Posted on 07/08/2016 1:32:57 PM PDT by greeneyes
LOL.
Sorry to hear that. Drought/lack of water is tough. For tomatoes, I have had to use shade cloth to protect them from the hot afternoon sun, and water them twice a day sometimes.
Thanks for the picture. We also would prefer to have the rain spread out a little more, but at least the rain barrels and swimming pool are full again, so if it dries up, we can still water stuff.
I got the garlic out, cured, and stored. Have a bunch of taters to go through and sort out some for seed. May can some. Hubby’s taters did not do as well this year as last, but we will still likely have more than we can use up, since I’m low carb and cut way back on those.
I got some corn planted and will try to get some peanuts planted today as well as a cantaloupe or two.
Canned some Beets yesterday, and will finish up the beets we harvested tonight. Still have some left to get out of the ground. Deck corn sprouted - I didn’t really think it would, so now I have to make a space for it to be planted.
Before the rains I’d been working on the pond in my free time. I’d removed another 3’ or so of dirt from the bottom of the sump that I’m digging out in the middle of the basin. I’m going to build a fishing/swimming dock and I want at least 10’ of water on the deep side of that.
I put the trash pump in on the 4th and it’s still going. There’s a couple more feet of water in there that needs to come out.
There’s more rain in the forecast for the next few days.
I really want to get that project finished before winter. I probably ought to buy a bigger pump.
August will make five years since the pond died in the drought. I really miss being able to walk out my front door and catch some fish for dinner.
When I went out to water last night, I was shocked (SHOCKED, I tell you!) to see a sea of white flowers floating on the pea patch! Despite the heat, they are putting out a new crop, so I gave them a very thorough soaking. Mrs. Applegate will have to start picking peas again tomorrow.
Today, I made a small start on the chicken/rabbit house: 14-35lb cat sand buckets full hauled to the garden. It gave me 2 tiller-widths about 20’ long & 2-3” deep tilled in. It will take at least 10-12 times that to make a good dent. It is built up about 7-8”, as I blew it off the last couple of years. On the plus side, it makes it much easier to reach stuff on top of the cages.
While I was at it, I reset the sweeps on the hiller for max width, and went down the potato rows again. The ground looked fuzzy with new seedlings of mainly purslane coming up; nearly a solid mat.
Also surprised this evening to see flower bud clusters on the new elderberries I planted last year.
It does seem to be taking a while to get that pond finished. What sort of fish did you raise?
CROWS : they may be intelligent ,.. but they can't count !
Must be the new " Core Cirriculum" ?
CROWS : the 'other ' black meat; it's whats for dinner !
We had some elderberries that were blooming earlier this year. Forgot to check them for berries. I need to go check the blackberry bushes too.
I can’t believe that we still don’t have a single tomato. One of the cherry tomatoes is almost up to the top of the tomato cage. It has quite a few flowers, so Hoping to get something from it.
I am surprised about the peas too. In this heat, I would not expect it, however, it is still cooler so far this summer than usual given that it is July.
What are the chances of you putting a couple of the traps over the pond, without any poison, and feed the fish ?
Don’t be hating on crows. They are God’s creatures, just like snakes, cockroaches and other things I could name, but won’t.
True dat !
I prefer to think of my pellet/bb gun as a "persuader" to move along.
They have a right to exist... just not in my garden, eating my produce.
If they cant be persuaded , ..they might get celestialized (and fulfilled their function on earth) !
I am a patient man, but like "Popeye":" I can stands so much,..and then I can stands no more "
LOL! :-)
PS - the anti-crow fence is going splendidly. I have 3 raised beds totally fenced & I’ll be finishing the 4th today. Access to the garden is really easy which is the main thing. I’ll probably have to move some panels to mow, but they are so light that it won’t take long to do. I’m going to see if I can post some pics on Friday’s thread. I’m very pleased with how the fencing is turning out - not only is it functional, but it looks very neat & I like for things to be neat & organized. The crows have been cawing in the distance - can’t wait to see what they “say” & do when I’m through working out there & they investigate the fence for the first time.
Just a typical Missouri farm pond mix of fish.
Bluegill, red ear sunfish, crappie, largemouth bass and channel cats. Twice a year I’d buy 20lbs of minnows at the feed store and toss those in. That would set off a feeding frenzy that was quite entertaining to watch.
I might give that a try after the dam is closed up and it’s back to full pool and full of fish.
What I’ve been doing is emptying the bug bags into a bucket of soapy water, then digging a hole in the garden, dumping the dead bugs in the hole and burying them.
Fish carcasses are good fertilizer, why not bugs?
The bugs are generally attracted to a trap by use of pheromones (sex attractant scent).
If these bugs are sexually mature they might already be carrying eggs.
By burying the bug carcasses, you might be assisting any larvae to over-winter, and survive for next year.
Most farms have 'burn pile' for brush, scrub plants and weeds; I would suggest the burn pile and not have to think of a possibility of a bug re-infestation.
These bugs are dead bugs. Drowned in a bucket of soapy water.
I like catfish - especially blackened cat fish.
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