October week 4, are they still lying about rain?

5 months ago

Time for a new thread. Forecast is for rain Monday Tuesday and Friday. Supposed to be some significant rain. We will see.
I will make a longer comment later.

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Kim Reiss

4 months ago

Well I am in the hospital for tests. BP was high and they kept me for the other issues too. Little vacation going on.

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Comments (42)

slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
The night air last night felt like rain, but I have not seen a drop in much too long. I am tired of hauling water. This reminds me of the time not long after mom and dad bought this place, about 70 years ago. I remember dad hauling water for the stock because the dug well was getting very low, the creek was getting very low also. Dad had a well drilled so we would have water for the house and the livestock, that well is the one I am hauling water from now.

I have regular garlic I want to plant today, but first on the list is taking my sweet wife out to eat.

Madge and I are still taking a few range cubes down past the creek and tossing them under an oak tree every evening, something eats them. The deer visit my garden often, but there is nothing to eat out their. I mowed the greens down because they were infested with insects. My plan was to spray, and then water to get them to come back. I have not been able to haul enough water to keep the garden happy.

I planted the walking onion, and garlic in areas that had mulch, those areas look pretty good because they dont dry out as fast. The area I tilled for the bunching onions has an irrigation tube to help keep it damp. I dont think I can expand the area I have planted till we get some rain because our outside watering is still cut off till the lake level improves.

I am tired, so I will shut up.

Jennifer, I can relate to what you said about all your projects, I have more of them than I can count. It seems as though everything I own is broken, and everything I own is something someone else has already thrown away.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
I am planting some loose seeds, spinach, and sugar peas. I am close to 8b I think so hopefully will get something. I want fresh salad all winter so I may do cold frame. I have been fighting off some kinda chest junk so am unable to move too fast. Aggravating since the weather is perfect for working outdoors. 80+ and the nicest breeze. We are expecting rain tomorrow.
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hazelinok
5 months ago
I hope not, Amy. I really hope not.

Let. It. Rain.

Kim, I sure enjoyed fresh lettuce/salad greens last winter. Eventually, the aphids found the greenhouse, but it was SO good until that happened.

I watched a few Dr. Berg vids. Very interesting.

We--Rick and I--cleaned up the garden some today. Stored the trellises and t-posts, pulled dead plants, etc.

I also put a few spinach plants into the hoop house.

Here's a story...

Rick always messages me around 7:30 am when he makes it back home after his trip to O. I'm normally on my way to work. He didn't message me this morning. I got concerned and left messages on his cell phone and home phone later in the morning. So, I made it home some time after 1. He was at our house with both of his trucks. He was in a wreck. I KNEW something had happened. Luckily, he is physically okay, although he will be sore tomorrow, I am sure. A young woman fell asleep and rear-ended him on the interstate.

Kim, I hope you feel better.
Lynn Dollar
5 months ago
Its 5;25 am and getting a heavy rain here in far south OKC, hooray
hazelinok
5 months ago
I think its missing us again out here near Indian Hills and Sooner. we had a few sprinkles but I did my outdoor chores without neading a rain jacket. and they are lowering our chances this morning. sigh
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
Original Author
5 months ago
Houzz and tablet are not playing nice today.

We've had about a quarter inch today. I hope everyone gets some!

I'm sorry to hear about Rick's accident! Wow! How damaged was his vehicle?

Yesterday Ron said air quality was "poor" according to whatever weather he looks at. We went to daughter's birthday dinner last night and as soon as I left the house my throat closed and my nose stopped up. I had to use the inhaler in the car. Some combination of crap in the air and humidity did me in. I'm ok in air conditioning. I rarely feel like that. It was real windy yesterday, must have filled the air with dust and pollen.

I'm considering lettuce under lights.

TTFN have a good week.
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
We are showing 100% chance of rain today and tonight, so far I can walk through the grass and just barely get my shoes damp.

I planted the last of my onions and garlic a while ago. Next I want to till a strip to plant turnips, that should finish up my planting for today.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
Jennifer thank you. I am done with people who are sick and come to my daughters house for visits parties etc and then everyone else gets sick. ……….,…Rick I am so glad you are okay.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
I forgot to say we have been getting a good rain here. Mostly gentle occasional downpour. Roo found his voice for the first time today. Cutest thing ever
hwy20gardener
5 months ago
This rain is a welcomed sight. A couple of problems though...one of my mature red buds is laying on the ground and a power pole outside of the neighborhood was on fire upstream of the transformer. I didn't think the wind was quite that bad, but maybe it was.

