Third time is a charm

I cherish the stories and inspiration I receive here. It’s my favorite place.

I am very busy adding to my gardens. My cotton and roselle took up too much space. As beautiful as they are I should not have put them in the main garden

so far I have planted kohlrabi carrots beets lettuce snow peas dill cilantro parsley parsnips collards chard kale cabbage and that’s all I can remember. Not alot of each thing just a good variety Figured out my daughter doesn’t really cook so the only vegetable she eats out of the garden is what I cook for them. Lots of summer stuff went to wa ste until I realized this. Now it’s more for me. Much of my harvest is going in the dehydrator since I don’t have time to do anything else I at first three African x okra. They are beautiful green with red streaks. Plants are about two feet tall. Now that it’s cooling off they should pick up where my others are ending. Much of my garden in pots at home is recovering nicely from grasshoppers. The pear tree Is looking amazing.

i found an earthway seeder for great price. Can’t wait to t est it out.

Dawn, glad you're feeling somewhat better and sorry you've been so sick with a dumb cough. Those are the worst because you can't rest. When I get sick, it's usually with a cough. Honestly, I would rather have a fever and hallucinate than have that lingering cough that doesn't allow for proper rest.

It's wonderful that Tim is making progress on your deck!

Kim, sounds like you've got a good variety to try. My kids do eat veggies, but it's weird how they do it. My daughter doesn't plan meals around the veggies available--if that makes sense. I'm trying to plan meals around what is seasonal and producing in my garden. It's a learning process for sure because we're used to being able to purchase what we want whenever we want it at grocery stores. Canning helps those things be available out of season and for that I'm grateful.

Larry, from the other thread. I was mostly being funny about the tractor burning. I know your tractor gives you grief. BUT, I did like the video for other reasons. And your stories are awesome. Be sure to start writing those down. Even if your kids don't seem interested right now....they will wish they had paid attention some day. I know I do in regards to my Dad, grandparents, and great grandparents. I should have listened more closely.

Wow. Did the weather change or what. When HU got here, I was complaining about the humidity and stickiness. Don't have to worry about that right now. It's winter out there. Unfortunately we only got some sprinkles though, so I'll need to water tomorrow.

We made apple jalapeno jelly tonight. Apples and peppers from the property. So much fun. We're also trying hominy from corn out in Okmulgee. It's a slow process, so tomorrow is Day 2 of it. After work of course.

I didn't have time to look at the garden today, other than grabbing a few peppers.

Back to work tomorrow. Sigh. Can I just have one more weekend day? Please.

One more thing...jalapenos. Is anyone else's crazy hot this year? Ours are insanely hot.

Awww, it's raining (when I thought the weather service had withdrawn the change)..so that's wonderful....and we still need it badly. I suspect it's going to only be a pittance though :( Hmm, weather says 6 hours and .55 inches...we'll see.

Dawn, your opening was good to read, but I bet it made you tired (lol). If I had seen this rain coming, I'd have tucked in a few more plants besides those I did last weekend when we got a good shower (but not a rain..just a shower) (lol). I am having to keep them watered, and I thought it would not be bad with being a bit cooler, but we've had a lively drying breeze all week too.

You remind me of those snapdragons that I started last August that finally burst into bloom in April, and are still with me (begrudgingly). They were from a breeder in England, and supposedly heat-tolerant (and for snaps they are) and supposedly should act as a reseeding perennial. We shall have to see, they did take survive the summer heat, they did flower on and off all summer, and are just now picking up a little bit, and showing new basal growth as well as some very interesting foliage (that I almost don't recognize as snaps). They are a limited color range of white, pale yellow, and purple/pink. I might have to keep a lookout on what the seller continues to sell as well, if he can improve color range with some red/oranges it would help. Always possible I guess to plant normal snaps and see if they interbreed in my garden too.

It's nice seeing fall foliage becoming a bit more robust. Several of my columbines are showing renewed vigor with the cooler weather. I'm not quite sure what one of my cardinal flowers is doing (looks like it has an offset up on the stem that I should remove and root). I had probably 20 cardinal flowers though, and I expect another bonanza of volunteer seed sowing from these. Nearly as many of the greater blue lobelia too..and they bloomed at the same time (usually there isnt' much overlap for me..but this year total same season..both still blooming but starting to fade).

I planted winter flowering hellebores last year, and they shipped in flower, small as they were. I'm waiting to see how they do this year, one looks much the same, one looks diminished (didn't set new growth buds last year...just flowered and almost died), and one actually looks like it's thrived. I'll certainly post flowers in December and January if they occur, which I do expect. I also planted a mixed sixpack from the same vendor of the Easter flowering hybrid hellebores, and hope to see their colors this coming early spring too.

