Hows Your Garden?

[ranger]

It was coming up pretty good until I tore a ligament in my knee and couln't get down there for 2 1/2 weeks. Well, when I finally hobbled down there, I discovered that the critters got in there through a broken gate and had a PARTY! They ate all the lettuces, swiss chard, peas shoots, and green beans.

We fixed the gate but the next day, they burroughed Under the gate. So we put bricks in front of the gate, which seemed to stop them but for how long? We have smart critters around here. And, oh the weeds. I'm slowly getting it cleaned up.

Well, I still have potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn , pumkins, and peppers, so all is not lost. Hows your gardens coming along?

[mushroom]

Garden!!! ouch, that one hurts. When I fractured my back and my rheumatoid arthritis flared up at the same time I just used to sit and look at my garden with great despair. Weeds, weeds, everywhere, everything going to seed, green beans got old and tough because DH didn't even check to see if they was ready, tomatoes rotted on the vine (well, I was no longer eating those anyway, but the neighbours might have enjoyed them) swiss chard went to seed, everything needed deadheading, pruning, I was desperate; until my guardian angel in the form of my housesitter came along and she has been working wonders (and by all accounts continues to while I am away). I am hoping to arrive home to a lot better sight than I did last year--she luvs gardening (housesitter last year didn't even both to water the stuff under the eaves on the non-weather side of the house, which all died ) Aren't you sorry you asked???

[missy'smom]

We've had such a wet, cooler summer so the cherry tomatoes, which usually do very well, are bursting on the vine and not getting to be a nice bright red as usual. I wanted to fertilize but it's rained so often I haven't gotten a chance so things are lacking in flavor a bit. Birds keep beating us to the few strawberries we have! Zucchini is cranking them out! And we've had a good bit of daikon radish leaves and shiso(perilla) is going strong as always as is sage. I just need to find more ways to use it. I end up drying it and using it in fall/winter dishes.

[ranger]

Garden!!! ouch, that one hurts. When I fractured my back and my rheumatoid arthritis flared up at the same time I just used to sit and look at my garden with great despair. Weeds, weeds, everywhere, everything going to seed, green beans got old and tough because DH didn't even check to see if they was ready, tomatoes rotted on the vine (well, I was no longer eating those anyway, but the neighbours might have enjoyed them) swiss chard went to seed, everything needed deadheading, pruning, I was desperate; until my guardian angel in the form of my housesitter came along and she has been working wonders (and by all accounts continues to while I am away). I am hoping to arrive home to a lot better sight than I did last year--she luvs gardening (housesitter last year didn't even both to water the stuff under the eaves on the non-weather side of the house, which all died ) Aren't you sorry you asked???

God, I feel better!

[ranger]

We've had such a wet, cooler summer so the cherry tomatoes, which usually do very well, are bursting on the vine and not getting to be a nice bright red as usual. I wanted to fertilize but it's rained so often I haven't gotten a chance so things are lacking in flavor a bit. Birds keep beating us to the few strawberries we have! Zucchini is cranking them out! And we've had a good bit of daikon radish leaves and shiso(perilla) is going strong as always as is sage. I just need to find more ways to use it. I end up drying it and using it in fall/winter dishes.

It's rained more than usual here, to, but I did manage to clean up most of the weeds and replant what I still have time for. What is shiso(perilla)? I've never heard of that.

[irish daveyboy]

It was coming up pretty good until I tore a ligament in my knee and couln't get down there for 2 1/2 weeks. Well, when I finally hobbled down there, I discovered that the critters got in there through a broken gate and had a PARTY! They ate all the lettuces, swiss chard, peas shoots, and green beans.

We fixed the gate but the next day, they burroughed Under the gate. So we put bricks in front of the gate, which seemed to stop them but for how long? We have smart critters around here. And, oh the weeds. I'm slowly getting it cleaned up.

Well, I still have potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn , pumkins, and peppers, so all is not lost. Hows your gardens coming along?

Hi Ranger,

Our Own 'Bakingbarb' is big into both Flours and Flowers, she has two blogs.

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Open Original Shared Link

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Open Original Shared Link

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Check out the Gardening Blog!

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Best Regards,

David

[missy'smom]

It's rained more than usual here, to, but I did manage to clean up most of the weeds and replant what I still have time for. What is shiso(perilla)? I've never heard of that.

Shiso is an herb that is used in Japanese cuisine. It is like a cross between mint and basil. The leaves are large compared to other herbs. It grows and produces very well and reseeds itself! It is often served with fish, like sashimi. I've been eating it with cucumbers in oil and lemon and salt and pepper. Some friend marinate the leaves in soy sauce and eat them with rice. I heard of another friend today that she makes pesto with them using sesame seed instead of pinenuts.

