May 2018, Week 4...The Heat Is On, Part 2

5 years ago

As we enter the fourth week of May, the above average heat is making gardening complicated, especially for those of us suffering from below average rainfall at the same time.

In my garden, hard decisions must be made, and then acted upon. I noticed this evening that after a warm and windy day, the edible podded peas and brassicas look extremely stressed, and the lettuce looks almost as bad. I'm likely to take out all the remaining brassicas Sunday or Monday and plant watermelon seeds in their place. In these temperatures, the brassicas that haven't already made a crop are not likely to do so. I might as well replace them with plants that like the heat. I will try to baby along the edible podded peas long enough to harvest for a couple more weeks as long as powdery mildew doesn't show up. I'll keep harvesting a head of lettuce per day for the chickens, in addition to what I harvest for us. My lettuce isn't getting very bitter yet (which I think is amazing with highs in the 90s) but a lot of the heads are starting to get the elongated look that precedes bolting. The bush bean plants are covered in spider mites, with the visual damage doubling each day over the day before. I will try to harvest beans another week or two before I take them out.

With the weather at our place being too hot and too dry, I've made the decision to not plant the back garden. I want to plant it, but I cannot force it to make any sort of logical sense for me to do so. We are so short of rain here that it doesn't make sense to plant a whole another round of plants in the back garden and then have to water heavily to keep them happy in this heat. So, I'll likely clean it up as if I am going to plant it, and then just try to keep the weeds down and start using it as an area to plant the fall garden in July or August, depending on how much rain falls between now and then. If too little rain falls, there probably won't be a fall garden---at least not in the back garden. In hot, dry summers, the voles devour everything I plant in the back garden, which is mostly very sandy soil low in organic matter, and I have no wish to feed voles all summer long.

I had such big plans for all the heat lovers back in the back garden and, now, instead, I'll have to wait and use most of those heat lovers as succession crops in the front garden. This still will mean cutting back a lot on how much I grow because I planted a ton more flowers than usual in the front garden and didn't save space there for the heat lovers.

Since so many heat lovers I had planned for the back garden are vining, I'll just plant them on the front garden fence where, eventually, it is likely that somebody else's use of herbicide will result in drift that kills them. Oh well, if the herbicide doesn't get the plants on the garden fence, then this early heat and/or lack of rainfall will. Or the spider mites or hordes of tiny grasshoppers will get them.

Inside my head, it is like a big alarm siren is sounding---loudly---warning me that it is going to be a simply awful summer. I am trying to listen to that and honor it and alter my garden plans so that I can enjoy the garden I have without going and planting a larger area that I won't be able to water properly. I never forget that no matter what I do, it is the weather that drives the garden and either propels it to success or drags it to an early grave. This year's weather just seems especially cruel.

So, that's my garden news as we approach the end of May and the Memorial Day weekend. What's happening in your gardens?

Dawn

Featured Answer

Megan Huntley

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Dawn, did your sweetpeas ever bloom? Mine finally did and I almost forgot to mention it. I’m not sure if there is rhyme or reason but it seems the darker colors are blooming, or at least blooming first. And of course, the trellis I provided them isn’t quite tall enough so now they’re flopping over and will probably snap with a good wind. Live and learn.

This is “Blue” the toy dinosaur, who has been hunting Rollie Polies throughout my gardens, taste-testing Sweetpea flowers.

I’ve been looking for a Passion flower vine all spring and Bruce sent a picture yesterday, having stumbled across one. Lucky dog! I stumble across plants that I want to take home while out strolling around and my neighbors start throwing around words like “trespassing” or “vandalism.” - wink -

Comments (94)

Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
Kim, your heart is in Denton, therefore, that is where you need to be.
luvncannin
5 years ago
Thank you all I can sense know thinking good things for me and it helps to know there are prayers and happy thoughts coming my way.

I am not being forced to move. But I do not want to stay there. It will be okay. It gives me a chance to get rid of ALL my unwanteds and unneededs. And a lot of my likes. So when I move I will be light on my feet.
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There in town where so many of y'all live, I doubt you have enough predators, except perhaps for people who have an energetic dog out in the yard, so once the squirrel population goes up, I expect it takes it a long time and a couple of consecutive drought years to help the population cycle back down again. I hope you get something edible out of your garden than the squirrels do not steal and devour. I keep looking at our dry cracking ground and wondering why I try to keep the garden green and in bloom. I guess it is because I can. Not just for us, but for all the bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, wild birds, turtles, skinks, frogs, etc. At least as long as the garden is green, all these little creatures and many more have a habitat that is green and producing food for them. There's cardinals in the garden all the time. If I sit still they come pretty close to me. I think they are eating grasshoppers and other pests. There's also hummingbirds all the time. There's many flowers in there for them, plus a hummingbird feeder, and tons of little insects for them to eat. I have greatly upset Mr. Turtle by removing the squash plants. The bumble bees weren't happy either, but there's tons of other flowers in there that they like, including catip and comfrey. Mr. Turtle liked to live under the squash plants and eat squash bugs. Now that I've removed the squash plants, he headed over to the area with southern peas, zinnias and sunflowers, but he comes back every few hours to check the former squash bed for squash bugs. Perhaps he is living in the shade beneath the sunflowers while he searches for other kinds of insects to eat. So, for the sake of all those creatures, I'll keep watering the garden at least once a week for as long as I can keep it alive. Sometimes the early August weather defeats me anyhow. The point where I usually give up and stop watering is when our Keetch Byram Drought Index hits around 600. While the KBDI applies to firefighting, I have tracked it for so long at the same time that I am trying to keep my garden happy in the hot, dry months that I know what it means for my garden when the KBDI hits different points. At 600 and higher, I can keep the garden alive, but it is very hard to keep it producing. At 700, forget the veggie garden....I'd better be watering all the trees and shrubs in the yard, no matter how well-established and old they are. But, when we are in the 600s, it is like the moisture from irrigation can only help the garden up to a certain point and I know that. I do, I do, I do, truly I do. So, often, I will stop watering once it hits 600. Now, this is where it gets complicated.....or it is the point where my brain spaced out and has been out to lunch for the last couple of weeks. Our KBDI was in the 500s and going up about 11 to 13 points daily before the rainfall in early July, and that rain knocked it back down into the upper 300s. So, every time I look at our KBDI number on the map now I sort of rejoice because it still is so much better than it was. Even though I know we got a lot less rain at our house than the mesonet station did and even though I know that our KBDI still would be a lot higher than the Mesonet station's official number for our county, I still feel better seeing that lower number (now back up to 492, I think). I guess I have been spaced out or in denial. Last night after dinner when I sat down to the computer and looked at the KBDI map, I abruptly awakened from whatever coma my brain has been in since the July 1st (or whenever it was) rainfall and realized that the KBDI map still shows color---so if your area of your county is at a different drought stage than your Mesonet station reflects, the color in your part of the county shows that by being the color of whatever KBDI stage your area is in. Where has my brain been? Was it on vacation? Out to lunch? Our part of the county is red, so our KBDI here, even if not defined by numbers, is in the 600-700 range. Well, crap, crap, crap. That explains why the zinnias wilt daily, even though there is some moisture in their soil. It explains why the pepper plants look like crap 24/7 even though they also aren't bone dry. It explains so much....the huge and sudden explosion in the population of spider mites (their reproductive cycle speeds up when it is hot and dry, and they become a huge problem on drought-stressed plants). It even explains why the watermelons look great---they love it hot and dry! Even though my garden gets watered and looks green compared to the rest of the surrounding area, it still is heat-stressed, drought-stressed and in an area with a KBDI above 600. I know that this means----it means I should just give up and stop watering. Let it go. Let the annuals die. Let the perennials get right to the edge of death, and then water them just enough to pull them back into the land of the living. I don't know what I am going to do. (sigh) I even told Tim that we are in the higher KBDI category and that I am not going to accomplish much with the irrigation except just sort of keep the plants barely hanging on. I don't want to stop watering. I don't. Even though I know it would be the sensible thing to do. A couple of times this week, the chairman of our county fire board has sent out communications about fires and how this year's second fire season is about to begin or perhaps already is underway. I tried to ignore their content, tried to push it out of my mind, tried to tell myself that things aren't that bad yet. Well, after looking at the KBDI map, I guess things are that bad, and it shows in my poor hot, tired, dry garden.....that isn't really dry because I water it well, but it is too dry, if you know what I mean. On the bright side, I don't have to blame myself or the plants for how bad they look. They look bad because the conditions are bad, not because I am not doing my best to give them water, mulch and weeding. (At least with fewer weeds, there's less competition for the moisture I give them.) I don't want to pull the trigger and stop watering. I want all the wee little wildlife to have a green sanctuary from the heat. So, I'll keep watering for another week or two. I'll shade the plants I can with shadecloth. I'll add more mulch to try to keep the ground cooler and more moist. And, I'll hope all those efforts aren't for naught. I keep telling myself we're midway through the summer months now. I've kept the garden going this far, and I can get it all the way through to autumn if I try, but even though I say those words to myself, I'm not even sure I believe them. I just hate this weather. Fun stuff is still happening. I've been seeing a doe with two fawns at the compost pile and adjacent deer feeding area every evening around 5 pm, so I put out sliced summer squash and zucchini for them along with some deer corn. The fawns are super tiny and so cute. It is like watching little puppies frolic, play and eat. Well, this morning she brought 3 tiny fawns. I thought she had twins because she's been bringing only 2. I doubt she had triplets because why would she have been bringing only 2 to eat? Maybe she is bringing another doe's fawn, or maybe she has picked up an orphan and is raising it with her two. Either way, seeing three tiny fawns eating is the best part of the day. This morning I gave them thinly sliced watermelon. It was like watching human children have watermelon---they were so delighted! That made me so happy. Dawn
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okoutdrsman
5 years ago
Not sure the passion flower will transplant, but I may attempt it. It's in a area we are doing some brush removal on my son's acreage. I'll look around and see if there are others.

