I am trying to get many pots ready for fall planting. I have about five and hope to have at least 10 plus and in ground space.

We squeezed out 3/4" of rain in the gauge. Just enough to have to mow the yard again.

My muscadines are getting ripe already. A bunch are shriveled up. I hope this dab of rain helps plump them up.

All this moisture will be gone when the sun pops out.

Tell me again what you're planting this year for fall, Kim?

I've decided on:

golden beets

salad turnips

carrots

chives

onion sets

lettuce (I started 6 varieties and didn't even label them. They'll show who they are soon enough) (I'll start another round next month)

kale (2 varieties)

arugula

spinach

cabbage (2 varieties)

radishes

I have three new Sungolds in the ground.

Speaking of tomatoes....I just stored away the seed from the 5 heirlooms. I'll see those seeds again in February 2025. I've decided to start these mid-February instead of March 1. Maybe 3 years back I started waiting to start tomato seeds due to the vertical space they need. But, really, we have the hoop house now. If necessary, I can bring them indoors if we have a late frost. Also, if for some reason these don't germinate, I can start the seed saved from last year, which did germinate nicely.

My observation about these 2nd generation (to my property) tomatoes is they did well.

Perfect--no. Part of it is that I did no maintenance on them. Typically, I'll prune off the bottoms as they grow and tie them up. Didn't do that and now they're half-dead looking and sprawling all over the place--half tied to the trellis.

They did produce well, tho. Really well. Except the Abe Lincoln. It was attacked by aphids early in the season. It was planted in an area that didn't get as much shade in the late afternoon. I'm excited to see how they do next year. Especially since I'm committed to take care of them a little better, which should be less overwhelming with the fewer plants that I'm putting in.

(We're planning a trip to Oregon next June and that is not a great time to leave the garden for sure. But, we want to stay on the coast and would like for it to be warm. )

Another tomato thing: Most of my fruit this past week has BER. That's not typical for me. This is on all the varieties. It has been so dry and hot. But, I've consistently watered them deeply twice a week.

I just pulled the seed from Dawn's pepper. I should have plenty of seedlings to share at SF next year. Who else has Dawn's pepper? Bruce is one. And someone has her tomato, I think. Jen?

What I hope to plant for fall

As many herbs as I can get to grow

cauliflower

broccoli

broccoli rapini

broccoli raab

kolrabi

celery

brussel sprouts

beets

carrots

turnips for the greens

mustard greens

collard greens

lettuces

spinach

bunching onions

green onions

kale

swiss chard

and in October I will plant my onion seeds.

Currently still growing

one pot with tomatoes and tomatoes outside of my garden

peph peas

filet beans

noodle beans

basil

comfrey

garlic chives

blackberry

four o clocks

mint

four beautiful hibiscus

echinacea

sage

rosemary

recently planted

cilantro

dill

basil

garlic chives (very old seed) : /

chamomile

yarrow

parsley

squash summer

I think thats all

My garlic chives are doing so well considering they have been in the same pot for at least six years

That's a great list, Kim!

(I forgot that I have collard seedlings too)

Also, a lot of those herbs will reseed each year. Great choices.

Y'all's list make me tired, there is no way I could plant that much.

I have some bunching onion sets that I have saved. I know nothing about these onions except that looked good and grew very well.

I am going to try Egyptian walking onions for green onions. I already have some growing, that I did not plan on, but I will dig them up and plant them in a row, and see what happens. The walking onion that I plan on planting as green onions are growing under Kim's dead tomato plant at the right of the top picture.

I plan on planting curly leaf mustard, Florida Broad leaf mustard, Purple top turnips. I hope to plant some beets, lettuce, and carrots for the kids, and maybe a few other things. One of my problems is having the space ready when I need it.

Kim, and Jennifer made a remark about my garden being nice, well here is a view that is not pretty. The plant right in front of you is a Champion tomato, I may try to push that plant into fall, it is still trying toset fruit. I am hoping that the kids will pickle some tomatoes. I might also squeeze a few small fall plant into this area.