I went at least temporarily insane (gardening wise) in the last week. I ordered 2 new orchids on Ebay (dangerous place!) one a reed stem epidendrum (2 years to flower), and a very miniature phalaenopsis dendrobium (no this isn't repetitious, this is a valid species..dendrobium biggibum and it's hybrids). I have one 'Purple Splash' blooming the bathroom window now. This was taken a few weeks back, it's all fully open now. It blooms about 3x a year with not much care other than every week it gets a shower.

That wasn't good enough and the planting bug bit again (with seedling size plants, because those are cheap) of buttonbush, the fall flowering witch hazel (have the winter flowering already) (Hamaelis virginiana), a hibiscus 'Fantasia', and 'Viking' black aronia berry. Should arrive tomorrow because I ordered them from Jasper, Arkansas (about 75 miles away...figured postage was still cheaper than driving to pick them up. $9.75). The funny thing is I ordered (by pickup) from this guy once in the late 90s before I moved to Nebraska, my surprise to find him still selling (on Ebay now) was great. By email, he's as charming as ever (sarcasm), but I'm glad for the plants. His plants were small but good, and I expect to see the same with the new arrivals.
Ok, considering that it's almost my annual pay day (Oct 13th), I've done the most insane buying at the worst leanest time of my year. I eagerly await new money because over the summer I now confirmed I *AM* Mr. Magoo (if you remember that cartoon of the 70s I think). Testing with some friends revealed I can now see as well with my current glasses (knew it was bad) as they can see without theirs.

Ok, I've also written my very long book now...and I should go do things. Larry (regarding yesterday's post), I very much enjoyed reading your tale of your older days. Keep on gardening folks, it's our sanity line (or my insanity line).

Its a little after midnight now and we have had some wind and rain move through. I think it was more wind than rain, but it will be fine. My neighbor came over yesterday to get a 50# bag of 13 - 13 - 13 to throw on our turnip/collard patch, he said it was going to rain, and he was right. I think he is getting more fun out of the wildlife garden than I am, but I am happy for both of us. I like working the soil and driving the tractor, he enjoys, well, I guess he just enjoys work, because that seem to be all he does. That is not completely true because he does a lot with family also. He is retired and his wife still works, so sometimes he is in need of something to do. I am happy that he seems to want to look after Madge and me.

Jennifer, I have never thought about burning a tractor, I think they are works of art. I did go look at a new tractor today, Madge is really encouraging me to buy a new one, but my mind is not made up yet. They cost so much, and I am so old, I feel that the money could be put to better use. Anyway, Madge and I went out to eat after looking at the tractor. We came back home and I call a guy that lived down the road about a mile, who had rebuilt my John Deere. This guy has a gold claim in Alaska and often goes up there in the summer to dig gold, then would come back here and work through the winter, and then about the first of May, he would head back to Alaska. Well the guy still lives here, and came over to look at my Kubota to see if there was anything he could help with. He and I got to talking about gold and Alaska again, because in 1999 I went to Alaska to get rich. A friend had a gold claim up about 75 miles north of the arctic circle, we knew that there were gold nuggets big as baseballs waiting on us. We were living in North Pole Alaska and going up to the claim on the week end, about two trips up and I lost interest. There were moose tracks everywhere, and bear tracks following them. It was calving time for the moose, and the bear must have been following them expecting to have a warm meal. This could be a long story, but I wont go into all the stuff I did in Alaska, but I didn't dig for gold, we were all carrying guns, I wouldn't put my down, I figured that I had rather go home to Arkansas broke, than to spend eternity in a pile of bear poop with a few gold nuggets.

Well it is 1:30 now, we have had another rain to move through. I have been sitting up with our little dog. He is old and insecure, and maybe afraid of the storms, and wont rest if someone is not close to him. I am in the recliner and Madge and the dog are asleep. Maybe I should go shower while they are sleeping,

Daughter is at the hospital. I think labor is going slowly. Haven't heard anything in the last hour.

We got very little rain. I should go out and water I guess. I am sick of watering.

We have daughter's 2 dogs here. Bentley has bigger feet than Sasquatch and is slightly taller. His tail can swipe things off furniture taller than he is. The other one is slightly smaller than Honey. It makes for quite a zoo.

It will be a very busy week.

I have a flat of mixed pansies and violas, and a dozen mixed dianthus to plant, plus the snapdragons I started. Figures I’ll be working nights most of the week. The snapdragons aren’t ready to go in, so I moved them to where they’ll get more sun. They were in mostly shade so they wouldn’t roast. Lettuce is up but spinach is not.

