GARDENING

[Jeepers]

Everything looks lovely! We aren't having Japanese Beetles this year but they were swarming around in northern Indiana when I was there a couple of weeks ago. They were eating all of the trees in sons yard. They are awful.

[The WE2's]

Not a lot, but they're HOT!  Even through my gloves I felt the warmth!  We don't eat them, I just use them as a seasoning.  Fresh from the garden.  There's more coming on, this is only the first batch.

[The WE2's]

98 today with heat index 108...that spells miserable!  I wash clothes and hang them out one day at a time.  House dresses are a must, until I leave the house.  Hubby checked garden this morning on his way to work and everything seems to be doing fine just watering every other day.  Dusting with the baby powder seems to be keeping insects at bay.  I'm thinking that maybe using baking soda with some peppermint and lavender essential oil might work and be cheaper?

[Jeepers]

Garden looks great even with all of that heat!

[Annarchy]

Your garden looks awesome. 

[dogmom4]

Beautiful garden!

[Midnightmom]

Your plants are doing very well for being in buckets. I had a bucket garden a few years ago and it is so hot here that everything just dried up and died.  (even with a shade cloth to protect from direct sunlight)

[Daelith]

Veggies are looking good WE2. Let us know if you try the baking soda, peppermint & lavender.

[The WE2's]

Jarred up some sliced jalapeno's and some Poblano's.  Will enjoy Chili Rellano Casserole whenever we want it.  Hubbe also surprised me with a Veggie shredder!  Won't have to use my potato peeler to shred my zucchini , squash etc!

[Jeepers]

Nothing prettier than a jar of home canned food! 

[The WE2's]

So absolutely disgusted!  Field crickets chewed a hole in my one last spaghetti squash and squash bugs destroyed my pumpkin plants!  Sprayed with Neem oil and then dusted with baby powder...trying to save what we can.  Because of a mild winter, bugs are having a delightful time.  We'll have to innoculate the soil in our raised beds and the deep mulch area.  Did get the beans we were given from the food pantry (we volunteer a few hours a week) jarred up, 8 pints but one didn't seal, so we had them for supper last night. 

Edited August 4, 2017 by The WE2's
added content

[Jeepers]

They look so nice! What a  great gift. Better than money in the bank.

 

We are having mild weather up here too. 

[The WE2's]

Eggplants are doing great (in 5 gallon buckets) so we've been "creative".  Last night I put one through my new Veggetti and made "noodles".  Put them in a skillet, added a little water, some sesame oil and covered them.  When they were soft, I sprinkled with onion powder and garlic powder, sprinkled shredded Romano cheese and covered again.  Oh my!!!  Son likes them too so I've given him several...along with my recipe for eggplant parmasan.  Went ahead and picked the ONE watermelon and found two little cantelopes.  One had dropped to the ground so went ahead and put it in the frig.  Picked more bell peppers, tomatoes and hot peppers.  Today I jarred up a pint of pickled jalapeno's and a jar of the liquid I use to cover them.

[Ambergris]

https://minimalistbaker.com/crispy-eggplant-bacon/  http://thismessisours.com/recipes/crispy-eggplant-bacon-breakfast-bowl/

[The WE2's]

Busy jarring up some more stuff.  Had some pears given o us and 2 bags of lemons...so I put my new Power Cooker to work.  It even had a small canning book in the box.  I did figure out NOT to release the quick release, and to just let it cool down itself when jarring up stuff.  On regular cooking, use the quick release.   It's been on my wish list for some time but just couldn't get the $$$ to buy one.  Then last night I made some "chili mac" that took 10 minutes!  Love this new piece of equipment!

[Jeepers]

I love my electric pressure cooker. I make my cabbage and potatoes in mine. It used to take a couple of hours boiling them in a pot on the stove. A half an hour or less in the electric pressure cooker and they are done.

 

I also cook my meats in it before I can them. I've done beef and corned beef and especially my chicken in it. Everything comes out so tender.

 

I always do my beans in it. 15-20 minutes and the beans are ready to be canned. No more soaking them over night and pre cooking them.

 

I think I got my money's worth from it the first year I used it. That was the year I canned up a lot of corned beef and a lot of beans and bean soup.

[The WE2's]

Tilled up the deep mulch bed (30x30), tilled up the new bed where we'll transplant the blackberries and raspberries next year and emptied all the containers.  Pulled down the dry stems from the walking onions and there's plenty of new growth coming up...I'll be able to pick a few shortly :-)  The herbs and aloe plants that I took upstairs seem to be doing just find.  I set them on a rack, facing the east windows of the "library" area.

[The WE2's]

Still having lots of pretty nice day time weather.  Today we took apple peels and orange peels (yes...orange peels!) and dumped them into one of our compost bins and then pulled dead grass and pitched it in.  It'll incubate with this warmer weather and break down pretty fast.  It's for soild only, not for creating a worm bed.  We'll be pulling down the fencing that we put up when son was living upstairs to keep his dogs out of the garden area, and putting in a cold frame.  Abby-girl will still have her nice big yard there, but not in the garden area!  Her yard is almost as big as the garden area so she'll have plenty of romping room! May have already posted these pics...if so...ignore :-)  But these area the two garden areas we tilled up, the containers emptied and ready for next season...but still have to work up the raised beds and build the cold frame.  The area with Mr WE2 working is the bed we finished up to move all our berry bushes to.  Give them more room and keep them away from our raised beds.  They love the southern exposure and this is just west of their current location.