[bakingbarb]

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I've been sick for 2 weeks, my sons watered for me but no one picked the zucchini or raspberries. The raspberries rotted and the zukes are HUGE!

Most critters won't step over/on pumpkin vines so I try and let mine grow around my garden. Has never failed me.

Weeds. UGH

I have an extra fridge in the garage and it is packed full of raspberries, there must be 10 gallon bags of them. Plus I made jam and raspberry chipotle sauce to can.

We are always late on tomatoes here as it doesn't get warm enough to ripen them until August. I put in new beds this year and they didn't do so great, I think the soil needs amending with a lot of compost/manure.

It was coming up pretty good until I tore a ligament in my knee and couln't get down there for 2 1/2 weeks. Well, when I finally hobbled down there, I discovered that the critters got in there through a broken gate and had a PARTY! They ate all the lettuces, swiss chard, peas shoots, and green beans.

We fixed the gate but the next day, they burroughed Under the gate. So we put bricks in front of the gate, which seemed to stop them but for how long? We have smart critters around here. And, oh the weeds. I'm slowly getting it cleaned up.

Well, I still have potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn , pumkins, and peppers, so all is not lost. Hows your gardens coming along?

[ranger]

Shiso is an herb that is used in Japanese cuisine. It is like a cross between mint and basil. The leaves are large compared to other herbs. It grows and produces very well and reseeds itself! It is often served with fish, like sashimi. I've been eating it with cucumbers in oil and lemon and salt and pepper. Some friend marinate the leaves in soy sauce and eat them with rice. I heard of another friend today that she makes pesto with them using sesame seed instead of pinenuts.

Since I adore basil, I'm going to try to find this for next years garden. Thanks

[ranger]

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I've been sick for 2 weeks, my sons watered for me but no one picked the zucchini or raspberries. The raspberries rotted and the zukes are HUGE!

Most critters won't step over/on pumpkin vines so I try and let mine grow around my garden. Has never failed me.

Weeds. UGH

I have an extra fridge in the garage and it is packed full of raspberries, there must be 10 gallon bags of them. Plus I made jam and raspberry chipotle sauce to can.

We are always late on tomatoes here as it doesn't get warm enough to ripen them until August. I put in new beds this year and they didn't do so great, I think the soil needs amending with a lot of compost/manure.

I didn't know that about pumkin vines. Mine are in the middle area of the garden and taking over. Next year I'll plant them along the fence. Thanks for the info.

[Mtndog]

We've had so much rain in Massachusetts (and a mini tornado but that's another story) that some of my flowers (I'm a flower gradener) have literally rotted. I've never seen my garden go to heck in a handbasket like this!

We also have a tomato blight here that's killing everyone's tomatoes.

[nikki-uk]

..joining in...

Mines been a washout too .... not enough sun, too much rain, infestation of earwigs! (ate all the flower petals)

BAH!!!

Group garden therapy

[missy'smom]

Since I adore basil, I'm going to try to find this for next years garden. Thanks

If you like basil that much, I think you'll enjoy it! If we're both still here next year I may have some recipes to share. This is my second year growing it. First year I didn't do much with it because I didn't know how to use it even though I love the flavor. This year, I have collected a few recipes/uses and hope to expand a little more.

[Jestgar]

I tried gardening for the first time this year. I didn't think anything would grow so I really didn't pay attention to what I planted where. THEN we've had this amazingly hot, sunny summer in Seattle, and almost everything I planted grew _{except I don't know what anything is...}

[darlindeb25]

I only have a flower garden too. I am on Long Island, and we have had so much rain this year..sounds like lots of people have. Flowers love rain, but they need sunshine too. In June, we had 26 days of rain. The flowers were all stunted. My impatiens are fine, they will grow anywhere, I have them come up every year. My pansies didn't last this year, although my petunias looked very nice. My poor angel trumpets are growing, yet I don't know if they will have time to flower. My morning glories are sad this year, less than 1/3 of what I had last year, and only 1 color came up. My moonflower vines never made it. I am still waiting for the hibiscus to bloom too. Very strange year.

[larry mac]

My 6 varieties of cherry tomatos did well. Of course they were pretty well burnt up by the second week in July so I yanked 'em up and planted a fall crop of 8 varieties. My first fall attempt with tomatos, but others here have had success so I'm hoping. I'm also trying something new. Planting 2 plants in the same hole (of the same variety). There was an article in the paper about fall tomatos and they had good luck with that technique. I've already got one little 'mater on one vine. We've had a lot of really heavy rain the last couple weeks. Unusual for the end of July, beginning of August. Normally it's drought time here.

