What have you done today in the Garden?

I haven't done much in the garden, lately. I'm busy packing up my room and finding space for everything at home....9 days left! But who's counting! I came home day before yesterday and the rain was so bad I drove at a snail's pace. I was just walking in from the garage and saw the hail. All my plants did okay, but I was worried about them. I have little mini grapes coming on my grape vines. Peas are loving the cool weather. Everything loves all the rain we've been having.

 

Daniel your plant collection is always impressive. Lots of goodies to see blooming thruout the up coming season. You have some special plants in today’s reveal. A lot of good favs.

 

Looking good Daniel.

 

Nothing much, i re-sown some wallflower seeds, a lot hadn't come up.

 

Picked more strawbs, watered the toms and planted the last of the prissy-plot.

 

Set up 15 gopher traps in one area under the cherry trees in west pasture. Another 3 near the Doug Fir tree in the south pasture . Another near the east garden. 20 traps total. I’m pooped took 2 days. I try to use batter op drill with small auger to dig thru the clay to set the traps.

 

Oh dear @Pacnorwest that sounds like jolly hard work.

 

I have not been here in a few days... I have been trying to keep up here.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I planted the birdhouse gourds last week. The packet had 3 whole seeds. And seed packets are $2-$3 or more. I thought that rather stingy. I planted all 3 of them in the tub with my dead Queen of Sweden bush as something for them to climb. I hope they grow and make tons of gourds.

My scarlet runner beans are up and doing well.

Lots of lettuce seeds are finally up. I will thin them out soon, more likely transplant them to various spots around my garden.

I think some celery seeds have sprouted? I hope so, never had any do well before.

My sweet potatoes are up and going. I thought I planted ORANGE sweet potatoes, but the plants look all purple-ish, so likely I have more purple sweet potatoes. My son can eat them I guess.

My regular potatoes are doing well, the tomatoes, peas, onions and garlics all look good. I finally found a couple of redbeet seedlings. For a cool weather crop, they have been afraid of the cool weather? I think I have some carrots up and going. The corn looks good. The horseradish is doing well.

My raspberries are doing very good. Yummy.

I think the leeks and some other kind of onions are up. They look like GREEN HAIR so far. No sign of the chives I planted yet. Thankfully, I have other chives, but I was hoping for some more.

I read where milkweed seeds can take 3 years before they bloom? Wow. At least my wild milkweed transplant and the plants it came from are growing nicely and blooming. I saw more purple milkweeds growing along my road, so I will watch for seed pods to save. There are also some out on the highway, but it is illegal to pick any of those.

I covered my grapevines that revived as something was nibbling them. Probably deer. I never see evidence of nibbling on the wild grapevines?

I found some NEW to me variety of mint in my yard. It is NOT: peppermint, oregano, horsemint/bee balm, Thai mint, prunella vulgaris/heal-all, catnip, catmint, lavender, or rosemary, purple dead nettle, henbit, coleus, etc. I had pulled some to keep from mowing it, and put them in some water. They have rooted like crazy, so I am wondering where to replant them. I will take a picture and try to post it later. I do have lots of it around my yard. Mints have many uses, so I want to find out what it is, and what it might be good for? It does resemble basil, but I have never planted basil. Maybe someone else did and it went wild? I guess I will pot it up at least until I can ID it.

My black eyed susans are blooming, and the blue spiderwort is still blooming. My St Swithun's (David Austin) rose is blooming.

My friend who gave me that Mystery Rose the other year has found a couple of babies from it and will bring them in the fall.

I have been working on the weeding some more.

A friend of a friend had some hay to sell, so I was able to get some hay for Horsey.

I have a few stray pumpkin/squash plants of some sort (several kinds) growing in the compost bins, and other containers, so I will take them.

That malabar spinach is doing well. DS does not like either... I hope the chickens do! (Probably the deer do not like it...)

 

Did two spruce saplings and straw mulched the pepper bed yesterday.

 

Gosh @AAnightowl , I can see why you've been absent..... very busy bee indeed.!!

 

Pulled up all of the dying hyacinth leaves and put them in the compost bin. Haven't done much else our son came to visit for 5 hours.

 

AAnightowl. You have been buzzzy . A lot accomplished just in time for sunny weather .you have quite a collection of veggies, berries, plants and flowers. Post some pics when you get a chance. Would luv to see your garden at this stage. Planting gardens always brings a fresh new perspective for the season, new hope and a better future. Lots of planning and the opportunity to establish a good harvest .


Gopher and mole trap update.
Added more traps under the cherry trees. 4 traps are tripped out of 12 in this area alone. And mow mow mow. I’m pooped.

This is one whole area full of gophers/moles by all the cherry trees. Swiss cheese pastures everywhere. But… Not this year, “I’m cuttin ‘em off at the pass”.

This trap is tripped.


Big hole from gophers. This is the area where the gophers used to discard the soil that were tearing up the area under the cherry trees 120’. That is a 5” post in the hole comparing size . It’s a huge gopher… Last year they literally made Swiss cheese out of the pastures. Not happening this year.

 

I did forget to mention that I spent almost the whole day yesterday trimming edges and mowing. I have more edges to trim, maybe I will work on them sunday if the weather permits. After I get the edges in my veggie garden done, and prune that multiflora rose/poison ivy mess, I will take some new pictures. There are Jerusalem artichokes in that part also.

I guess I will need long sleeves, gloves, etc (HOW to protect one's face from the poison ivy????) to get rid of some of it. It is in such an overgrown area, I cannot get at it. I cannot wear those plague masks that people were supposed to wear during covid due to COPD and asthma etc. I think I will try to bag that stuff and send it with the trash. They say not to burn poison ivy because you could get it in your lungs.

I have poison ivy in two or three other areas that need cleaned out also.... I wish I could borrow a couple of goats to eat that stuff down, but I do not have fence in those spots to keep them in. And Horsey's fence is NOT "goat proof" ! Her pasture could use a couple of goats too...

 

@Pacnorwest , Are your cherries the sweet cherries? I have sour pie cherries here. And they grow like 'weeds', but I love them.

 

Pac— there were traps tripped but did you manage to catch anything?