My garden pics: Summer of 2019

[wiperhunter2]

It's hard to pollinate those small blooms on those bean plants, but it sounds like some bees are making it into you garden area. Maybe the bees are not getting to the beans yet because they just haven't found the plants yet, because they are so small[]. Did you know we have a second variety of bees around here, they are about half the size of a honey bee, I'm not sure but I think they are a wild bees.
Nice going on getting the squash cooked up so even Jeff likes them[].
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[jjannie]

Yes it would be difficult, but its not too hard to do it with those large squash flowers!

I too was happy to know the bees are finally here. I've also seen those other 'wild' bees you mentioned, not sure they are even bees or just made to look like them.

Yesterday, our walk through checking on plants, we finally found a eally small cantaloupe and we also may get watermelon flowers really soon. Just seems this is later then we got them last year, but I'll need to check my gardening records to see if I recorded anything about all this to be sure.

I would say he liked the squash, just that it was that it wasn't awful - LOL.

Oh and the local deer we flushed up a few days ago, is still around. It is a smaller 4 point buck. it seems to have found a place it likes here, with the taller field grasses, trees and water. So happy we have all the deer fencing already in place. But the new SP box doesn't have fencing but thankfully, so far that doesn't appear to be of interest to hiim.
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[wiperhunter2]

LOL, yea those big blossoms are no problem but I was referring to the blooms on your pole beans, they might be a little tougher[].
Wow, a cantaloupe already, that is good news.
Hopefully the deer will stay away from your SP box.
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[jjannie]

yes the pole beans would be difficult, no sign of any beans forming just yet.

We planted a piece of the grape root you gave us just to see if it would grow anything as it looked to be pretty dead. I can now say it is growing, about 2 18" long branches up from that root. The ones at our son's house are growing even better of course.


Deer hasn't yet bothered the SPs but looks like they are getting nibbled on by some leaf cutting wasp/bees or maybe something else. But I'll put some baits out around the base of the plants to see if I can stop whatever might be feasting on them.

Nothing on watermelons yet but the cantaloupes do seem to setting more and more fruits. So we'll see.

I did start a poppies bed from some Jeff's sister sent me - red and orange ones. I wasn't expecting to get any blooms this first year but the other day I noticed a flower bud rising up from the shorter sprouted greenery. So it'll be fun to see it its red or orange.

I like the cooler temps we are getting today and tomorrow but you have to work in a little sprinkling shower that keeps falling - nothing major as of yet, just enough though to dampen your top half - but not enough to really fill the rain storage containers very well. [crazy]
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[wiperhunter2]

All the blossoms I have on my green beans are at the bottom, so maybe the bees are not getting to them because of all the overgrown buttercup and zucchini leaves but yesterday I decided to pull up all my snow pea plants to make room for the beans, maybe that will help.
So how long did you have that grape vine in the ground before you noticed it was starting to grow? Good to hear the one at your son's house is growing good too.
We have that problem too with something eating some of our young plants, I've always believed it was grasshoppers that did that but it's usually not a problem when the plants get bigger.
Saw our first bloom on our cantaloupe plants today, sure hope they can produce something before it's too late.
We got the rain this morning, that they were predicting overnight, it came down pretty good for an hour or so but stopped right as we started out daily walk, it sure made for pleasant walking conditions.
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[jjannie]

Our pole bean blossoms run the lengths at variable spacing.

Our watermelons finally have some blooms on them that we spotted in our walk around the gardens this morning. YEAH!!! Not sure we'll get any melons this year, depends on how early it'll frost.

We only had a sprinkling of rain, less than tenth of an inch. It sure made for humidity once the sun started peeking through the clouds - it was like being in Mississippi, or even Illinois for that matter. But we are happy to get whatever of it we can.