I sure hope it wasn't too late for the rain to help out some of the younger trees that were planted within the last couple of years. I guess we'll see in the spring. I already had a trident maple go belly up this spring. I believe sunscald opened the trunk up enough to get some fungal problems and then choked it off. Got some tree wrap this year for maples & honey locust.

Gardening for us is done for the year with the freeze last week, so we'll let the crimson clover do its thing. Might get a soil sample to see how it's doing after all that hard work. Probably the most difficult year we've had on this little plot of land...too hot, too many pests and too little rain from mother nature. I will say that we had a pair of 10ft tall big beef plants that were loaded down with fruit before the freeze. A little more time, and we could have had a really good haul of vine ripened fruit from those guys.
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
We got some rain, but so far most of the rain came through north of us, but it looks like a chance for more rain tomorrow.

I planted a couple of rows of beets, but it is getting a little late for me to plant anything. I still want to try getting some mustard in the ground, but till our water improves I cant get excited about gardening.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
Off topic of gardening. I just found out the park I used to frequent in Quitaque had a bison attack a woman who admittedly was way too close. She survived and is well. My heart goes out to my friends at Caprock canyon who work tirelessly to educate people on the truth of these wild beasts. They had to search for her for almost an hour.
HU-422368488
5 months ago
You can still plant mustard but it's getting late pretty quick. you should be getting some more rain tonight along with the rest of us.

Rick
hazelinok
5 months ago
It's been a whirlwind of a day. I won't go into the details of the workday, but it was so crazy.

In good news, I checked the rain gauge around 5 and we have received nearly an inch of rain. I feel so blessed and thankful. Maybe more tonight....and maybe more this weekend. Maybe we'll get the doors all closing properly again soon.

I came home after work and quickly fixed the guys chicken enchiladas for dinner. Tom is working from home on Mondays so he thankfully had fed everyone (the animals). After cooking dinner, I had to get a bale of straw and hotdogs and buns to feed several hundred people....and then take it to work and store it in the kitchen there until Wednesday, which is our big community event. Obviously, we won't be feeding the straw to people. It's for a photo background.

I got everything closed up tonight after getting home. Even picked some kale in the dark for my dinner. It's fun when my dinner comes from the property: cowpeas (canned in 2020), sauerkraut, and sauteed kale, onion, garlic, and a pepper. The olive oil and salt didn't come from my property.

Looney Farm still has some lettuce starts for sale. I'm going to grab some this weekend at the Farmers Market if they look good. Although, mine that were all sickly looking is coming out of it...and most of them look great.

Kim, how scary!!

Amy, it's no surprise that you got sick yesterday. The wind was so ridiculous.

Hwy, I thought about planting trees this fall--a couple of native crabapples, but I'm not sure it's a good idea with the drought. Maybe the rains will come back in the spring and I'll plant them then.
hazelinok
5 months ago
Now the rain gauge says nearly 2 inches. Super happy about that.

Is everyone else getting some rain too?
Lynn Dollar
5 months ago
My electonic rain gauge has finally given up after 20 years, so I interpolate between two Mesonet stations, Norman and OKC East. By doing that we've probably gotten 1.75" .
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago
I think my small rain gauge is still under the bed, if Madge did not move it, but I will guess at about 1.5 to 1.75 inches, and still getting light rain. I think this is the first time we have had any run-off since 6-11-22.

You can see where I have worn a trail across a dry creek bed this summer, I did not choose to cross it this morning. My pond is about about 2 inches deeper today.

This in the newer part of the south garden. I have driven my RTV through the tilled soil to break it into sort of a raised bed design. The plan was to have a sprinkler system, sort of like the highway construction uses to wet the road bed when they are packing it. I will just drive very slowly over the beds and let the water run through a plastic pipe with holes drilled in it. This method was only because the water department has cut off all outside watering. The water will come from my pond, creek, or well.

I hope to make another ditch on the other end of the rows, like shown above, just in case we have another flash flood, the erosion will be on the ends, and not across my rows.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
I think I got an inch. This round. Maybe more. Can’t remember if I dumped after last rain
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
I hope everyone got some decent rain. We all need it so much. My oldest will be interviewing for store in Shawnee. I am so excited. Last I heard he was thinking Tennessee so this is much better. I already told him I got plans. I have friends who don’t have animals I can stay with. He reminded me I gave them all their kittens. Hopefully they can find an inexpensive place to live. Down here the rent is ridiculous. ……………………………… I have to do those dots because on my phone it will not go to next line and all topics run together. …………………………it is cool here at night and only 70 during the day. I think I missed the windows on getting good germination. We will see.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
Where is everybody?
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
I have been wondering where everybody was also.

