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Garden Gate:  So what have you been up to in your gardens?  |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 04 2008 : 11:58:29 PM
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This afternoon I worked on getting all of the roses and a few daylillies,alliums,and a clump of iris, a couple spider lilies,a clump of bird of paradise, and a few other plants dug up and potted up.
These are a few plants that I wish to take along with us to a new home.
Sheew..it was so hot outside this afternoon though..88 degrees with heat index at 99 and humidity at 69 percent.
yuck..but..I managed to get quite a bit done.
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Hubby and daughter worked on cleaning up the strawberry bed and clearing out the garden bed of the items that are done with growing/producing this year...and working on converting the back portion of the yard back into grass.(have to do these things to get yard market ready/not everyone would appreciate our "farm style life style..so we have to make things look more "cityfied" again)
We wound up with a colander full of bell peppers, and a colander full of sweet potatoes.
The strawberries will be dug up soon and put into planters and the raspberries will be potted up into large pots ,as will a couple of small blueberry trees and a couple of small citrus trees.Then we'll seed the lawn area with a bit of grass seed and plant a few fresh flowers in the courtyard area and so forth, trim work on the jasmine vines..and trimming trees and hedges..and so on and so forth.
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So what have you been doing lately in your yard/garden?
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4742 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4742 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 07:58:25 AM
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Watering, weeding, watering, weeding. Rather monotonous, but that's about all I can do here in July. After all those wonderful spring rains, it's been rather dry here these past two weeks. We have been very lucky to have temps in the 70's right now. It is going to heat up this week though, so I'm worried my stuff may start burning up. I am busy staining our huge front and back decks though. I'm afraid that will take me all month, thanks to the help of my 4 year old.
Dawn in IL |
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 08:59:28 AM
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| Watering, weeding and whining (hee hee)! Whining a little bit about the slugs, but then I kill some and start feeling better! I also discovered a cute hedgehog in the garden the other night, and they EAT slugs!!! Bon appetit! We put in a little raised bed next to the garden shed and filled it with three beautiful hydrangeas. Since we are subject to the wind from the mountains that I affectionately describe as the wind that can "blow the mustard off a hotdog", we needed to come up with a windbreak solution "toute de suite" or the hydrangeas would dry out beyond rejuvenation! Husband built a neat slatted windbreak from scrap wood and I painted it in my favorite periwinkle blue. Also bought a big bag of horse "offerings" so have been scratching that in around all the plants. Happy horticulturing to all! Nance |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 09:44:01 AM
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I hear you both on the watering/weeding/and whining...ha.
well Dawn at least you have nice 70 degree weather..ours yesterday was 88 with heat index of 99! sheew.
Slugs Nance...eew gross!..can't stand them..I went to gather pots yesterday for potting up my plants..and I keep my spare terracotta and other planters all stacked up upside down on a concrete pad at the very back of my property against the fence..out of the way..well...the slugs decided that they'd get up into the very bottom big terra cotta pot(one of the very ones I needed to usse yesterday wouldn't ya know) and all congregate there...oh my goodness! there was a mess of them..I had to scrape them all out with a big stick...I did think hmmm escargot..but..I don't think I'd ever be able to stomach anything like that though...hopefully they will all slink over to the neighbors..ha.shudder even now thinking about them..there had to have been about a hundred or more in that one pot. Yeah..I know..I should have sprinkled salt all on them so as to keep them from damaging anything, but...I didn't.I left them alone..of course after I scraped them out of their home.
yuck..eeew..gross..shudder.
(yeah..sometimes I'm a girly girl and can't stand the creepy crawlies...ha)
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2008 : 09:46:19 AM
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oh speaking of hydrangeas..I definitely want to grow some of those..it has been a long time since I have grown them, but have been seeing them in bloom around here..and I like them a lot..and love the fact that they can be dried and used in floral arrangements.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 12:54:27 AM
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| Hey, Tina! And all you other gardening gals! I have one big hydrangea in a big glazed terracotta pot on the patio and it is PINK, which I am loving, since my Norfolk soil only renders blue or blueish green. But I love them too believe me; just am enjoying the novelty of the pink blooms. The blue flowers on the new hydrangeas are so soothing to look at. And as much as I love and encourage the natural order of things in the garden, it is all out war on slugs! Unless you give them directions or bus fare, they ain't going ANYWHERE so don't be surprised to turn over yet another clay pot and find a clubhouse full! HA Onward and upward! Hugs to all, Nance |
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katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 05:09:24 AM
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Today I need to catch up on some gardening. I have some orphan plants to find room for -- siberian iris, peonies, and an azalea -- these were taken out when we put in some (others') gardens and I couldn't bear to throw them away. I've already added the orphaned sedum and daisies to the front garden and they are doing well, in spite of being transplanted at this time of the year.
