California - What are you doing this month?

Nope.  Cuucumbers bought the farm yesterday. Put a dish towel over the young watermelons as they were stressed out Sunday already. Its been so hot so long that my volunteer tomato has set only one fruit.

On thd bright side, its too hot for the powdery mildew to advance.

No_Such_Reality wrote:On the bright side, its too hot for the powdery mildew to advance.

That's a positive outlook!

The spider mites are getting some of the beans and cucumbers but it's been over 100*F for 2 weeks and just too hot to do more that water. If we get a blackout today, it's movie time. And, I don't enjoy going to the movie theater!

My husband so lovingly pointed out that "our" theater may also be experiencing a black out at the same time.

sanderson wrote:My husband so lovingly pointed out that "our" theater may also be experiencing a black out at the same time.  

If it's any consolation I have similar issues when the power goes out... I know I can't do what I've been doing, but most of my next thoughts/plans also use electricity: I can't computer... nor TV... nor washing machine... nor vacuum ... nor (electric) stove...

Been in the high 90's here for the past week- had to erect a shade for the squash because they kept drooping over from lack of water. I tried to keep up on the watering, but when the wind comes up, the beds just seem to boil over; the shade is helping revive them though. The tomatoes are doing fine, but the buds aren't coming up as fast with the hot weather. I think the heat is driving in the field mice, as the leaves on the chard and eggplants are being nibbled down to the stalks. I thought it was earwigs or centipedes and dusted the plants with diatomacious earth, but the leaves are still getting chomped by something- going to have to set up some traps and see what is nibbling on the veggies.

Ah, water for the wildlife. Just thinking, what about water containers on the outer edges of your property.

It has been so blasted hot and smokey that keeping the garden alive is the main goal.  In the kitchen, I now have 2 full gallons of prepped tomatoes in the freezer so I know I will be canning this fall.  I experimented with sun dehydrating of a quarter minced onion and the tomato skins from prepping.  The 1/4 onion equaled 1 Tablespoon of powder.  The tomato skins were also powdered.  I also sauteed my peppers with 3/4 of a sliced onion and they are now pre-freezing on a cookie sheet in 6 portions for the Food Saver tomorrow.

Outside, the Red Hull cotton is blooming!  


The compost in the tumbler is cooling.  Here it is on day 24.

I'm sorry this is so boring but nothing exciting is happening right now. Oh, there are several long ears of corn in various stages of silk. I have no idea if they will be pollinated or not. Almost every day I shake the top of the 9' tall stalks.

I'll take "boring" any day. Hoping to get back home, today. If there's anything green left, I'll be doing the happy dance. Otherwise, I'll be starting over from scratch with my gardens. 

CN- I really feel for the folks effected by the fires in your area and hope that you are safe. My area went through the same thing with the Basin Complex fire- and it went on forever, it seemed. The smoke and ash raining down doesn't help with the anxious feelings either. Stay safe.

Yardslave wrote:CN- I really feel for the folks effected by the fires in your area and hope that you are safe. My area went through the same thing with the Basin Complex fire- and it went on forever, it seemed. The smoke and ash raining down doesn't help with the anxious feelings either. Stay safe.

Thanks, YS. Almost got arrested for trying to get back home. We're being treeted like criminals instead of victims. Still in exile, and now we aren't news anymore, so info is no longer readily available. 

YS, I remember that you posted photos of the staging area across the way from you.

What am I doing this month?  Staying alive!

Two crops seem to be doing well.  Rattlesnake beans, that Yolos suggested for me at this time of the year.  Thank you, Yolos.  And, the cotton.  Such pretty flowers.


This is the biggest Silver Queen corn I have ever grown.  Whether the kernels are developed remains to be seen.  You can see all the dead leaves from the Red Noodle beans, which were a total bust.

Sanderson - My Rattlesnake Beans are doing real well (production wise) this year also.  So far, for my 2 foot x 9 foot bed, I have harvested 72 pounds of Rattlesnake Beans.

That is a big Silver Queen Corn cob.

yolos wrote:Sanderson - My Rattlesnake Beans are doing real well (production wise) this year also.  So far, for my 2 foot x 9 foot bed, I have harvested 72 pounds of Rattlesnake Beans.

That is a big Silver Queen Corn cob.

