Posted on 09/09/2011 5:02:47 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners. It has been beautiful weather here in East Central Mississippi. We received about 3 inches of rain out of TS Lee on Monday and the daytime highs have been in the mid to high 80s with overnight lows in the 50s. It is 50 right now. This is quite cool for this time of year for us. My garden is basically done for the year. I bottled my first batch of beer yesterday, 30 quarts. Now it is wait for two weeks and maybe up to a couple of months, while it conditions, until it is ready to drink.
If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.
I hope all your gardens are flourishing.
See Post #39 for the gory details... :)
I’m going back in for another x-ray on the 14th, then we’ll see if she’ll release me to work at least part time. I can’t AFFORD to not work. Grrrr!
Everything in our garden is late this year but at least it’s still producing. Berries were excellent, fruit on trees is maturing and about ready to harvest and share plus tomatoes are beginning to ripen...some are ready to preserve.
However, while waiting for the veggies to grow up, I had time for silliness in one flower bed. Here’s a link you might enjoy. (Check the phone # doodled in the eighth picture.)
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/580822259BmprZp
Thank goodness we don’t have fire ants this far north in Iowa. I remember going down to Alabama to relatives in the ‘70s and getting stung by them. Felt like someone shot hot pepper sauce under my skin.
The squash bugs on the other hand have done their fair share this year.
I’m curious as to what you think of the Golden Midgets. I have some Al Baby watermelons, planted the last of my seed and was going to save it because nobody sells it anymore - and I stepped on the only melon they produced this year. So I’m looking at the Golden Midget to replace it.
Thanks! For such a crappy year the garden didn’t do bad.
There are some current produce/garden/food pictures at this link...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.260162150666039.83991.100000167687175&l=47054e2f0f&type=1
We’re working on finding something for me to do. I really do need to be 100% mobile to do my job, but being in a wheelchair will help to some extent. I can park myself in the Chemical Aisle and expose myself to all sorts of toxins until I’m better, LOL!
I hope this means that it is a Worker’s Comp injury. That won’t help with missed wages, but it should take care of the medical.
I asked the other day about what to do about my squash bug. I’m about to rip out my squash, but should I tread the bed and the soil with anything for next year?
Who’s the handsome hunk on your FB page (and I’m not referring to the furry Golden one)?
I haven’t really had a problem with squash bugs this year. Hubby has kept things pretty well doused with DE (every week) and silute sevin (twice so far this summer). Just on the squashes mind you, we don’t use pesticides on anything but those. I’ve kind of become fond of finding tomato worms. My kids have a pet rooster (Pot Pie) that loves them! I have thought of taking a dust vac to the squash bugs and emptying the bag in his pen. Might have to do that next year when we’ve gotten him some wimmins.
I’ve heard that tilling the soil is good for preventing reinfestations to some extent. Don’t remember if that was squash bug specific or not. Bet one of the extension services has a page on that though. Seems to me I remember reading to pick up old boards, boxes, or anything else they might be able to winter under easily. ?
Picked a couple of cukes. The last of the succession planted corn has silks, finally, but they are purple. Must be some sort of soil deficiency.
I'll be cleaning up the patios, and getting ready for the winter garden planting this next week. I am going to plant 2 beds of winter wheat, and intersperse red clover. I am going to research some other green manure cover crops for the other beds.
It is almost time to dig up the iris and lilies that have bloomed so great for the past 30 years. Hubby wants the space for his top hat blueberry bushes. He plans to move them to a space in the front yard, so I hope they survive.
We also plan one more raised bed next to the back patio retaining wall. This will give me expanded space for my winter garden, and allow better crop rotation.
Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
I have a similar problem area in the front of my house. It is a north eastern exposure, and several trees keep part of it mostly shaded. So many things have not worked.
We have terraced steps with about 5 feet of dirt between the steps and the house. surrounded with railroad ties. The dirt is pretty awful and mostly clay. So far, the only things that have survived are winter creeper, boxwood, day lilies, and sub-zero ivy.
At one time, we had a wild ivy that grew quickly and covered the entire front of the bedroom wing of the house. It climbed the brick about 20 feet up and 18 feet wide. It looked great in the summer, but was a lot of ugly brown vines in the winter. It may have been virginia creeper.
We had a basement leak, and the back hoe had to dig up the entire area, and we didn’t even think about trying to save the ivy, till it was too late. Some thought it might have been virginia creeper which is native to Missouri.
Wash your mouth out with soap!
The hoophouse is now secure from the deer, and I've planted more tomato, some pumpkin, and a variety of sweet peppers.
The MRS. and I bought some apple trees a couple days ago. They are grafted types that are advertised to grow well in the Texas caliche and dry conditions. I may be able to make some cider in a couple years.
All you Freepers on teh east coast- if you don't want all that rain water, send it to Texas! I got a hose.....
Mine were hiding under a squash!
What is DE?
We planted two seedless grapes...one red and green. Anyway the deer hit them last year. This year they have grown and are doing fine....BUT, I turned the leaves over and there were a bunch of white aphid like bugs that blended with the white under the leaves. I just squashed some and others LEAPED away. I have not seen them on any of the other garden plants, only on the grapes. I tried to identify them but no luck so far...anybody know what they are? (no picture).
We planted 3 or 4 varieties of seedless grapes in the spring of 2009. The instructions said to pick all the flowers the following spring, which we did. This year we got our first batch of grapes.
Every danged one has SEEDS. Color me unhappy about that.
Most likely Diatomaceous earth which is used to control bugs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.