Work is exhausting right now. Go get your flu shots.

I processed half the basil into pesto this weekend. 5 flat quart bags in the freezer. Might try drying some of it.

dbarron--what is the nursery in Jasper? I want all those plants!

Nice reading your posts, everyone. Dawn, I hope you're feeling back to normal. That MUST have been a whale of a cold. Glad to see you back. Speaking of mums--John went nuts on the mums. Wonder what he'll do when there's no room for anything else next year. lol

I picked our last 2 summer squash today. I'll tear everything except the chile peppers and habanero out in the next few days.

Waiting to hear, Amy! And Rebecca, thanks for the flu shot reminder.

Haha, Larry--that was another good story, your Alaskan adventure. The other one was good, too. Made me think of Grapes of Wrath. But the tractor! What about the tractor? Maybe a good second-hand one? It was very cool here today and windy--but last night it was SUPER windy. No rain, though. Today was terrific weather for mowing. I got almost half the property mowed. And felt like I'd accomplished so much because my floors were clean, as well. I love Roombas! LOL. Oh my, I need to get some of the natives sown for fall planting. Yikes.

I was going to write a nice long post after dinner. But it was a filling dinner and I think I need a nap now. Take care, all!

Nancy, I would love to buy a good used tractor, but so would everyone else. All the regulations on the new tractors have increased the price, and made them a nightmare to work on. There has been so much flooding in the past few years, I am also afraid of getting a tractor that has been under water for a long time. I need at least two reactors running, because I use one to change the implement on the other one. I am too weak and don't get around well enough to do the job like most people do.

I did very little today. I tried to get a spot ready to plant some tender greens, I have an aunt and uncle who love them, I found some seed and plan to plant some for them. We got a pretty good rain last night. I told my neighbor that helps me with the wildlife garden, that I could not sleep last night because of all the noise the turnips were making coming up. I told him that the ground was squeaking loud that I could hear it clear over at my house. He planted the seed and put out fertilizer, so I thought I would joke a little with him about it.

I have been using my right arm too much and it has been hurting a lot, so I think I will go to bed.

Goodnight all.

Any news, Amy?

Nancy, I've enjoyed our loaner Roomba and will buy one soon.

Rebecca, I want to find white violas and pansies. I saw some with what looks like a black center. I want those.

Larry, I wouldn't think you would burn a tractor--I just know that you've been frustrated by them and have talked about their issues often. I'm sorry if you thought I thought you would actually burn one. I was just amused by it the video and it reminded me of you. But, I'm weird. And it was probably dumb that I mentioned it.

I like your Alaska story!

Super tired here. We made hominy. HU was successful.

Work continues to be challenging. It's like I can never be enough for everyone. They always need more. I'm so tired. So very tired.

But, this weather is so lovely. Just need some rain. Just no rain on October 17.

Jennifer, I did not think that you thought I would burn the tractors, they have been a blessing to me, I could not have gotten this far without them. In a way they are like me, old, and worked too hard. I am not through yet, I will get them repaired, buy another one, or just quit gardening. I am so thankful for Madge, she wants me to enjoy all I can while my health hangs on. We have supported each other from the first time we met, and had a lot of fun doing so.

After daylight came and I assessed the dog's water bowl (empty last night), I would guess we got perhaps .3 inches. Sure better than nothing, and there's another chance on forecast in a week, plus all this week highs in the 60s. I put a blanket on the bed, just in case.
My plants referenced this morning, arrived, all were slightly larger than I expected (good).I was slightly mystified at bud break on the aronia, but decided it was the result of the grower cutting back late in the season. Slightly concerned about the incipient new growth, but I'm confident the plant will survive.

Amy, congrats!

Congratulations Amy!

Nancy, the seller is 'dogwooderitternet'. The plants are definitely starter size, but I enjoy watching them grow. Amy get some sleep! :)

Hi Everyone. You all must be very busy. Amy, you've certainly had an eventful week.

Not much to report on the garden. I watered the kitchen garden yesterday. That's it.

I need to water the front flower beds and the side flower beds tonight. However, we must shop for Ethan's wedding clothing tonight too. He leaves the state for 2 weeks tomorrow morning and will be back the day before the rehearsal dinner. Hopefully we can get the clothing purchased and be back in time to water tonight.

I do feel hopeful about our elderberry plants. Lori over at the FB group helped me out a lot. Who knew they were so finicky? I didn't.

Atwoods had cauliflower, kale, arugula, lettuce, brussels sprouts, and cabbage. If anyone wants those and lives near Norman. I only bought a few violas and pansies. They had the white ones I was looking for.

