What did you do in your garden today?

[CrealCritter]

I can be taught braiding is pretty easy as long as you got tops to work with. I braided until I ran out of tops on one strand. Then I added another onion and just tired a knot of baling twine to finish the braid. I only had 3 onions with a soft spot. I probably missed turning those 3 this afternoon. Got them hanging in the AC, that should help them finish curing.

And... I even cleaned up my mess

So again +1 for victory seeds. They seem to have a good thing going with their heirloom Sweet Spanish line

I may try adding their Ruby (red intermediate day) onion next year and see how it does. I don't think I've ever seen a red onion before, purple yes, but not red

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Apparently Georgia Jet sweet potatoes like excessive heat warnings But then again so do weeds Curious what these vines will produce, I'll have to wait and see

Just a fair warning... When they say the vines can grow up to 20 foot, it's not a lie. Anywhere a vine node touches the soil it roots and sends off a new vine. The way I'm looking at it, if I snipped off the nodes with the root attached. I would probably have enough slips to plant an acre, just in 2 1/2 50 foot rows that I have growing. But of course I don't really have that, because fall then winter is coming. Happens every year, always has, always will. But you all in the southern parts of the US might could pull it off. However this does give me some ideas to try next spring.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Mini Horses]

How about -- what I did in anothers garden?!!

A friend was told by a cousin to come get anymore corn wanted as it was to be cut down first of week....bring friends. She had all she wanted. Asked me if I wanted any.

Well heck yeah! I love free.....I'm looking at almost 18 dz ears to process now. . Freeze some ears, can several pints. I'm hot. Tired from work and then in corn patch but, in a few minutes of AC and some cold water to drink -- I'll be at it!

There is so much still there. I'm stressing over that.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wow! That's awesome! Free corn is the best. Can you get some more? Are they going to cut it down without harvesting it?

 

[farmerjan]

Oh @Mini Horses I envy you getting the corn for the picking. That was a great find/gift. And yes, I would be stressed over what was still left. Do they take the stalks to feed to cattle or goats or sheep or anything?

@CrealCritter ...good on the braiding... One thing, onions don't like real cold... watch the keeping them in AC. We always hung ours from the rafters in a shed or the attic to dry... not cold just cool and dry and NO SUN. Do a search of hanging onions to dry and you will get a TON of sites to look at. It surprised me that there were so many places with advice...

 

[flowerbug]

Apparently Georgia Jet sweet potatoes like excessive heat warnings But then again so do weeds Curious what these vines will produce, I'll have to wait and see

i've not grown sweet potatoes here (soils are so wrong for that) but i'm curious if you have a lot of experience with it or not?

Just a fair warning... When they say the vines can grow up to 20 foot, it's not a lie. Anywhere a vine node touches the soil it roots and sends off a new vine. The way I'm looking at it, if I snipped off the nodes with the root attached. I would probably have enough slips to plant an acre, just in 2 1/2 50 foot rows that I have growing. But of course I don't really have that, because fall then winter is coming. Happens every year, always has, always will. But you all in the southern parts of the US might could pull it off. However this does give me some ideas to try next spring.

i've heard that keeping the vines from rooting out will concentrate the energy on the tubers closer to the middle and that is how to get bigger tubers. i've not done it myself to know how it goes or how easy it might be to do. have you tried anything like this? or tried it on a few plants to see how it has made any difference to the results?

 

[flowerbug]

a few hours of weeding, temperature and humidity reasonable. nice to be able to pull out entire dandelions from the strawberry patch (which i hadn't weeded for the past several months). i had to weed it though since the oxalis/aka wood sorell was getting ready to drop a ton of seeds/seed pods so if i'd not gotten them out of there i'd have regretted it for the coming years.

most gardens are in ok shape, but it always helps to go through them and check for weeds and especially those that might be ready to drop more seeds. i should be done in a few more sessions of this round. with the plants getting bigger there are fewer and fewer weeds to find even if it might be a bit harder to find some of them as they can try to hide under garden plants.

i was very glad to find zero creeping charlie in the front area where i'd gone through last year to get it out of there. i'm sure there's some still left in there but with the really dry weather we've been having it's remained mostly dormant. i did find and pull some earlier this season, but there wasn't much of it. a big imrpovement either way as it was going to take over had i left it alone.

 

[CrealCritter]

i've not grown sweet potatoes here (soils are so wrong for that) but i'm curious if you have a lot of experience with it or not?




i've heard that keeping the vines from rooting out will concentrate the energy on the tubers closer to the middle and that is how to get bigger tubers. i've not done it myself to know how it goes or how easy it might be to do. have you tried anything like this? or tried it on a few plants to see how it has made any difference to the results?

I do not have a lot of experience with sweet potatoes, only some experience. My father in law grew our family potatoes for a long time. He grew up in lower MS and knew how to grow potatoes well. I just picked up little bits from working with him before he passed away.

Preventing the vines from rooting is an interesting thought and what you say makes sense. Farmers grow these things for a living in the south eastern states (NC, SC, GA) and are all about maximum yield. so I would ask myself, how would a farmer do this in the field? I don't think they do, do they? How could they without cutting the vines that grow in between the rows? Maybe that's what they do when/if they heap the hills? By doing so they are planting more slips in the process. I really do know the answer... But it's a good question.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

How about -- what I did in anothers garden?!!

A friend was told by a cousin to come get anymore corn wanted as it was to be cut down first of week....bring friends. She had all she wanted. Asked me if I wanted any.

Well heck yeah! I love free.....I'm looking at almost 18 dz ears to process now. . Freeze some ears, can several pints. I'm hot. Tired from work and then in corn patch but, in a few minutes of AC and some cold water to drink -- I'll be at it!

There is so much still there. I'm stressing over that.

My neighbor is so desperate for his sweet corn to make. We shucked an ear of my other neighbor's field corn. I cut some of the base kernels off with my pocket knife, they we're juicy and sweet not at all bad honestly, but not the tip kernels. I told him wait another week and try again. He said if the ear is sweet next week he's gonna pick a bunch, load up the back of the gator and take to my other neighbor, (the farmer who planted it). And say, I found us a whole bunch of sweet corn, more than you could ever eat my neighbor cracks me up.

This is my other neighbors field corn. Even my grand daughter was admiring it and asked if we could eat it. "But paw paw look it's corn can we eat it? please?"

I say go after the rest, if anything you could dry out the whole cobs and feed them to your animals. I'm sure it wouldn't go to waste. Even the stalks animals can eat.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Mini Horses]

Corn story. This farmer raises feed corn and has, for several years, planted and reported on trial varieties. Last few yrs it has been sweet corns. So this patch is going out of prime pick stage. It is my understanding the farmer coming to cut has livestock, so going to a use.

Now we know not every ear ripens at same time. So, we looked for the tighter shucks, slower maturing area. Etc. Some are beautiful. Others have some drying starting. But its great tasting, a bi-color but predominately yellow. I've got 2nd canner going now...I suspect several more. Some frozen. All winter eating for me!! Cooked a small amount to sample. The late picking isn't a problem after pressure canning. With all I brought home, won't go back. I'm swamped right now. Have plenty - even sharing.

Goats get shucks and end trims. Chickens will get any spot trim kernels...not many!
Gave couple dozen to others. Lotta work to do this. . But I was blessed to get it.