It’s been so dry lately, with storms going north and south of us regularly. Where friend, Dara, several miles north of us got an inch, we didn’t get a sprinkle. But, yesterday, it rained softly, nearly all day. We were so grateful! I did housework while Will took a much-deserved nap. I kept walking out onto the porch, breathing in that wonderful rain scent, and watching water pour off the roof and drip off my hanging baskets on the porch. We’re hoping that rain will bring on some of our earlier-planted crops of beans and corn.
Will went out to the North Garden and reported that finally much of the Seneca Sunrise and Simonet sweet corn, planted nearly three weeks ago, is starting to poke out of the soil. We were wondering whether to replant or not. I went to the Wolf Garden and could only find a few isolated spears of the hybrid, Espresso sweet corn we plant so I won’t be tempted to save it for seeds. Today, I got on the Kubota, planning on tilling the patch up and replanting it so we get plenty to can and eat, as well as share with friends. Just as I got out there, Will was walking the patch and found a lot of tiny spears, just barely poking out of the soil. Wow! That was sure a surprise, as I’d just looked, and it hadn’t come up yet. Now, all we have to do is get those big pigweed and lamb’s quarter plants out of the gardens. Big job! They love the heat. — Jackie
Try putting it in a piece of raw liver. Chop it up in 1/2″ pieces, give him a couple of untreated pieces, then give him a few, one of which is treated. That usually works.
Oops, sometimes the comments go in the wrong place, Selena.
Got a late cold plant on the Seneca Sunrise corn but in eight days it was coming up. Normally by the time it pokes thru the cottontail rabbits get it and that’s it for the year. This year determined to finally get a crop right before it emerged we took 25 foot lengths of 24” wide chicken wire and bent over the length into a V shape. Placed over the row it provided protection until the plants were 8 to 10 inches tall. It appears that at this point it’s getting too tough for the bunny’s and the wire was removed and carefully stored away till next year. The weeds did grow a bit into the born but are easy to remove. I think this is how we will do it from here on in
Aren’t we homesteaders an inventive bunch though? Congrats!!
I dug my garlic a few days ago and glad I didn’t wait any longer. It was very full, a couple had split their dry outer shell. Seems several weeks early for here in the Des Moines area.
Garden doing pretty well, but dill struggled and is ok now. 11 tomato plants are all 4-5′ tall in their cages; I have beefsteak, and Jackie’s Black Crimson and A Reinharts Jumbo. Hopi Pale Grey doing well but I’m concerned about vine borer, since it got into my spaghetti squash vines already.
Enjoy the 4th!
Thank you. We are. It’s raining! Not much, but rain. Here’s hoping the dratted vine borers don’t hit your Hopis. If they’ve flowered, with female flowers that have been pollinated you can cover the vines with row cover and, hopefully, avoid the buggers.
We finally got the rain too. I’m currently trellising my tomatoes. I am doing what’s called the Florida weave on them. It’s interesting and Im learning the best way to do it, but I think it will work out. I plants 81 plants total which is insanity. My beans have finally made their appearance as well. My potatoes have been so slow to come up, that I’ve thought about replanting, but when I dig down o find them growing so so hopefully it will be okay. I went to our local greenhouse yesterday just for fun to see what they had left because I was there earlier last week, and I brought home about 15 plans of different things that either didn’t grow up yet for me or are small and these are pretty overgrown. They gave them to me for free because it’s pretty dead in there and I couldn’t let these plants die. They have been loving soaking in a tub of water for the last day, and I’ll get them in the ground maybe today, but tomorrow for sure. The heat is nice, but I’m excited for the rain this week. We need everything we can get. We have been making hay for a few weeks and it’s looking good if the rain keep up.
Congratulations on your new plants. Our potatoes have been slow, too, but are finally starting to look more normal. It’s been a weird year!! Our hay making hasn’t started. Hopefully, this week.
We got rain!! we have been in a severe drought here in my neck of North Missouri and we finally got rain. Looks like about 2 inches over the past few days. Such a blessing! My tomatoes have shot up and bushed out almost overnight. The rest of the garden is looking so much better as well. This rain will make a huge difference for the farmers. I had replanted some of my beans and cucumbers this spring thinking that birds were eating the seed. Now I wonder if I just got to anxious since it took 3 weeks for your corn to sprout. I suspect the dry ground was part of my problem even though I carried water to some of the spots I had planted. Its just not the same as rain. Wishing you a blessed week and more rain:]
Thank you so much! We’ve had beans in the ground, some of which are just coming up after being in the ground for 3 weeks. Strange! So glad you got a good rain. It makes all the difference!
Here in Tennessee its rained almost everyday for the past two weeks.
Send some north!!
Finally some much needed rain here on the south shore of Lake Superior. It’s been so hot & dry!! Thankfully the Lord has blessed me with a way to gradually add a few plants/bushes to my future permaculture food forest. Blessings from my homestead to yours?
Thanks Anna! Our permanent plantings are continuing to bless us too! Our first good crop of bush cherries is nearing ripening right now. Wow!
