Garden 2024

Holy tomato vines, Batman! Mine won't even grow. I am so jealous.

Well, folks, I HAD over two dozen roses on my rose bush. This morning the deer got in again and chomped everything down. I have my front area netted off and netting around all the containers, so I think this one sort of slid in under the netting. I found a spot that looked like it was big enough for a deer to go under.

Anyway, it ate my roses, my five blueberries, and all of the Eversweet strawberries that were growing back after the last time the deer ate them. The deer even pulled about six plants right out of the container. I still have two barrels of Seascape strawberries though and I might get a bumper crop out of them.

All I can do is rewrap the netting. Makes me wish we had hunting season up here.

Check out Pellet guns - rifles have a bit more sting than pistols.
No harm - even if you shoot your own leg - not that I can recommend it.
Also maybe time to get a dog? a yappy one?

Tomatoes and beans are doing great at the moment - I am waiting for something to happen. Never have I ever had a tomato ripen prior to mid/late July, but I have a cherry tomato that is starting to turn red!

My peonies and crepe myrtle seem to be struggling with a bad infestation of powdery mildew. I treated it with milk with some success for a bit of time, but now I am using copper fungicide which is not working well. Does anyone have suggestions?

I don't have experience with those plants, @Kathleen, but you could try some hydrogen peroxide - a cup of 3% solution added to a gallon of water, so it's 1:8 solution. Don't add anything else to it, as it reacts with just about everything. I use this on many things - tomatoes, peppers, beans, okra, cucurbits, and other foods, and I alternate it with some other things, like the potassium bicarbonate, as fungicides. And something that works as a fungicide on a lot of things is a combination of oil and bicarbonate - something that is not recommended for about 90° temps - but if it's cool enough there, try a tb of baking soda plus 4 tb oil, plus a tsp of dish detergent, as an emulsifier, to a gal of water, and spray this on the infested plants. I use potassium bicarbonate instead, which I recommend if used on a regular basis, as a prophylactic, so this way the sodium doesn't build up, but one or two doses of baking soda won't hurt.

I did a double-take when I saw these peppers today - I wasn't even looking for them, just flowers, and some were about 3" long already! Other peppers, like the Thai peppers - traditionally the earliest for me - were just set, and barely growing yet.
First peppers of the season, Big Mic, 6-11, one over 3" already. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

dragnlaw said:

Check out Pellet guns - rifles have a bit more sting than pistols.
No harm - even if you shoot your own leg - not that I can recommend it.
Also maybe time to get a dog? a yappy one?

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Sheesh. People are feeding the deer up here. The deer see you come outside and walk up to greet you. I throw rocks at them and they chase the rocks, thinking they're food. I shook out a tarp the other day and the deer just looked at me, then came up to check it out. Somehow, I don't think pellet guns are going to impress them. And with all the fawns showing up, I think they'd probably attack a dog. Besides, I don't have my yard fenced yet.

I had considered paintball guns, but those things are pricey.

On the plus side, they apparently don't like Shasta daisy buds. We'll see what happens when the daisies all bloom. My plants are two years old now and it finally looks like I'll be getting some flowers. Anyway, I threw some tree netting over everything while I fix the net fencing, but I want to get that tree netting off as soon as possible. I notice the hummingbirds and the bees can't get to my roses with that netting over them.

I am deeply envious of the wonderful things being grown here! Look at those tomatoes!!

My pitiful efforts are being thwarted by the weather. It is ridiculously windy and cold and the sun only comes out now and then. (I know we Brits whinge about the weather all the time, but this, truly, is a dismal summer even by British standards!)

Currently, the only things that appear to be thriving are my lettuce plants. The tomatoes are spindly and feeble, the bell pepper is just a stalk, likewise with the cucumber. Forget about the strawberries. I have just had delivery of a variety of chili peppers and so far they are alive...

rodentraiser said:

Sheesh. People are feeding the deer up here. The deer see you come outside and walk up to greet you. I throw rocks at them and they chase the rocks, thinking they're food. I shook out a tarp the other day and the deer just looked at me, then came up to check it out. Somehow, I don't think pellet guns are going to impress them. And with all the fawns showing up, I think they'd probably attack a dog. Besides, I don't have my yard fenced yet.