We are continuing to put up food. I did 3 bags of okra yesterday.

OH! I tried those Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck winter squash on Monday. I have a vegetarian chili recipe. One of the ingredients is butternut. The PDCN tastes similar to Seminole and Butternut. I like that recipe. You can use a lot of garden food in it--onions, garlic, winter squash, peppers, and black beans (if I had had them canned and ready). Apparently everyone liked it because there were no leftovers. HU ate dinner with us too. I fried up a bit of hamburger meat for the guys. Honestly, though, if you use an immersion blender for a few seconds, it gives the chili a texture that is meat-like without the actual meat. But, I make the meat anyways....but not much of it.

I'm considering leaving early. I have stuff to do but nothing pressing for today. Trunk or Treat is around the corner. If you're friends with me on FB, you might have seen a news story that I shared. Our organization is at the end of the short story and my "boss" is interviewed. He said they cut out most of it. I'm so glad I wasn't here when the news people showed up and he did the interview instead. LOL.

Normally, T or T is a huge job, but this year it will be completely different and that is a little stressful. I've managed enough of the "regular" ones over the years, I can plan them with my eyes closed. But not this one. It's that type of year.

It's supposed to be hot today and then cool again. I saw on the news last night that this is the 10th coolest September on record.

I had the other side of my back done today, so I earned the right to chill out the rest of the day. Waiting on pizza delivery now.

One of the kids on the salad boxes broke, looks like something fell on it. But of course, it let a squirrel in, who had a field day. There was half a red tomato on the ground next to it, so I hope Fatboy enjoyed his salad. This weekend I’ll move it to another box, or just put the bag of soil on the ground and cover it with the bottom of the box.

I‘m bringing in lots of tomatoes every week. Still. I hope the big ones ripen before we freeze. The eggplant is pushing out more fruit, but several have. BER. I need to remove those. And okra is carrying on.

I need to dig the daffodils in the porch flower bed before I plant the pansies. How long are they ok out of the ground? I’m giving them to someone for her yard. Is it even the right time to divide them yet?

Yes Rebecca, hurry before they start rooting (then it's difficult/too late/cause setback). If they aren't rooted, maybe a couple of weeks..though it's always best to be out of ground less.

Your post reminded me, Jennifer. I used to have fun making vegetarian chili without telling people it didn't have meat in it. It totally worked on my son--and my quilting buddies--had so much chunky stuff in it. I think I'll make up a big batch and freeze leftovers. Speaking of food, I am in a rut. Need some ideas for dinners. Tonight we'll have chicken fried hamburger steak. But I'm having a hard time coming up with stuff. Happens every now and then.

I was out for a while today, It's cool. Yesterday it was 80-ish--PERFECT day on the lake. We just got the boat back after it had been gone to the repair place for 2 months. (He's a great boat repair guy, and the number of boats at his place testified to that.) He warned us when we called him that it would probably be about that long. Oh my, it runs like a new boat. We had no idea what bad shape it was in.

Yes, September WAS cool. So weird, kind of that it was so hot, so hot, then suddenly not. I hope we have some nice days in October for being on the lake (and it looks promising.)

I made a donation to Save Our Monarchs and got 100(! LOL) packs of asclepias syriaca. I'd be happy to send you a pack or 2 or 3 if you'll let me know.

Thank you, dbarron. I don't think I ended up with any of the plants you named--I got Chionanthus virginicus, Aralia spinosa, Viburnum trilobum, and Clethra Summer Sparkler; I'll share the clethra and viburnum trilobum with Lincoln.

Amy, I was trying to imagine what a thrill a new baby would be--and I'm so SORRY you can't visit!

Gotta run--there are tasks to be done outdoors!

I love my fringe tree...just wish it bloomed at least twice a year (lol). I hope you're happy with your whips (that's the word for that size that I couldn't remember) when you get them.

I planted the fall flowering witch hazel along the house foundation...then realized it's not the 6 foot max of the ozark witchhazel, but 15-30..and I need to relocate it I guess :( Fun fun.

Aralia spinosa is neat looking..but kinda wicked (be careful with siting).
I have two species of viburnum in the yard (arrowwood and blackhaw), so I'm good there ;0 and clethra hasn't seemed awful happy to grow for me..must not like my soggy clay.

Rats--it IS wicked-sounding. Guess I best not plant it at the school!

Yeah, probably not...however, I do believe in learning by experiences. An encounter with an aralia could certainly be a learning experience!

We need LOLs here.