Here is another ugly area, but I might be able to steal some area just the other side of the trellis on the right, and there are 8 mineral tubs on the left that I can put a few things in. If these Knuckle peas will ever produce I can plant some fall stuff there.

I will have some peas and beans coming out soon in the north garden, but the way the sweet potatoes are growing they might smoother out any young plant.

Just for grins, I would like to show the peppers that I planted at the end of one of the tomato rows, there is one Ashe county, one habanero, and one bell pepper that I planted near one of Madge's favorite tomatoes. I planted these plants together so Madge could fine plants she might want. I might add, that habanero is the only one with peppers on it, the kids keep everything stripper other than the habanero, they think that those are hand gernades growing on that plant.

Jennifer, your list looks great too. I know I have a lot on my list, but some of that will only be one or two plants. When I run out of space that’s it I’m out. I did forget red and green cabbages. I think to add on my list. I won’t have a huge space for those but I love fresh cabbage so maybe three or four or eight plants. I did a lot of preservation today. I had three heads of cabbage, so I made sauerkraut, ferment, fried cabbage, and dehydrated some. I also put a bunch of cilantro in the dehydrator. And I pulled out basil, comfrey, mint, and lime out of my dehydrator. I powdered the lime and will use it in one of my herb salts. I am trying to grow cilantro so I can do cilantro lime salt, but I’m having a hard time this year with cilantro.

I have been out picking okra in the rain. A very nice, slow rain. I expect we got 1.2" to 1.5" of rain yesterday, and we may get as much as an inch this time, but I am no good at predicting future rain fall.

Laken come down a couple of days ago and picked produce, and my friend and I pick what ever we could find this morning, my plants are pretty bare.

I think that I may have to make a spot to plant some fall stuff. Right now I am thinking that I might be able to bust up a spot in the pasture, where I started a fall garden last fall, only to become over run with weeds and Johnson grass this year. I have sprayed the Johnson grass, which is about 7' tall, and plan on it being kindling to start a fire to burn the limbs I plan on trimming from the lawn. I hope to make a spot that can use the 30' irrigation tubes I am making now. All of my old irrigation tubes were 22' long, but my garden has grown, and my revised tubes will be 25' to 30' long. I may make a few tubes in the 10' range to be portable to place under the trees or in the flower beds.

Here I am planning all this extra stuff to do, while Madge and I both are saying CUT BACK, CUT BACK! I do plan on cutting back, matter of fact I expect to stop some day.

Gardeners never really cut back. Look at my list lol. My garden was 12x22. Now I have pots outside my fence, plants on the outside of the fencing, and I keep looking around for more space I can sneak something in.

Larry, I have very specific spots for all of my stuff. And, like Kim, I'm not growing rows and rows of it.

The lettuce, arugula, and spinach will go in the Greenstalk tower.

The beets, turnips, carrots, green onions, radishes, and chives will go in the Vego bed.

The cabbage will go in the hoop house bed.

and the kale and cabbage in the hinged hoop.

I really am going to cut back because I find that I enjoy the garden more when I can care for it well. There's always pests and disease, but when I know I've done my best, it's okay. I really like to be IN the garden. I like to have my hands on each plant. It brings me joy. I need to get back to that.

Everyone has different reasons for and ways of gardening. And they're all good.

My Baker Creek order just came in! (I think some people are boycotting them because of a GMO tomato??) I like them because they don't charge shipping.

I got Jade bean and Honeynut squash for next year.

Also, Miyama Wase Kokabu and Golden beets for this year.

My free pack is Dandelion! LOL Maybe it's a special one. It's called Italiko Rosso. Anyone know of it?

I'm about to order bistro light poles and a big shade cloth for over the Vego beds. I've put off ordering them because we had a fraud/scam on our bank account, and they acted like we might not get our money back. Anyway, thankfully it got resolved.

Seeds are always so exciting, aren't they?