I took a day off yesterday to visit family, and have not done much today. I have been looking for some seeds to plant. I put a few pack of seeds in the rtv, planing to plant them in the south garden, and then got to doing something else, then came in to rest, then fell asleep in the recliner, but I need to get back outside.

The weather is really nice here, a little windy, but temp is nice, and sunny.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
It is beautiful here. In the sun it’s perfect temp and breeze. I am having hard time with respiratory junk so trying not to over do.
hazelinok
5 months ago
I've been busy with work, Kim. We had our large community event last night. Literally did not sit down all day.

It was a great success. (Lynn lives near where I work and I wonder if he saw it if he was out at all last night).

We had double the people we usually have and wasn't prepared for that many. We ran out of food within 30 minutes, but luckily had snacks and drinks to last until the end. We sent 3 people out to buy more candy at 6:45. The event ends at 7:30. People were lined up to the end of the parking lot and looped back around. Finally, I took candy and snacks to the end of the line and tried to encourage people to take a handful of candy and snacks and leave. I was worried that we would be completely out and they would get nothing if they waited to get "in". We ended up going later than 7:30. Luckily I had a security team that could direct parking. It was really a mess, but most people enjoyed it. There were a few greedy people and a couple of complaints. But, it's a free event, so....

Overall it was good. The wonderful weather played into the large turnout probably.

And I've had other projects at work too. It's keeping me quite busy. I haven't looked at the garden since Tuesday. I'm glad it rained because I would not have had time to water. I'm sure the plants in the hoop house need a drink.

I'm going to check things out and water the hoop this late afternoon and walk Josi. Then need to go to the store and get ingredients to make a couple of dishes for a couple of funeral meals tomorrow.

The guys can have leftovers for dinner.

I am enjoying some quiet time in my office right now.

There are about 10 smallish potatoes left from our spring potatoes. I sure wish we could grow fall potatoes to replenish them. I've done fall potatoes a couple of times with decent outcomes.

The Dixondale catalog came in. I will order: Red River, Red Creole, HIghlander, and a new one: Borettana Cipollini. The last one is a new one and in the "unique" category. It's a smallish onion that I look forward to trying.

The stunted lettuce was up-potted a couple of weeks ago and most is looking good. A few died. Some of the store-bought plants that were planted a few weeks ago already look to be starting to bolt. Probably those hot days. Looney Farms has lettuce starts, so I'm going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday to pick up a few plants to fill in. I sure hope stupid OU doesn't have an early game. OU isn't really stupid....it's just a pain to have to plan Saturdays around football games in the fall. Getting caught in that traffic is not fun.

Last I looked, all the fall crops looked really nice. We are having nice fall weather right now and at least for another week. Yay!

I sure hope we get some of the predicted rain this Friday.

What are y'all growing and/or doing in your lives this week?
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
I am doing much better since the pacemaker. I walked about 400 yards this morning, that is the farthest I have walked in a long time. I went down along the creek east of the house to see if the deer cleaned their plate well, they did, then they had to come to the garden to nibble on a few greens. I walk much better early in the day, by noon I am often just hobbling along, but that is from arthritis, I doubt the pacemaker will help the arthritis much.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
Larry I don’t know if it would help you but what I have studied says eliminate sugar grains and even coffee to help get rid of inflammation. So far I am doing pretty good. Yesterday I was so hungry at work ate a burger and I could tell that bun was not my friend. Today I am back to meat and plants. …………. When I look at my yard this is what I see
slowpoke_gardener
5 months ago
Kim, I don't have any warm season stuff alive.

What is the plant in the 2nd picture?

I know I should eat better, but all my life I have just eaten anything I wanted, and I wanted a lot of junk that was not good for me.
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
Larry about eating what I want, me too. It is desert Willow. Very popular in Texas. It’s a native species. I have 2 in giant pots and if they were in the ground would probably be 20’ tall by now. They normally bloom all summer into fall but grasshoppers…,
Kim Reiss
5 months ago
This is the bloom. Others bloom pale pink
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
Kim. I think that this is the same small tree I use to see in southern CA., and AZ. I wanted to try to grow them then, but figured that it would not grow in my area, I never tried to find out what it was. I first remember seeing them in 1970, but may have seen them in 1957, that was my first trip to CA.

