What have you done today in the Garden?

Oh dear that's not good having Voles feasting on your Dahlias @Daniel W .

Good idea to label them .

 

Today I did a little pruning. Mainly getting unwanted vines off of the deer fencing that I want to remove. That will make it less of a struggle.

Also, started removing branches from a fallen tree. It's not in the way, so no hurry. Still, it's not going to remove itself. A little at a time.

I haven't tried this before. I girdled some of the fig tree branches, to see if they can be sped up to bear before rainy season.



In that example, I left one side alone, for comparison. Girdling means removing a strip of bark, including inner layer, all the way around the stem or branch. That removes the phloem tissue. Sugars made by the leaves travel in phloem to roots. With that removed, the sugars stay in the top section, stimulating fruit production.

I don't know if that will work. There's nothing much on the internet and it's not part of fig growing lore. I did find one ag station research abstract, but it was limited on details. I know that girdling stimulates growth - the air layers I did grew two or three times as fast as other branches. I will pinch out the growing tips so the sugars can only go into fig production.

The girdled branches won't survive the winter (I think) so will be removed during pruning season.

 

After all the days I’ve spent toiling in my gardens ( enjoying each minute)
I am finding that I don’t really have much to do right now. It’s funny, I go out every morning to look things over and search for something that needs me. I’m picking tomatoes and peppers. The weeds are conquered right now. Flowers are pretty and I’m enjoying them. I already have an idea to transplant some Rudbeckia to a more suitable site, but I should wait a few more weeks I think, for that.
I suppose I’ll get busy when Autumn arrives, right?

 

That sounds like a nice place to be

 

I too find that I agree with @Kay and @Daniel W … there is not as much urgency in the every day garden as things slow down . It is nice just to sit back enjoy the view and know that this season I have conquered the moles, gophers, voles, field mice and deer. Knock on Wood. It’s been very peaceful knowing that some critter isn’t shopping around the garden devouring a treat or two. So for a little while as I am still stuck resting anyway, joint issues slowly getting better. Resting is a good thing.

A special ‘Toast’ to all and ‘clip-clip ‘ , with our glasses and passing my famous margarita’s to all our garden buddies on this forum. Time to celebrate.
Until fall when ‘Leaf Wars’ begin, it’s peace and quiet for now.

Looking out over the valley.

 

We FINALLY got some good rain today. It is sorely needed, and we are supposed to get heavy storms overnight. I need to walk the dogs, hopefully before the storms arrive?

I did get out to do chores (feed Horsey, clean up after dogs and look for things to harvest). I found a few tomatoes, and a large piece of tomato stem was broken. I cut it into pieces to try and root. Some of my other cuttings are doing great and putting out flowers and fruit.

I want to take more pictures. I have two cantelopes growing, and a honeydew melon almost big enough to harvest, they are in the compost pile. I have a few watermelons growing now, but they are babies. Horsey is enjoying my damaged corn plants. More potatoes are about ready to dig. There are baby gourds, and a baby butternut squash. I have some new cucumber vines in a container, they have flowers.

A friend wants to give me bamboo cuttings from giant bamboo... Hmmm. I WILL put them in a container, I don't want that stuff getting loose. I have other invasives that are impossible to get rid of. (wisteria, trumpet vines, American bittersweet, others...)

I do seem to be good at growing weeds...

I did get some dead raspberry canes removed, and a few other things pruned a little.

 

@AAnightowl nice to finally get some rain , especially in summer. We have had a little and color overcast days. I haven’t watered at all in 3 days. What kind of horse do you have? We have Arabians and Tenn walkers.

Your garden descriptions sounds like you have a good harvest coming up soon. And some wonderful fruits.We have a short growing season here and melons don’t have time to mature in our zone.

Weeds is the garden is a necessary evil chore… just like housework.
Be careful with corn plants they have lot of sugar for horses.

I had clump black bamboo for many years it stayed in place. After 20 years it all flowered all at once in several different areas and then croaked just like that! It sees to be a strange phenomenon for bamboo. I had no idea bamboo even flowered, they are tiny drops on each leaf stem. Rather odd looking.