Janet expressed interest in a native flower garden, so I've been looking at that as an upcoming project. I'll probably try harvesting some indian paintbrush here fairly soon. Indian blanket will be another issue, since I don't have any around my place.

Spiderwort is abundant and I need to get a handle of some of it growing in one of our old flowerbeds, so I'll just move some of it.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
Meghan, They did bloom very briefly, and then we started hitting the 90s and they decided they were done. They did have a lovely fragrance while blooming. I've left them in their place, but they are looking really pitiful because they now have spider mites, and I may pull them tomorrow so I can plant something else there. We have forecast highs of 93/94 degrees this weekend, and we've been going 2-3 degrees above the forecast high daily, so I feel like my cool-season crops are about done, whether they (or I) like it or not.

Jennifer, After today I may be wishing I had taken a break from squash. It is going to be hot, hot, hot and I hate fighting squash pests in the heat. While I was mulching the squash plants today with an additional layer of cedar mulch, a squash vine borer moth came and landed right on the biggest squash plant. I gave it the evil eye and was glancing around to see if I had anything handy that I could use to smash it, and it flew away. There's something about that first SVB moth showing up that says "abandon hope, all ye who enter here".

Kim, I just know that you will end up someplace wonderful.

Bruce, I think it will transplant fine...maybe better if you can wait until fall? The dreadful heat is about to escalate.

I did what work I could in the garden today. I harvested, weeded, mulched and pulled out spent cool-season plants until the heat (90 degrees, heat index 93) drove me in. When I found out how hot it was, I had the same reaction that I have every day lately....like "crap, no wonder I was feeling so miserable out there". I need to start coming in earlier because this heat is ridiculous. I'm going to try to get out to the garden by 6:30 a.m. tomorrow in order to beat the heat a little more, and probably stop by noon or earlier if it feels unbearable. I took a break at least once an hour, sat in the shade, drank a cool drink, etc., and it just didn't seem to help enough today. Maybe it was the humidity.

My Semaspore arrived today, so I can spread it tomorrow and hope that it starts killing grasshoppers very quickly. There are more and more of the grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and leafhoppers daily, and that's not good. It isn't at a crisis point yet, but I bet there is not one single plant in my garden that the grasshoppers haven't chewed holes in/on/through.

The spider mite population is simply exploding now, like it normally does in late June or early July. I can't help thinking this is really, really bad.

Dawn
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Megan, your dinosaur just cracked me up. AGGHH, Shades of Jurassic Park! I believe I need to find one a lot like that! Proud of you guys for growing sweet peas. Good year for them, I think. Wish I'd tried again this year.

My garden looks better this year than before. Many reasons for this, I'm sure--and two of them are rain and wind. So much heavy rain (and wind) the previous 3 years. Mind you, I'm aware we could be in for a hot dry summer and then they may take a beating from that.

Dawn, one of my dear friends visited the area and brought me a cookbook called "Lancaster County Cookbook," first published in 1993. It's a fun cookbook to look through, though I haven't actually made many of the dishes. No scrapple in it, but some other dishes some of us might think are a little different.

Hahaha, Jennifer! So you did check out brugmansias, then, I take it. You goof! I can see where it sounds like a weird kind of sausage, however. And yes, I am indeed going to fix the old black wheelbarrow up with flowers. GDW loved the idea, oddly enough. (I suspect he was mostly relieved he didn't have to deal with where to take it to scrap it.)

Kim, when I was in my mid to late 40s and my son had moved away, I decided I wouldn't own anything I couldn't carry or move myself--and also pared down belongings and pure stuff. I had THE niftiest bed. It was basically a cot with a foundation of springs, and the legs folded up--totally portable, and it came with a mattress to fit it. I LOVED that bed, as did my kids (and they've got it now.) THEN I saved money and bought a wicker living room set, couch and 2 chairs. Again, light weight and pretty darned portable. And I LOVED the wicker set. I was so proud to own nothing I couldn't move myself. :)

I DO think traveling light is a beautiful concept. And very liberating. Except for the art/everything room, the rest of the house is fairly spare, considering. But now that you've brought it up, I need to continue the purging I began last fall. And the art room wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Keep us posted, and peace, Sister! :)

I do love spiderwort. The stuff I got from you, Bruce, is a good start. But I need more, and will check out various varieties. I have a question, all of you. I always grew it in sun up north. One of my friends down here tells me they do better in quite a bit of shade here. What say you all? Based on his opinion, I put your spiderwort, Bruce, in a rather shady bed (gets a little morning sun.) And it is VERY tall. Like a good 2 feet. It has flowers, but isn't covered. But at least it's not flopping over.

Tom had quite an adventure today. I asked him to tell me about it, but he just meowed and rolled over on his belly to show me. He's pretty fuzzy for a short-haired cat, and on either side of his underbelly, it looks like someone took the hair clippers to him 2-3 inches long and 1-2 inches wide. No wounds, just the missing hair. What the heck! LOL And he passed up going back out after supper this evening.

Rebecca, notice any strange odors emanating from your back yard?

I made good headway with weeding today. It got hot for a couple-three hours this afternoon, but good otherwise. We had just 5 minutes of intermitten rain this evening that cooled things down nicely. `1xzzzwqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Our internet froze, along with the above text. I was sure I'd lost it, but I see I did NOT. I tried to erase Tom's postscript, but wasn't successful at that, either, I see. Maybe that was cat language for what happened to him.
Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
Spoke too soon on the squirrels. But, new yard kid has a 30 foot extension ladder and a truck to haul it in. Dad's a farm boy. They're on board.
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Excellent!
luvncannin
5 years ago
Nancy that sounds like a great idea. I have been carrying around too much stuff for so long and I really want to be free of it. I told my mom that I was going to get rid of everything and only keep what would fit in my car. She thought that was hysterical. I am slightly serious. I do not want to pay a storage fee for a bunch of stuff I don't use lol. Iam going to Denton but I don't have much hope for that area since its so expensive. Mother is moving in with my sister and if this would have happened earlier her and I could have shared a place. Well it all happens for a reason. And it's all only for a season right. I just need a home. I am so ready for a solid place to plant trees and permanent stuff.

But for now I am readying pots for my mobile unit. Even my sweet potato slips are going into molasses tubs. It will be perfect. I will need a trailer to move them.
haileybub(7a)
5 years ago
Hazel, I am saddened somewhat about not planting squash this year. My next door neighbor is in her second year with a small veggie garden and I see squash again. I envy that and mean to ask if she had had issues with the bugs. My first year was really nice with no bugs but after that?? Horrible! I did have SVB for a couple of years and trying all the tricks to control them just led to frustration. They also got my pumpkins and cantaloupe so I quit those, I feel the frustration far outweighs the enjoyment of their harvest so I spare myself. (Like my road rage. I have found routes that go the long way across town and I miss traffic and lights. So nice!) The next year after the final SVB infestation, I used row covers and didn’t have one borer! Yay! But as soon as those covers came off, the squash bugs invaded. I have tried every trick in the book. Hand pick, spray the nymphs with soap, duct tape, oh I’m sure there were other attempts but still, they won. I feel the person who comes up with a organic squash bug pesticide will be a very wealthy person!!!