I slice the little tomatos for my daily nachos, and our dogs love 'em too. Ironically, our Walmart sells some really good cherry tomatos (I think they are from Mexico) for only $1.99.

best regards, lm

[ravenwoodglass]

I slice the little tomatos for my daily nachos, and our dogs love 'em too.

best regards, lm

I had to laugh when I saw this. The first time I planted tomatoes they would do great then disappear as soon as they got close to ripe. I thought neighborhood kids were taking them until the day I looked out and saw my big lab delicately picking the ripe ones and chowing down. I thought I had the only oddball tomatoe eating dog, I guess not. He hated peas though and could down a full bowl of stew leaving evey pea licked clean!

[darlindeb25]

My dogs begged for raw sweet corn..they would happily trot off with the ear in their mouth. They also loved cucumbers. My Aussie liked apples too, she loved to play catch with apples. They did get a little slimmy for throwing after a while though!

Our dog when I was a child loved raspberries and ate them off the bushes. Believe me, our mom was not happy about that. He loved blueberries too. Carrots, he hated them, and could leave them in the bowl just like your dog and peas!

[codetalker]

We've had such a wet, cooler summer so the cherry tomatoes, which usually do very well, are bursting on the vine and not getting to be a nice bright red as usual.

I tried cherry tomatoes this year and am having the same problem with most of the tomatoes bursting and not getting very red. Does it help to stop watering them and to keep the ground drier? I was assuming tomatoes needed lots of water.

If anyone has tips on keeping out unwanted visitors, those tips will be appreciated.

Last year, I converted my backyard to a flower garden designed for birds. The birds love it (32 species so far). Unfortunately along with the birds I also have deer, groundhogs and worst of all cats. The cats hide themselves among the flowers and wait for birds which they kill. In the process they knock over the flowers. Most of my coneflowers have been knocked over. It's a real mess now.

[missy'smom]

I tried cherry tomatoes this year and am having the same problem with most of the tomatoes bursting and not getting very red. Does it help to stop watering them and to keep the ground drier? I was assuming tomatoes needed lots of water. On a regular year, I rarely water mine. We get enough most of the time and I just water once a week or so if we don't get any rain in a while or if it's particularly hot and dry. They don't need alot so it sounds like you'd have better results if you watered them less. They're fine if the ground gets dry inbetween waterings.

If anyone has tips on keeping out unwanted visitors, those tips will be appreciated.

Last year, I converted my backyard to a flower garden designed for birds. The birds love it (32 species so far). Unfortunately along with the birds I also have deer, groundhogs and worst of all cats. The cats hide themselves among the flowers and wait for birds which they kill. In the process they knock over the flowers. Most of my coneflowers have been knocked over. It's a real mess now. Oh My! What drama!

[PattyBoots]

Well, the deer got the main garden - poor things are so encroached on with all the development our 50 acres looks like paradise to them, I suspect. But what we just said the hell with and put in pots strewed about the fenced-in dog yard seems to be doing well. Lots of cherry tomatoes - off one plant! And we'll soon be overrun with habaneros. Lots of basil. A fair amount of cherry peppers and *crosses fingers* green peppers if they don't peter out. The cukes just croaked - even the gorgeous lemon cucumber, which are delightful if you have a "problem" with cukes - no burpies! It was too wet to plant green beans, which normally go bonkers here; good thing we still have pints and pints and pints put up from last year!

[larry mac]

rwg,

All my life I was never a dog person. And now I find myself the leader of a mini schnauser rodeo. How in the hell do they wolf down food without seeming to chew it, and yet you give them a pill wrapped in cheese and they manage to eat the cheese and leave the pill? They're strange creatures, yet I love them madly.

best regards, lm

---

pb,

Cherry tomatos, haberneros, basil, lemon cucumbers. Your my kind of girl.

best regards, lm

--

ct,

Yeah, I got a tip for ya. Low powered air rifle.

best regards, lm

------------

darlin deb,

Thanks for the raw sweet corn idea. Can't wait to try it.

best regards, lm

[codetalker]

Well, the deer got the main garden - poor things are so encroached on with all the development our 50 acres looks like paradise to them, I suspect.

Oh My! What drama!

The drama is more like gardening noir, if there is such a genre.

