Gardening, anyone?

My Mom always mulched with straw. It was so dry in Okla that it helped conserve moisture from the watering. Ours here are in a raised bed because slugs love them. As a child, I hunted in the strawberries for horned toads (actually a spiny harmless lizard). They liked the shade. I would play with them for a while and put them back.

Scottie, how cute is that picture of the turtles?! Mae me smile. :-)

Lori, the garden is looking super. Sorry about not getting any zukes this year. I picked my first one yesterday and have 3 babies on the plants. All the other blossoms are males. Also have 2 spaghetti squash growing. Yeah! Ate some more "fruit of the yard" this weekend.....apples, asian pears, blackberries. Looks like I will have a few hot peppers soon. Typically the pepper plants don't start a wild growth spurt until the end of July so I am anxious to see how they do.

I love fireworks but absolutely do not like neighbors firing them off after 11 p.m. when I need to get some sleep. UGH I know tomorrow night wlll be so much worse. Because we live outside the city limits it is legal to have them here but people, have some respe

Clematis in full bloom. Definitely need to cut it back this fall. Too much dead at the bottom.

Not sure what this plant is. Bought it at Home Depot but sure do love the color.

Thanks Wren44.

Put a plastic cup in the ground. Fill with beer. Slugs gone!

Coach Vicky

Summerrain - glad you came out from lurking. Love the pics of your garden. Lucky to have a friend that helps too. It has a nice layout.

Coachvicki - congrats on that first tomato. My first one didn't even make it to the table . . . hmm? not even out of the garden. Burp.

Mommyof2 - won't be long, it sounds like, and you're going to have lots of tomato's.

Bluebird - I imagine it is hard to give up your garden for travel. Thinking of how you could have a mobile garden, I can only think of pots. But I imagine if then they would be limited as to how many you could travel with. Maybe you should consider smaller crops, such as going with herbs. Or if possible a few hanging pots.

Lori - Raccoon babies so CUTE. Mamma doesn't mind you petting them. I've heard of people having raccoons as pets but as soon as they get mature, they are less domestic and unreliable as being safe to be around.

Rose - thanks for the idea about the tomato pasta. I know in years to come I will be producing more tomato's and love this idea.

Scottiemom - We've been hit hard with rain also. Month of June broke a historical rain record. Over 20 inches in month of June. I'm up close to DC and they are hurting for rain. Everyone wishing for some and I'm thinking I don't want to see another drop for a while. Hubby is picking veggies everyday as everything is splitting.

Thanks to all on well wishes for my Dad. He is in physical therapy facility and doing well considering he is 92. It wasn't a week ago and he was in ICU so we are very happy to see the improvement. I am unfortunately the child that does not live close by (1000 miles away), but I am here with him now. I am blessed to have a brother that lives in the area AND is very actively involved with our Dads care. And so much of my visit is my desire to relieve him of the stress he has had in past two months. I can't do enough (in my mind). For those that have experienced in being the main caretaker for their parent(s) if you can offer any suggestions for the sibling that does live close by in how you would have loved their help, please share. Eventually I will have to go back home and work leaving my brother with all the responsibility again.

And please keep sending in pics of your gardens, I miss mine . . . .

Congrats on the cukes an tomatoes, Lori! I have now picked 4 zucchini and have at least 4 more babies. I managed to hunt and find one lil bitty cucumber. I also saw 3 spaghetti squash. Hurrah!

We had rain twice within the past week which is highly unusual for us in July (or almost any month!) The chiggers are horrid this year, for my husband at least. They don't seem to bite me as much nor do the mosquitos.

I bought some Tanglefoot to smear on my pecan trees in hope of staving off the pecan weevils this year. DH cut a lot of tentworms out of the trees too. UGH.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fruits-and veggies-of your your labor as well as the beauty of the flower gardens.

~Heidi

We got our very first tomato! It's one of the little ones but we'll cut it in half and share.

WenchLori Got those at Home Depot and for the life of me I can't remember what they're called. It had the botanical name on the tag. I'm pretty sure it started with a C. One of those names you can't pronounce.

Woohoo! We had an unexpected rain shower Saturday night. I don't know which of you sent it, but thank you! The next week is predicted to be 98 to 100+ each day so the rain will be a big help. Picked more zucchini, blackberries and Asian pears. I even used some of my tomatoes in my salad last night.:-) I love this time of the year!

Wren, that first bite is always the best!

MOmmy it sounds like your garden is growing great too!

~Heidi

Boy did we get hit with heavy rain and wind while we were in Ohio and again today! Still no zucs but the plants are lovely lol

Just wanted to share...

O to lie in the ripening grass
That gracefully bends to the winds that pass,
And to look aloft the oak-leaves through
Into the sky so deep, so blue!
–William Roscoe Thayer (1859–1923)

He probably wrote that poem while lying in the grass. :-)

Meow, almost any of the small critters, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, will munch on the juicy berries. I love the critters but dislike the fact that hey feel the need to take the fruits of our labor.

LOL

Very funny Ananda! We don't have them up here and I don't miss them at all. Mosquito bites didn't bother me very much but chiggers were another matter.

For those who might have too much zucchini on their hands, a poem:

Marge Piercy - Attack of the Squash People

And thus the people every year
in the valley of humid July
did sacrifice themselves
to the long green phallic god
and eat and eat and eat.
They're coming, they're on us,
the long striped gourds, the silky
babies, the hairy adolescents,
the lumpy vast adults
like the trunks of green elephants.
Recite fifty zucchini recipes!

Zucchini tempura; creamed soup;
sauté with olive oil and cumin,
tomatoes, onion; frittata;
casserole of lamb; baked
topped with cheese; marinated;
stuffed; stewed; driven
through the heart like a stake.

Get rid of old friends: they too
have gardens and full trunks.
Look for newcomers: befriend
them in the post office, unload
on them and run. Stop tourists
in the street. Take truckloads
to Boston. Give to your Red Cross.
Beg on the highway: please
take my zucchini, I have a crippled
mother at home with heartburn.

Sneak out before dawn to drop
them in other people's gardens,
in baby buggies at churchdoors.
Shot, smuggling zucchini into
mailboxes, a federal offense.

With a suave reptilian glitter
you bask among your raspy
fronds sudden and huge as
alligators. You give and give
too much, like summer days
limp with heat, thunderstorms
bursting their bags on our heads,
as we salt and freeze and pickle
for the too little to come.

Ananda, that is so funny! I've only had to deal with chiggers once and that was more than enough for me! If I'd lay in the grass here I'd be carried off by ants!

My tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes but none are ripe enough to eat. I'm waiting for my Early Girls to get big enough for some fried green tomatoes. Yummy! We had an algy bloom and we have lost a lot of fish. I'm so sad! Most of our paddle fish were doing great! They were the most interesting fish we have. The catfish don't seem to be having any problems at this time. I'm praying they are still swimming when it gets light enough to see the pond. My DS will be here later today or early tomorrow, I'm so excited!