Rats again. I just lost my post. It was mostly blather, anyway. It had come to my attention that I haven't taken any photos of veggie garden for quite some time--and now would not be the time to do it. I'm trying to decide whether to tear everything out or whether to wait for a freeze, One or other other I guess.

I decided I'm a butterfly farmer. That's about the only thing I have pictures of. Which reminds me--when we were at the lake on Wednesday, we saw app, 20 Monarchs making their way across the lake one by one. I would love to see the clouds of them that others do, but even 20 over, say, a 10-minute span, was fun. Do any of the rest of you see hordes?

Surreal morning here. Neither of us slept well--it was cold when we got up, so we put robes on; then I saw that the president and first lady had tested positive for Covid. Praying they don't get very sick--we certainly wouldn't want that in addition to everything else in 2020. So GDW and I spent most of the morning napping. But now that I have Roomba, I can say I vacuumed every day or so and it makes me feel like I accomplished something.

I also got all containers watered and spotted a new butterfly I hadn't seen before.

And that's about that. Have a super good weekend, everyone!

Nancy, I would enjoy seeing your pictures. When I was doing my "walk-a-round this morning, I thought that I should take some pictures also. My pictures wont look as nice as yours, but I like to take pictures from time to time just so I can see how the plants are progressing, or dying. I dont have much growing of the summer stuff, I need to harvest roselle and peppers, then in 2 or three weeks I will have pumpkins ready. I am happy with the pumpkins, although I lost all that were not protected by the electric fence. I did get a few Seminole to produce on a trellis, there may be as many as 24 on the trellis. The only thing I can figure is that the deer liked eating from the ground, or something other than deer were eating them.

The stuff I planted in the south garden is doing pretty well, but much to thick. I need to thin and feed it. I have two more rows and the sweet potato area empty now and need to plant something in those area. It may have to be a cover crop, because I dont need anything else, although I never did get a good stand on carrots or beets.

I am so excited about my cotton. It is over 4’ and so many bolls. The best plant has 4-6 per branch. I just have to wait for the first frost/freeze. I will always grow a plant or two. It is so pretty next to my roselle

I goofed... I forgot I planted cotton.... and pulled the seedlings out in a weeding frenzy... LOL

Moni

We got to meet the baby in person yesterday. He was a big baby, but he's still tiny. That is always so amazing. And you realize how quickly they grow. He has big (for a baby) feet and hands. I expect a tall, husky man. Thanks, all, for congrats.

We went to Margaret's last night to celebrate our anniversary. Margaret's is a German restaurant and I love their goulash.

My hand has been cramping. I came to the conclusion I have been out so much this week the cane I use when out has worn out my hand. I don't use a cane in the house, but apparently I used it a lot this week.

I have accomplished nothing in the garden. Thinking about harvesting sweet potatoes.

I really don't care about anything still growing except for flowers. We have brassica plants that need to be planted. And the pansies. I put a pic on FB of the turmeric blooming. I have an ornamental Ginger that Nancy gave me for my birthday 2 years ago. It refuses to bloom. Never expected the turmeric to bloom.

I am mostly just tired.

I am resisting looking up dbarron's Arkansas connection. My witch hazel has survived this season. I remember I wanted aronia. But did I decide I didn't have the right spot for it? I also looked at fringe tree. I can't find a blackhaw, on a waiting list.

Vegetarian chili. My husband would have a cow. It would have to be called vegetable soup, chili would bring up a whole different set of expectations.

The cotton is interesting, but what is this cotton disease I have to worry about with okra? Saw that on FB. And sorry about the seedlings Moni. Ron is not allowed to weed out anything but grass. He does not recognize seedlings. Sometimes I forget, too.

I have not heard about that Disease for okra from cotton. I will look that up. This cotton came from SHPC.

Please make sure you see the other note in the Oklahoma forum that Dawn's son Chris posted. :( :( :( :( (and about 1000 more)

dbarron.... that's right... Oh my gosh... I am sitting here in shock.

Moni

She’d had that cold...but maybe it was something else?

I'm near tears...and one of my thoughts was she'll never get to enjoy her new landscape...*sigh*
Yes, Rebecca that's what I'm thinking..I asked..but dunno if Chris will ever come back.
Ok, that did it..tears now.

At least she didn’t have to ever give up gardening.

Whatever will Tim do?

I know several hundred hearts in Oklahoma are breaking now.

That's right Nancy!

And Texas

Dawn will certainly leave a void in our lives. Even those of us who never actually met her feel we knew Dawn and her family. I think we all felt if we had a question that Dawn would always know the answer. It’s a hard reminder that none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow and we need to live each day to the fullest. Although my first response was we can’t do GW without her I also feel she would want us to continue.