This is just my 2nd yr of gardening so admittedly I am a newbie. Nonetheless, I feel snakebit. The season started with a month of cold, clouds and rain. Nothing would grow. A couple beds were replanted 3, even 4 times. Things that tried to hold on were eaten by the deer and groundhogs or trampled by the cats.

Last year, I woke up one morning to what appeared to be vandalism. About 10% of my yard had been trashed. I found out later from a neighbor that he had spooked a buck and doe early in the morning. They jumped the fence into my yard and ran away. The catch was that due to the small size of my yard I committed the entire yard to the Backyard Habitat program of the National Wildlife Federation. I dug up all the grass and except for a few paths everything was planted with flowers appropriate for birds. This meant that when the deer jumped the fence, they could not help but land squarely in flower beds. When they ran through the yard, they could not help but run through flower beds. There was no open grass area. At the same time, the flowers are all 4+ ft and could not be stepped over.

The ironic aspect of this is that the backyard was designed to attract wildlife. What's happening here is too much success. I followed the NWF guidelines and they work. What I have is a vital, functioning habitat and I love it. This morning I got my 33rd bird species, an Amer. Redstart. It is not unusual now to have 6+ species of butterflies in the yard at the same time. At different times while watering, I've had birds including a hummingbird fly up and practically land on my shoulder. New generations of birds are being born and raised in my yard. As a result, I do not mind the flowers being eaten or some damage being done. It's just that the cats and deer do so much damage that everything ends up looking so crappy. At the same time, the cats kill for sport, not food. For the past three winters, I had juvenile hawks that poach a bird or two. That's the normal food chain and I can respect that. But having cats tear up the flower beds so they can kill for sport and then play with the dying bird just doesn't sit right.

[Jestgar]

The catch was that due to the small size of my yard I committed the entire yard to the Backyard Habitat program of the National Wildlife Federation. I dug up all the grass and except for a few paths everything was planted with flowers appropriate for birds.

This is just too cool.

[ravenwoodglass]

The drama is more like gardening noir, if there is such a genre.

This is just my 2nd yr of gardening so admittedly I am a newbie. Nonetheless, I feel snakebit. The season started with a month of cold, clouds and rain. Nothing would grow. A couple beds were replanted 3, even 4 times. Things that tried to hold on were eaten by the deer and groundhogs or trampled by the cats.

Last year, I woke up one morning to what appeared to be vandalism. About 10% of my yard had been trashed. I found out later from a neighbor that he had spooked a buck and doe early in the morning. They jumped the fence into my yard and ran away. The catch was that due to the small size of my yard I committed the entire yard to the Backyard Habitat program of the National Wildlife Federation. I dug up all the grass and except for a few paths everything was planted with flowers appropriate for birds. This meant that when the deer jumped the fence, they could not help but land squarely in flower beds. When they ran through the yard, they could not help but run through flower beds. There was no open grass area. At the same time, the flowers are all 4+ ft and could not be stepped over.

The ironic aspect of this is that the backyard was designed to attract wildlife. What's happening here is too much success. I followed the NWF guidelines and they work. What I have is a vital, functioning habitat and I love it. This morning I got my 33rd bird species, an Amer. Redstart. It is not unusual now to have 6+ species of butterflies in the yard at the same time. At different times while watering, I've had birds including a hummingbird fly up and practically land on my shoulder. New generations of birds are being born and raised in my yard. As a result, I do not mind the flowers being eaten or some damage being done. It's just that the cats and deer do so much damage that everything ends up looking so crappy. At the same time, the cats kill for sport, not food. For the past three winters, I had juvenile hawks that poach a bird or two. That's the normal food chain and I can respect that. But having cats tear up the flower beds so they can kill for sport and then play with the dying bird just doesn't sit right.

Your yard must be really beautiful. I have kitties but they stay inside and neighborhood kitties are my pet peeve also. I really hate going out to weed the flower beds and coming upon spots that they consider ideal for a litterbox. I have had hawks in mine also. I love watching their frustration when they try to catch the smaller birds that immediately hide in a huge yew bush I have. Lots of noise and rustling branches but I have yet to see one come out with another bird in it's talons. The hawks are just to big to manuver and the little ones stay out of reach. They seem to know if they fly out of the bush they are dead meat.

My garden is doing okay as far a veggies go but I am getting impatient. I was able to pick a lot beans this week and blanched and froze them. My tomatoes are doing great but it seems I was eating tomatoes by this time last year and I haven't had a single ripe one yet. Knowing my luck they will all ripen the same day. I also lost my cukes but since it seems everyone else is losing them too I guess it is just a bad year for them.