What have you done today in the Garden?

Maybe the amaranth flowers were not invasive. However, they might have cross pollinated with the wild amaranth in my horse pasture, which is extremely invasive. Hopefully son can get a new weed dragon soon, and we can get rid of them? I pulled them all out this morning, and put them in a bucket with rock salt to kill them. I was thinking of burning them. But some seeds survive fires. When they are dead, I guess I will send them in the trash. I never bought any amaranth seed or planted any, unless the seed company put the wrong seeds in the packet?

I did get out a bit and harvest some oregano, my parsley gone to seed, and some of my peppermint. I weeded in those areas, and planted more lettuce seed around my tomatoes.

Some of my neighbors have tomatoes that are not getting ripe. One neighbor thought it might be the heat? My tomatoes have partial shade, and are ripening.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, Night Owl. I cut some today to try that.

Today I cleaned up more of the border that I de-thistled over the past few days. The lavender plants there were too much of a mess to try to keep, and in bad places. So I removed them. I pruned one oregano way back. I assume that will be OK but if not, there is another one there. I grew those from seeds and had too many anyway.

Then there was a small separate area that will be lawn again. There were three healthy looking bearded iris clumps there, so I moved them to the area that will still be a border.

It's almost ready for weed barrier and mulch. Then it will be what I want - a privacy barrier (neighbor private drive on other side) with a minimal water need, low maintenance, a few herbs and xeric plants that deer avoid.

This part is going much faster than I expected.

There is still more to do, mostly clean up a blackberry's anti-deer enclosure. Also, there is a fallen Cascara tree, about 35 feet tall, that I need to clean up. One thing at a time.

 

If you lived closer, I would have been glad for your extra lavender. I have planted lavender seeds many years and not a single one has sprouted. I usually buy established lavender plants.

Today, I got my ripe tomatoes canned up. I make them similar to RoTel tomatoes:

diced tomatoes
diced bell pepper
diced jalapeno pepper
diced onion

I also added a whole garlic bulb divided into cloves, salt, and a sprig of dill that was still in the fridge. I simmered them awhile until they were done. While they simmered, I boiled my jars and lids and tools to sterlize them. They were ready about the same time. I use the open kettle method, but had the lids on. I got 2 1/2 quarts of tomatoes. The open kettle method is safe for apples, pears, tomatoes, jams and jellies.

I am looking around for a rack of some sort to use in my stock pots so I can learn to do water bath canning.

I did do some light weeding in the veggie garden, and later some pruning of tree branches along my road and a few places in my yard. The mimosas get way out of hand.

 

AAnightowl you canned a lot today. It can be hot and humid just in the kitchen this time of year. It’s a nice feeling when canning our own home grown foods,

 

Raining on and off. So Mother nature got the watering covered.

 

Gathered food for the Food Bank and dedicated a little time to the secret project.

 

Kudos to you Sjoerd

 

It was hot and I wasn't up to much. Since I caught a wild hair to finally complete the border rehab, I did some of that. 95% of the weeds are removed. Possibly, 97.5%. The biggest remaining job is removing a big deer fence surrounding a thornless blackberry and possibly re-install it much smaller.

I planted the container of Russian Sage at the border's front edge. It is a compact variety.

I carried about ten 5-gal buckets of dried tree chips. Very light. I spread them as mulch, some with cardboard underlayment. Also around the herbs and perennials at the front edge of the border. I reserved a spot that will contain one of the air layer fig tree starts, next month.

After looking at some web info, I cut some sage cuttings. The sage is the last of a group from my friend's former wildflower meadow, that I collected several years ago. Apparently they can be started in water. I'll give that a try.



Also those rosemary cuttings.



A garden video said in-soil cuttings do better because the roots aren't exposed to light. I have no idea if that is true. I decided to use coffee mugs instead of glass. Less light on the stems. If they grow, I know where to plant them.

Of the three geranium cuttings from a month ago, one has a little root. I've grown them from as little as that.



I potted it and put the others into a mug. Maybe they will still grow roots.

It's taken quite a while, but the garden downsizing is going pretty well. I can still grow what I enjoy most, and making movement to more xeric, etc, plantings.

 

I did housework today, and ran errands. A friend takes us for errands. That took most of the day.

One of my purple crepe myrtle cuttings is putting out a few new leaves. Yay. No sign of life on the others, but I will give them more time. The newest tomato cuttings are looking good.

my sage is looking poorly again. no idea this time.

 

Just watered anything in a pot.

 

The Lattarula fig tree is weighed down with the best figs it's had.



I picked those and other fruits for a nice fruit salad.



The Carini fig is beginning to bear too. They have a richer flavor, and deep red inside.



While I was looking for figs, I checked the air layer "burrito" on the Petite Negri fig, my best tasting and least productive / least reliable tree. It seemed hard. I think when they start growing roots, they pull all of the water out of the "burrito" of potting soil. That makes it hard. So I cut it off.



It grew a lot. I hope the top growth isn't too much for the small amount of roots.

Here's the root ball after removing wrapping.



I'm very happy about the root growth. I'll soak it a few hours, then loosen a little more and pot it up.

This variety was always difficult for me to start from cuttings. This air layer looks really promising now.

 

Daniel all your figs and berries look delicious. And great root ball on the air root technique.

 

Today was too hot for much outdoor time. I did check the orchard a little. I'm pleased there are a few pawpaws.



It's nice, because I didn't hand pollinate them this year. Pawpaws require pollination by carrion-feeding flies, and are not native here. It's a treat getting a few.

I also planted a few bean seeds to fill in blank spots. Only a few Roma beans and winged beans germinated. I filled in the rows with bush green bean seeds, saved from last year.

No heavy work today.

Given the heat, I moved the new fig tree starts into the garage for the day.

The rest was just some watering.

 

Oh wow Daniel your pawpaws look so pretty. Just as perfect as a picture.

 

A second cutting from the purple crepe myrtle is putting out a few buds. Guess I will have to find a place to plant them.

I think I mentioned canning up 2 1/2 quarts of tomatoes this week? I was given tomatoes from someone else's garden today, and will can them up also.

My elderberries are ripe, so I will pick them tomorrow, at least all the ones I can reach. I think I will make jam with them? I could add the ones from last year to the jam and free up some freezer space.

Those pawpaws sure look good. They do grow around here, but I do not have any on my place.

"Maybe" we will get some rain tomorrow or Monday? We are bone dry and could really use a good rain.

More tomatoes are turning red, so will nab them tomorrow, and see if more cucumbers are ready yet?

I NEED to get those onions in the ground.