14 tomatoes: Never heard of the Dakota fire pit...most places I camp would not allow it anyway. Maybe I'll try it in the garden - it will help get things dug up well and add some wood ash! I have made fires with a flint and steel like the video shows. And I use a larger jack knife!

Thanks for the Hungarian Goulash suggestion...sounds like I might like it.

Finally got one of these pictures to post-most of these said Red Cherry on them-there were some BHN 589 tomato plants and I really wanted to get some, but they all seemed to be covered in septoria. The one Patio tomato I got doesn't look great either, but most of the cherry tomato plants look pretty good.

Naturegirl, we get most Ruby-Throated hummingbirds (90%), a few Black-Chinned (8%) and the rare Rufous (1-3 a year). I am a little burned out on the eggplant to tell you the truth-I have only found a few ways I really like it and have probably given away 50 pounds in the neighborhood-my neighbors are probably getting tired of it too..lol. I also like the way it looks growing and it is the easiest thing I have ever seen to grow in my life.

I can post just about any picture other than the one of the tomato plants I just picked up-no rhyme or reason...lol

Richard- do you have problems

with flea beetles on your eggplants? It seems that they find mine within a minute of transplanting haha

Another week of heat and then maybe some relief. Our fall garden is suffering, even with shade. We alsl got really poor germination on mustards and turnips - I think that it was a moisture and heat issue. I’ll try again.

We had some more choy, kale, mustard and beets that needed transplanting so I moved them into containers on the patio this morning. I didn't want to buy any more tarps and the sun is still too intense out in the garden. The patios get some early morning sun and a bit it dappled sun the rest of the day.

Richard - Maybe the photo of the tomato plants is too large??

Jamie, I have never had an insect other than bees on the white eggplants

Even the squash beetles wouldn't touch the stuff.

Cindy they were only iPhone pictures and the hummingbird pictures were bigger

Richard - My NIL just posted this info about Colorado. Just FYI-

Colorado is the only state of the United States with its entire territory above sea level (the lowest point of Colorado is 1 metres above sea level). The highest point in the state of Colorado is mount Albert (4401).
- in Colorado, fifty-four mountain peaks above fourteen feet (4 meters), United States climbers call them "fourteen" (Fourteeners).

- up to the height of 3 meters above sea level, mountains are covered with coniferous forests, above are Alpine Meadows and even higher - snow peaks. Snow on the top of the rocky mountains usually melts in mid-August, except for a few glaciers.
- the climate in Eastern Colorado is moderate and semi-dry. Most precipitation falls from April to September. The region is characterized by large daily temperature changes.
- the western Colorado State is located in the western part of Colorado, the largest dining mountain in the world (a flat-Top Mountain).

Jack - Are you cooking for today's game? Having another get-to-gather?

I resize any pictures I post to 2000 pixels on the largest side. Before that I would get hanging after submitting a post with large pictures in it.

Jamie - same here. High 95 on Thursday and then dropping down in the mid 80's after that. Having to mist my broccoli twice a day.

WTF?!

Was picking habaneros and all of a sudden this guy coming out from under the leaves. Does anyone know what it is? Is it a good or bad guy? Either way he scared to #%€ out of me. Lol

I think I’ve seen one of those before, but I don’t know anything about them. Unfortunately. i know there are a few bug-identification groups on Facebook if you’re a member there. Let us know if you find out!

The pic is a bit fuzzy but it might be an assassin bug....

https://www.google.com/search?q=assassin+bug&sxsrf=ACYBGNSKKRBs-SwYJGZvhz3094xiNvbcSQ:1569793412395&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=eRHZnfg-

Way too hot here too in the 90's, cole drops ain't liking it much, no rain for weeks now, glad we have a deep well.

HK - That's what I thought - assassin bug.

No bug knowledge here.