 

Daniel—It's a cute little thing. You guys have such interesting animals there.
More interesting techniques you are showing. I may not have fig trees, but the mechanics of girdling a branch to induce a plant to produce more fruit intrigues me. My, oh my mate— you are such an interesting gardener.

Kay— you are on the right track. I want to reach that stage as well, but there is still stuff to do…annnnd it is time to begin with winterising, albeit on a modest scale at this time.

I’m with Pac, toasting all you pros who can begin to ease towards autumn.
BTW— that is a gorgeous foto you have posted.

AA— sounds like you have gotten some things done today. Ya know wot, I am remarkably good at growing weeds too this year. It has been like no other. They are so mean.

 

Stunning photo! Just beautiful!

 

More harvesting and watering in the greenhouse.

 

A little watering. I planted some lavender plants and a rosemary plant in the sunny border.

I girdled some more fig branches, and removed some tiny figs above those, that wont have time to develop fully anyway.

@Sjoerd, girdling is used for increasing size and other traits for various fruits. I think chemicals are used more, now. There isn't any lore to guide me, and minimal science. So it's all an experiment. We'll see in a couple of months.

If no benefit, also no harm done. I will prune them back during the winter, either way.

Me too!

 

@Pacnorwest my horse is a Palomino quarter horse. She is 23 years old.

We got 3 1/2 inches of rain so far since Tuesday. Yay.

I was out there early pulling some of those weeds, and I dug up some heal all (prunella vulgaris) for a few friends who want some. It has a lot of medicinal uses and lovely blue flowers. One friend is the one I sometimes buy plants from, and she is sending some more comfrey and some skullcap in trade. Apparently skullcap is also in the mint family, and gets lovely blue flowers, and also medicinal uses. I had to come in because of the heat. I guess the skullcap will reproduce as freely as the heal-all and other mints.

I expect to go out more later.

 

@AAnightowl 23 yr old horse is a long time. Who has pets that live longer than horses. Well birds like cockatoos live into their 50’s. I don’t know how long you have had your horse my oldest horse was 31 years old. Had since a colt.

We have a lot of prunella vulgaris in the pasture . It is a pretty purple little plant along with pink rain lilies. They can be dried and teas made from scratch and or flavors mixed with dried hibiscus, mint, rose hips and camellia leaves etc. When dried I put them in my coffee grinder…also grind the stevia leaves for sweeter flavor. Once dried place in ziploc freezer bags and store in the freezer.

Most of the plants in the mint family made into tea’s listed can be invasive and are opportunist plants taking over various areas. Except the flavored mints like chocolate, pineapple , margarita they are not as invasive or hardy in my zone and don’t spread like the seas of thieves like common mentha.

Thank you @Sjoerd @Daniel For your kind comments on the overlook view of the valley pic.

 

I have a couple of those! I started cat grass last year, for them, and wintered (maybe not a word?) it in the basement. This is it, now.

They are so funny. Every time my granddaughter (who is 14) comes to give me a hug Minney comes running to get between us. No matter where I am, sometimes I'm already in bed and she comes to give me a hug goodnight. We can literally hear her running down the stairs so she can jump on the bed and get between us. I'll be sitting in the rocking chair and she jumps on my lap to get between us. As soon as my granddaughter leaves she may stay for a couple minutes, then she's gone. That little green monster rears its ugly head any time my granddaughter is around me.

I got my first full bowl of raspberries. I think this is their "resting" year. Usually by now I have several frozen bags and have given away bowls of them. I'm hoping for enough to make a batch of jelly/jam. I take a lot of seeds out but not all (hence jelly/jam). Could be the wet mild weather as well.

 

Today I cut some weed grasses on the end of the border project. I cut sections of deer fencing from around the thornless blackberry, and compacted them for recycling the metal. One section remaining. I decided, after it's done bearing, I will remove it, There is another of the same variety in a different location anyway.

I noticed that the lavender plants that I cut off a week ago, are growing. A nice surprise. Everything I read says, they wont do that. I mulched around them, watered, and gave some dilute fertilizer. Will they grow? Who knows?



I removed some additional small fig buds, to improve the chances of the others.