We took all the grape vines to our son's house and put them where we thought he wanted them. There was a section of one that we left behind cause it showed no signs of life. So after we got back home, we decided on a place to put it where a drip line from our failed asparagus planting that didn't pan out was, but on the outside of the fenced off areas so the drip line was extended to reach it best just to see if anything happened. Now Jeff will use some scrap wood to make it a trellis to climb on. Make sense? I'll take a pic to better show you....

I did get to pollinate another squash since I had both kinds of flowers open. It does appear the bees have also taken care of polinating others as well.

So far the deer have not caused any damage to un-fenced items. But then the fruits are not large enough yet to entice them.

Well, time for lunch....
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[wiperhunter2]

I know what you mean about the humidity yesterday after the clouds started to disappear, it was bad but IMO nothing like it would be back East. I think we are spoiled here in the West with our low humidity, we think it's bad but even as bad as it was yesterday, it's nothing like the humidity in the East, especially the SE US.
Yes, I'd like to see the trellis Jeff built, I have an idea what it would look like but I'm curious if it is different than the one I built for my grape vine. I did not have to build one too big because my fence is all along where it is growing. I just hope the developers for that new subdivision don't have to cut it down, when they put up the fence between the property. It is so thick, it sure makes a great privacy fence.
When I put the boat back this week, after fishing Jordanelle, I had to move most of the vines for my buttercup plants, I was hoping I could get it back in my carport with no issues but that was not the case. Good thing the vines don't seem to be any worse for being moved but I can see it's going to be a problem the bigger they grow.
My cherry tree in my backyard is dying, guess I'll have to cut it down soon. I'm kind of to have to do it but it is likely 50 year old and on it's last leg. The good thing it it will give more sunlight to one of my grow boxes and a English walnut tree, that is near it's base.
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[jjannie]

Not sure what kind of trellis he plans to build but I'll take picture of it once he does. I think he plans to attach it to the end of the raised beds to give it some more stability. Our sons whole back fence is covered in grape vines - inedible ones, with the only opening in the center which was where he put the ones from you, and they do make a great privacy fence. He also had them along his side yard but he and his neighbor agreed to remove them cause they are going to replace that fencing eventually.

Growing up in Illinois, August was always our humid month, but it just stayed so green spring through fall so it wasn't too terrible to deal with. But being in Mississippi for a while where it was so humid you had to drive with the wipers on even at 5AM in morning.

If you cut down the cherry tree, let me ask Jeff, but he may want some of the larger trunk pieces for using on his lathe if you're not going to want them. I'll be trimming some of hedge plants soon - burning bushes and rhamnus (?) bushes that grow so fast they block our satellite reception. they are really happy where they are growing - almost too happy [crazy] they need to be trimmed every couple of years.

The word in our neighborhood is that they plan to re-black top our park walk pathway. The original one just broke down into small gravel after one year. That will be so nice. with no sidewalks out here, it gets a lot of use.
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[jjannie]

Jeff said he still has some trunk pieces he got from another person so he won't be needing any more. Oh well.
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[wiperhunter2]

Not sure about the wood from the cherry tree, if I have someone cut it down, I think they want the wood but if I do it jeff would be more than welcome.
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[wiperhunter2]

Pretty crazy how warm it was overnight here, it never got below 77 degrees, most of the night it was 80. Garden sure grows good when overnight temp are that warm but inside temps aren't too pleasant, don't think it ever got below 79, guess I'll turn on the AC early today[crazy].
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[jjannie]

It's nice how just a little rain sprinkle at sunset can cool things off, well that and the fact it was cooler most of the day too.

Made plans for building a grape arbor - it'll go up and over the end of those beds back by the pine trees. So Friday (since we'll be out doing errands) we'll pick up some stronger/thicker wood to frame up the arbor, but the cross pieces Jeff said he should have enough scraps here (we got some from our son's last house as well as some we salvaged from another person's no-longer-needed wood) as well as some good rust proof wire for in between spaces - so hopefully this grape that is growing makes it through the winter pretty well.

Picked another successful squash. We aren't buried in squash, which is good when only one of us really eats it, so its been plenty for our needs.