Edited December 17, 2017 by The WE2's
Added pics and text

[The WE2's]

We're not planning to much gardening this year....want to do some camping.  We want to get the blackberries and raspberries transplanted and buy some blueberry bushes to put in.  Got my seed potatoes that I've kept all winter and want to plant them.  Wanted to see if I can save my own seed potatoes and not buy them.  If I'm successful, then we'll always have potatoes to start even if we don't harvest them for eating.  Will also try to put in more herbs and flowers for our pollinators.  The Mason Bee houses had several tubes filled.  Hoping we'll see some emerging when the warmer weather comes to stay a bit longer.  Also want to get my hummy feeders out. 

[kappydell]

Homesteader, those pics are inspirational (to me, anyway!)  Love the hoop house, trying to figure out how to put them up over our raised beds for winter use.  With a hoop house, we can grow cold weather crops all winter....and we do love our cold weather cruciferous crops!  

 

I ordered Typhon this year, it sounds like a good one to try.  I do love me some greens, and want to try it for overwintering.  Here (zone 8A) minimums are 10-15 degrees, but usually lows hover around 30 degrees.  Hoop houses are popular for overwintering the cold weather crops - looking forward to trying it!  Gotta fine me some flexible PVC to build a hoop house or at least a tunnel over at least one bed for winter...

[Homesteader]

10 hours ago, kappydell said:

Homesteader, those pics are inspirational (to me, anyway!)  Love the hoop house, trying to figure out how to put them up over our raised beds for winter use.  With a hoop house, we can grow cold weather crops all winter....and we do love our cold weather cruciferous crops!  

 

I ordered Typhon this year, it sounds like a good one to try.  I do love me some greens, and want to try it for overwintering.  Here (zone 8A) minimums are 10-15 degrees, but usually lows hover around 30 degrees.  Hoop houses are popular for overwintering the cold weather crops - looking forward to trying it!  Gotta fine me some flexible PVC to build a hoop house or at least a tunnel over at least one bed for winter...

 

I get some of my inspiration from here:  https://www.youtube.com/user/OneYardRevolution

 

Eliot Coleman http://fourseasonfarm.com/portfolio/new-organic-grower/ also uses hoophouses/greenhouses to raise crops throughout the winter in Maine. You can figure that one layer of plastic will add 1.5 zones to your growing season. Both of these guys use two frames of plastic to gain them 3 growing zones. It will be interesting to try in Wisconsin this year, even if I can tack on one more growing month in the Fall and Spring.   

[Mt_Rider]

yeah....one or two extra months would REALLY open up possibilities in our cold areas.  Or.....it saves the crops that SHOULD HAVE survived...if not for weird weather.... 

 

MtRider       ....I had a deer doe that would repeatedly spend the chilly summer nights SPRAWLED against the warmth of my short row hoops...   

[The WE2's]

I have a little green house that hubby bought me last year.  I plan to get some herbs started in a couple of weeks.  Also (and this may sound weird to some) I plan to be on the lookout for a 4x8 or bigger outside dog kennel (like we have for Abby-girl) to turn into a green house.  Planning to use cpvc for the hoops (conastoga looking) and then pool noodles on places that might be sharp enough to cut through the heavy plastic covering, especially the door.  May work...may not...if it don't, I'll have a chicken coop! LOL

[Annarchy]

Sounds like you have a plan, WE2. 

 

Pulled a couple of beets for a couple of neighbors. They were 4 inches in diameter. Wow!  

 

Here’s the big garden, 8’x16’. It has (top left to right clockwise); onions, potatoes-if they sprout, zucchini, tomatoes & more onions, carrots, with one spinach plant-the only seed that sprouted, the empty space was supposed to be cabbage but nothing sprouted, a tomato plant, beets, 4 more tomato plants, and tomatillos. 

 

I used some of the bricks I got from the neighbor to replace the slump blocks surrounding the fava beans Andrea sent me. A few camomile plants, which Christy sent me from Europe, have sprouted from last year. I want to fill the holes and transplant them alternating holes with garlic and camomile. We shall see. In the background is the celery from last year, growing like a weed, Christy sent me that pack of seeds too, but only one plant grew, however, when it went to seed, the seeds went everywhere.  I’ve given away celery plants and have dried 2 quarts.  The piquine chili plants are next to the fence, I am hoping they start to grow again, they like hotter weather. 

 

I have thyme and mint in pots on the porch, because when summer heat hits, I will be able to bring them into the house, instead of watching them shrivel and die when they are planted. 

 

Nothing spectacular, but it is better than I have ever been able to do in the past. 

 

 

 

[The WE2's]

Lookin' good Ann!  I planted mint in some of the squares of our blocks...really helps keep skeeters away and I grab some, rub it on my neck and arms and works as a repellent...and smells WONNNNERFULLLL!