Re: North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016

**llama momma** 7/12/2016, 12:45 pm

SR
Hope that works out for you!

**Scorpio Rising** 7/12/2016, 8:44 pm

Me too. And I probably should get my garlic from the garden shop and not the Ace Hardware store....impulse buy, last fall.

Hot here today. And tomorrow, then a bit of a reprieve with the possibility of some much needed rain.

My plan for tomorrow is to water unless it looks real promising, and pull carrots and beets. I am not so keen on the one Kaleidoscope (white) carrot I pulled...carroty, yes, but sweet and amazing? No.

That will make room for fall lettuces, radishes, turnips, spinach, etc.

Taters alive. Hoping the have time to set some tubers. They should.

**llama momma** 7/13/2016, 12:22 pm

I'm a little farther south from you and with both high humidity and dew point, currently feels like 96. Honestly this is crap cause this is as hot as Florida (Bradenton) last I looked.

countrynaturals 7/13/2016, 12:24 pm

llama momma wrote:I'm a little farther south from you and with both high humidity and dew point, currently feels like 96. Honestly this is crap cause this is as hot as Florida (Bradenton) last I looked.

Migosh! That's 10 degrees warmer than we are this am. OTOH, we're on our way to 102 this afternoon. Shocked

**llama momma** 7/13/2016, 12:47 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
llama momma wrote:I'm a little farther south from you and with both high humidity and dew point, currently feels like 96. Honestly this is crap cause this is as hot as Florida (Bradenton) last I looked.
Migosh! That's 10 degrees warmer than we are this am. OTOH, we're on our way to 102 this afternoon.

Yeah stinks. If it wasn't for gardening I probably wouldn't go outside from Mid May-ish through mid- September.

**trolleydriver** 7/13/2016, 12:58 pm

llama momma wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:
llama momma wrote:I'm a little farther south from you and with both high humidity and dew point, currently feels like 96. Honestly this is crap cause this is as hot as Florida (Bradenton) last I looked.
Migosh! That's 10 degrees warmer than we are this am. OTOH, we're on our way to 102 this afternoon.
Yeah stinks. If it wasn't for gardening I probably wouldn't go outside from Mid May-ish through mid- September.

Even way up here in Ottawa, Ontario Canada we are feeling the heat and humidity. I just checked the Environment Canada website and its says our temperature is 87F, the humidity is 60% and the humidex (feels like) is 105F ... yikes!!!

**Scorpio Rising** 7/13/2016, 10:19 pm

Yep, it is hot and dry everywhere in our parts....and even not in our parts...everywhere! Something is wrong.....but for today, hoping for rain. Otherwise I have an hour in the AM doused with DEET to get things kinda watered.....

Skeeters are terrible.

**Scorpio Rising** 7/14/2016, 11:02 pm

II watered my flowers, praying my MM is holding on....to the zero moisture we got from the "rain" yesterday!

Gotta water tomorrow, do or die. Douse myself with DEET. Then shower? Will not have time! Maybe head to toe coverage and DEET..... Rolling Eyes

My daughter said she saw a Monarch! I have yet to see one.

Anybody else eating some little maters?

countrynaturals 7/14/2016, 11:12 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:My daughter said she saw a Monarch! I have yet to see one.

Anybody else eating some little maters?

I already have fat monarch caterpillars and one chrysalis. Cool

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 1stchr10

I've had 2 tomatoes from exotic varieties. Didn't like either one. One kind was red and sour, but maybe I picked it too soon. The other variety is orange and sweet, but the texture is mushy. I feel like Goldilocks looking for the "just right" tomato. Rolling Eyes

landarch 7/15/2016, 10:11 am

disappointed in my pollinators lately...green bean pods are relatively empty and my cukes are not fully forming (nub on one end, fat on the other). I had great a couple years ago without having to hand pollinate.

I'm also seeing a big difference in where I grow my peppers in terms of plant success...peppers in grow bags are much more productive and healthy than the ones growing in the SFG (same soil).

Black Beauty eggplants are putting on fruit...Rosa Bianca not even putting on blossoms.

Weird year...too cold, then way too hot...no rain, then too much rain.

countrynaturals 7/15/2016, 10:37 am

landarch wrote:disappointed in my pollinators lately...green bean pods are relatively empty and my cukes are not fully forming (nub on one end, fat on the other).

Same here, but I didn't know why. Thanks for letting me know what's wrong. I've seen a lot of bees in "The Salad Bar" this week, so, hopefully, things will start to turn around for the 2nd season. My first season was very disappointing -- 120 days for my first tomato and only a handful of beans so far. affraid

yolos 7/15/2016, 9:08 pm

landarch wrote:disappointed in my pollinators lately...green bean pods are relatively empty

I don't think beans need pollinators, do they.

