What have you done today in the Garden?

Bwahahahaha. There would be a lot of bare bottomed Aunties running around here all year. Good temperature gauge though. It will never falter.

Sorry to hear about your pup. When I adopted mine, one had terrible tummy trouble and didn't want to eat or drink. I did the same as you, with chicken and rice. But also, the SPCA told me to try a little bit of broth in some water to make it more appealing. It worked. At one time I also bought some pedialyte and mixed it with a wee bit of broth ( when things were not staying in and I was very concerned about dehydration).

They are so close to the heart that they beat with our own. I hope he's feeling better soon.


Tomorrow is an unplanned trip to town as I missed a prescription refill and it is needed. So we are going to make the best of it and look for wild mushrooms on the way home. One of the small graces of forest fires, is that that sometimes mushrooms thrive if it is the right forest. We will be looking for the covetted Morel. I used the last dried morels last week, so hopefully we find some.

Upon return will be a frost protection covering as we are scheduled for -1 for three nights. I love gardening and it's bounty so so much, but this year is finding me a bit tired. I think this will be the last hope and hoorah, and then everyone willl have to find their way - hopefully.

Sometimes gardens are the eipitome of resilience, and the barometer of patience.

 

As you can see, from the view out of our French windows, there'll be no gardening today.




Anyway, it should have been a "golf day." But I didn't bother.

On Monday's and Fridays we play in a "roll up." Whoever turns up for the first of several tee-times always booked, iare randomly split into teams of three-balls, four-balls or a mixture of both, depending on the numbers.
Usually there. up to a dozen. OnBank Holiday Monday there were twenty-one!
Everyone puts a pound in the kitty, the team with the best score shares the pot. You won't believe how competitive this makes us.
If you don't want to play you just don't turn up. That's acceptable. You don't have to cancel. I won't play on Mondays or Fridays if it's raining before 9.00 a.m. Some of my friends will play in any weather if the course is open.
Wednesdays are competition days. I play regularly with the same two friends at the same time every week. You have to turn up for competitions, as we did last Wednesday, but it was raining when we arrived at the club. So we all agreed to not bother had a coffee in the pro shop and then went home.

 

It's been raining and yesterday was worse so sowed some more wallflower seeds in the toilet roll tubes.

 

Riley— never mind the golf, my Bride asks the simple question, “ Why isn’t he featured on Gardners’ World”?

Mate, I have to agree with that sentiment, it is splendid to behold with or without the moisture.

 

It's very interesting reading about paper tubes for seedlings. I have never done that and wonder if I should. Do they fall apart with handling when wet?

I use plastic six-packs for seeds then a lot of the plants get up-potted into plastic pots. I wash the pots by hand, then put them through the dishwasher for a cycle to sterilize them for next year.

This year I also bought some silicone six packs. Those were a little bigger - about 2 inches x 2 inches x 2 inches instead of 1x1x2 and the silicone sides are floppier than plastic. The seedlings came out of them much easier but the six packs needed to be handled more carefully. They cost more but like silicone kitchen wear are designed to be washed many times in dishwasher. (I have to wash them in the dishwasher when I'm alone so I don't get i to trouble but I wash off all of the soil etc by hand first anyway so there is no grit etc.).



I used to use yogurt cups but we don't eat yogurt any more.

 

So eloquent.

Mine adds a lot of stubbornness (mine), Creativity. A lot of labor. Aches and pains (a lot more, lately). Obsession. Comfort. Independence. Security. Nutrition. Flavor. Nostalgia. Wonder.

This year is probably my last beg tomato experiment and big squash experiment. I should know now which varieties will grow and produce well enough for me this year under my circumstances. I think I'll understand the irrigation and sheet mulching issues better, too. Potatoes... I don't know. If the large fabric containers work, that will help a lot.

 

No they don't fall apart but can get mould on them and sometimes get discoloration on the compost but it's nothing to worry about. I've been doing it for a long time now and the cosmos and wallflowers I pot on into what ever I got before they have to be in the ground,the pot marigolds I plant into the garden as they are, I've got some pot marigolds in plastic cell trays and they're bigger than the others, so next year i'll try them in that and see how they do.

 

I watered the Roma tomatoes, harvested basil and parsley, and watered all the herb pots. Now I have basil to hang and dry, and parsley to chop and freeze. I love harvesting!

 

Jane, I am reading your progress with interest, if not a modicum of jealousy. You are so far on the way and I have only harvested spinach so far.
But of course, you are right—harvesting is great.

 

Sjoerd, I'll have more than a modicum of jealousy in July when our gardens basically shut down and you are harvesting like mad.

 

Just tied up a few more clematis and spent some time in the tea-house, recording this for an audio/jukebox message board.

 

Watered some of the blueberries, with the moderate breeze the young leaves dry out more. Got some of the wallflowers come up already, I put 3 seeds in each one.

 

Today is dodging rain to finally get into the flower beds. The poor things are quite neglected.

The asparagus is showing itself. We had our first few sprigs raw when we found them. They taste like peas.

I've wrapped my head around the weather this year, and am back in the saddle for going with the flow. I had a grumpy day and decided to get over it. Why try to control what I cannot. Kind of goes against the whole joy of gardening.

I've replanted and will restarted the corn, squash and beans, and I will again the first week of june. That will be the last hoorah. Even with all of my tricks, the new tomato growth is showing signs of not liking the low temps at night. I don't blame them. The blossoms are opening and I faithfully go out with Q tip twice a day, so fingers crossed that the soil cable is enough to allow them to form fruit. A few of them show signs of resilience.

My saskatoons, haskap berries and strawberries have been shipped and should arrive next week. I have an aquaitance at our local little post office that calls me as soon as she sees the "I'm Alive" label. That is a blessing as we normally only travel to check the mail once every week or so. They were shipped three weeks later than normal due to the artic air hanging around.

I found another stash of easy to access spruce needles. And thanks to reading about Leaf Mold from @Sjoerd post a number of years ago, last years leaves that fell and were wintered in the flower beds will go into the compost pile with the lawn clippings. I'm new to making compost, as I was worried about it attracting bears. But it is far enough away from the house that we think it will be fine.

 

Goodness Mel, you have such unheard-of climatic conditions there with-which you must deal. I do not envy you your gardening challenges, but how resourceful and capable you are.

About those asparagus plants— which way do you grow them? Do you know what I mean? What I am talking about is that some folks let their asparagus grow above ground and harvest it green. Others grow their asparagus in hills and harvest them white before the spears come above ground. The flavour is milder and yet delicious. There is a specific tool for harvesting these and a technique for using it.

BTW, what is, or are saskatoons and haskap berries?

 

Checking on the wallflower seedlings and planted 2 blueberry plants into their final pot, got some rootgrow so put a bit of it in the hole.