Jennifer, we had some problem on our accounts 3 times, the last time the bank just sent us a new card. I have had two calls from someone fishing for information, they were trying to straighten something out, I told them that they would just have to figure it out on their own. I then called the group that they said that they were with to make sure, both times it turned out to be a fake caller, and they both spoke with an accent.

We need to place a seed order also, Madge wants more of those odd tomato seeds which cost about 40 or 50 cents each. I get more bang for the buck by buying bulk seeds at the co-op, but I have enough of those to last me the rest of my life.

I need to get up and do something, I expect that I could find more peas and beans out in the garden, we had some for lunch, and they were great.

Larry, growing in a greenhouse in containers is a lot easier than outside in the dirt. But some things do better in the dirt thenthanthenthan containers. I'm trying to get ready for when I can't work the dirt

Our niece and nephew and kids just moved from Seattle and want to be more self sufficient. Maybe I can get them started and maybe they will help us later.

I'll be teaching them how to process pigs, beef, chicken, deer and maybe quail. I do my own bacon, ham and plan on doing salami, bologna, summer sausage etc.

Robert, I would enjoy a greenhouse, but I have waited too long, I wont live long enough to recoup the cost. Madge and I are past 80 with medical conditions that really slow us down, and the kids don't have much interest in this lifestyle.

I did some work in the Vego bed tonight. This may be my future way to garden. I pulled up a chair and worked away. So nice. Mine are the 17 inch ones.

Larry, about banking scams. It's so bad now. Scammers are able to mask your bank's phone number. Anymore, if someone calls from "my bank" especially if they ask for me to verify account numbers--and even though I check to see it's actually my bank's number that they're calling from, I tell the caller that I'll drive to my local branch to handle it in person. Scammers don't like that and get mad at you.

Be especially careful if someone calls from your bank (only it's really a scammer with a masked number) and they say that there is a fraud with cash app. I know a lot of people who have been scammed by that one.

Anyway....

It will be interesting to see if these bistro light poles will hold up to our weather. My Vego bed are in front of the chicken pen garden beds (just little ornamental beds that frame 3 sides of their pen). The plan is to attach the shade cloth to the covered pen and stretch it over the Vego beds to the two bistro light poles that will be on the opposite side of the Vego beds. I read a couple of reviews where people had success with that even in windy weather. The shade cloth will probably only be up for 3 months a year. It could be fun to figure out how to actually put lights on it the rest of the year. We'll have to use an extension cord is the only thing.

The poles and shade cloth are supposed to be here on Friday. Tom will help me get that up and then I'll start planting the beets, turnips, carrots, etc.

Once Roomba finishes her run around my house, I'm going to head outside to see if there's something that calls to me. If it's not too hot. Most of my property is in sun right now other than my backyard and my backyard doesn't really need anything right now. I took apart my Greenstalk to get it cleaned up and ready to replant once the lettuce is ready for it.

This is my last Tuesday off for a long time. Maybe forever.

Jennifer, I am a stool gardener, I love them, I have 3 stool. I had two stools for a long time, one of them always stayed in the back of my RTV, along with a ton of different gardening junk. The stool that you could kneel on, or sit on broke, and Laken bought me a new one, but it pains me to have something broken laying around, so I repaired he old one. The stool I like best Is an aluminum one, it is lower than the others, maybe 12" tall, and very sturdy. It is low enough that I can reach the ground easier, If I am repairing something I may have a parts and tools scattered around me, and I can reach them easier on the low stool.

I had the hay baled off this place last weekend. I have a "rigged up" watering system on this place. I am syphoning water from a well. I have to drive almost to the lowest place on the property to get my truck low enough for the water to syphon into the tank in back. I have 800' of 3/4 water hose running from the well. Rather than buying another 100' of water hose, ran the hose across the corner of one of the hay meadows, well, the lady running the mowing machine found my water line, it looks a lot like sausage now. but I am repairing it, and making some pretty neat things from the pieces that are too small to be used for anything else. But, I will have my watering syphoning system up and going before I have to have it.