Also need to do the weeding and watering thang. Dawn, you must not have gotten the rain that I did on Wednesday -- we had several downpours right along the Lake-Cook line. So the beds are all doing fine. I do need to keep watering the edibles in containers, tho. Saw that the peppers were wilting a bit last night, so I gave them a quick drink. Need to really soak them this a.m.
Is it too late to put in zucchini seeds or cukes? I may give that a try. My garden always suffers from lack of attention until we have finished the spring/summer plantings for the business.
Love the garden in the still of the morning. I think I'll finish this cup of coffee and head out!
Oh, Nance, I have a new hydrangea -- 'Blushing Bride', I think -- to put in somewhere, too. One can never have too many hydrangea, no?
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 07:48:07 AM
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Weeding, Weeding and oh yeah weeding. We had an unusually cool spring, which was great for the flowers but also the weeds. Things are blooming nicely, my fairy rose arbor is now in full bloom and my double Shasta daisys are making an appearance. Started picking raspberries as well and will soon have blueberries.
Anne in Portland, OR
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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82kygal
True Blue Farmgirl
548 Posts
Laura
Somerset
Kentucky
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 09:47:33 AM
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I just picked my first tomato of the summer along with some strawberries. Oh yah and weeding
With God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)
What ever you are, be a good one. (Abe Lincoln) |
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elphie0503
True Blue Farmgirl
500 Posts
Samantha
Gilmer
Texas
USA
500 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 09:58:50 AM
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I have yellow plum and black prince tomatoes coming out of my ears...as well as jalapenos, squash, cucumbers, and green beans! My melons are finally starting their riping process....I'm just itching to get out there and pick one, but patience is a virtue...right???
Otherwise, I'm starting to plan my fall garden out...sweet potatoes, butternut and acorn squash, planting garlic for the spring on the backside of the pond, and getting my chicken coop set up!
Whew!
Samantha
www.elphie0503.blogspot.com
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort~~Albright
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 10:54:59 AM
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| Nope, Katie-ell! One can never have too many hydrangeas.....so does that mean that one might also not ever have ENOUGH, ha? Blushing Bride sounds lovely.....is it white with a hint of pink, or what? Happy gardening to all! |
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katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 11:06:20 AM
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Here's Blushing Bride hydrangea: http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/63141-product.html Isn't it beautiful? I have 'Endless Summer', which may be in too much shade because it's a bust as far as blooming goes. So I need to find some sunnier space for Blushing Bride -- hopefully TODAY. So far, I've weeded in the garden, planted some windowboxes, and mowed the front lawn.
I'm amazed at the harvest you already have, Samantha! I have some tomatoes on the vines, but nowhere near ripe. So I'm content (sort of) with green onions and rhubarb for the time being.
Here's to another great week in the garden!
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 12:18:10 PM
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love your blushing bride hydrangea katie-ell.
Anne..I too have a fairy rose...but...waaah..my hubby ran over it with the lawn mower and it was doing well too..then he weed whacked..and I discovered his fiasco a few days later..and he was like.."oh..sorry"(somehow I don't think he intended to let me know what he had done..the little sneak..ha..but I love him anyway..but he's a menace near my plants sometimes..ha) and there I was scrounging around in the flower bed trying to find any remnants, any signs of a used to be rose bush..and yes..I found a teeny tiny sign of it, where there were only a few leaves starting back..so I dug it up and potted it..it had sent up a few more little leaves on a piece of the root runner, so I potted those up as well..if all goes well with it..I just "may" wind up with 3 extra plants from hubbies fiasco..that is if they don't all die after all that shock.
I'm hoping it is hearty enough to spring back from both his bush whacking and being transplanted.
I have 2 more rose bushes in the cottage garden to get potted up, then I'll start gathering seed from all of the gloriosa daisy and yellow coreopsis out there and some blanket flower.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 2:57:56 PM
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Tina -- you are so busy in the garden! I can't imagine having to move my garden . . . but I certainly could not leave it behind. I'm sure that's what you feel, too.
I love the Fairy rose. Combined it with Russian sage and Calamintha in a planting this year. Quite lovely.
Hope your Fairies survive and THRIVE -- along with you and your family -- in the new homestead.