I had considered paintball guns, but those things are pricey.

On the plus side, they apparently don't like Shasta daisy buds. We'll see what happens when the daisies all bloom. My plants are two years old now and it finally looks like I'll be getting some flowers. Anyway, I threw some tree netting over everything while I fix the net fencing, but I want to get that tree netting off as soon as possible. I notice the hummingbirds and the bees can't get to my roses with that netting over them.

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People think they are helping the deer by feeding them, but they are doing just the opposite. The more they are fed, they more they reproduce, and the herd grows. Then drought, famine or disease sets in, and the oversized herd starts to die... in an unpleasant way.

Our lake house was in a National Forrest, and it was illegal to feed the deer, but people did it anyway. Then, they screamed bloody murder when the herd had to be culled for their own good.

CD

Our vegetable gardens still look pretty much like a big blank canvas with things just beginning. Seedlings are only a few inches tall except for the transplants which are bigger and the garlic is big.

East square garden w/flowers in the back part. This will be squash, zucchini, greens, fennel. Hives behind it.


Middle garden, long, with garlic, tomatoes, peppers, arches for cucumbers and peas, greens-different kinds, beets.


West square garden with flowers, strawberries, gooseberry bush, mostly showing purple/blue flowers Lacy Phacelia.

(American Meadows Seed, perennial)



Little round garden with hibiscus, sweet william, and lavender sending up spikes. I can't wait to see the hibiscus and lavender in bloom.

OMG... bliss - did I see you mention once that Mr.Bliss uses a push mower? Please tell me I was mistaken?

dragnlaw said:

OMG... bliss - did I see you mention once that Mr.Bliss uses a push mower? Please tell me I was mistaken?

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Yes, we have a riding mower but neither of us are mechanically inclined so we'll be selling it. He just replaced the push mower last month, yes, he pushes the entire thing. He keeps telling me he doesn't mind. Remember (or maybe not), this man is driven. He had a heart attack 5 years ago now, and after he worked at getting his stamina back, he continued to do physically taxing things that are good for his heart. Corollary arteries form with regular exercise. If it wasn't this it would be metal detecting, or building things, or trapping in season.

Can he come out here and trap deer?

Casey, all I can do is chase the deer off. And they run faster than I do. Come to think of it, every living creature out here, including the chipmunks and the squirrels, run faster than I do.

I have finally got lawn watering down to an art. I walk out to the back and turn two sprinklers on. Walk back out, turn those off, set the timers on the other two, and turn them on. That way I don't have to walk all the way out there again.

Then later I just walk out to the faucet by the shed and turn two sprinklers on there and turn on the last one when I turn the first two off. I can't get timers on those because my faucet leaks so I can't leave it on like I can the other one.

Tomorrow I am finally going to be weeding by the driveway and maybe, just maybe, sometime next week, I can get the weeding done where I planted last year's irises. Then I can finally clean up my porch area, get the dollhouse out, and start working on that. In between watering, that is.

My two year old butterfly weed is huge and looks to have at least six or more blossoms. I accidentally knocked the top off of the other butterfly weed I'd planted. Can't blame the deer for that one. Ah, well. I planted three more that just came this year and only one is growing. The other one is dead, it looks like, and the third one just disappeared. Probably a deer reached under the netting and ate it. They like butterfly weed.

rodentraiser said:

Can he come out here and trap deer?

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Trap deer? lol. Here's a story of roping a deer by a farmer. If you haven't heard the old story, then give it a read. https://mykisscountry937.com/a-guy-trying-to-rope-a-deer-might-be-funniest-story-ever/

We have an albino deer just yards away from the yard here at night, feeding off corn the neighbors are feeding the cranes. Neither are allowed in our yard by sheer will of running them off. (yes, running yelling straight at them) The neighbors are nature lovers, and we are too, but their nature is eating our nature so we are at odds sometimes.