I finished digging my first potato field, out of my lawn. 4.5 feet x 11.5'. First dig. Feels like an accomplishment, still September and getting ready for next year. As I was predicting the spruce roots dwindled away to fine feeder roots when they got out to my 5 foot center path. Bad news is it rained over night which revealed that the first 4 or 5 feet of that bed is under the drip line of those spruces, I assume the rain came down on a north wind. Going to have cut them back.

Definitely assassin bug (wheel bug). Good for garden but can pack a whallop of a bite.

A few weeks ago, I was one of the winners of a little contest that Craig LeHoullier held. You could win autographed copies of his books and some seeds for a friend. My friend received them recently and is sharing the seeds with me (for next season). They are all tomatoes:

Dwarf Barossa Moon

Dwarf Jade Beauty

Barossa Fest

Kangaroo Paw Brown

Dwarf Sarah's Red

Black from Tula

Jaune Flamme

Amish Paste

Gold Medal

Dester

I am looking forward to trying them- and it will change my plans bit as I was intending to only grow dwarf varieties haha

Richard - archery deer season opened September 15th here. Way too hot to hunt so far but I don't really hunt during archery season any more. I gave my crossbow to the son of a friend a few months ago so he could use it. I still have a compound bow but I can't hold the draw very long due to some nerve damage in my left arm left over from when I had a herniated disk in my neck.

Cindy - We went down to the lake for the weekend but got back around 9:30 Sunday morning. I made a batch of Jalapeno popper wonton cups to take over for the Chiefs watch party. The Chiefs didn't play very well. Mahomes was a little off his game and couldn't connect on many long passes. He didn't score very well for you did he?

I noticed some little broccoli heads forming on my 7 plants on Friday. Luckily we only have 3 more days of hot weather in the 80s before a big chill comes in and drops the highs into the 60s with lows in the 40s some nights. The broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower should like those temps much better.

Jack, I can't really use a compound bow anymore but I still have my crossbow which is just as accurate as any rifle for about 40 yards. It is still 80 degrees at 6 am here and 95-98 during the day. The deer likely have so many ticks and fleas that the meat is at the lowest possible quality.

Mahomes didn't have a td this week for the first time this year, so it cost me on a few leagues-I think I have Mahomes in 5 or 6 leagues. This has been my worst year ever in fantasy football starting with the drafts where my best drafting position was #8 but it usually comes down to the players you pick up on waivers anyway so there is always a chance...unless you pick up too many early season losses. lol. Cowboys looked terrible-referees are destroying football-hard to watch anymore-might have to give up on the professional game and stick to NCAA

We will be in the 90s through Thursday when the highs will drop in to the 80s. Our transplants are doing ok in the shade, except for the lettuce plants. They are looking a little rough so I will start some new ones this week.

Good morning-

Jack - Yes, Mahomes didn't reach his projected points yesterday. However only one of my team players did. I stopped watching any games after the 1 o'clock games. Also, I wasn't able to watch the Chiefs game except for the last five minutes because the Baltimore game was being broadcast here.

It's raining here!! Not a lot, but it could last for a while.

I'm jealous, Cindy! The official total for September here is about 0.1 inch! Most of Tennessee is in a "moderate" drought. I'm ready for some rain (but not too much- I hope it doesn't swing to the other extreme!)

It does look like we (all of us East of the Continental Divide) are due for some above-average precipitation (and temperatures)

https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/

It looks like Len is due for above average precipitation and below average temperatures, though!

We got a couple inches of rain here between Friday night and Saturday. Luckily it only rained a little off and on at the lake on Saturday.

Some gardeners in the northern Rockies had an abrupt end to their seasons over the weekend with 4' of snow!

I missed that news, Jack! A friend of mine who lives in Salt Lake City did mention some snow in the mountains near there (Snowbird) but no quantity.

I'm just getting caught up here from the weekend posts.

Richard...Did you take that last picture of a hummingbird? It is stunning! You scored, big time, on the new tomato plants. I know you'll baby them along and you'll be picking tomatoes LONG after the rest of us have put our gardens to bed for the winter.