Meanwhile, my container tomatoes are looking fabulous and have several fruit on them, still green but I’m sure soon will be ready to eat! The ones in the garden look very nice as well, not as big but still very healthy looking! And the peppers are really growing too. My container pepper is bigger but that’s the one that the ants are invading. I noticed this morning all of the anthills they are building! Well, the soil around the base of the stem is just a big ant hill so I sprinkled DE around it this morning. Who knows? Maybe they’re not harming the plant and I’m just being really picky. We’ll see.

My spinach is ready for its third snipping! I didn’t even expect a first, seeing that I had to replant and I was sure it would be too hot. Lately the days here are gorgeous beyond words! I’m taking it all in knowing it won’t last. Still picking a few asparagus daily.

My Morning Glories are beginning to twine themselves around the trellis and grow inches daily. I’m excited for their lovely flowers! My zinnias that I sowed are different heights, from 2” up to about 10”! My first so we’ll see about those too!

And Megan, I’m sorry as well for the sadness you are experiencing. Our hearts are such tender places and love so easily. Loss can seem unbearable. Over time I know the intense pain eases and hopefully the wonderful memories are foremost. With Memorial Day arriving I know many are honoring and remembering their loved ones. My son was born on Memorial Day weekend and I was blessed, so blessed to have him with me for 18 years. He and a carload of friends were killed by a truck driven by Methheads who crossed the center line outside of Sand Springs in 2006. This was Labor Day. Oh man, I know how certain days really bring it on. I realized he would have been 30 this May 31, I always just think of him as 18. Forever 18.
hazelinok
5 years ago
Hailey, I'm so sorry about your son. I didn't know. Nancy's son passed at age 17, I think, and my son was 20 months. Hugs! And you're right, some days are just hard..and sometimes there's no real reason or connection that I can find as to why that particular day is hard. Although there probably is a reason...even something small like seeing something that your loved one enjoyed...a favorite book, show, toy.

Someday I will try to do row covers too.

I enjoy squash so much and will miss it. I see little volunteer seedlings coming up in the garden--either pumpkin or squash. To leave them or not....haven't made the decision yet.
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Hailey. . . so sorry from here, too. Isn't it wonderful how the sweet memories come back. Blessings.

Oh what a day. Reading up on wifi signals, routers, and so forth. Not fun stuff. LOL Tech brought a new router Monday (and it's a good one--I checked!); but Mon night and last night went HORRIBLY. I called this morning for him to call back, and he hasn't yet. BUT I did discover that the electric cord wasn't plugged all the way in. . . nearly hanging from the router. Well. . . let's hope my research and reading today was for naught. (I hadn't touched it since he hooked it up, so I'll blame him. :) )

Laundry, cleaning oven, picking stuff up in the house.

I am ready to plant the wheelbarrow--I've decided I hate grow pots (their looks), so I may get creative with big cat litter buckets. Paint em and drill holes. Meanwhile, will raid a couple to put plants in wheelbarrow. I'm kind of excited about it. heh heh heh.
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
5 years ago
Nancy, check your weather!
Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
I did not get a drop of rain.
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Just about had a heart attack seeing your message! (Guess I wouldn't have had to worry about the weather then.) Thanks for the heads up! LOOKS like it will miss us. Fingers crossed. . . . funny I was just mentioning wind what, 2 posts ago. . . Checking weather was the last thing on my mind, Amy!
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
5 years ago
Glad you're ok. I think I got about 1/2 inch. Made the dogs crazy.
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago

Did you get the wind, Rebecca? Titan and the cats are out playing in the back. Jerry plays tag with him. Tom jumped up here to taunt him. LOL

And Jerry helps keep Bermuda from crawling over the rocks.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
Check y'all's weather for next week.

Damon Lane posted a preview of next Thursday's highs. Of course, forecasts a week in advance probably will change.

Forecast Highs for Next Thursday

I worked hard all day and feel like I made a lot of progress. The garden really struggled in the heat of the day. Before noon even arrived, we had reached our forecast high of 87 and it just kept going up.....

I saw a really tiny beast in the garden. At first glance I thought it was something good...then something bad...then something good. Finally, I looked it up online and determined it was an early instar of one of the good guys---the wheelbug. It was about a half-inch long and still has a lot of growing to do. I've never seen one as small as the one I saw today, but I was glad to have it in the garden, and hope it has some siblings hanging around somewhere. It was hanging out on a lemon yellow zinnia for a while.

I never get a drop of rain and am jealous of those of you who do.

Hailey, I didn't know about the loss of your son and am so very sorry.

Today while weeding at the north end of the garden, I had the uncanny feeling that there was a snake near me. I didn't see one. I didn't smell one. I just sensed it. So, I froze in place and just looked around and didn't see anything. That made me suspect a copperhead because that end of the garden is mulched with chopped leaves from last autumn and the copperheads blend in so very well. I looked and looked and looked while standing perfectly still in case it was too close. Nothing. Finally, I looked at the fence itself, where invading four o'clocks sprouted directly beneath the bottom of the fence. I cannot dig them out of the sandy soil there on the edge of the woods because of all the invading tree roots that make digging impossible. So, we have four o'clocks literally growing in the fence...with half of a plant inside the garden fence and the the other half outside the garden fence. There in the four o'clocks I found the culprit---a rough green tree snake. It was a fairly long one. They are shy and don't like to be seen, so I turned my head away and it slithered down out of the four o'clocks and off into the woods. I'm glad it was a nice sort of snake and not a venomous one. I think the rough green tree snakes are pretty (and y'all know I hate snakes in general) and they are in the garden a lot. They like to wrap themselves around green plants---usually cannas or four o'clocks---and hang around awaiting dinner. They blend in so well that sometimes when I am trying to show one to somebody I have to almost touch it in order for them to distinguish the snake from the plant. Occasionally I find one in the tomato plants and, once upon a time in a hot summer when I had shade cloth over the tomato and pepper plants, I found myself eyeball to eyeball with one of them lying in the sun on top of the shade cloth as if it were intended to be a snake hammock.

I have lots of squash plants. I have squash vine borer moths, so expect the plants to be toast soon. I'm not going to fight for the squash. Either it makes it or it doesn't, and since the SVB moths showed up, we know the squash is not going to make it. One thing I don't have in our garden is squash bugs. It doesn't matter because soon we won't have squash plants anyway.

It is too, too hot. What in the world is June going to be like? The end of May seems to have escalating temperatures day after day. I wonder if June will continue the trend?

Dawn
Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
Dawn, Travis Meyer must be reading the same models as Damon. Of course, I have a funeral/memorial service to attend Thursday.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
Dawn, the Weather Channel is so insistent on a cool summer here, but I just don't buy it. It feels like a hellish summer to me...

As if western OK hasn't had enough with heat and drought!!!! Dang.

Isnt it funny how we sense things like snakes? We don't see it, we don't hear it. We just know. What in the world?! I believe it's God.

Nancy, your cat is waiting patiently for its turn in the outhouse :-)

Normally I say "not a lot here", but it's the opposite today. In fact, I'll list it out so no one has to read through a 10,000,000,000,000,000 worded post.

1. Neighbor brought me a big load of 20-30 year old completely rotted wood chips. What a treat- I've never seen compost so fine.

2. British neighbor's brother in England is sending me seed for what they tag as "runner beans". Apparently they like cool weather, but no frost, which fits English summers perfectly. I would be in heaven if we had an English weather-like year. Hardly a cold winter, hardly hot summer. Cool weather crops in all their glory. Anyways, the beans sound like they're better for an autumn cropping here rather than a spring. With 70-80 dtm, and our earliest possible planting date at late April in a lucky year, they'd be cropping in July's heat if spring planted.
1. Set up first tomato trellis. We bought 2 dozen grapevine training posts (very tall) for $3 a piece a couple weeks back. Digging this deep a whole is a PITA, but tall posts means taller tomatoes (I hope?).
4. Picked strawberries at a local farm today. Gotta make lots of jam tomorrow.

5. That's it.
hazelinok
5 years ago
Tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it?! The heat is on!

Nancy, your pets are so cute. Thanks for sharing their pictures.