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 3:19:18 PM
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I figured that if I went ahead and potted the "keepers" up before January..that they'd have time to bounce back before they had to move again..this way they can start out in the pots again..and get going. and be healthy and established again before having to be carted into a moving van or trailer.
Oh I'm leaving a slew of things here..just mainly taking the roses and a couple of unique day lilies.
And yes it is a chore..but I have a lot of seeds that I'll be starting afresh with...and...I just joined the online Ocala Plant Swap group..ha..so..when I get there I can wind up finding a few native plants.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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cathy cobblestone
True Blue Farmgirl
194 Posts
cathy
greensburg
ky
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 9:53:00 PM
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Hi Tina, we've been busy as bees in the garden - our veggies are beginning to come in - some squash, cucumbers, a few tomotoes, onions and so on - love it - nothing like good ole' garden goodies. But what has been keeping us super busy is plantin' all our mums and asters - around 1,500 I suppose plus a couple acres of pumpkins and gourds - WHHHEEEwww. Best thing about it though, we went to drip irrigation this year for our mums - so watering is going to be a breeze compared to years past. I'm really excited about this lil' upgrade we have been waiting to invest in for years. Glad to hear everybody is loving their garden - Happy Plantin' my fellow farmgirls! Cathy 
www.cobblestonefarms.blogspot.com
Today is a gift, live it! |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 10:14:41 PM
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ooh yum..you know what tastes so yummy together is the cucumber and the tomato combined..chop a bit of each up then toss together in a bowl and sprinkle with a touch of italian seasoning and a little italian dressing and let cool..ooh yum so yummy and refreshing especially in these hot summer months..
sounds like you have been busier than busy Cathy..the drip irrigation set up sounds terrific.Asters and mums will look terrific come fall time. along with wonderful pumpkins and gourds!
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2008 : 11:22:59 PM
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I have a nasty little gopher doing some "excavating" in MY garden! But I think he's after the WEEDS! He's tunneling around my tomato plants, but no damage has been done, so I'm not sure what he's actually doing. It's the same two plants I find his little mounds around. I have to keep digging the little trenches out so the water stays where it's supposed to, but as long as he's not eating the plants and tearing things up... I'll hold off on the juicy fruit gum (or whatever ELSE I have to do to KILL HIM! Hopefully one of the CATS will do the deed and spare me the "honor")
Other than that, weeds... Weeds... WEEDS!!!! I also have volunteer watermelons, squash and TOMATOES (like I didn't INTENTIALLY plant 30 of them to begin with!) ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! I haven't the heart to pull them out, they look so happy and healthy! So much for the tidy garden I had planned. **Sigh...** But it looks to be a really GOOD season, so I'll just try and keep up with the weeds and let everything else grow where it will!! ~~~ Tracy
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 09:02:06 AM
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I've been harvesting potatoes and peas, still, and onions and garlic. I'm planting some hostas that Miss Wilma gave me yesterday, so that will take some time tonight. I need to completely overhaul my shade bed.
I took two tomatoes off last night, and I need to stake them up as they're getting wild now :) I'm really loving this Mountain Spring type...it's oh so sweet, and a beautiful ruby color.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 10:43:30 AM
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I'm enjoying reading about what is going on in everyone's garden's.
Tracy ..we planted one watermelon vine of a type that makes the smaller round basketball sized watermelons..and we got our first watermelon the other day off of it..we'll enjoy that this evening.
But that one vine took off for sure..I can't imagine what 30 vines would have done to my yard..haha.
Hope the little gopher keeps traveling and travels on out of your yard.
Jonni, the tomato variety sounds nice..I'll have to look that name up. Oh I bet those onions and garlic and potatoes and peas are terrific. When you mentioned the potatoes and onion I remember that many a morning that's what my mom or granny would make for my dad for breakfast before he headed to work..eggs and then some thinly sliced potato with onion. Certainly made the house smell good in the mornings..like good old down home cooking.
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have a great day gals!
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 11:11:11 AM
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The lettuce is finally done and the spinach just bolted. But I got a lot of both. I have all this great energy now! Still picking snow peas and shell peas and strawberries. Tomatoes are just starting to bloom. Watermelon, pumpkin, corn and cukes are all going nuts. Canaloupe and peppers are holding their own after the frost June 10. They don't look great, but they're coming along. Beans are growing again after I replanted them. Dill, parsley, cilantro and chives are all huge this year. Beets are doing well. I don't really have much work to do now other than watering every few days. The grass clippings keep the weeds down really well and hold the moisture in so that I don't have to water every day.