About .25" of rain fell in my gauge on Saturday. I was happy for it, but could have used so much more. It will be hot here through Wednesday and then, FINALLY, on Thursday we are slated for some cooler, fall temps with highs in the upper 60s. And they're practically promising rain. Yay!

Margi, once again I was struggling to post some pictures of the plants I picked up and decided to try one from Google Images-that was the hummingbird photo (wish I could get one that good!!)

I guess the 50th time is the charm. lol

Nice Richard! What kind of grass do you have that stays green and grows even in 100+ summer heat and drought?

Jack it is carpet grass that was dying in the heat, so I just quit cutting it and now it is about 8 inches deep

Richard - you should borrow somebodies goat but keep them away from the tomato plants. haha

I was going to guess St. Augustine Grass, but you called it Carpet Grass- and I think they are names for the same thing haha (or at least they are similar?)! I learned something new today. I wish we could have it here in TN- we have primarily Bermuda grass in this area. I don't like it.

We got between 0.75 and 1 inch of rain last night and this morning! WOOO HOOO!

It's been raining all day on the MD side of the DC suburbs. Woohoo!

Thanks all for your help about the assassin bug. I had heard about them before ( I had actually heard they were poisonous!) but didn't know that they were in this area.

Does anyone here grow plants inside.. meaning in your house under grow lights? I want to try to attempt to try to grow a few things inside during the winter like cukes, beans and maybe even a plum tomato. Just wanted to see how successful it was and if there are any tips. I've successfully grown radishes indoors but that was only because I never took them outside as I had planned to do. hahaha

The low temperature here was 67 degrees. The high during the day here is 69 degrees.

We only had a little rain this morning though it's still overcast. By mid week it's back to the 90s.

Habanero- if you want to grow plants to maturity and produce fruit, you’ll need some decent, full-spectrum grow lights- unless you’re lucky like Tony (14tomatoes) and have a huge south-facing window.

Look for grow lights that are good for vegetative growth and fruiting. Some of the LED versions emit a pink light and that might not be desirable in your home. You can find some that are white. I’ll post some links in a bit.

Roleadro 600W LED Grow Light 2nd... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HI3AFYM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

https://joegardener.com/podcast/gardening-indoors-light-science/

It has actually rained here 2 out of the last 3 days: 1.5 inches on Saturday and 1/4 inch today and the high was 94-96-94 the last 3 days-so it is a tiny bit better. Got an invitation to apply for a job in Spokane with relocation assistance-so fingers crossed. There are like a million therapists jobs out there, but that is really not my specialty-I am more of a court evaluator for competency, dangerousness, etc.

Good luck, Richard. I hope you find the right position

Jamie, you are right it is St. Augustine and there is some Bermuda in the front

It is almost impossible to kill Bermuda grass-St. Augustine is way wimpier

You don’t have to warn me twice about Bermuda hahaha the only thing that I think kills it is heavy shade (Aside from chemicals). Even with chemicals, if a tiny bit survives it’ll spread back

Richard, Great news on the rain and slightly lower temps. Good luck on the Spokane opportunity. Keep us posted. Weather would be much more friendly in Spokane.

I discovered this mess in my melon patch yesterday. It appears I had a hungry visitor in the garden overnight. In other sad news, I saw a mouse in my compost bin yesterday too. I don’t believe the mouse did the damage to the melon. The bites thrown aside behind the ‘loupe are too big.

Margi - Don't you just love how they never eat the entire fruit?

It looks like you have a four-legged enemy Margi!

Thanks Jamie and Margi. Possums love cantaloupes-they ate all of mine this season. That is about what it looked like when they were finished too.

Local forecast for tomorrow is for 94 degrees with a heat index of 108. Such lovely fall weather. Lol

Happy October! Courtesy of naturegirl

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5797569/veggie-tales-october-2019#n=0