Some of my bale cukes are finally up to gherkin size so soon (maybe 2 weeks) we will be able to start picking them.

I think a young bird must have landed inside the ground garden deer fencing cause it broke off one of bell peppers [] . and it even had set peppers on it. No worries, but still .

My SPs really don't seem to be really taking off like I remember yours looking. So unsure we'll get any useable potatoes out of all my experiments. The best ones though are growing in the straw bales. But I guess we just have to see later this fall. Fingers are crossed.
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[wiperhunter2]

We never got any rain today but it was so much nicer temps today that we were able to turn the AC off by 7:30 pm, what a difference a day makes.
Sounds like you have a nice plan for the grape arbor. If you over the grape vine this Winter, after all the leaves have dropped I'm sure it will make it through the Winter.
Good to hear the squash are starting to produce.
Seems odd a small bird could break a bell pepper plant, do you think it's possible some other animal got in there?
Hopefully in the next month you will see your SP vines take off but with all the hot weather we have had recently, I'm kind of surprised you are not seeing them growing more. Do you think it is possible that they are not getting enough water. When it's hot like it has been, I usually had my water on twice a day for 20 to 25 minutes each time.
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[jjannie]

I'm thinking maybe a dove or possibly a younger robin - neither flying very well right now - but perhaps it landed on top. it was only damaged one in the garden, no evidence of a cat (foot prints) or even a squirrel as we saw one run across the street so they are in the area. they can access that side of those beds via the black picket yard fencing. The deer never get in from that side as they don't like the look of where they'd be landing, but smaller animals can go through the pickets.

I've dug down in an empty area away from the drip lines and its is nice and moist, but not soggy. They do get watered twice a day for 20 or 25 min (can't remember which Jeff set the time for) these days. Guess we'll just have to wait and see? Did you ever see yours flower? None of ours have, but I read that they could.

It should be a pretty strong arbor(Jeff always believes in over engineering stuff - LOL). The bed it'll be over was the one we tried growing asparagus in - it still gets the most sun at that end of those beds, and it'll be high enough to walk under to harvest any grapes that hang down. Or at least that is the plan. What should I cover it with once the leaves fall off - will leaves or straw work, I usually have lots of both?
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[wiperhunter2]

I was thinking maybe a racoon got into the cage and accidently broke it, as it was poking around because they would not eat them but in all the years I've grow Bell Peppers, I've never seen a bird do damage like that, who knows, anything is possible.
Sounds like your SP are getting plenty of water. It gets a lot hotter down here, plus we have sandy soil, that is why I water so much. I don't remember ever seeing my SP's flower but I guess I could have missed it, depending on what color the flowers would be, if they blend in, I could have missed them.
Once your grape vine really starts growing, it will fill in that area below the arbor pretty quick but that could take several years. Straw or leaves either one will work fine to cover the base of the Grape vine and after a winter or two, it should be strong enough not to matter.
We are starting to get a bunch of bother zucchini and yellow squash, picked 5 zucchini and 4 yellow squash today. We got so much last week, we had to start blanching and freezing it.
Saw our first small watermelon today and I picked two carrots as well but still no green beans[].
Went fishing up to Willard today and as we drove back, I noticed they were already taking peaches to the roadside stands. I should be getting some from my trees by the end of the month.
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[jjannie]

Our neighbor has kids that live in Brigham City, they gave us a bag of apricots they bought when coming home - they were the best ones we've ever eaten, just makes us really hope for the peaches/nectarines - they come to Morgan to sell them on Saturday mornings and its a feeding frenzy business for this guy. I'm sure Jeff will calling him to see when he thinks he'll be arriving. Utah peaches are the best!

Yeah it was strange break like it was, so that is why I wondered about young large bird possibly trying to land on top but who knows. Never seen racoon out here, maybe too far from river [crazy].

