What have you done today in the Garden?

Not today, but a couple of weekends ago, I trimmed my tomato plants, cutting the tops to prevent new growth and trimming off the flower buds, to make sure that all the plants' energy will go to ripening the current tomatoes instead of creating new little green marbles. I have seen the difference already. Thankfully, we have another stretch of warm weather, so that will work well for pushing these little toms along.

I have pulled my spent cucumber plant and harvested some spinach and more zucchini. I made a tasty little cucumber salad with dinner last night.

We had a fair amount of rain yesterday. I'll have to get back out there and check how things look today.

 

Well I have been looking at our garden from our patio doors and thinking I should get out there and pull the rest of the beets for this year. Then blanch and freeze them. Plus get rid of the old cucumber vines, dig up some of the potatoes, pick some greens for a salad, start to dig out a few of our carrots. Phew, am I pooped. I think I'll take a nap and think on it. Ya I'm just kidding sort of. We have a big project under way. Will post photos on another form post.

SJoerd I have a really stupid question to ask. Why are the jars upside down? Does it help them seal better?

 

The only gardening I did today was trimming back the perennials and also trimmed my finger with the new sharp clippers. That's what I get for giving them a 'bowl' cut. Ouch!

 

I got one more 3 pound zucchini before pulling the plant out yesterday, and two acorn squashes before I pulled out that plant too. I still have one more acorn squash plant working for me. I'm leaving the rest of the purple beans on the bush to get seeds for next year.
I finally got a couple of pounds of ripe cherry tomatoes from my garden. Not much, but I can start gifting them. I'll give them to those I promised before I start saving them for myself.
While going through my tomato plants, I found a chubby little green hornworm feasting. I left this little guy alone. I want him to eat and be happy because he was LOADED with beautiful braconid wasp eggs. Now, I have to research these wasps and find out what types of homes they prefer so I can make the area hospitable for these little babies when they hatch. I don't want them wandering too far!


Tomato Hornworm with Braconid Wasp cocoons ( photo / image / picture from Beeker's Garden )

 

Harvesting what hurricane Arthur didn't destroy. Potatoes are all in. Really way too early but they were finished. The stems of them were so badly bruised from the beating they got from the wind that they didn't produce very much. Potatoes are small and we harvested about 300 pounds. A meager amount to the expected 12 to 1500 pounds. We grow our own seed and then donate the remainder to different families in need.

 

Bottled-up the last of the honey. Bean plants and sticks taken down. Some colonies treated for varroa mite. A new queen located and marked.
Veg gathered and taken to the Food Bank.
It's a busy ole season here...lotsa hard graft.

 

Didn't do anything in my garden today. Everyday when we pass the back garden to go to the chickens we say," No, no. We don't want to go there to find more tomatoes....". I will be going there tomorrow for I will begin to cook down the tomatoes I have in the house. So I will add new garden stuff too.

 

We are still harvesting full tilt. We picked 3 bu. of green beans and 3 bu of tomatoes on Wednesday. I had a market yesterday so I picked raspberries yesterday for it and today I picked apples, zucchini, peppers, grapes and yellow tomatoes and then rushed through a little mowing while the grass was somewhat dry. Came in the house and put labels on jam jars and got a shower. Oh, and I baked 15 loaves of bread for tomorrows markets. off to bed.

 

One garden is finished. Electric fencing down,sod turned and tilled. All ready to be put to bed for winter. Second garden all that is left is a few squash and they should be ripe in a few more days. That fencing will come down and ground prepared for winter. Putting down the last of the carrots in the freezer today.

 

Carolyn, you're a whirlwind. All that in one day? More like a week for me.

We have cleared three garden sections, planted Crimson clover in two, set the garlic bulbs in the ground. Clearing Bindweed from chicken wire fencing is the most tedious work, but it must be done. 2015 garden will be smaller. As I age, I find I need less garden so I can devote more time to what we grow.

We have faux spinach growing in a large container. It was growing well until this past week when the larger, lower leaves began to have brown spots. I wonder if they need feeding? I haven't been able to find information on it.
The faux spinach grew better for us than regular spinach.

 

Cleaning up the veggie plots and flower garden. Cleaning the sides of the canal alongside the lottie. This is mandatory here.

A neighbour lady asked me co go and remove a bird from her water butt. It turned out to be a dead rat with uncountable hundreds of maggots in its belly. GAD!! what a stinking mess that was.

Picked some paprika's.

 

I have done nothing in the garden. It has been raining again! I've never seen it rain so much here.

 

Still picking some tomatoes here and there. I have to check on my watermelon and acorn squash. I hope to pick them soon.

 

Gardening is over for this year. Picked the last of the squash and hubby just finished tilling. (sigh)