You still have time though. But soon! And if you don't get around to it, well then, it's ready for next year.

I had some much needed chores to do here at home but we did go to the orchard and got a bushel of peaches this afternoon. We love fresh peaches and we will share with family. My D-I-L purees the fruit and makes her daughter popsickles (some for us too! :nodding:)

We stayed at the farm long enough for David to chop 4 bales of straw I had spread out yesterday to dry out. I like it chopped much better to use for mulching small plants. While he chopped with the mower I weeded. Did some flower rows. Well, parts of rows. So much and so big grass it was slow going. But every little bit counts!

We ate one of the little Blacktail Mountain melon for dessert tonight. It was fully ripe and just the right size for two, but not a lot of flavor because of all of the rain. But I'll grow it again next year because it is heirloom and small enough to make it easy enough to grow vertically and sling. The rest of the melon have little holes (worm) in them so I'm not counting on getting any. There is one, Schoon's Hard Shell, that may make it through since the shell is hard. We'll see, but even so, it too may not have much flavor. There's one more I am keeping my fingers crossed that we did not get any last year and this year there is a very nice one, pretty big, Bidwell Casaba.

Babysitting the next three days. The new baby has reflux so he is a colicky baby, poor thing. Have to spend a lot more time comforting him. And he's a bit too young to take him to the garden with me. But trust me, by next spring, oh yeah, that stroller will be out there!

Arlene, I love your beekeeping, goat keeping and chicken badges. Somehow I never noticed them before.

You got a lot done today. A lot. And your melon varieties sound good to me. Oh well, too much water makes for bland melons. And ones with worms no one needs!

Yes, If I could only get organized I could hustle and get some turnips and bush beans planted. I have the seed and the space. The hard part was fixing up the garden space. Now I have it you'd think I could get myself organized enough to get those seeds planted. Or at least some seeds planted.

Maybe you need a break like me?

I am not overworked. Just under organized!

At least my peas are planted. And Fall cucumbers, and more squash seedlings and my color crop seeds.

There you go. You're ahead of me!

Things seem to take up the day and then I don't get to more. I have to water my pot ghetto every day, can't leave it. Then picking the tomatoes. Seems like it takes me a long time each day to pick tomatoes. But then I have been picking a lot of tomatoes.

I had just better get up there tomorrow first thing with some seeds and just get them in ground.

I'm sure watering your pot ghetto takes a lot of time! And so does picking tomatoes, especially as many as you have.

It's been very hot and humid here and I've had a hard time working in the garden. I just keep wandering off, can't focus on what I'm supposed to be doing. And taking a lot of breaks. I have a Camelbak so there's no excuse for needing to get a drink! But I take a break anyway.

Hope you can get to your seeds tomorrow!

Overly hot and humid usually means I don't get much done. The week coming is supposed to be cool here, which is good because I have a lot I need to do.

I don't blame you for taking lots of breaks!

I way overdid it with the kale planting! If I pinch some of them out and transplant them elsewhere I think I'd have enough for a dozen families! I think every seed tossed sprouted.

I have just two plants of the yellow Slick Pik squash, and I think we've had at least 2 dozen fruits already...and they're still producing. Too bad they're not the most flavorful we've ever grown.

I guess the cushaw plant has decided that 20 foot-long vines are long enough. It hasn't quite reached the gate and now it's busily filling up fruit, so I don't think it will.

Pea sprouts haven't been eaten yet. Still don't have a cage on them, however, so I'm not holding my breath.




Mmmm....yum, Arlene. Fresh peaches sound so good! We have a friend who's going to trade peaches for some of our apples...can't wait!

Chelle, I forget, you don't have chickens do you? Chickens love kale! I always plant some thinking I will like it and I still don't! So the chickens have a feast! We do sell a little bit at market but not a lot.

We grew Cushaw two years ago. Pretty good squash. We have so much trouble growing so I was surprised we even got any fruit. For winter squash I planted acorn and butternut. I got two butternuts. The plants are dead!!! Oh well. Last year we planted Dickison. Huge squash. Same one Libby uses for pies. I cooked it all and froze it. We'll be eating pumpkin pie and bread for years!