I still have to finish putting dirt in my herb garden, but it's hard to get motivated when I don't really have anything to put in it yet. I know, that's the time to get it done so the plants are stuck in pots waiting for it. I'll get it done before summer's over.
I also won another piece of ground from dh. He's so attached to his grass. I convinced him that if he wants to continue to eat the strawberries and still have enough for me to do something with, that I need a bigger strawberry bed. He relinquished a large spot in front of my veg garden! Yay!
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
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SusieQue
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Susie
Greenville
Ga
Georgia
603 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 4:45:16 PM
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| We have been eating squash and cucumbers for a while, just started getting a few tomotoes. We did have fresh green beans today for dinner and they were so good ( first picking of those). No corn yet but hopefully soon. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 7:17:38 PM
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Ours is just getting going really well...the peppers all look like healthy plants now and the tomatoes are growing huge and putting out lots of green ones and lots of blossoms. The onions and garlic look good and I wish I would have planted lots more!! The herbs are taking off and the squash and cukes are finally growing and looking nice. The kids and I did alot of mulching with straw,and weed pulling today. Husband helped me make two little 5 gallon bucket drip systems that I saw in a magazine (Backwoods Home) this month...LOVE THEM!!! So my cukes and five big tomato plants are on an "okie drip system" (I can say this since I really am okie on both sides...haha. I only had to pay $3 for 1/4" drip hose and used 2 old 5 gallon buckets and some old holey hose that I saved the good part of ...since I only used about 1/5 of the 1/4" hose I can make lots more..and I will too..as soon as I can locate more buckets!!! Yay!!!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2008 : 7:29:26 PM
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ooh strawberries..my most fave..and fresh green beans from the garden..nothing beats it!
I must say that we are now finishing up our garden with the exception of leaving in 2 rows of sweet potatoes and 1 watermelon vine.. and of course the pear tree is totally full this year. Everything else we got the current harvest off of and then..oh you gals are gonna scream at me....we yanked out everything! I still have the strawberry bed, but will start potting the plants up into a big planter to take with us.
Jenny...your drip irrigation set up sounds good too.Amazing how much time and money it saves.
I have a lot of ideas and plans for the new home...oh when we get to that step...hubby and I both were talking that if we had our way we'd have moved already..last week..ha..but of course things just don't happen that fast.
The house needs some painting done and some yard work done before we can put it on the market yet.
I have a kitchen to re do..painting all cabinetry.
And a few other things yet...so although it would be nice to have already been moved and settled into a new home ..it's gonna take a little while..and may take a little while after it is on the market.
but no more gardening here at this place except to pot up the things I am taking with me..and to make sure that I can keep the things I pot up alive.
Then planning out a new garden for the new place.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 03:44:18 AM
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since we really haven't gotten serious rain, the garden is struggling, but looks the best it ever has. no weeds can germinate so the ultra tilled paths look great! Zucchini and bush beans have done well thus far and for the watermelons--dought?? what drought!?
Started eggplant from seed that is well beyond needing transplanting but I'm kind of afraid since the ground is so dry
may put these closer to the house so they can be watered
A farmer friened planted his garden in April. It looks fabulous. He invited us to help ourseves to some sweet corn, so last night I hucked a sack of 25 pounds of unshucked corn over a creek and up a very steep hill back home Managed to eat 4 ears for dinner and had to stop there
hubby says we'll DRIVE over tonight and also pick some beans |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 05:09:48 AM
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Aunt Jenny, I saw that same article. Rose gets that magazine and shares it with me. It's a great idea. If you need more buckets, try the grocery stores. I just got a whole bunch of 5 gal, 3 gal and 1 gal buckets from a neighbor who works at Albertsons. He says the bakery gets their frostings, dough, mixes and other stuff in them and they just throw them away. I was thinking of trying that system, myself. Now that I actually know someone who's tried it, and is happy with it, I'll just have to put that together for next year in my veg garden. Setting up soaker hoses the traditional way doesn't work when you have a bunch of raised beds as you would have to string the hoses across the walkways to get to each bed, losing water and inhibiting movement around the garden. But this other way, you can set up one bucket and one hose per bed. It'll work out perfectly.
Can you post pictures of your set up?
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
Edited by - lisamarie508 on Jul 08 2008 05:10:23 AM |
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Garden Gate: So what have you been up to in your gardens? |
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So what have you been up to in your gardens?