Here we had a “blessed “ rain-1 inch. This will save our crops. Crazy how pig weed, purslane, lamb’s quarter and thistles proliferate in spite of a drought. We harvested peas -20 pints and tore them out to plant green beans. The field corn will nearly be knee high by the 4th of July. The soil is still very dry. Happy 4th
Thanks Everett. Ha ha, I’ve got popcorn, Glass Gem, up to my waist today. (Okay, so I planted it inside….) Luckily, purslane, pig weed and lamb’s quarter are all good to eat, huh?
Selena- try peanut butter. Never had anybody turn their nose up at that around here.
Here in Copper Basin Alaska we had showers last night which will help the potatoes which are all up but yesterday the garden by the house where we want to plant the peas and later carrots and beets was still too wet to walk across yesterday without the showers. I wish I understood what is going on as until we fenced it with an eight foot fence to keep moose out of the peas I used to put the early potatoes there! We did have way more snow than I’ve seen before and the rivers are flooding high enough that the salmon are running three weeks late so maybe just the late season is the cause. At least the greenhouse and hoop houses are doing ok?
Yup, weather’s sure been crazy! We, also, had record snow this winter but it’s dry, dry, dry now, even when we get rain, it’s not nearly enough. Send some down here?
three weeks for corn to sprout! amazing, so fortunate Will spied before cultivating up.
unfortunately for Vermont Wife, her beans are being eaten. lucky for me all varieties here (pacific northwest) are thriving. alas my okra, and all melon an cucumbers have been deluged with pests and weather issues. gardening issues we all have i guess.
Mary
Funny, it seems to be a different crop each year. Last year the beans were in full vigor and we had more than we could eat and preserve, but the cucumbers did very badly, hardly got any at all. This year it’s the beans’ turn I guess, but the cukes look very good. I’m trying melons again; every year I start melon plants and every year they fail to produce much of anything that we’re interested in eating (the chickens are interested in everything though). Every year a different variety too, so maybe it’s just the location or something.
Our potatoes are going gangbusters so we won’t starve this winter.
Yup, some years one crop does fantastic, another not so great. That’s why we always try to put up everything we can, looking out for one of those years. We love our melons. It took years to find varieties that tasted good and did well, so far north. But it was SO worth it!
No pigweed here, but we are inundated with sheep sorrel and horsetail. It’s a losing battle, folks around here say that the horsetail will grow up right through concrete and I believe them.
I’m so glad to hear you’ve gotten rain. After a long, hot/dry spell, a rainy day always feels to me like a fever that’s broken. We’ve had a bit too much rain these last three weeks and we’re in for another few days starting tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday were lovely so I got out to pick strawberries before the chipmunks get them.
I grow a dozen or so varieties of beans and usually they’re a low-maintenance crop, but this year they’re really getting eaten up by slugs or by bean beetles; I replanted and the new plants are having a bad time of it too. Yesterday evening after the bees had gone back to their hives I went out and sprayed with spinosad. It’s my preference to avoid sprays, but at this rate I won’t be getting any beans at all this year. As far as insecticides go, the spinosad is not as bad as the hard chemicals and it’s rated for organic so I use it sparingly when absolutely necessary. We’ll have to see how it goes.
I’ve had good luck with spinosad so I hope you do too! It seems like there’s always some critters who want to have your garden’s produce for themselves.
LA. Bs quarter is good eating. One of my best memories was watching my Mom teach my youngest daughter how to prepare itn from picking through cleaning g and then cooling.
Happy 4th everyone.
Mittens has the you “a-sturbed” (annoyed and disturbed) me look on her face. I’m sure she was eradication her enemies in her dreams.
We’re supposed to get rain this weekend and T-W-Th. Mixed emotions as the almost 50% chance of rain is during the big fireworks show. The grandsons of the man who started it took over the reins when he died and have kept it going. Also do a festival of lights at Xmas time.
Going to dig up the garlic this weekend – I think a bit too soon but sad to say, I’m tired of hearing about it. No matter what our age, we all have a finite amount of energy. As I get older, I’m picky about where I expend energy.
Dug some taters for the older kiddo – decent size for not even 60 days since we planted.
Hopefully the rains will clear out the wildfire smoke. This morning we had fog on top of the smoke, best visibility in the area was 2.5 miles, some places 0 miles.
Hoping I have time to talk a walk and snag a few black raspberries. I usually munch a few but most are consumed by wildlife. Perhaps when I retire from work-work, I’ll plant a few blackberry plants and keep the black raspberry plants away from them. While I like both, blackberry plants tend to be crowded out by black raspberry in my area (growing in the wild that is).
Anyone have any suggestions as to what food best hides the taste of a worm pill (I’ve had minimal success with wet food)? I found I could buy Drontal OTC (x cost per pill). First pill the stray ate but he vomited the wet food. Got a 1/4 down him the other day but no go since then (perhaps it is just the heat?).
Yep, Mittens did NOT like to be disturbed. She is a very particular cat. She always leaves parts of various varmints she has caught on our doorstep. I’m not sure if she’s bragging or sharing. We’re getting a little rain now, but it’s due to end before fireworks time. That’s a win-win situation, as fireworks when it’s been so dry is dangerous even though the DNR has lifted the fire ban. Even with the rain, I can still smell smoke and its gotten my nose stuffed up and my eyes burn. Ish! And I think of all those thousands of acres of woods burned.
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