What have you done today in the Garden?

Pulled a gobb of Leland cypress roots from the water cement holding tank. So much for it to be solid .I was gobsmacked to see all the roots.
It needs to be sealed again. It holds 2400 gallons of water . It has a bottom half and then a rubber seal of some type and caulking the the top is placed on that and more sealant is added from the inside. It is buried in the ground .it the main water source for the house and garden.
I need to replace the pump soon in the holding tank . It’s slow getting started when the power goes off due to weather or fire season. Of course that’s what has caused the pump to begin to fail.

pic of dried roots when they were wet they were twice that size. Had to use the tractor bucket to move them they were so heavy.

 

It is incredible. It looks like you will need some professional help to get this sorted.

 

Well the peppers are planted all 44 of them.......and the watermelons are in ground too. That is load off my list.

 

It is a head cold holiday for me. Its a cougher. Slept until 9. She who pressure washes is out in the driveway cleaning everything but the pets. I am running around bringing dirty stuff and hauling away the cleaned stuff.

 

Dirt pressure wash I just hate. It sure makes everything thing look new. Don’t ya just luv it when everything that doesn’t move is covered in green. It always amazes me how fast it all comes back.

Clay peppers grow fast I hope you have a bumper crop this season.


Sjoerd.. thank you for your kind concern . I’m waiting for the estimate from the pump company to replace the pump in the holding tank. I cannot do that I know where my talents end and electrical anything is not it.
The roots were floating in the top of the tank. The pump guy helped me get the roots on my tractor bucket. It was nice of him to help. I have been on my own for many years my DH is handicapped. I have learned the do’s and dont’s the hard way. Most of all … using leverage , think ahead is important and tomorrow is another day.

I think we all get there eventually. I have a bunch of trimming to do and I just can’t seem to find any motivation today… Tomorrow is another day…

 

Hey Daniel. My neighbour had a similiar problem, and they had spent quite a lot on drip irrigation. I don't know if it helps, but what they ended up doing in the end was making thier own. They used a garden hose and a very small drill bit, sometimes a small nail, to make the holes.. They were able to place the holes where they wanted them around specific plants and had less waste than they did with the standard drip irrigation. The holes and hose were large enough that they usually didn't clogged with sediment or minerals. If they did, they just made new holes or poked out the old ones. I have done the same.

They figured out how much to open up their water to get the drip they wanted, and for how long. It was pretty great. I did their watering when they were away and it worked well.

 

Thanks Mel for the info, It seems like none pf the systems are "perfect" and we just have to keep trying That sounds like a great idea. I'll keep it in mind.

Today I actually installed the drip irrigation lines for the first pepper bed and first tomato bed. They seem to work OK. I saw that I will run out of the emitters if I do the same thing tomorrow, so I ordered more. it's a relief to get this far.

I planted one of the pots of pumpkin seedlings. They weren't pot bound but were closer to that than I want. Still trying to catch up after all of my medical misadventures.

I washed my dirt-hauling, leaf-hauling 23 year old pickup truck. It actually looks nice without all of the algae growing on it

There is a small raised bed in the chicken yard, about 20 feet from the back door (kitchen). I took time today to top off the soil with leftover from my hauling trips, plus a big bag of Starbucks coffee grounds. Turned over and mixed the soil, and planted short rows of basil, celery, radishes, Korean radishes, spinach. It needs fencing to keep chickens and ducks out, so I did that too.

Planted seeds, slicing cucumber, pickle cucumber, epazote, amaranthus, cilantro, sunflowers. Some are sort of bucket list plants. I don't expect them all to grow.

Half of the potato trenches are filled in. I should do the other half soon.

 

Today I moved and replanted an azalea that had been exposed as being a layered start from the mother plant while I was pruning. In the moved azaleas past location (inside the rabbit proof fence) I moved some perennials that were acting unwillingly as rabbit food. One more azalea start to move.

 

Today I cleaned out the duck pond. It's a child's wading pool. The old algae filled water was used to water the nearby roses. I started cleaning up another kitchen garden bed in the chicken yard. I set up irrigation for another raised bed. It appears to work. Watered seedlings. Later, watered everything else that doesn't have drip line yet, which is still most things. I mowed for about an hour. Thinned more apples.