We haven't tired of the fresh peaches yet. What we don't eat fresh I like to freeze and use them on waffles. We don't have mature apple trees yet so I will have to drive to the orchard in northern GA. You know, growing up in Michigan I got spoiled, orchards everywhere! And my uncles had huge orchards. I miss that.

oh yeah, cage those pea sprouts!!!

Chelle, lots of kale and squash at your place. You could feed extra kale to your turkeys.

Oh yes, I bet the rabbits just love your peas again.

>> I have to water my pot ghetto every day, can't leave it.

I'm glad that I fiddled around with irrigation tubing and mini-sprayers. I'm almost to the point where I only hand-water odd spots and for pleasure.

Also, I hope the fine sprayers (almost mist) will make it easy for me to keep direct-sown seeds and leafy crops uniformly moist. I need to connect the front-yard and back-yard irrigation lines so that one timer can drive the whole yard.

I just planted three (small) beds with six varieties of lettuce and 2 Chinese cabbages.

This is my first time ever, trying lettuce. Right before I sow is almost the only time I see those beds weed-free!

I hope the soil temperature stays below 68 so they can germinate! We've been having daily low and high air temps like 55 & 75F.

Maybe I planted lettuce too soon, since my first "32F" frost averages Oct 26, and my first "28F" frosts average Nov 22. Most of these varieties have around 55 DTM, but Tom Thumb is listed as 34-60 DTM. I might even get a second crop of fall lettuce in some of these patches.

I chose mostly heat-tolerant lettuce varieties, and my "summer" is like many people's spring.

32F - - 10 weeks - - 70 days
28F - - 15 weeks - - 105 days
24F - - 18 weeks - - 125 days


I might get two crops of fall lettuce in the same spot, and there are some varieties that I hope WILL go to seed, so I can multiply them.

- 'Flashy Trout's Back' / 'Forellenschluss' (open romaine really want more seed)
- Merveille des Quatre Saisons (butterhead, bolts easily)
- "Chinese Michihli Cabbage" - OP, Victory Seeds #3070011 90 DTM

I also started these:
'Buttercrunch' Lettuce (Green Bibb type)
'Valmaine'(romaine, very heat tolerant)
'Matina Sweet' (compact semi-tight butterhead, heat tolerant and for fall)
'Tom Thumb' (miniature butterhead, 34 DTM, heat tolerant)
‘Jade Pagoda’ Michihli Chinese Cabbage F1 70 DTM

Hurray! I planted my turnips. Well, I planted 4 rows of Purple Tops. I have other varieties also but considering it is late and I am disorganized, I will just save those seeds for next year.

And I planted 2 rows of bush beans. French fillet green bush beans. I do very much like the french fillets I have on poles so decided to plant these. Besides I had the seeds.
Watered everything nicely and I hope they grow fast.

This spring I had Tenderette Bush beans but I was not overly impressed.

Arlene, what is you favorite bush beans? I have to find something better for next spring.

Rick, I hope your lettuce thrives. Lettuce is only an early spring crop here for me.

Thanks, It's an experiment for me. I hope that my "summer" is mild enough to grow the heat tolerant lettuce varieties. But if it's the long day length that makes them bolt, well, I'll save some lettuce seed!

Probably most lettuce varieties would rather be started later in the fall, here, just to avoid 75F+ high temps.and carry on into some mild frosts.

However, I'm dubious about starting lettuce outside in my spring, with constant clouds and drizzle and months of trying to decide whether it's still a mild wet winter or a chilly wet spring. But I'll test that, too, and also some indoor starts, if I get organized and industrious next spring (there is a first time for everything, they say).

I think in your climate you will be successful.

I did just sow some Double Yield cucumber seeds. Awfully late to start cukes here but it is an early variety, said 50 days. I I thought I would try it. I just want more cucumbers. My cucumber harvest is not as strong this year as I am used to. I get really nice cukes but not as many as I did last year.

Rick, good luck with the lettuces! If you are successful i'm sure you'll enjoy the harvest. I can hardly wait for fall lettuce. If I cover with plastic I have had lettuce for New Years!

Rita, my favorite bush green bean is Jade, or Fresh Pick. Beautiful, stringless and don't get the big bean seed. Touchy germination though. Don't like it cold or too wet. I used to soak seeds but they do better without.