Dawn, I must have that snake intuition like you...and I'm not experienced with snakes at all. Both "snake" times last week, I had a strong sense that there was a snake nearby. I just knew. And we've not had many snakes in four years. I can think of 3 times that I'm aware of...one in the shed/coop when we did the remodel last year, one in the west "flowerbed", and one small one that was eaten by a chicken.

I didn't have time to look at the garden today. I do have a couple of hen issues. I'm pretty sure one of the buff orpingtons went broody. How does one tell the different in illness and broodiness?

Maizey went over the fence. I knew she would. Knew it. I got in at twilight and there she was. (It's amusing to me that neither Tom nor Ethan were aware of it and they have been home all night....I noticed it within 2 minutes of being home.) We managed to get her back on our property and "guided" back to the chicken yard, where she quickly put herself up.

Bedtime.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
And now Hazel snuck a post in!!
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
The heat is ON, the Heat is On. On the street, inside your head on every beat, and the beat's so loud, deep inside, the pressure's high. . just to stay alive. . Cause the heat is on................ theme song! Dawn, Kim, those of you in western OK and NW. I really do not know how you do it. On the other hand, we have shallow and loamy soil, so when it rains, it sinks in or runs off pretty quickly. Three days after 2 inches of rain, it's dry here where there's sun, except in the raised beds.

Oh rats. If it's not late or early freezes, it's floods. If not floods, high winds, or this. Always something down here, isn't it?! We are luckier than many of you in this respect--lots of shade. Of course, that presents its own challenges, too, right? When Amy warned me to check the weather and I saw the high winds, it looked like they'd miss us, and they did. But just in case the weather changed its path, I ran out and took pictures of the hollyhock zebrinas and the nicotiana, since it's the first year in three that they are standing up straight. I wanted a photo to remember that. LOL

I'm so excited about tomatoes that I'm afraid if I breathe wrong, something bad will happen. I mean, it's not like they're producing yet, really, cept for the few little ones I saw, but the plants are HEALTHY (afraid to even whisper it) and looking beautiful, blossoming away.. And the poor peppers, that were such beautiful seedlings, just are now beginning to grow (and yet most are trying to make peppers--should I snip them off so they grow more?) I DID put some Espoma out and it seems to have kick-started them a bit. But the rest--the garlic, leeks, onions, potatoes look wonderful. I'm anxious to see what lies beneath. Well, the Copra, many have developed buds. . . and the short and medium ones not great either, but I planted them too close together anyway, and am loving the green onions with larger than normal green onion bulbs, so I'm fine with that. And I do see ones here and there that are bulbing up. I'm also so very excited to see what we get with garlic. Corn, we've not done before, and planted them a little late--but they're growing strongly.

I'm a bit envious and sorry I didn't get more stuff planted, but this has been very easy on me, to have kept it simple this year. And frankly, the veggie garden area is full, so I don't even know where I would have put anything else. Right?!

Meanwhile, in the herb and flower world, I seem to have been determined to grow them all. . . so I sort of overcompensated there.

My mistake with herbs. I should have stuck with a few, rather than now nearly every variety of basil known to mankind, including Rebecca's real deal Italian one. Guess this is the great basil-testing year. I can say already, lemon and lime are FUN!! Definitely tasting both the lemon and lime in the basil. And yet, glad to have them all.

Bruce, I cannot BELIEVE how much trouble it was to get cumin started! I was wrong; what I thought was cumin coming up, was actually crabgrass (In my defense, I didn't know what cumin seedlings look like. LOL.) BUT. Finally, more like 3 weeks in, I got 3 tiny cumin a few days ago. They look like reluctant dills. Crazy! Now that I know, I think I'll just go sow some more. "They" say it takes 3 months of hot weather for it to do good. . . no prob.

I couldn't take the bachelor buttons and catmint out. . . they're too pretty. Now the sage out there. . . I think THAT will come out, as it also is in a 3-3 foot area. Dawn, I'm so excited about the pineapple sages. Can hardly wait, and both are growing splendidly.

I have so many herbs in and growing, I forget what I don't have. Guess if I were going to sell plants, it might be herbs. Catnip, lemon balm, hyssop, basils, thyme, oregano, mints, fennel, chives, garlic chives, dill, parsley parsley, comfrey, sculpit now, tansy, and now cumin, borage, chamomile, sage sage sage, and all the flowers that qualify as herbs, besides. And I camped these things everywhere--in the veggie beds, in the official herb bed, in the big center bed, shop bed, full sun raised flower bed, other beds. I've probably left a few out. I do have a LOT of herbs everywhere.

Flowers, still have no idea what will transpire. Know there will be some I fall in love with, some I say "Meh," to. Right now the hollyhock zebrinas are the big star--seems everyone in Ok is having a beautiful year for them. My husker red penstemon are beautiful this year. They're handicapped, as they're in too little sun, and yet they are beautiful this year.

I visited my church friend and her yard two days ago. It's like we live on two different planets. She is a rose fanatic. (I love them, too, fragrant ones, but 3 reasons I don't have any--shade, deer, and RRD.) I bet she had 20 rose bushes in her yard. SHE has a 6' fence around her 1/2 acre place, and it seems to be enough to keep the deer out--plus, there are many more houses/buildings near her property and no foresty paths that the deer out in this area like to travel. I would love to have a large yellow fragrant climbing one. . . or for that matter, ANY largish fragrant one. Ain't gonna happen in this yard. She has mostly sun in her yard. She has a lot of hibiscus that are like 2 feet tall and have flowers. (I have one, and it's growing great; already over 2', but not a flower yet.) I didn't recognize many of the things in her yard (and she couldn't remember their names to tell me. . . . lol), But we had few of the same flowers. Fascinating. My veggie garden is ahead of hers, but she planted everything later. But again, her veggie garden gets full sun all day--ours gets 7-9 hours. It's just interesting that within 1/2 mile such different yard conditions exist.

Glad you got Maizey back, HJ. Little rascal. Yes, the pets--your chickens, included. I had SO much fun watching Titan and the cats playing tonight. And then when I walked down to take pictures of Titan and Tom, I was afraid I'd spoil the cats' moment and they'd scatter, but nope, they seemed happy to include me and carried right on afterward.

Hi, Jacob--re the wood chips. Aren't they just like manna from heaven! I am loving mine (and mine are just from this year--but I tell ya, they've been cooking and already had some lovely compost-looking stuff going on), and know you're thrilled about yours! Your list was a good way of saying what's happening. If I weren't so lazy, I'd go back and do what you did. Loved the rest of the things on your list, but those wood chips!!! OH MY!!

Regarding the "outhouse." My prayer every day is that the thing will fall over. But GDW built it about 30 years ago, and it's another one of his babies. Some day when he's not looking, I'm gonna go down there and give it a shove so it'll fall over once and for all. Now THAT is someone's idea of yard art (his, apparently), as it's way too short for a regular human to use.

How're the ant battles going for you all? Ours are over for now. WE won, or else they just decided we're not worth the trouble. Sweet dreams. . . well I bet most of you ARE sleeping. Just know if you're having sweet dreams, you can thank me, in part.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
Nancy, if I were you, I'd be planting some vining flowers along the side of that outhouse! My neighbor has a pink clematis plant that grows in almost full shade, and it's so beautiful. That would look great with the yard art!

I had forgot to mention that I planted beans and cucumbers finally as well.
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
5 years ago
Ok, I'm way behind here. Babysat 2 days. Planted buckwheat in the rye stubble in the bed where the nematodes were. A little bit longer and sorghum will go in there, and maybe the supposedly nematode killing marigolds I got. Decomposing rye is somewhat allelopathic, especially to corn and relatives like sorghum. I want to give it a little more time. My Sunn Hemp arrived, so that gets put out today. Looked at a bed I've been ignoring yesterday, potato leafed tomato volunteer that is bigger than some I planted. Gary 'O Sena was there last year, I think carbon was next to it. I'm leaving it. And the numerous basil volunteers. That bed was slated for summer squash and cowpeas. It will work out.

I also got my soaker hoses. Wouldn't you know it would rain?

I really need to get outside, I know it will be hot today. I will come back later. XXOO
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
We're getting little thunderstorm cells every afternoon. I'm thankful for the rain, but I'd prefer to work in the afternoon. The morning is so excessively humid, and the sun makes it worse. My plants don't need watering I'd suppose- they're getting drenched with my sweat!!!!

When we were in Mexico, I got a new hat for the garden. What a difference it makes keeping the sun off my head and shoulders.

