What have you done today in the Garden?

Thank you for the cabbage comments I picked the other three today so that my "splitting" anxiety would ease. A neighbour also loves to make cabbage rolls so I am dropping one off with her this morning, along with some carrots, swiss chard and new potatoes.

I learned a cabbage lesson this AM...pick before you offer. I came close to committing all of the cabbages, and one was hollowed out on half by slugs. PHEW! I would have given up my cabbage rather than dissapoint someone, so it was a near miss.

This morning was harvesting the last of the beets. I pulled the remaining cabbage and cauliflower leaves. My carrots need to come out soon, as some are showing signs of splitting. The voles had a hay day on some. Three of my leeks are going to seed....that is a first for me. They have struggled this year though and are smaller than last year. They will be harvested today.

Hubby is giving me a hand to pick some pails of over ripe raspberries, and then I will turn the patch over to the neighbour ladies.

All of the onions were bent over this morning. Next week they will come out and go onto screens under the covered area of Angus' Hilton.

@Sjoerd - thank you the link on the onions. That looks much more up my alley. I'm hoping to give it a try, even on some of them. They look smashing!!

@marlingardener - thank you for the green tomato suggestion. I think that's the path I'll take right now - too much on my plate to volunteer a new project hahaha. Maybe in a few weeks.

 

Planned out where I am going to move and plant some items. Transplanted/moved some lilies, coneflowers. Noticed that I may have to thick of a layer of mulch in one of my beds, so that will be thinned out.
Updated my inventory lists of plants.
Picked some tomatoes
The weather was pleasant, a nice cloud cover with a breeze, and some drops of rain every now and then.
Took a nap and cooked some chicken.

 

Just a word on the string Mel— it doesn’t take many onions for the string to become very, very heavy. That is why we make such small strings. Be sure that where you hang them is secure and can hold the weight.

 

Watering and picking blackberries.

 

Harvest today.



Zukes, cukes, blueberries (pie tomorrow, oh boy!), summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, the year's first figs.

 

Well, I was busy in the garden today, at least it seemed like I was.
Dug up a big root ball of Lilies and moved them to their new permanent location. Planted some Echinacea, I planted it several years ago, and it decided to take off this year. I did not need 2 in 1 location.


Dug up all the Gladiolus from the back yard, they were looking bad. I think there is a fungus or something growing on the bulbs. I will have to investigate.

I removed a rotting Salvia. I noticed that one side of the plant was not growing, so I checked out the roots. They were wet and rotted.


So, now one of my beds will fill out a little better. I still have some plants/flowers to add.


Then, of course, I have to pull weeds from the other beds and clean up the mess.
And last but not least, went for a walk and took pictures.
It was a busy day.

 

Daniel, that’s what I’m talkin’ about, mate!
That is a varied and good-looking harvest.

LL— the Echinaceas. Nice.
But what about the moisture there. Sorry to see that.
That last foto looks like you have been using a bit of elbow grease.

 

Deadheaded the roses, cosmos and pot marigolds. Watered the cosmos and the pots with a soluble fertilizer. Have been neglecting the cosmos a bit so hopefully they will grow better.

 

@Sjoerd - the moisture level is good. This spot is in full sun-dawn to sunset- The only way to keep it moist, keep watering. Its clay mixed with good soil. The flowers seem to like it.
That stupid root!! Yes, I had to dig, and the thing just kept going! It put me on my butt a couple of times. It was in an area where rock and dirt are mixed, deep.
The Echinacea, thanks. I cant wait to harvest the seeds.

@Daniel W - those blueberries are amazing. Nice harvest

 

Oh LL, I got that situation wrong.
I had to chuckle when I read that your root work landed you on your butt a time or two. I know all too well how that goes.

BTW meid, that’s a very nice new avatar you have. I might even go so far as to say…classy. Yep, it looks very smart.

 

Yesterday and this morning we busied ourselves with processing beetroot and leeks. Yesterday we harvested and watered selectively.
Here are those lovely lleeks in chopped form before blanching.

 

Just a mist spray of the acers and sambucus and 'arry's house.

 

@Sjoerd - Thank you. I took the pics yesterday, I thought is was a great picture!! Thats the hat I usually wear in the garden, and some mixed allium that I cut from the garden. They might look good in an arrangement.

 

The heat wave is roaring right along here. This means that drastic measures had to be taken, measures that would violate the very sinew of my being.
I had to listen to my sympathetic Bride— “Come on now, boy— pull on your big boy’s boots and show some backbone. Just go to bed early and get up early. You can do it. Show a little character. Don’t make me write your gardening pals at the Stew and expose your softness.”.

it is so comforting to have your partner demonstrate such sympathy.

Right then, off to bed I went and stood up at 05.55. Oh dear.
The bride insisted upon getting up with me , “out of sympathy”, she insisted. Personally I think she did it to keep an eye on me in the event that I might lie down on the couch downstairs, and then not stir again until the morning was long past.

While I washed, she made tea and a couple of sarnies. I made the crumbs fly and the tea drops spatter…then I was off.

The sun was just up as I headed westwards. When I walked through the garden gate, it was a moment of awareness. That early morning air, the smell and how that morning feels on the face. Yeah, it is different. It is good.

However, I did not come to have my senses stroked, I came to go into the bees for their timely check. I sat there on the bench in front of the garden house, changing clothes, starting my smoker and going over in my mind the order of events that I would soon carry out.

it was cool—19 C. Still, I was not looking forward to this check.
I was disappointed that the majority of the woksters were still in their hives. They tok exception.

Long story short— my suit top became completely; and I mean completely, wet from sweat. I received two stings through that wet material from those furious insects. Maybe I ought to have worn an undershirt under the top. They were so angry that they followed me back to the garden house, a situation that required a trajectory adjustment.

I got out of those wet and hot clothes, drank several mugs of water and just sat waiting for my skin to dry off. It didn’t go fast enough, so I rinsed my chest, back and head with water.

At 10.30 I was ready to go back home.

 

Didn't bother with golf today as there was no breeze as there was on Wednesday which stopped it being uncomfortably hot.

Just mist sprayed the acers and 'arry's house around 2.00pm more watering of pots and plants tonight.

Noticed tonight that there was a hose running hanging from a branch of one of the four big trees in next door's garden. When I looked up I could see that the leaves had turned yellow. Unlike the others it doesn't benefit from the water I put on my garden, as it's next to our shed. Deprived of any water for weeks I'm not sure watering now will save it.