I have lots of chairs outside of my garden area and one folding chair inside. I try not to crowd Richard too much. He doesn’t move around a lot but still. I can not kneel or squat so sitting or bending is my only option. I do have a cinder block I sit on sometimes to make my videos for you tube. I’ll put a link in case anyone is interested. They aren’t great yet and Richard steals the show some.

https://youtu.be/MKHheyiOB60?si=1dgwYRMFmhKIANNp

I'll watch that in just a little while, Kim. Thanks for sharing.

Thankfully I'm able to squat and kneel BUT, the Vego bed with the chair was so nice. And clean. I'm a fan.

I love those vego and birdie beds. Self sufficient me has a huge garden full of those beds. He’s pet funny. Someday……

I expect that I spend most of my time gardening on my knees. My poor wife must really love me, you can guess what my jeans look like. I try to keep nice jeans, and work jeans, but to often I will come in from town and go straight to the garden, just to check on something, and come into the house an hour later looking like Pig Pen. I often don't have my stool with me, but I always have my knees with me, and they get used often.

I just came in from checking the south garden, and marking the ends of the sweet potato rows. The vines are growing fast now, and in another 6 weeks I expect to start digging them, so I want to know for sure where the rows are. I will run the lawn mower down one row, then dig the potatoes. It may take me several days to dig the potatoes, because I will only work when I feel like it.

I can understand why you that live in town may not like to grow sweet potatoes, they are really a space hog. I planted 85 plants in an area of about 370 sq. ft.. I did not measure how large the vines have grown, but I feel sure that the area is at least 2 times that large now, and may be 3 times that size by harvest time.

My late tomatoes and peppers look pretty good, but I am unsure that I will get a harvest from them. I seldom plant late plants, so I really don't know what I am doing.

Greenhouse Megastore is the name of the company with the pretty pots for cheaper. You can get 30 pots for $15. I've used mine 4 times each now and they're in perfect shape.

There's pretty trays too.

Took me a few days to remember the name.

I would like to have 20 of the Vego style beds, Kim. That's quite an investment, tho.

But, they are supposed to last for over 20 years.

Living Traditions homestead did a huge garden with them this year. (Does anyone else think they seem like an SNL skit? Something about their mannerisms and voices. lol)

I'm home from work now and about to head out to do chores and all.

Hah lol yes they do seem a little SNL. That’s so funny. I’ve always wondered what it was. They are so earthy. I enjoy their channel. My dream is and always has been to have a place I can showcase all the ways to garden.

So I’ve been thinking about the spring fling next year. First, I hope we can have it a lot earlier, but also I am not going to bring anything except what people ask for. This year I grew so many extra things for the fling and came home with most of them. So planning for the spring already I’m cutting back. Well except for onions we’re gonna have all the onions.

I had to look up some of the stuff on Greenhouse Megastore, I think I have looked at that site before, and had planned on ordering some trays and tray holders, but never did.

I have got to cut back on the plants that I start, plus the seeds that I plant in the garden. I planted about 45 or 50 feet of okra. I just came in from picking it, and we dont know what to do with it. It was picked Monday, and given away, and we gave a bunch away a few days before that. I enjoy giving produce away, but there is just too many other things that need to be done around here. I think that anyone who owns a home is never without something to do. Madge and I just cant keep up with all the things that need to be done.

You have seen how bad my early tomatoes look, although some are hanging on and setting some fruit again the plants are still diseased. I will give you a peek at some of the plants that I planted, hoping for a fall crop.

This is a Super Beefsteak, it has small fruit and plenty of blooms, but I really need a better caging system. I tied the limbs up best I could this morning, but I have got to extend that T post, which I do by dropping a 1/2" rebar down into the !/2" PVC that I have tied to the top of the T post. I cut my rebar to 30", that puts the tomatoes up about as high as I can reach.