Driving more fence posts for these tomatoes, stringing them, and hopefully soon digging out steps to the upper garden before the next batch of rain.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
Oh, and I picked the first of the Swiss chard from the garden yesterday. Spinach is no longer my favorite leafy green to say the least.
haileybub(7a)
5 years ago
Concerning my second year of morning glories, I can certainly see why some would consider them invasive! They are starting to vine up my trellis and like overnight, I swear, 200 little sprouts came up! Now I’m wondering if I should thin them out (they’re pretty crowded, don’t know if that would affect blooming, lack of sunlight kind of thing) plus a lot sprouted up outside of the area I want them so if I mow those over, will they grow back?
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
I looked at the grocery store for Swiss chard today, Jacob, since you seem fond of it. They were out. Figures. I'll give it a try, though.

So I settled for a big fat artichoke (GDW hasn't had the fun of peeling the leaves off, dipping them in butter, or mayo and onions, and scraping them down with your teeth. I did warn him they were labor intensive, in the eating. It will be so fun, tomorrow night for dinner.) and asparagus. Not to say asparagus is ever "settling." Asparagus is one of the Ferraris of veggies, in my opinion.

hahaha, Hailey. Are you growing purple ones or Heavenly blue? I made the mistake of putting purple ones in, as Garry's favorite color is purple. I'd never grown them before and yes. They come back by the thousands. Now, my understanding from Dawn is that the blue ones don't do that. . . . . did I understand you correctly, Dawn? But the blue ones are definitely show-stoppers.

But whether yours are blue or purple, I wouldn't worry about it. For two years when I wanted purple, they obliged me by the hundreds, if not thousands. I just let them go, and all was good. They LIKE their company of thousands, I believe. LOL

Your little thunderstorm cells, Jacob, remind me of Wyoming AND Minnesota. We had them up there in both places, frequently. Not so much show in Wyoming, more just the glitz and glamour.

Did you get your tomato fence posts installed? Your description of your weather right now reminds me very much of MN in the summer. HOT and HUMID. The plants loved it.

Laughed pretty hard about getting your soaker hoses, Amy. Timing is everything, right? Intrigued by the cover crop conversation. I have a lot of garlic, potatoes, onions that will be coming out soon, so will be thinking about that.

I love the volunteers. . . don't see them much in the veggie beds, since it's been a 3-yr project of adding lots of amendments to them. And since I've been weeding so assiduously in the other beds this year, haven't seen any veggies show up in them to date.

We are having a lot of social situations in our community of acquaintances here right now--and we don't do social very well! But I've felt compelled to respond, so have done more socializing/visiting than normal--which is a good thing, really. I'm not working that hard in the gardens this week or last, save for the wood mulch and Bermuda-picking. Amazing how when one throws a LOT of mulched leaves in the beds, or grass clippings, or wood chips, how much easier it is to weed. Amazing. I told GDW four years ago it would get easier (and it was brutal then. I crossed my fingers that I wasn't lying.) It IS easier.

And everything out there is on hold. Doing great, but nothing to see, with flowers, nothing to harvest yet with veggies. We need to go fishing.

Peace and love to you all.
hazelinok
5 years ago
It’s raining!

so, now I know. Plan a garage sale and it will rain.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
I sure did get the posts installed Nancy, but I didn't get my tomatoes strung up :(. I spent 2h looking for the roll before the storms came, which I lost.

It can get humid here, but I don't think quite as humid as it has been. I think it's just from the thunderstorms working their way here. It looks as if we'll have more this afternoon as well judging from the looks outside, and they're calling for storms tomorrow as well. Surprisingly it dries up really quickly in the morning after the sun gets on the garden.

I don't like socializing either. It's funny, cause I'm fairly open on the forums with you guys, but in reality I'm not a fan. Even phone calls annoy me sometimes, something my dad has made me do more and more of this last year to get over it LOL

So I didn't have time to get the steps worked on, and I couldnt find my string, but I got the majority of my garden weeded at least, as well as finished mulching. I pulled all my bolted arugula, added another 4" layer of mulch, and worked out where I'll put some summer crops. Apparently where I thought I had cabbage turned out to be broccoli.....and it'll likely bolt judging from a high of 96 next week (WHAT?!), so I'll probably pull it and sow some sweet corn and winter squash, both of which I always have fantastic luck with in extreme heat. I got sick of holding up the 10+ ft. Tall stowell evergreen corn I grew last year, so I ordered a claimed 6-7 ft. Tall Buhl sweet corn this year. We like spaghetti squash so I'll grow that as well as Seminole and New England Sugar Pie and some other pumpkin I got. All this will fill up a 20x5' bed and 2 20x4' beds. Of course, these beds get shade in the autumn so they're not suitable for fall crops.
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years ago
Hazel, sounds like our luck. No matter what we try to do outdoors (hiking, camping, etc.), it RAINS. We went to the desert to get away from RAIN and it wound up raining us out multiple nights.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
I'm so far behind reading the comments that I feel like I'll never catch up, but I'm trying. Today is a grandchild day, so no gardening for me. I do have about 5 gallons of snap beans to clean, string, snap and blanch so I can pack them away into quart ziplock bags for the deep freeze. After working outside so much in the horrible heat this week, it is nice to have an indoor job to do that still relates to gardening but without the insane heat.

Rebecca, Next Thursday is a long way off still. Maybe by the time it finally arrives, the weather won't be as hot as they are forecasting. Still, I think the summer-like weather is here to stay. We've had it all month here already, so Spring weather lasted for a very brief perod.

Jacob, I believe it is God too. There's no other way to explain how I'm constantly surrounded by venomous snakes, and haven't been bitten yet.

Jennifer, A broody hen acts just like what she is....a hormonal woman. Most of the time the broody hens just get this certain determined gleam in their eye---you will learn to recognize it. It is a look that says "I'm going to set on eggs right here until they hatch, and you aren't going to stop me." They rarely leave the nest or nesting box to eat or drink, especially if anyone is hanging around watching. They'll attack you if you're trying to take their eggs. They'll fluff up their feathers in order to look bigger in order to scare off anyone who's trying to take their eggs. Sometimes they'll pluck out their own feathers to fluff up the nest and try to ensure the eggs have the perfect humidity for hatching. I generally just leave them alone and let them be if we don't mind them hatching their eggs. (Obviously, if you don't have a rooster, they're never going to hatch eggs, so it is better to have two people tackle the situation---one of you picks up and holds the chicken while the other one gathers the eggs. You can do it alone by chasing her off the nest, but be prepared to have an angry broody hen fighting you for those eggs if she's gone broody. Be prepared for a wildly protesting hen, whether there's one of you or two of you trying to deal with the hen and the eggs.)

Nancy, I like mixing herbs in with flowers and veggies, but the herbs can be really aggressive, so I am careful to not plant too many and to not allow too much reseeding. Extremely heavy mulch 2-3" around the herbs reduces how many of the volunteers you get....or at least makes it easier to spot them and remove them. My worst herb thugs (lemon balm, tansy, catnip, comfrey and dill (usually dill, not so much this year) are at the northern edge of the garden so they can slug it out for square footage between themselves. I just pulled out tons and tons of small volunteer tansy plants yesterday to make room for the girls' Kong sunflowers that originally were planned for the back garden. I went through the whole deal with planting every kind of basil imaginable for a decade or two, but it just became too much to deal with, so most years now I only grow 2 or 3 different kinds. The dill volunteers that never popped up in March and April like usual is popping up now. Of course, it won't last long in this heat, but at least it showed up.

Part of downsizing the garden means planting fewer varieties of everything. For example, I think I've only planted 6 varieties of beans....make that 7 if you count Lima beans---4 varieties of bush beans, 2 of pole beans and 1 (so far) of Lima beans. Seven varieties may sound like a lot, but for me that's cutting back. I'm glad I planted the beans early as too much heat causes blossom drop just like with tomatoes. We're harvested a ton of bush beans already and am filling up the freezer with them. By the time it is too hot for bean blossoms to set new beans (likely next week), I won't care because we'll have a lot frozen for future meals. The pole beans haven't produced yet, and one of the varieties I'm growing is especially for the girls---Flamingo Beans---so I hope it is able to produce something before the heat gets too awful.

Pineapple sage is one of my favorites. Mine is blooming already, likely because of the heat, but if you deadhead it, it just keeps growing and keeps blooming. I have six pineapple sage plants this year, just because last year's 3 plants were so pretty that I wanted more.

