What have you done in your garden today?

[Rea T]

I know some people hang pie pans in cherry trees to keep the birds away...not sure if that would work for berries if you hung some pans from a stick.

Worked a bit this morning on pulling my infestation of purslane. I'll probably go out in a bit and pull some more before it gets too hot out.

[Macky]

I have no idea on the berry trouble. The same thing happens to us with our saskatoon berry and nanking cherry bushes. I gave up trying to get any of the berries. I did buy netting last year, but didn't get it on in time; now I'm kinda glad I didn't. I birds.

Haven't been out to the garden in a couple of days because of the rain. When I went out to grab some asparagus briefly, I did pass by the brassicas. They're definitely stressed with all the water, wilting during the day and perking up at night. It's so weird to see a plant wilt because of too much moisture, but that's what the cabbage family does.

[Macky]

I'm going to have to replant my bush beans; almost all of them must have rotted with all this rain and cool weather. Something has eaten the tops of a good chunk of my broccoli, too. When DD goes for her nap this afternoon, I'll get my rubber boots on and go have a better look. There are deep tracks going through the peas, but from a distance, I can't tell if they're deer or dog. The damage from last Friday's hail is becomming more apparent as those areas are browning now. It's just all a huge mess.

[Stacy]

What a bummer on the weather!

[Macky]

I keep trying to remind myself that at least it's NOT two years ago... it's not 2010... it's not mud soup... yet...

2010 pics
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1050.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1058.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1064.jpg

[Loralee]

Oh man, Robin!

The first year I had big garden, I ended up sacrificing all the red bell peppers to the bunnies. AT least they left the green ones alone.

[canadiyank]

Any ideas on my chard/toms (previous page)?

[Macky]

Sorry, no. At first glance, I wanted to say it was some sort of wilt, but I have no personal experience with wilt (outside a freak loss of some tomato seedlings last year that weren't even outside yet), so I didn't want to post and be completely off base. I hope someone here knows. The pics showed the trouble perfectly!

[ncsweetpea]

Today I harvested raspberries and blackberries. My plan was to get back to the garden before nightfall and do a little more, but it rained just long enough to mess that up, but not enough to be really beneficial.

We have turnips that I must get up.

Anyone have awesome turnip recipes to share?

[canadiyank]

Well, my OG site came up with what it was. Leaf miner damage...most bizarre, as the pics I saw online mostly were these little trails, but someone posted to a different site that had similar pics to mine and suggested to tear them open to see (they bury inside the inner layer of the leaf) and sure enough it was *crawling* with tiny maggots. Then I was able to see the eggs (very tiny on the outsides). Pretty much it is a total loss of my crop. I cut off what I could and ripped out the rest, we'll see if the mature ones recover, but it doesn't sound like this season will be any good since I'm already infested and was last year too, just didn't know it. (My chard was a loss last year and the beets' roots were fine but the leaves looked all like that). I thought for sure it was sunscald or some sort of wilt, not bugs. Frustrating, too, b/c I have completely different varieties from last year of both veggies. Sounds like next year I can plant under floating row covers. I'm so sad.

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 PM ----------

Oh, and not sure on the toms. That one seems to be doing worse but the others are ok-ish.

[shekinah]

Originally Posted by Macky

I keep trying to remind myself that at least it's NOT two years ago... it's not 2010... it's not mud soup... yet...

2010 pics
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1050.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1058.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_1064.jpg

I remember seeing those pictures! I didn't realize that was your garden. I always imagine the other pictures where all your plants are there with the pathway and everything and think about it whenever I'm in my own garden.

I tell DH all about it all the time, how beautiful it is, and that some day when we move I want "a garden like I saw on GCM" haha. I didn't make the connection that those I had seen a couple years ago were yours. It makes total sense now

But I'm sorry to hear you guys have gotten a lot of rain this year too. It's been raining here, and I'm considering replanting as my seeds from last week likely have washed away, but it's not near as much work as you might have to go through. Not fun.

[Macky]

See, I knew I'd be wrong, Meghan. Thank goodness for our other expert sites! Sorry that it wasn't better news, though. One of the guys on GW, who lives in the city closest to me, has had leaf miner problems. I've never had them here, though (fingers crossed). He does a lot of season-extending stuff and I don't, so I wonder if that factors in at all (warmer winter temps) or if it's just location and bad luck?

No turnip recipes, sorry! I planted some this year for the first time, but just enough to have to add an extra veggie to stews. I don't like store-bought ones, so this is a trial to see if we'll like garden-grown (if texture if different for potatoes, why not turnips also).

Missina, do you mean these pics?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_0516.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_0207.jpg
I shouldn't tell you then that I wasn't entirely impressed with the whole straw-as-mulch thing?

[ncsweetpea]

Garden grown turnips are more firm.

[shekinah]

Originally Posted by Macky

Missina, do you mean these pics?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_0516.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...7/DSC_0207.jpg
I shouldn't tell you then that I wasn't entirely impressed with the whole straw-as-mulch thing?

Ooo, yes, those! But luckily I had forgotten about the straw part and mostly remembered the archway

[charla]

Last night I deadheaded flowers, pinched off the flowering part on the basil, pulled some weeds, straightened the tomato cages, basked in the beauty of the evening with just a tiny cool comfortable breeze, wondered why my heirloom tomatoes seem to be dying even though they have tons of fruit on them, picked some cucumbers and watered.