This is a chocolate pear, at first I did not like this tomato, but, it sorta grows on you. It's hard to see all the little tomatoes, but there are plenty in there.

This is some of the peas and beans that I have planted sorta as a living mulch. The Zipper Cream peas can be seen pretty well, but the bean don't do as well being planted like this, they produce, but they are low and hard to find. In the future I plan on doing the beans differently. In the upper right corner you can see where the purple hulls have already been harvested. I like the purple hulls better than the others because I can see them better.

Kim, that's smart about only bringing what people want. I've sorta started doing that too.

I'm surprised Selena didn't take your extras.

Starting seeds takes time and some money too. And space.

I work late today but we're having leftovers for dinner. I'm started making Thursdays our leftover night. I cook on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, sometimes Saturday. We eat out on Friday and Sunday lunch. Then just do snacky things for Sunday dinner. Leftover Thursday seems to be working out well.

ANYWAY, I have some dead plants that I might pull tonight.

I do have new little cucumbers sprouting in the garden and one Seminole.

Larry, your fall tomatoes look good!

Thanks, Jennifer, this is the first time I have ever really tried to grow "fall" tomatoes, I normally have a few tired tomato plants that are still producing something in late October. I have a few plants that I planted later than these, I am not sure that they will do anything, but I like trying different things. I will try to get a picture of them. I have a few tomatoes and about 6 or 7 peppers in this last planting. I also want to amend some more space and stick some green onions in it. Its too early to be messing with green onions, but I have had some sprout in an area that I want to work on anyway.

This is the peppers that I mentioned above. They look a little dry, but it is 100 degrees here so shouldn't be surprised. I am not sure what kind they are, they just looked like some I could save.

This is the tomatoes. The same story is true on these also, just some that I thought that I might be able to save.

This is the pile of onions that are sprouting out. I want to try to make a place for these also.

Larry looks great for this heat. My garlic chives are about to bloom and I can’t wait. It is so pretty. Yes Jennifer I spent a lot of money this spring on soil and pots not so much for seeds, but I just don’t want that much trouble this next year. I am going to winter so everything again but instead of 10 or 15 seeds per jug I will have one or two.

Seems like everyone is as busy as I am right now.

This heat, tho. Yuck. I'm so over it.

I'm always over it. I'm over it before summer starts. I'm over next summer's heat right now. haha.

I would definitely trade for another month of winter to have mild summers. I've said that before.

I'm hoping to leave work within an hour and get grocery shopping done and then home to water a few things.

My shade cloth and bistro light poles came yesterday, so Tom and I will get those put up in the morning before it's hot and I'll get the beet, turnip and carrot seed in tomorrow night.

The peppers continue to be covered with aphids, but I did see ladybugs on them too.

Anyone have gut feelings about our fall and winter weather?

I am sitting here looking at the min/max sitting on 103, thinking that I should have watered this morning, but I will go out in a little while and spray both gardens. I will try to haul some well, or pond water tomorrow if I need extra water, its expected to be hotter tomorrow. I wont be able to use my outside water again till Sunday.

I stopped in Poteau OK. today and bought 3 oz of seeds. I have to stop every time I am through Poteau, and say hi to the Co-op crew, and buy something off their bargain rack/tub. The seeds cost $.75 per pack.

I need to clear out some tubs and plant some fall seeds. I have better luck starting seeds in the house, but I don't feel like it. I think I will try starting some seeds under some scrap boards that I have. I have never tried using boards before, but cant see why it wont work, and, besides, I can experiment a lot with an oz of 75 cent seeds.

I may go water and sit in the shade of the okra plants, they have gotten so tall that it is getting hard to pick them. I picked a half Walmart bag this morning, and it had been a little over a day and half since the last time I picked it. The kids should be over Sunday, and I will let them pick the okra. I must be insecure, because I always seem to over plant. I seem to think that friends or family may need some of what I am planting, when the fact is, that they are more able to buy groceries, or plant a garden than I am, but they don't enjoy it near as much as I do.