So far I have harvested 7 Rattlesnake beans. Big ear of corn - probably has 20 kernels. I'm trying to restrain from peaking.

sanderson wrote:It has been so blasted hot and smokey that keeping the garden alive is the main goal.  In the kitchen, I now have 2 full gallons of prepped tomatoes in the freezer so I know I will be canning this fall.  I experimented with sun dehydrating of a quarter minced onion and the tomato skins from prepping.  The 1/4 onion equaled 1 Tablespoon of powder.  The tomato skins were also powdered.  I also sauteed my peppers with 3/4 of a sliced onion and they are now pre-freezing on a cookie sheet in 6 portions for the Food Saver tomorrow.

Outside, the Red Hull cotton is blooming!  


The compost in the tumbler is cooling.  Here it is on day 24.

I'm sorry this is so boring but nothing exciting is happening right now. Oh, there are several long ears of corn in various stages of silk. I have no idea if they will be pollinated or not. Almost every day I shake the top of the 9' tall stalks.

The plant almost looks like a hibiscus, LOL

Overall, everyone did an outstanding job, but they really need a civilian team to handle exceptions to the rules. Nothing like this is ever just black and white. One lady's father, 84, handicapped, got evacuated by mistake. 5 days later, he was still stuck in a shelter, with no handicapped facilities, absolutely miserable, when he could have been in his own home, with all of his customized features.

Animal Control had to spend 90 minutes a day, taking care of our sanctuary animals, when they could have been doing life-saving work elsewhere, while we sat on our thumbs, begging to get back in and take care of our own.   

Our neighbors bushwhacked their way back in, then blazed a path for our kids, and marked it with pink spray paint. The kids hiked back in for the last 2 days and took care of all the plants and animals. Finally, they let us back, too, so now all is well. 

I can't fathom how your experience was.

sanderson wrote:I can't fathom how your experience was.

We are definitely changed. None of our emotions seem appropriate, considering how much others have lost. We just found out that our neighbors on the other side couldn't take it. They packed up and left. Who knows when they'll return.

Some areas are still under evacuation. I can't remember what blue sky looks like. Our air is still dangerous to breathe. I feel awful for all the critters out in it with no place to go. This nightmare is still less than 50% contained, and the one south of us is even bigger.

We've always dreaded our summers, here. Now we have to fear them, too. It's like living in a war zone, under a sadistic ruler. I'm tired of "red flag warnings" and "poor air quality" in our nightly weather reports. 

I just realized how my mood reflects my situation. I'm going to stop, now. I should probably delete this post, but maybe knowing what it's like to go through something like this will help some of you if you ever have a similar experience. Anyway, it's time to deal with it and move on. I won't poison this board with anymore disaster talk. 

Thank you for the reminder that a normal "boring" day is not a bad thing. i heard about this on the news but I didn't really understand how it affects others until you posted about it.  Hope they get the fires under control soon.

countrynaturals wrote:

sanderson wrote:I can't fathom how your experience was.

We are definitely changed. None of our emotions seem appropriate, considering how much others have lost. We just found out that our neighbors on the other side couldn't take it. They packed up and left. Who knows when they'll return.

Some areas are still under evacuation. I can't remember what blue sky looks like. Our air is still dangerous to breathe. I feel awful for all the critters out in it with no place to go. This nightmare is still less than 50% contained, and the one south of us is even bigger.

We've always dreaded our summers, here. Now we have to fear them, too. It's like living in a war zone, under a sadistic ruler. I'm tired of "red flag warnings" and "poor air quality" in our nightly weather reports. 

I just realized how my mood reflects my situation. I'm going to stop, now. I should probably delete this post, but maybe knowing what it's like to go through something like this will help some of you if you ever have a similar experience. Anyway, it's time to deal with it and move on. I won't poison this board with anymore disaster talk. 

Oh honey, I am glad you posted your point of view, and your experiences.  Otherwise it is just a story on the news!  I feel like I know you and care about you and your family, and I am so glad you posted!!!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Oh honey, I am glad you posted your point of view, and your experiences. Otherwise it is just a story on the news! I feel like I know you and care about you and your family, and I am so glad you posted!!!

Thanks, Scorpio. I can't believe another week has gone by and this thing is still barely half contained, the air quality is still poor, and there are still people out there who can't go home.