Hollyhocks are the traditional way to hide outhouses. They served a dual purpose.....back in the day when outhouses were used, refined ladies couldn't just say "I need to go to the outhouse", so they'd suggest that they were going to stroll out to look at the hollyhocks. I've grown a variety of hollyhocks called Outhouse Hollyhocks. They are very tall with single blooms, but I didn't have an outhouse to plant them near.

Hailey, I love Morning Glories but they reseed like crazy. I even have them in the back garden which is a good 300' or more from the front garden, and I never planted them there. While most all of them reseed, Grandpa Ott's is the one that reseeds most heavily.

Nancy, Heavenly Blue, which is one I'd like to see reseed, never has reseeded for me. Of course, with a gazillion MG seedlings popping up every Spring, maybe I just somehow manage to pull out the Heavenly Blue ones and leave the Grandpa Ott's, but I think the odds that I'm doing that are slim to none. Some of the others that reseed pretty readily are Blue Star and Milky Way. This year I've been pulling out every single MG seedlings, wanting to give myself a break from having MGs growing all over the place.

I hope the rain makes it this far south. We haven't had good rain in so long that I watered the garden very heavily a couple of days ago to get the soil nice and moist so the plants would be in shape for the heat wave. More moisture in the form of rain would be nice. It is getting closer---is in Carter County now.

Jennifer, Thank you for the garage sale. If the rain makes it all the way down here to us, I'll give you all the credit for bringing us rain.

I need to get off the computer and go process those beans, but I don't want to because once I start, it is going to take hours to get them all done.

Dawn
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
I just checked weather. I don't think we're going to get much, if any. But Dawn, it looks awfully close to you. I hope you get some.
p_mac
5 years ago
HJ - you're having a garage sale?!? I'm going stir crazy.....wish I could drive over! Holding it tomorrow?

I had a silly thing called a grand mal seizure for the first time and spent Mother's Day weekend in the hospital so I've lost my driving privileges for 6 months. Phooey. There is an upside and that's the fact that I'm doing well (no damage showing on any brain test) but my family wants me to take the Short-Term Disability anyways. Do you realize how much time I can spend on my little garden now!?!?!?!? (I'm not making light, just trying to find my "coping skills"!)

I don't even care that it's already rained 2" here in NE Norman....I've planted left-overs from the Fling along with harvesting radishes & bolted onions in the rain....AND my pj's!!!!

Paula
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Paula--what a shock that must have been! Will you be going through a lot of testing to determine a cause? I pray it is the LAST one you have! Will be thinking of you. Must have been a scary experience for you all!

Love your up side comments. STD does have its perks, right? :) The driving thing is bound to be a bit frustrating? Still, to be harvesting radishes and bolting onions in your PJ has to be fun. I like the visual picture in my mind.

I have some history with seizures--both with my son who was in the bad car accident, and my brother who had an idiopathic disorder. My son had 2-3 in the first couple years after his accident (nearly 27 years ago), but none since. I hope it stays that way. He was young and not driving did NOT make him happy! lol

I'd love hollyhocks out by the "outhouse," Dawn, but we'd have to cut down 3-4 trees. I hope you're having a good day with the little one. . . did you put her to work snapping means? Probably fun for her, right? And probably good help, at her age. I still remember snapping green beans. I liked that job much more than I liked shelling peas, for some reason.

I'm so excited to hear dill re-seeds. I had mine in veggie beds last year, and so they were buried under a lot of mulched leaves. But this year I have 4 different ones in the center bed, so that should ensure their successful re-seeding. Most--not all, not basil--are somewhat confined by shade. And not the catmint and huge sages in the shop bed. I threatened the catmint, but it IS pretty and GDW likes it, so I'll move it this fall. I'm not sure the sage will make it to fall, though. I already have a well-behaved one in back, in more shade. And how much sage do I really need . . . I can hardly wait for the pineapple sages to get big. And the verbena bonariensis, and the ammis. and and and. And the garlic and onions and everything else. Patience. . .

I'm glad you mentioned Seminole, Jacob. Just remembered I have to get some in, just to see if we can get some. Plus I want to see it grow 30 feet up a tree. LOL

HJ, was the garage sale your own, or did you do it with others? They are so much WORK!! Hope you made a killing. Hope it quit raining!
Melissa
5 years ago
Hello my gardening comrades!!! After taking a pretty long hiatus from anything internet really, I decided to jump in again but especially because I have been missing GW. I decided to just start with this thread, catch up and go forward. Oh, and it hit me the other day that I probably missed the Spring Fling and I was so sad. I really wanted to come this year and meet all of you wonderful people. Looks like everyone is doing great!!

On our home front, things have changed quite a bit. My daughter who just turned 18 last week has moved to Rhode Island with her boyfriend. **Insert bawling crybaby emoji here** I honestly don't know what to do with myself half the time. There IS stuff to do, it's just making myself do it. WHY is it so hard when they leave? Ok, let me back up, she was supposed to stay here and go to OSU-OKC and move into an apartment in Edmond. However, this "boy" talked her into moving back to RI where he is from. He moved here in October to be with her. He never really gave Oklahoma a chance, but it is what it is I guess. I miss her with every ounce of my being.

Moving on because now I've caused myself to cry yet once again, lol. My son, who will be 20 this September was accepted to OU and OCU in Edmond. He decided to go to UCO and was going to move out in August. Ugh, another one within 3 months?! How could my heart take it?! Well......setting all selfishness aside I went with him to look at the apartments and such. However, I kept telling him he can still stay at home and go to school. It's only about a 15 minute drive. He can save his money and then move out next semester. I was trying to get him to think smart about finances. Apparently I broke through!!! He informed me that he will be staying home until next year and save his money. I am so proud of him. Oh, and he got a scholarship from Cherokee Nation that will help and is waiting on the Teacher Grant to be approved.

Lastly but certainly not least, my 12 year old.....my baby....my sassy pants! She is clinging more to me and coming out in the yard with me more when I am gardening and such. She makes me laugh so much and I definitely need it. We're still homeschooling and usually take a summer break but she's decided she wants to get ahead in math so we'll just be doing math throughout summer.

I have decided not to have much of a garden this year. I didn't get any seeds started except for sprinkling some flower seeds in a bed. Mayah and I decided we want a butterfly garden. So, I gathered a bunch of flower seeds and transformed a raised bed for that. I bought a butterfly bush yesterday at Lowe's on clearance so I am excited to get that going in the ground.

I've so missed keeping up with everyone else on here and life's journey. Sorry if I just dumped my little updates on you all. I feel like you all are just extended family although we've never met in person. :)

Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?
Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
I don't have much to report other than it being hot and dry and all the rain keeps missing my house.

Something is eating the petals off my painted daisies. First lily is blooming. Cosmos, blanketflowers, coneflowers, and African daisies are blooming. I've started a few more cosmos and zinnias to fill in a few holes. I did not have good luck starting Cape daisies and tithonia this year. Might have one tithonia and a couple Cape daisies. Sprouted some morning glories in coffee filters, and those are finally starting to take off. Guess I'll do some spinach and flowers that way too.
hazelinok
5 years ago
I wish I wasn't so sleepy. I have a lot to comment on.

First, HI Melissa! I've missed you. I, too, would be crying if my 18 year old daughter moved to a far away state with a guy. BIG hugs!

It is good to see you here again. And I'm glad you're finding enjoyment with your Sassy Pants and butterfly garden.

Paula, the garage sale is at my Mom's. It was the worst one we've ever had. It's okay, though. I'll donate the stuff after tomorrow. Stop by anytime if you're bored, although we are rarely home. Except this week, starting Monday, I should be home a LOT.

So sorry about your seizure. I have some experience with those. My son, Lane, had them daily.

Dawn, so far, I've managed to handle the hen alone. She's very cranky, but hasn't peeked me yet. I've been removing her from the nesting box, putting her on the roost bar at night, making her get out to get a drink and food. She fluffs up her feathers and walks around in a weird way.

Dozing off now...
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Melissa, I thought I posted something here earlier. Obviously I had not. I just wanted to say, I'd be crying, too. God bless her on her move, but I cannot imagine how tough this has to be for ya. My dearest friend in the world sent me a little snippet of words many many years ago. It was about children who moved away. The gist of it was that we miss them so much more than they miss us. Like God and his precious children. And although I lack the eloquence of that little article, how true it may be, and how fitting.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
Good Morning, Everyone!

