the same with the larger bitter melon, and froze it in smaller amounts of 1/2" cubes. I'll see how they freeze, but evidently it is done a lot with both of them in Asian countries.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 22, 2021 3:47:00 GMT -5
my eyes were feeling like allergy season was here. My eyes were burning yesterday, couldn't figure out why then realized it was probably the hazy smoky air. I noticed it during our early walk.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 22, 2021 3:48:44 GMT -5
It's an ongoing ritual here to be pulling out maple and oak seedlings. They will germinate all Summer and into Fall.
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Post by gardendmpls on Jul 22, 2021 5:49:58 GMT -5
then realized it was probably the hazy smoky air I heard that there was so much fire on the north-west coast that it was creating haze and poor air quality across the country, detectable as far as New York.
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Post by martywny on Jul 22, 2021 6:00:57 GMT -5
detectable as far as New York. We have it here in Buffalo, they talk about it in the weather forecast.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 22, 2021 16:10:13 GMT -5
Picked a few ripening Big Beef and a few more Sprite tomatoes, plus more Heavy Hitter okra. The straightneck squash is showing some male blooms, so the females should be following soon. Basil is getting basily, and garlic chives are chivey. martywny we have noticeable smoke haze and advisories even here in my area.
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Post by armjr on Jul 22, 2021 16:48:27 GMT -5
I mowed the garden today. That should tell you how things are going here on the gardening front. I had to mow a path to chop out the tomato cages. Still find a cucumber or two in the cucumber/cantaloupe/watermelon patch. Got three cantaloupes and one watermelon. Imma have to perfect my cucurbit farming practices a bit, although most of the cucumbers could be used as bludgeons. I couldn't seem to find them before they were two feet long.
Alan
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Post by emmsmommy on Jul 22, 2021 21:19:06 GMT -5
Ugh! reading about those seeds sprouting reminds me I have two volunteer peach seedlings in the garden to move. The eight I recently planted from last year are doing well. Otherwise I haven't been doing much except getting an old laptop running again until I can replace the iPad that I managed to disable after the hacking event last week. It's hot and humid and seems like just stepping out on the front porch results in getting bit by something or the other.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 22, 2021 23:23:08 GMT -5
I mowed the lawn today, this time all at once, since it was relatively cool and not humid, unlike it has been recently! And the air was cleared quite a bit, by that rain yesterday. I also pulled all those tomatoes, and a few other things, before spraying some potassium bicarbonate, on just about everything, adding some calcium to tomatoes. And I finally opened my house up, as it got cool and low humidity tonight!
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 23, 2021 4:45:40 GMT -5
Yesterday was a hot one. Walked at 0540. Then watered pots. Went to Dad's, took step mom grocery shopping. Then went to their garden and picked a couple bags of beets to take to sis on Sunday, some of them as large as baseballs! The recent rain sure made things grow. Then glanced at the beans, step mom said she picked on Wednesday. There were endless beans that couldn't have grown that much overnight. She tries, I don't think she hunts for them far enough, on the other hand she has no business being out there in the heat! Picked 3 gallons worth from the 80 ft row. I advised her not to go out there after 0900 in the mornings.
Toured my own garden when I got back, not much going on except I noticed an entire cuke vine wilting, the other vine in the same hill looks OK for now. I think it was maybe attacked by cuke beetle, grrr..... So later after 1800 I went out and dug a hill of taters and planted more cukes in that spot. I am determined to have cukes at some point.
Fiddled around with scrap quilt top, finally figured out placement for all the different colors, it required me to use that mathematical part of my brain. Makes total sense now. If I get the top done by Aug 15 and take it to the quilt shop as proof that I did it, I get a coupon for 40% off my next spree! And I get to keep the quilt I just made. It's a fun thing the shop does every month, they provide a pattern for the project. Mine is going to look quite different than the pattern due to color placement. Then I'll tuck the quilt top away until end of the Winter season, if I run out of quilts to make I can get this one out to finish.
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Post by centralilrookie on Jul 23, 2021 4:57:42 GMT -5
Yesterday started out with us leaving at 5am for Joplin Missouri to pick up 3 of sweethearts grandchildren, who reside in Texas, for a weeks stay with us. Total mileage for the trip was 900 miles in just a little over 14 hours with the return trip filled with endless chatter and laughing. By the time that the we had eaten our take out pizza and the kids were showered and watching a movie sweetheart was worn out but beaming with happiness. It was a good day.....
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 23, 2021 21:57:02 GMT -5
Today I made 3 qts of B&B pickles, using 12 cucumbers and 5 onions (I like a lot of onions in these!). I did the canning outside, since I don't like to heat vinegar in my air conditioned kitchen, and today was OK outside, as the humidity was low. While slicing these up, I used the first of the Garden Sweet Burbless that I grew, just because I tried it before, but it was killed by bacterial wilt - something I am testing that harpin protein against, and it seems to be working. While slicing, this one looked strange - almost like a cucumber that had been frozen - sort of a darker, less white color. I ate that last slice of each cuke, and this one tasted strange, too, not a milder flavor, like most "burpless" varieties. I'll see if it comes through with that flavor after pickling. Bread and butter pickles, using 12 cukes and 5 large onions, 7-23 by pepperhead212, on Flickr The only things that I harvested today was one bottle gourd, and 15 eggplants - something that I neglected yesterday. There's more tomatoes ready, but I need room! 15 eggplants, and one bottle gourd, 7-23 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 24, 2021 16:24:44 GMT -5
Went for early walk this morning, barely light and it was 76˚. Sticky. Watered garden when I got home. Did some clean up, ripped out the peas that were totally covered in powdery mildew, picked all the shriveling pods to save seed from. Planted cukes there, darn it. I'm gonna have cukes somehow. I now have them in 4 places. Will probably wish I hadn't done that...... Ripped out that Italian Leaf Cabbage (freebee from Baker Creek), not impressed and it was using precious real estate. Since it's of the kale family it's no loss. I have plenty of kale growing. Picked a yellow bell, it is actually yellow from the git-go. I thought there was something wrong with the plant because it's a paler green than the rest of the peppers. Guess it's supposed to be that way, a first time growing it for me. Picked some Big Jim ( wow! a foot long) and a green bell, plus a few more Sprite. Mowed the yard before the clouds dissipated. That was a good move.
Tried something new yesterday. Beet green chips! They are delicious, I think I like them better than Kale chips. I didn't use the stalk or the vein in the leaf if it was a really big leaf. Done the same way as Kale but take about 5 minutes longer in the oven.
Went to a funeral this afternoon, for the neighbor who passed away in February. It was graveside only, but nice with Mason and Military rites. Nice breeze and we had the shade of large trees.
Heading to a friend's soon for 0Beer:30 and delivering a bunch of veggies to them.
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Post by reuben on Jul 24, 2021 16:35:57 GMT -5
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