We had high winds and rain last night, its 8:00 AM, and too wet and dark to check outside, but as far as I know, everything is okay.

My cousin wants to come over and get some habaneros for hot sauce, I had no idea that there was much demand for habaneros.

I grew lots of hot peppers for market back in the day but could hardly even give them away. But onions I would sell out the first hour. I sold for $1 each. I do miss the market. If my onions do good, I may have to find a market to sell them at. I am being extremely lazy and I have not been outside yet. I guess I’m gonna wait till it heats up nice and good and then go out and throw some seeds out and water well and, hopefully get up some brassicas. I tried seating in trays and that did not work. I got up a few pack but they quickly died in the heat that was a couple weeks ago so hopefully I can keep them alive if I just start directly in the pots. I have my seeds readyis in a separate case according to which week they planted and so far I am three weeks behind so we’ll see what I can get done.

I don't have room to plant much, but by the time I get my mess cleaned up in the garden I may have more room.

My tomato trellis is leaning to the left (south), and most of my tall (oldest) okra is lying against the trellis to the south of it.

The shortest (youngest) okra shows very little damage.

The north garden is younger, and has mostly pepper plants in it, with some of the plant broken, but I am not going to get out in the garden to try to repair anything yet, its pretty wet, and I have other cleanup work to do first.

Well, I had a big day planned in the garden. I went out and found Richard dead, probably from a heat stroke. after I took care of him, I planted a desert willow on him in the garden. Maybe later I can go out and plant some seeds.

Kim, I am sorry for you losing Richard, it is never easy losing a pet.

I think that I may pull about half of my okra out. I need to open up some space for fall stuff anyway. I picked the okra that I could find, we should have company tomorrow and I will give tonight's harvest away, the plants that I leave will give Madge and me all we want to eat, and add a little to that that we have already frozen.

Kim, I'm so sorry about Richard. The weather is absolutely miserable.

Remember when Dawn brought her chickens indoors during a particularly extreme heat wave? I'm worried about mine too. I do have fans on them, but the one that oscillates doesn't oscillate any longer, so not all of them get the breeze. Then, there's the broody hen that won't leave the nesting box.

It's dangerous for sure.

It just makes me incredibly sad. This weather just affects me that way--hot and no rain is the worst to me.

I had a good day, tho. Got to see my baby and my baby daughter. Got some work done for one of my jobs too.

And other good things.

I did water some things tonight, but that's about it in the garden.

I can't remember if I already said this or just thought it. BUT, honestly, knowing what I know now, I would finance many Vego style beds and do my garden that way.

BUT....it had been fun (mostly) and a learning experience piecing it all together like it is now.

Larry, this isn't our best okra year. It did like the rain that we got last Sunday.

Anyway. Again, sorry, Kim.

Just wanted to check in and say "hi".

Thanks y’all
Those grandbabies sure make for a great day. I saw some of mine last night. I had just talked to someone about getting Richard’s crippled leg removed since he couldn’t use it and he kept finding long grass to get hung up in. I cried and pulled grass until I almost passed out today.

I cant complain about my gardening year, but I always seem to have some wind problems, that is one reason I don't try to grow corn anymore. I planted my okra too thick, but I am not sure if that made any difference, but I dont think it would have been as tall if I had spaced it out more, the soft wet soil is what gave way. I had planned to thin it more, but that is a problem I have to deal with every year, it is so hard for me to pull, or cut down a good plant. I will be having problems with my peppers also, some have already broken. If I have my peppers staked and tied it helps when I have a strong wind, and when the fruit gets too heavy.

I think storms are like children, you can talk till your are blue in the face, and they will not clean up after themselves. I have been out picking up trash has blown all over the yard, I am not sure I will ever find all my plastic pots. I am sure that Madge is thinking "well, if all his stuff blows away, maybe he will quit this nonsense".

That’s funny, Larry, but exactly right. People who don’t garden think maybe we give up easily. But we always know where to get more stuff.

I'll try to make a new thread for the week.