House next to our park went up in huge smoke and fire, still smoldering over 3 hours later. Haven't yet got word if everyone was ok, what caused the fire and if we'll be on water restrictions till all our wells can refill - glad we have our all our water storage. Had fire departments from S. Ogden, Morgan City, and Mtn Green. It looks like maybe total loss, it was a Log home. Sad. [] Scary

No green beans here either, not sure what the deal is with them.
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[wiperhunter2]

I've noticed a bunch of trees around here are loaded with apricots, I've often wondered about getting some and running them through the Freeze dryer, to see how they would turn out, have you tried that before?
Raccoons prefer being near water but when the young of the year start leaving home, as they are now, you never know how far they will roam. The one you got in that water tank is a good example of that. I knew it was around because of the damage it was doing around my yard, I first started seeing little holes dug around my water sprinklers. Then when the peaches were getting ripe, I found scat in my garden and branches broken on my tree. Since they are rarely seen during the day it's not surprising you haven't seem one up there but they are around. My friend that lives down from you in Mountain Green has them there, so I'm sure you have them as well.
Too bad about that house burning down, hopefully no one was hurt.
I've been seeing a bunch of bees on my green bean plants, hopefully we will start seeing beans soon.
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[jjannie]

We have freeze dried peaches, they make for nice snack come winter. Never re-hydrated them though. Tomorrow we are making some jerky (using a dehydrator not freeze dryer) and we'll share it with our son (good in car snack at work).

We've not seen a racoon dead or alive - maybe its all our feral cats (we have tons) besides a certain neighbor, we're sure others drop them off around here thinking with all these farms and ranches we must need some cats - NO WE DON"T.

Soon as we eat up some fresh veggies in fridge, I'll be picking a cabbage, its grown so well this year. I've had 4 harvests (enough for the two of us each time) of broccoli the first time ever so that has been fun/tasty.

The burned house is total loss. They used big back hoe to knock in some outer walls at about midnight last night. Then today as they stated digging up the all that was in the pile in het basement, it all caught fire once again. But only Morgan FD was called to assist with keeping it under control as they lifted remains out onto the yard area they would hose them down really well. Neighbors all provided shelter tents/lawn chairs and cold drinking water for the firemen while they waited for each load to be pulled out and taking turns to hose it down. So far no watering restrictions so that's nice.

Well Jeff did all pre-OP stuff this morning, then we ran errands -so its all done we're ready for his next surgery on the 19th. We're actually looking forward to it, odd as that sounds, but his other new knee is feeling oh so much better, Doc says it should just keep getting better for up to a year.
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[wiperhunter2]

We do a lot of peaches every year, just never tried freeze drying apricots but we have dehydrated apricots and they are great that way.
Yes, feral cats are problem just about everywhere, I always see their tracks in my garden area but I've never seen them do any damage, except when the plants are small, right after they come through the soil.
Saw my first small green bean this morning, hopefully see more soon.
I knew Jeff's surgery was coming up soon, I bet he will glad to have it done and behind him. Do you think you two will get out one more time before the surgery for one last fishing trip? I'm guessing after the surgery he won't get out for the rest of the year.
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[jjannie]

I was going tell you, I too am seeing really small beans starting on my pole beans as well. Hoorah! Hopefully we'll actually get to eat some before the first frost occurs.

Not sure if we'll get out before the surgery, but maybe we'll be ready for fall fishing PV, we'll see. They do start PT the evening of his surgery and again the next morning before I bring him home so they get them up and out as soon as they can. Since Willard seems to be down to catfish (not our favorites but ok) catching for the most part but we're not out of fish from the freezer so maybe this is a good time for getting those knees done as it is forcing us to eat more of the vac-packed fish - LOL


Went to drop our truck off at our son's house probably for about a week so he can get some more yardwork done. But while we were there we did pick up some PVC fittings to build the greenhouse/deer netting framework I wanted for the SP box - even if next year we end up planting something else in it being able to green house it will be nice and later a bird netting canopy should protect it from deer munching.

Well, I'd better get that jerky mixed up and started soon.
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