Looks like there might be lots of figs this year. This is the most I've ever seen on this tree (White Marseilles).


Maybe some grapes too. Grape jelly!



After thinning, I covered each remaining apple with an organza bag to keep coddling moths away. I think the organza also helps with apple scab.



I ran out of organza bags, ordered more. I'd like to see a couple dozen Gravensteins, Jonagold, Liberty, Northpole, and some others this year. Fruit set was interesting - some branches are loaded, others are empty. The red flesh varieties are loaded for the first time, and Zestar has enough to give a good taste (and pie and jam). Many of the apple trees still need pruning.

I'm still behind, but catching up after six weeks or so of health problems. I think I need to prioritize, and think of ways to scale back a bit. Just because I CAN grow something, doesn't mean I should.

 

Chuckle— Re: that parting comment.
It reminds me of a commercial on the telly and the phrase that is now used by the general public is, “….not because I have to, but because I can”. I do not even recall what was being advertised, but it is a phrase that is easy to use from time to time. I think it was a commercial about internet contracts.
The phrase in dutch is, “Niet omdat het moet, maar omdat het kan”.

Its good to see your plants. The thinning is ahead of us where the well known, “the June Drop”… where fruit trees normally shed their fruits. We here coincide the thinning with the June drop…or slightly after actually.

Anyway mate, good posting…..again.

 

Today I weeded the Roma tomatoes, which need tying up yet again, and mulched them with dry grass. I checked on the cucumbers, which are growing like crazy and full of blossoms. I need to harvest basil and thyme, but that is for tomorrow.
While I was working, Timi the cat was lounging in the shade and watching. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, let me come back as our cat!

 

Nothing today, for the most part I've had my feet up watching the tennis on TV.

The downside of wisterias is that there's always blooms to vac up for a few weeks. I'll attend to these, tomorrow...or Thursday.





There's a lot more to come down.



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Decided that the two peace lilies in the hanging baskets in the hall were past their best so I've replaced them with a couple of Dipladenias.






Here's an example off, t'internet.




The idea is for them to grow up the support chains.
The problem is there is very little light, just what gets through the frosted glass of the side window.
I hope they thrive or I'm thirty quid out. But it's worth the chance.

 

Good luck with that one, Riley. I visited my bee mentor a couple of days ago for tea and he showed me one that he had just bought and planted outside.

 

Today the spuds were filled in, as well as the leeks. The pest netting over the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage needs to be raised this afternoon, as well as stakes put in around all of the squash to allow for frost cover fabric to tent them.

Fresh lettuce and spinach were picked from the garden for the first time for salad tonight.

 

I planted the rest of the squash seedlings, into the garden. I don't usually wait this long, but they didn't seem potbound yet.

I planted most of the rest of the green bean seedlings. Also the six pots of black bean bush bean seedlings, an experiment.

I filled in the soil around the potatoes, 5 more rows. There are 12 rows, about eight plants per row. All of those are filled in.

The chickens got under the protective fencing and destroyed the kitchen garden bed. I need a new plan. It's annoying but also really funny.



I drained duck pond #2 and filled with clean water. There are three ponds. I drained most of #3 but not all. The water, bucket by bucket, went to roses, fig trees, and Japanese maples. Duck water really becomes foul. I hope that nourishes the plants.



I scattered slug bait around bean plants, eggplants, and squash plants.

These weeds in one of the half barrel planters have an odd looking red growth. Should I be concerned? Might it be contagious?



I think I'm happy with these irrigation emitters. With most, the water oozes so slowly, it's difficult to see. These saturate the soil in ten or fifteen minutes. I still need to test just how much flows. The tomatoes still get oozing emitters, one gallon per hour.



I collected pine needles from the driveway, partly because with hot dry weather ahead, they become a fire hazard there. They became a mulch under apple trees.


And I made a ten day supply of dog food. Part of my garden helps - the squashes, spinach, and green beans go into it. It helps save $$$ and is healthy for Rufus.