What have you done today in the Garden?

@Pacnorwest I
My mother was using a sickle on the grass edges, (this was before weedeaters came along) and she hit an old gnarly stump. I was only 3 years old at the time and standing just outside the front door watching her.

When she hit that stump a whole giant swarm of yellow jackets, like a cloud, appeared and surrounded her. She came running towards the house and was dressed all in black so you could clearly see them all over her arms. It scared me so bad that I ran inside and locked the door.

She was banging on that door telling me to let her in and I stood there and just shook my head no. My grandmother came running to let her in and asked why I didn't open the door. "I am not that stupid Nana," I told her, " I don't wanna get stung. "!!

That was the only time I didn't get a beating for disobeying. Her arms were too sore to hit me with !!

 

It was time to do the strawbs and mow the grass paths. It is a question of timing: the plants have to be ready for it, we have to be at a point where we can beak-off other chores and the weather forecast must be favourable (in this case, rain must be coming). All factors were aligned so we sprung into action.

After he plots, the paths were quickly done.

The strawb harvest was done They have had some time to recuperate from the “strain” of producing all that fruit…and the production was bountiful. The rule-of-thumb last date for leaf removal was approaching.

The first bed was done removing most of the leaves and all of the runners. They look a bit sad. We leave the straw mulch to help retain moisture with the hottest and dryest period of the season just around the corner.


We filled two bushel trugs with their foliage! We did water them just in case the forecast rain did not materialise.

Here you can see the finished Daroyal patch, with the brand new patch of Falco’s in the distance.


This new patch of Strawberry ‘Falco’ was planted this Spring. We had a couple of their fruit to sample the flavour, but removed the res so that the youngsters could develop their roots further. Their pruning will aid that further and stimulate the plants to produce some leaves to get them through the winter.

Here is the Falco patch, all ship-shape and Bristol fashion:


I was pleased with their mulch. It was the spent leaves and stems of the Hakonechloa grass plants instead of straw. We are using our own plant debris more and more for plot mulching rather than bales of straw.

We fed and watered all Project Toms.

Finally, we had to tie-up some corn stalks— they had broken just under the tassels. We hastily threw together a sort of support system that would give those climbing beans somewhere to go. The corn stalks were totally inadequate to support their weight. The bamboo is very old and cracked, so I am not sure if this will help at all. We shall see.

 

It turned out that the nearness of the storm produced a lovely breeze this morning so, I got going !! Got one big Loropetalum that is planted to hide my HVAC unit all trimmed up and deposited a wheelbarrow full of clipping in the ditch for pickup. Then I weedeated and weeded as I went along. Tidied up all the daylilies which are on their summer rest and discovered a tree that I couldn't pull out by hand growing amongst my rambling rose !! Have to dig that out in fall since disturbing the rose roots now wouldn't be advisable.

Then I pruned three ramblers, watered my pomegranet tree and removed three low lying and crossing branches on my peach tree. They were in the way for trimming the grass around the tree anyway. Then watered my potatoes and beans because you just can not rely on weather predictions these days as @Sjoerd said in his post.

PS Just as I typed that last sentence, it started to rain !!

 

Nothing much today just watering and picking fruit.

 

Nothing day off.

Gosh @Pacnorwest , @Anniekay and @Jersey Devil you certainly have more that your fair share of nasty critters to deal with......puts me to shame as I occasionally panic over a persistently annoying Wasp.

 

I put this cover made from a few bricks and a floor tile over a bee's nest last year.



They could get in and out through the gap in the bricks and it made sure I didn't accidentally disturb them. They'd gone by Spring this year.

 

Strawberry patch looks good @Sjoerd

 

Oreti your post about active insects cracked me up… I also think one determined hornet can be extremely annoying and dangerous. They are absolutely determined to chase anyone and if your stung it is very painful.