I need to toss out some seeds today, and see if I can start some of my junk, and maybe seed a food plot. The deer dont look good in this area, and winter has not even started. In the summer I wish that the deer would move far away, but in the winter I feed them, that's not very bright is it?
Kim Reiss
4 months ago
It grows in Lubbock and the panhandle like a weed. They are zone 6a and 6b
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
It should live here then, I am in zone 7.
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
last modified: 4 months ago
More rain last night, and still a light sprinkle now. I feel sure I had a little erosion in the south garden, because I had not put the hay mulch along the ends of the rows, but I don't expect that it will be too bad. I can't get the tractor with the hay spike on it started so I could bring a round bale to the house to take the mulch from.

I seeded 2 rows of elbon rye about 3.5 feet wide and 25+' long, also a row of turnips about the same length. I got a bed for spinach the same size ready, but I am not sure if that is what Madge wants me to plant. She is always telling me that I plant too much, she knows that I am a dirt addict, and when I get to sling dirt it is hard to stop, but what we and the deer don't eat, I can till into the soil.

I still have about 60# of rye I want to plant, but most of that will go for a food plot for the deer.
Kim Reiss
4 months ago
I got another 2”. Hopefully seed sprouts instead of drowning.
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
We got more rain today also, not a lot, but we sure can use it.
hazelinok
4 months ago
last modified: 4 months ago
We got about a half inch in this round. Not bad. Especially if we get more next weekend.

I'm pretty tired tonight and didn't get everything done. The weekends go so quickly, don't they?

This morning we got up a little late at 8. Got everyone fed and went to the farmer's market. I wanted to pick up a few lettuce plants from Looney Farms. I only got 2, but each pot has 2, so I have 4 plants. Not a lot but they'll be good to put with my other plants. Unfortunately, the store bought ones that Rick brought are bolting already. It was just too hot for too long. The ones I started from seed look good. I should have about 24 plants for the hoop house. Along with a few spinach and arugula plants.

I also got a flat of pansies.

I sure wish I had some time to get them planted. And clean out some old stuff. Maybe one evening next week.

After the farmers market we went to the laundry mat to wash our quilts and large blankets. I like to take them to the commercial sized washers a few times a year--especially for fall and spring cleaning.

I moved the bedroom furniture around to clean under and behind and did a deep clean--washed the ceiling fan light globes--stuff like that. I enjoy doing that. It feels so nice. I always do a smoke cleanse afterwards. It feels so fresh and lovely.

We also did the grocery shopping and took the recycling in.

An elderly woman in our neighborhood has moved to assisted living. She had an estate sale today and Tom bought me a nice potting bench at the sale. It was only $30. He couldn't have bought the lumber for $30, so I feel like it was a deal. It's not in perfect shape, but it's cute and sturdy.

My garlic that was lost in the mail was reshipped and it arrived yesterday. It's Nootka Rose. That's another thing i need to plant. Rick shared some elephant garlic with me and I planted it last week.

I didn't really do much in the garden today other than watering the hoop house.

I feel like I could sleep for a week. And wish I had a week off from work.

What's everyone else doing this weekend?
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
Kim, I am sorry you are having health issues.

We did not do anything out side because of the rain, but we did go to Ft.Smith to the Olive Garden for lunch, that is our favorite place to eat, we have been there two times this week. Madge and I are getting up in years and want to enjoy being together as much as we can.

We are planing on daughter and grand daughter coming over tomorrow. The have not been over for 3 weeks, so we sort of expect them tomorrow, they are the only family we see regularly.
hazelinok
4 months ago
Prayers, Kim!
Kim Reiss
4 months ago
Larry I love Olive Garden too. My daughter and I used to go at least once a month. Thank you for prayers and well wishes. I’ll be fine.
AmyinOwasso/zone 6b
Original Author
4 months ago
Feel better Kim!
Kim Reiss
4 months ago
I am laying around making lists for when I get home. One thing is I am going to dump all pots of plants and Iris into my big plastic pool and clean out all the grass and then plant into new huge container. No more small pots. Too hard to cover and keep watered. Excited to see what has actually survived the hoppers and grass.
slowpoke_gardener
4 months ago
Well, this has been pretty much a wasted day. I worked about 10 or 15 minutes in the garden, fooled around a little with my junk ( that could be a full time job ). I tilled two new areas, one was a food plot about 15' x 275', the other was a small plot about 100 feet from the house, I am not sure what I want to do with it, it is too close to the highway to use it for a food plot, but if I plant something the deer want, they will eat it anyway no matter how much food they have in other areas.

Kim, I hope you and the others are feeling well. Some of my days are better than others, but in general I am feeling better since the pacemaker, but strength is coming slowly.

October week 4, are they still lying about rain?

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