Last week, we went to the coast for a break.  Upon returning, I found 3 new cantaloupe, besides the 2 ripe ones, some baby eggplants, a few flowers on some of the tomatoes, and pretty bolls on the cotton!  This cotton variety is such a nice color for a landscaping plant, also.


I've been cleaning some beds these last 3-4 days. 8 squares of winter squash and watermelon. 8 squares of KY Wonder pole beans. 8 squares of Dragon Tongue beans. Tomorrow, 6 squares of bush Blue Lake. Yes, my beds are small.

I'm hoping to build another tumbler of compost this Friday and Saturday. Ken's shoulder is getting better so it's time to put him to work!

How are all of you doing with this cooler weather?

I've been able to get some work done during the cooler (and less smoky) days. Yesterday (Monday), Ken washed the solar panels and I washed all the vegetable plants in the back yard. I'm ready to make a new bucket or compost tea tomorrow morning. Since the plants are washed, the compost may be more effective. The one little effect I can see from the compost tea a few days ago are less white flies. ??

Saturday, we built a new compost batch in the Lifetime tumbler. Chopped bedding straw, mowed alfalfa hay, some alfalfa pellets, 4 buckets of chopped produce culls from Friday night's farmers market, 3 big bags of Starbucks. Monday we topped it off as the materials settled. Now up to 133*F.

I need to start the winter seedlings or I won't be able to take an October vacation. And, continue washing summer trellises, shade clothes, plant clips, etc., that were used for the summer crops.

It's been a while since I've posted here.  Sort of been in the stage of starting to clean, amend some beds.  Some will sleep during the winter and some will have winter crops.  I've decided to trim down the winter growing to lots of peas (since my neighbor removed 2 trees), Bright Lights chard, a few broccoli and purple cauliflower, toy bok choy, only a few kale and, of course, garlic.  Only 3 beds will need bridal tulle this time.

I harvested the last 2 cantaloupes so those nasty vines can be removed.  The 2 runaway cucumbers are done so those nasty vines can also be removed.  One thing I like to do is wash everything from summer that won't be used during the winter.  That also includes sun shades, plant labels and supports, some PVC frames and all of the trellises.

Oh, when Ken washed the solar panels on September 3, the output really jumped!  We can follow it online.  The summer smoke, dust and pollution was the worst since I started gardening (SFG) in March of 2013.  He had to wait until his shoulder healed from surgery.

I also harvested the last of the Stevia and bought a bottle of cheap vodka to try to make stevia drops. The neat this about SFG is that you try all kinds of things as a result of planting something different each year. Next year it will be lavender oil! Maybe chamomile. I order some 2 oz. tincture bottles for the stevia drops to share with DD And DDIL.

Third to the last cantaloupe.

An undersized cotton boll opened today!  I can't wait to see what the full sized rosy bolls look like when they open.  The MM was down to 4" so I topped up to 7" with new compost and watered well.  I don't know if I will plant any thing in the 2'x4'bed but it's ready if I want to after the cotton is done.  

Signing off with doggie photos. Last weekend (Friday-Monday, I babysat Inara for my daughter.

My "from our garden give-aways" days are numbered. The tomatoes are slowing up and the peppers are now also showing signs of slowing down, so I'm having to hold back on handing out the surplus. I'm also trying to do battle with powdery mildew from my house sitter top watering in the evening- looks like the Neem oil is working on the squash, but the yellowing Early Girl tomatoes aren't responding, so they may have late blight. The bush beens are pretty much gone, and the local cotton tails are helping me clean up that bed- funny how they were picking on the chard, then went for the low hanging tomatoes, now they are switching to the beans. I've trapped a couple and relocated them to a nearby ball field, but there are still 3 that have managed to evade my traps and are now showing up on the lawn in the morning grazing on fresh grass and polishing off what's left of my wife's favorite alstroemarias. I'm going to get started planting for the Fall/Winter, so I've got to get moving and mix up some more MM as the beds have shrunken- the old mix is being used up. I hope I can find some coarse vermiculite locally. I don't want to have to have to pay those outrageous shipping prices for a 4 cubic foot bag of vermiculite. Last time I bought a bag locally from the Home Despot it was as small as glitter, only suitable for starting seeds. I'm going to scout out a few hydroponics shops and see what they can offer.