Nancy, Bruce alerted me earlier in the day to the fact that he had rain and it was moving my way, so I started watching, but I still wasn't really believing because it always seems to veer east of us. This time it didn't veer east until it had gone south of us, so we got almost an inch of desperately needed rain. I was so thrilled. So, the garden will be happy for a few days, but I suspect the moisture won't last long in the high temperatures. This really was our first good rainfall since around May 3rd or 4th, and for once, we got more rain than our Mesonet station instead of getting a lot less than was recorded there.

Lillie helped snap beans and string beans for a couple of hours. She's a hard worker and loves gardening (she has a great-grandfather with a huge garden and always has helped with the garden since she was very small). We had 4 varieties of beans all harvested together, and she was fascinated with the purple ones and loved the Provider beans, which are more flat like Romas than round, because the Providers have very obvious strings and she loves pulling the strings. She'd pick those out of the pile to string and then snap.

Catmint makes me think of Yellow Cat, who we lost a few months ago at a very old age, because he was the only cat we've ever had who liked catmint more than catnip. I can hardly bear to look at the catmint right now because it makes me miss him so, but we'll always have it in the garden because some of the little beneficial insects love it.

Paula, I'm sorry to hear about the seizure. I'm so glad you're okay. Did they figure out what caused it? That must have been frightening. Take that Short Term Disability and live it up in the garden! God has a plan, and maybe his plan is for you to have a few months of gardening and grandkids without any other distractions. As far as gardening in one's PJs, my experience with that is that if I venture into my garden for just a minute in my PJs, I end up staying out there in them and that will be the day the mailman brings me a package that won't fit in the mailbox and there I stand at the garden gate accepting that package while wishing a hole in the earth would open up and swallow me right up. I'm always thinking "maybe he won't think these are pajamas" but who am I kidding?

Melissa, I'd been wondering where you were.

You poor mama! She'll come back, you know, even if only to visit and she's very young still so they might move back here at some point. Or, their relationship might not last anyhow. Often, what you think you want at 18 is not what you discover you really want later on as you continue to mature. Chris was the same age the first time he left home (for Georgia) and he was back home in a few months.

Congrats on getting through to your son about the importance of living at home for at least the first year since he lives so close to school and congrats on his scholarship. I think college is such a huge adjustment anyway, and I think he has no idea how lucky he is to be able to live at home.

I am glad that you and Sassy Pants will at least have the butterfly garden. You didn't mention how your mother-in-law is doing. I hope she is okay and is in remission.

Mostly we're just excited to have 3 weekend days together because Tim's workdays are so long during the week. We're going out to the dinner tonight with our son and his girlfriend at their favorite restaurant in Ardmore. That's about it for our big weekend plans. Other than that, I suppose our big plans are grocery shopping and mowing a couple of acres. It doesn't sound very exciting, but I like having all the supplies bought and put up so we don't have to make little trips to the store during the week and there's nothing like mowing the grass to help make it easier to avoid stepping on snakes at this time of the year.

Rebecca, I hope the next round of rain doesn't miss you. I know exactly how it feels to watch the rain fall everywhere else except at your own place, and it isn't encouraging at all.

Jennifer, Your hen sounds okay then. Her broodiness should pass and she'd get back to normal soon I imagine.

I probably won't be working in the garden this weekend, y'all, because I feel like I worked so hard all week getting that pallet of mulch into the garden that I deserve a break today....and tomorrow...and maybe the next day. I weeded and mulched until I couldn't see straight any more, and the last thing I want to do for the next three days is any weeding and/or mulching. Well, I'll have to harvest so that requires going into the garden, but except for that, I'll get a break. Actually, going into the garden is dangerous because if I see new weeds sprouting, which is so common in May after rainfall, that then I feel compelled to weed. It is sort of sad to see all the cool-season stuff coming out of the garden, but it is late May, so it is time. I've already got most of the hot season crops planted, so the succession crops to fill in empty spots left by the harvest of the remaining cool-season plants (onions and potatoes) will be mostly melons of all kinds (muskmelons, watermelons, Crane melons.....) and probably some zinnias. I am working so hard, lol, to have an easier summer that I'm being very careful to not plant too many succession crops of edibles. This is hard for me to do because I have to fight my usual pattern of just planting more edibles. I'll probably plant more zinnias over time, and maybe some cosmos. You never can have too many zinnias for the butterflies in the hot summer months. The heat and general lack of adequate rainfall are encouraging me to stay on my quest for an easier summer with less time spent processing and putting up the harvest. I still have 5 large containers to fill, or maybe six, and will be plant shopping for plants for those containers either today or tomorrow.

I do not understand how this tomato problem keeps happening. We have so many tomatoes piling up on the kitchen counter that we either need to eat a ton of tomatoes for three meals a day all weekend long, or I need to make some salsa or sauce or something to use them up. I cut back so much on how many tomato plants I planted that I didn't think we'd hit the 'too many tomatoes' point until at least June. I think the heat is speeding up the ripening of the tomatoes too much. I'm not complaining about having tomatoes, but just about how they all seem to ripen together at one time instead of spreading themselves out better over a longer period of time. I need to have a talk with them about that.

Last night, I awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of a bunch of coyotes that sounded like they were sitting right outside our bedroom window. It was at least one adult with a bunch of babies yipping and yapping, and it was close enough to be scary. I was glad all our animals sleep indoors at night. It is more typical to hear the coyotes howling further off, though not always very far away. I don't like it when I know they're in the yard. The cottontail bunnies are very plentiful at this time of the year, so I expect Mama was teaching the babies how to hunt for their meal.

Something has been roaming through the woods all day and our dogs are barking at it nonstop. I never see anything when I look for whatever they're barking at, but Princess and Ace just have a conniption fit constantly. Now I'm wondering if that mama coyote is raising her young ones in there and if our dogs are hitting on their scent.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend, whether inside of or outside of the garden.

Dawn
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
Hi Melissa. . . . major ouch. That's tough, daughter moving. I BET you miss her! I wonder what she'll think of RI.
Nancy RW (zone 7)
5 years ago
So strange to hear you talking about too many tomatoes, Dawn. I KNOW we get stuff later than you, I know it intellectually, but it's hard to internalize it. Still, here and there am seeing a few little ones. And spotted a Cherokee Carbon that is 2" in diameter today. So they'll be here one of these days. Same with flowers. Nothing really HAPPENING! LOL

Coyotes. Our next-door neighbor (to the immediate north) is here this weekend; he and his new bride (of last year) have had a busy year with all their stuff, and we haven't seen them here hardly at all. I like them very much, so we were visiting for a while last night. He has a ranch near Osage and was saying the wild boars up there are insanely thick. I asked them about coyotes, and just a couple days ago they had one who got near the house, and they have new calves there, so were concerned. Coyote met his maker. I think they'll be here a lot more this summer, because it is just ever so slightly cooler with all the trees. That will make Rufus happy. (Rufus is the name they gave Titan 2 years ago, and they are crazy about him and he is crazy about them. It's like Titan has two families when they're here. Very amusing and touching. Who can't love neighbors like that! The fellow admitted, however, that yes, Rufus is getting a little fat, and so I scolded him about feeding the dog. He agreed to cut his portions back.)

HJ, I am feeling just like you sometimes do. . . you know, when your mind is racing and you feel like your rambling? GDW still not back to normal health, has good days and bad. I hate the not-good days. Rebecca, I DID get enough tithonias and Cape daisies, but will have to wait a while longer before I see any action from them. I got Garry's wheelbarrow planted, and its silly how much fun it is for both of us. He suggested I put some petunias in it. Hahaha--I already had, but he wants more and bigger ones.

My mowing schedule has come to bite me now, as one of the daughters is coming to visit today, and here I am with a lawn that is getting shaggy. LOL, not that she'd notice one way or another. It's like having company show up when your house is a mess.

Oh--besides the artichoke and asparagus, we visited our meat shop--and I came home with head cheese! Hahaha. I told the young man I was in my last years, so decided I needed to start trying all kinds of stuff I've never tried before. I always thought of head cheese, souse, and scrapple being kind of the same. . . they didn't have scrapple of course, and were currently out of souse. So I got half a dozen slices of head cheese. GDW just shook his head. I wanted alligator too, but they didn't have any that day. Next time.

Okay. . . . out to the garden til daughter shows up.
Rebecca (7a)
5 years ago
Question about starting seeds in a paper towel/coffee filter. Can most seeds be done this way? I need some flowers for my cutting garden, and I'm pretty sure its too hot to do them in jugs. Wanting to do some zinnias, cosmos, bachelor buttons, Cape daisies, snapdragons, and whatever else catches my eye, as well as some summer lettuce. Morning glories are doing ok this way, my problem is getting them planted at the right time. Work gets in the way.