The objective for deer, if you aren't going to shoot them, is to distract them with something you want them to eat, instead of your gardens or plantings. One year we had fawns eating apples and pears but leaving the gardens alone.

Sometimes we sacrifice one thing (they choose) so that we get to keep for instance our tomatoes. They also don't like onions or garlic so if they find that, they wander away.
2019 we trapped 13 raccoons.
So far this year, we've had to dispatch many rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels. We know there is a skunk (we've had to deal with them in the past), making some messes with the lawn to eat grubs but only once in a while.
Yesterday we put down more blue netting over greens seedlings, so that if there is something trying to eat them, we make that more difficult. Sometimes we hang old cd's on strings to let them flutter in the wind, which might help drive them away, or confuse them. And there are solar lights that flash we have out in the yard near the gardens for at night.

That story about the deer was hilarious.

Deer. The trapper says that deer are too high strung and will injure themselves if trapped. Instead the dnr (dept of natural resources) if provided with enough evidence of the deer causing destruction within a small area that usually can't be hunted, will give a license for shooting them under certain circumstances. Then they are tested for brain disease, and if they pass can be used for human or animal food.

blissful said:

Deer. The trapper says that deer are too high strung and will injure themselves if trapped. Instead the dnr (dept of natural resources) if provided with enough evidence of the deer causing destruction within a small area that usually can't be hunted, will give a license for shooting them under certain circumstances. Then they are tested for brain disease, and if they pass can be used for human or animal food.

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The deer in the National Forrest where our lake house was were captured in large netted enclosures. I guess the enclosures were big enough that the deer did not freak out. Another way of culling the herds was allowing skilled bow hunters to hunt them. No guns, so no bullets flying near homes.

To be clear, deer herds were never culled due to damage to yards and gardens. Only when overpopulation threatened the life and health of the herds. When you buy a home in a National Forrest, you know what you are buying into, which includes wild animals.

We only grew plants and shrubs that deer don't like. I was surprised that they didn't bother the fig tree, which was there when we bought the house.

All the rain over the last six months has been good for something. I managed to get my backyard lawn back. It was mostly dirt at the end of winter this year. Last year's heat and drought killed it. I put down a much more drought tolerant seed, and the rains helped it grow.



That part of the yard under the tree is crushed granite. The river rock walkway goes to the side door on the garage. I only have a small area of lawn. I need to get some new mulch on my herb garden this week.

CD

I went out today and "buzzed the blossoms" on all the tomato plants out there - I had actually stopped doing that, except with a couple later ones, because there were so many, and I usually just let the pollinators take over now, but next week the highs are forecast to be in the mid to high 90s, which is when I have had many tomatoes drop blossoms. So I wanted to set as many as I could, in case any of these do have trouble with the heat. After that, I sprayed some more of that Surround/potassium bicarbonate solution on the new growth on the larger varieties, plus the eggplants, cucumbers, and melons - still had over a gallon left from 2 that last time, but only used about half of that this time, as it was only on new growth - I've had no rain to wash it off. After that, I sprayed the small fruited varieties with some H2O2 solution.

I have a hint of ripening on one of those Juliet tomatoes! That doesn't mean it will ripen first, but it's a start! Some of the Sunsugars are full size, but those are known to turn completely overnight, so they could still be first. Not any of the new varieties showing any ripening, but a number of them had their first tomatoes stop growing, so I'll see how long they take.

The good thing about that heat, I always tell myself when it starts coming, is the peppers and okra love it!

When you get up into the upper 90s, a lot of plants blossom, but don't set fruit -- especially if it doesn't get below 80 at night. It happens every summer here. But, summer is so long here, that we get new blossoms in early fall that do set fruit. That's when I always got my hottest peppers.

That heat dome over the NE is going to mess with your garden until it passes.

CD

Yes, that heat dome is going to be here a while, I hear. And I have a feeling that it will still be here when I have to harvest all that garlic - not looking forward to that. I just felt a couple varieties underground today, and not quite ready - still have to dry a couple more leaves each, though a couple are prematurely drying. I might pull those tomorrow.