Out today running thru the pasture check at 5AM. It was already in the 70’s F. The pasture grass is trimmed down (for fire prevention) , and brown from the summer temps. The ground bees were super active . I quickly placed another solar bee zappers near by the 42’x 20’x10’ area all the wild blackberries are all killed back. It took me 2 seasons to kill them all back and chop them into small pieces to cart most of it away. Will place a plastic tarp over the holes -entry to bee hive tonight…Maybe ! I got stung this am and my hand is already swollen . Took meds I’m Okedokey.
@Zigs thank you for your suggestion will try and cover the large area tonite .



Then pulled in yards and yards of water pipe- as I say - miles of hoses after finishing up the barn power washing.

This is a pic showing the area under the barn where the ground squirrels dug under the barn as I bombed their openings with soil they dug out under the barn entry doors with water and blasted the soil back under the foundation.


Barn siding is chewed out by ground squirrels, also power washed the soil back under the barn foundation at the south side ,as the soil was packed down. It was very stubborn to power wash back under the foundation. I think I was more stubborn and determined to put the soil back in place under the foundation before the barn sank down in the squirrel tunnels .


pic of trails thru the forest west side of pasture.


Looking down the valley.

 

The heat is rough on me but I did some things in the morning. Mostly watering. I'm not sure my drip system is working as well as I hoped.

Squashes continue to bloom. Lots of fruit setting. I pruned all of the growth tips that I found, so they don't make (much) more vine now. I want their photosynthetic energy to go towards making squashes.



Only a few garlic bulbs remain to be harvested now. I cleaned up the rest and left them out in the shade today.



I'm glad to see this came up in the vegetable garden. I don't recall ever planting it there.



These perky potted poblano peppers are posing on the front deck.


Also some snacking peppers.


And serrano peppers.



The goth-looking eggplants have a few fruits too. Somehow I missed the fruits in this photo.



Also on the front deck, the Ozark Beauty strawberries are blooming again. I'm happy to get a second crop.



Not food, but I'm tickled the mandevilla that I overwintered dormant, is beginning to bloom again. Lots of flower buds.



I think the concrete surface absorbs heat in day and releases it at night. Maybe that helps the container plants grow.

 

Nice group pics. It’s a great time of the season for both flowers and veggies.

 

You have a lot coming on nicely there @Daniel W . Very pretty Gladioli. ,what a lovely surprise!!

 

Pac— wonderful series of foto’s. It is very interesting seeing your bridal paths there. Nice and wild-looking. The comments on “the Rodent Wars”, is interesting to read, but I feel for you.

Daniel mate, wow! What a varied, albeit successful gardener you are. Everything seems to be going swimmingly there. The peppers and garlic, the strawbs and to top it all off, mandys and a stunning glad. Just an all-round success. To say, “well done”, seems inadequate.

Annie—Sod’s Law, right.

p.s. Don't squash plants have superb blooms.

 

Dead-headed the roses.

I got into the wisterias today.
I stripped the cascading branches of unwanted extra side growth. I'll get more into it in the autumn, it needs thinning out.





This was the one with a lot of "top growth."





I always turn on the garden lights for a few seconds before we go to bed just to check that they are all working, about the only time they are on. (switches behind the French window curtains).

But I noticed this one wasn't working.




So this morning I checked it out.
It meant removing the top, which must weigh as much as a bag of cement.

I made a recess in the top for the light's reflector. Both lanterns have fifty-year-old 12v a/c pool lights, which I recycled.
Turned out it wasn't the bulb, it was a loose connection to the socket, which I actually had to re-make.
Anyway, it's working again.
I took the opportunity to clean the reflector. I don't fancy lifting the top off again any time soon, as it's really hard to get at. A case of lifting and putting it back at almost arm's length.
It's waterproof, but the tape stops creepy crawlies getting in between the coloured acetate "window" and the reflector.







This is how it should look at night.

 

Great posting, Riley.

 

We did more cleaning…in all that heat. Pshew! shower-time!!!
Oh yes, and more harvesting.