I was up and out by 7:30 this morning, to Cherry Street market, Sprouts, Petco, and Target. It was hot by 10am. I was only out around noon long enough to water and deadhead the roses. It felt darn good when I sprayed myself with the hose.

Tomorrow I need to be out about the same time, to Lowes for more mushroom compost. I need to put beans in. And I need a few plants to fill in some holes in the flower bed. Probably won't be much selection. Some celosia would be good, just a few.

My first calendula bloomed today. I love them. They're in mostly shade so I think they'll stick around if I keep them watered. I'll have mini sunflowers soon. I have a few African daisies blooming, and a few cosmos, and a few painted daisies. Something is still munching on the painted daisies. I hit them with spinosad, but didn't seem to help.

I'm starting a new lupus med today, so I'm in for the afternoon so I can see how I react to it. Hopefully no major problems.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
I think if I moved to RI, I'd think I'd died and gone to summer heaven.....and then, in the fall and winter, I'd be packing to move back home to Oklahoma. Tim's boss is from that general area and his wife wants to retire to RI or New Hampshire or somewhere similar with cooler summers, which I understand, but I wonder if they are forgetting what the winters there are like? Too many Texas or Oklahoma winters will make a born-and-bred New Englander forget what cold weather feels like.

Nancy, Usually the tomatoes ripen more slowly in May and I don't have to start food preservation until June. This year's weather is just messing up everything. Today I saw more tomatoes breaking color and needing to be harvested, and I just rolled my eyes. You wait and wait and wait so long for the first one, and even the second and the third, and then suddenly that trickle of tomatoes turns into a deluge.

Around here we can predict the coyote population in a sort of inverse way to the rabbit population. When the rabbit population soars, the coyote population usually is on the down side a bit. Then, the coyote population cycles back up and those hungry canines eat all the rabbits.....right now the bunny population seems very high but it won't last for long. Wild boars? The population here is huge and they are dangerous. There's folks shooting them from choppers now (with the permission of the landowners). At one point the local media was saying that Love County had the highest wild pig infestation in OK, but they've spread all over the state since then and it would be nice if some other county has taken away our title in that regarde. Whatever it takes to control them is okay with me, but it freaks out some people when the chopper hog hunt is going on in their area.

Rebecca, Yes, as long as the seeds don't have special stratification needs that involve specific timing and specific temperatures. Even then, sometimes the coffee filters and/or paper towels are a part of the stratification process.

My bean plants are about to come out. We've been harvesting for maybe 3 weeks now and 1 of the 4 varieties is horribly spider mite infested, so I'm going to yank those plants out whenever I finish harvesting the next round of beans. Maybe tomorrow morning early just to get it done. The other three varieties can stay until the spider mites inundate them or until they quit producing because of the heat, whichever comes first. At the temperatures we are having now, the heat may become an issue before the spider mites become so heavy that the plants must go. I'll still have lima beans and pole beans though, so we won't be bean-less. Plus, I've been blanching andfreezing the extra beans since we're getting too many to eat them all fresh, so once the fresh ones are gone, we'll have the fresh-frozen ones.

I hope the new med helps and that you don't suffer unpleasant side effects.

They lowered our forecast high for today and the next couple of days after it rained. Woo hoo! So, instead of 96 for today, they said 93 and that's exactly how hot we got....93 degrees with a heat index of 99. Tonight we're going to a restaurant for dinner where they keep it really cold inside. I'm actually looking forward to that coldness. I think I'll wear long sleeves instead of a sleeveless shirt because now that I think about it, I'm worried it might be a little too cold. After a hot week out in the garden, being too cold sounds like a dream.

I'll start the Week 5 thread tonight or tomorrow morning, but I need to think of a new song title that involves heat to maintain accuracy.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
Well, I had to update....just one minute after I submitted the above, we rolled up to 94 degrees and a heat index of 100. This isn't May, it is Springmer or Suming or just plain old Summer.
hazelinok
5 years ago
I didn't read yet, but will when I settle in for the night. Still have cooking to do and dogs to walk.

However, Flagstaff. I'm considering moving there.

Tiny, tiny red bugs with a black head and maybe one dot (so tiny I could tell for sure without glasses). Does anyone know what sorta bug that could be. Similar to ladybugs only much smaller.
Megan Huntley
5 years ago
I think running at 90 miles an hour from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for what seems like weeks on end - weekends included - has finally caught up with me and I’m wiped. I may take a rest this weekend. I’m forcing myself to do it tonight for sure. I really need to adjust my sleep schedule so I’m getting up at 5 to do my 3 mile run/walk at sunrise instead of sunset. I have some sort of mental block about getting up at 5 though, and no matter what, it’s difficult to wind down to get to bed any earlier. But I’m trying to convince myself to be lazy this weekend and bank some sleep so the change will be less miserable.

Thursday night my parents were over and my mom mentioned seeing a baby bird in the yard shortly after getting DD of the school bus. We didn’t see it right away but while watering I noticed it was hiding under some parsley. I put DH on the phone with the wild bird sanctuary to find out what to do. They suggested it was a fledgling out of the nest a few days too soon and to put it back in the nest if we could or to make a nest in a basket placed in a tree so momma could find and help it. After multiple attempts to convince it we were trying to help and it needed to let us, we took a step back and just watched. We knew momma was nearby because at one time our (thankfully) oblivious dog was raising a ruckus at the kids playing in the playground behind our fence. She was worried about him and dive bombed him, so he went back in the house. After sitting in the yard for quite a while and monitoring quietly, momma bird came back and fed baby some worms. She later came and sat with it, demonstrating how to fly from the pile of brush it was sitting on, to the top of the fence. As it got too dark too see anything we heard what sounded like them nestling into a pile of leaves and by morning they were gone.

While all this was happening we heard sirens non-stop. I made one trip in the house and saw the news of the shooting at lake Hefner a few miles away and assumed Edmond was assisting. Turns out there was a suspicious package at the corner by our subdivision and we had no clue. I only found out when checking Facebook the next morning and saw a friend who lives nearby complain the noise from the news choppers was keeping her up.

The rain had been missing me as well but I finally got some on Friday. I knew I had to get up early to check on the status of baby bird before the dog needed to go out. The wind woke me up at 5:30, but DH said it woke him an hour earlier. There was no sign of baby bird so I took dog out as it began to sprinkle. The clouds opened about 6 a.m. and during a lull at 6:30 the gauge already showed 1.1”!!! I checked it about 7:45 before leaving for work and it was about 1.75. Then, when I got home Friday evening it was squarely at 2”.

My cherokees are the first slicers to set fruit, like Dawns. I think I saw on others some buds that might take. I have tons of fruit on my cherry toms but it seems like they’re taking 10x longer than usual to ripen. They better be tasty! My green beans aren’t close at all to producing and they’re riddled with spider mites. I’m debating pulling them now because I don’t anticipate getting many beans with this heat. I decided to hold off on eggplant. I have some signs of flea beetles and don’t want to put in a magnet for them.

I have a hybrid swale + huglekultur to deal with a shady slope and erosion along our south fence. I hoped to grow kale there just letting it reseed itself repeatedly but it’s too cool in the spring for the kale to get going. Now it’s finally starting to grow at a better pace but I’m sure it will be bitter in this heat. Of course with good dirt and water retention the Bermuda has discovered it. Go home bermuda.

Paula, I’ve been wondering how you were doing since we haven’t heard much from you. Sorry to hear the cause. On the one hand, STD sounds like a fun staycation. On the other, I wonder if it wouldn’t cause my head to explode?

Melissa, you’re new to me but it sounds like we’re relative neighbors. You probably figured out that I’m in SW Edmond. My only LO just finished the 4th grade yesterday and I don’t want to think about the approaching day when she’ll be out of the nest, but I remember being the girl who ran off with a boy, though I only made it as far as St Louis. I wonder if there is some penance I can do to avoid her doing that to me? Suggestions welcome. :)
Megan Huntley
5 years ago
Dawn - my I suggest “Heat Wave” by Martha and the Vandals?
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
5 years ago
You may! I have been considering that one and also "Hot Time, Summer in the City". Since we aren't, technically speaking, in actual summertime yet, I'll go with Heat Wave and save the other one for a summer week. I'm tired, I need to go to bed, I can catch up tomorrow, but I will start next week's thread first.