**Scorpio Rising** 7/15/2016, 9:46 pm

You I am just starting to get some warm weather stuff, a couple peppers, and cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, and Patty pans.
A couple Beit Alpha cukes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes Sungold, and ground cherries.
Pulled carrots and beets today. Watered. Broke off the entire top from one of my tomato plants...oops.

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Image44

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Image44

**Scorpio Rising** 7/15/2016, 9:53 pm

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Image45

Beet greens...

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Image46

My beloved Tendersweet Carrots, Kaleidoscope, and Sugarsnax. A couple banana peppers, and a bell pepper of some type!

Disappointed in the taste of the Kaleidoscope carrots....just a novelty and pretty I guess. Tendersweet kicks it again. Sugarsnax small...tasty but would not buy again.

**sanderson** 7/16/2016, 1:37 am

countrynaturals wrote:I already have fat monarch caterpillars and one chrysalis.

That is so neat. Never seen one.

**llama momma** 7/16/2016, 8:45 am

Spaghetti squash in a table top about a foot long. There are two more smaller ones but not pictured. Going to upend the cinder block below to rest on, but at the moment the bees were very busy so I backed off.

Next pic is immature dry beans, black turtle beans. Never grew these before, so we'll see what happens. Look identical to green beans at this point.
Hoping everything stays healthy!

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Untitl13

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Untitl13

North & Central Midwest: JULY! 2016 - Page 2 Untitl12

**llama momma** 7/16/2016, 8:50 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:You I am just starting to get some warm weather stuff, a couple peppers, and cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, and Patty pans.
A couple Beit Alpha cukes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes Sungold, and ground cherries.
Pulled carrots and beets today. Watered. Broke off the entire top from one of my tomato plants...oops.

SR,
Don't know your experience with ground cherries, thought you said it was your first time. The more straw color the wrappers are on those ground cherries the sweeter they will be. Enjoy! The green ones are not ripe, well, you'll see!

CapeCoddess 7/16/2016, 10:16 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:

Beet greens...

My beloved Tendersweet Carrots, Kaleidoscope, and Sugarsnax. A couple banana peppers, and a bell pepper of some type!

Disappointed in the taste of the Kaleidoscope carrots....just a novelty and pretty I guess. Tendersweet kicks it again. Sugarsnax small...tasty but would not buy again.

Wow! What a haul! Nice! I could swear you planted the same time I did. What a difference it makes when your weather warms up earlier!

CC

**llama momma** 7/16/2016, 10:50 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:
Anybody else eating some little maters?

Getting little maters, both cherry and little yellow pear type. Oh, and 1st ground cherries from volunteers dropped today.

CapeCoddess 7/16/2016, 2:32 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:You I am just starting to get some warm weather stuff, a couple peppers, and cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, and Patty pans.
A couple Beit Alpha cukes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes Sungold, and ground cherries.
Pulled carrots and beets today. Watered. Broke off the entire top from one of my tomato plants...oops.

Fabulous! Are you going to save seeds this year?

CapeCoddess 7/16/2016, 2:49 pm

A foot-long spaghetti squash, lm? I'm so jealous! I can't grow spaghetti squash here to save my soul. SVB don't you know... Evil or Very Mad

We should be getting your weather here tomorrow. I'm going to freeze after all this heat! Can't wait!
What a Face

landarch 7/16/2016, 9:13 pm

hmmm...maybe green beans don't need pollinators...anyway, green beans are just a leathery shell. pole beans are flowering so we'll wait and see on them.

I talked with others in our community garden and so far it's been a bad year for tomatoes...I think it's been way too hot for good blossom/fruit set.

**Scorpio Rising** 7/16/2016, 11:05 pm

Llama mama, yes I am figuring this out about the ground cherries! They taste like pineapple when yellow and ripe...

CC, what do I have to do to save seeds? I love them!

I have never eaten spaghetti squash, I hear it is really good and a great low carb option for pasta! It is kinda pricey

Landarch, The heat can ruin a plants ability to function...bummer.

CapeCoddess 7/17/2016, 1:33 pm

SR, Ground cherry seed saving is so simple it's crazy. Just cut the biggest sweetest ones in half, squeeze or scrape into a sieve, rinse and maybe rub around gently with your finger and then dump them onto a paper plate or newspaper or paper towels or whatever. Separate them and leave them somewhere out of the way to dry. The corner of one of my kitchen counters is loaded with seeds in different stages of drying or fermenting right now. Then I stick them in a little tiny jar, label and put them in the fridge until next year.

Easy peasy!

**AtlantaMarie** 7/17/2016, 4:23 pm

Taste like pineapple, huh? Hmmmmmm.... sounds good.

What variety? How easy are they to order?

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