What did you do in your garden today?

[DirtMechanic]

I have a row of cucumber in flower now. It is shaping up to be good quantity so I can imagine bread and butter pickles for me and sour dill pickles for Becky. Okra too, as they pickle very well and I have 2 rows of okra. This is what a gallon of blackberries does for me.

 

[Logan]

. Okra too, as they pickle very well and I have 2 rows of okra.

I've haven't tried Okra, what is it like?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I've haven't tried Okra, what is it like?

Crunchy sweet pickled okra is often served as a fancy or perhaps your husband would like the "wicked pickles" style with garlic and peppers.

 

[Logan]

Crunchy sweet pickled okra is often served as a fancy or perhaps your husband would like the "wicked pickles" style with garlic and peppers.

Yes he'd like that.

 

[DirtMechanic]

My first blackberry pie ever. Cool Whip or Ice Cream anyone?

 

[Esther Knapicius]

zucchini bread freezes well.

 

[DirtMechanic]

zucchini bread freezes well.

Thank you, I had not thought of that at all.

 

[Logan]

My first blackberry pie ever. Cool Whip or Ice Cream anyone?View attachment 38782

Ice cream please.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I've spent months grafting in our rear garden working in conditions from snow to hot sunshine; this year I finally got around to planting buying dozens of assorted plants online. I thought I'd finally cracked it until the birds; squirrels; cats and bugs wanted to undo everything I had tried to create; over the last couple of days Gale wanted to remove our bungalow from the valley side whilst bashing over the gladioli that had finally pushed through and making a mess of some of the plants; perhaps I should have laid 6" thick concrete after all and be done with it. Good job I don't get depressed.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Logan]

@Colin that's a shame, i hope their not to badly damaged.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Logan. The wind damaged a few plants that won't recover; it actually snapped off one of the big aubretia at ground level; Gale and Blackie love me to bits always wanting to be with me. When I rotavated the soil every cat for miles around came to try it out and they liked it so much they are still using it as a toilet; the squirrels are causing plant damage; I planted about 20 pachysandra cuttings but most have been removed by the squirrels; during this rare warm dry weather I've been using the hosepipe but our garden being so steep the soil dries very quickly; I'm learning though and in future not buy anything that grows more than 6" tall regarding plants; the young bushes I planted seem to be coping but many of the rudbeckia are suffering from holes in their leaves as are the hostas I planted; I'll not give in though and learn what will thrive on our mountain apart from weeds.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Logan]

Colin that's what gardening is all about, learn as you go on.

Glad that your positive about it and don't give up.

I don't grow certain plants because of the SS, mainly snails.
But i do like to grow cosmos, can be tricky when young but they haven't had any damage this year.

If you can attract hedgehogs and frogs they might help.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Logan. We have frogs but no pond but generally Blackie provides more than ample water. We used to have a family of hedgehogs but I think they moved to a drier climate.

8:22 and I've already done the shopping; after a brew I feel a bit of woodturning coming on. It's difficult enough standing upright in our steeply sloping garden but almost impossible today with Gale doing her thing so woodturning it is.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

we have toads, here and some tree frogs (colorful) a creek is on the back of our property. not too much gardening yesterday, was hot outside, did some twig clean up. that was it. today a full day at work. woke up thinking, got to set my retirement date. have a lot on my work computer to clean out and move places to ease folks to find reports etc. It's tough, like my job too.

 

[alp]

@DirtMechanic Well done to the pie! Lovely harvest you have. This morning, I saw that SS had helped themselves to my nearly ripe blueberries. Very annoying. What a lovely harvest to feast our eyes on! Thank you for sharing!