I hope so Jen. I can’t get out in this heat. And I have so much to do besides gardening. Garden wise cucumbers are bitter but chickens don’t care. Mint is barely hanging in there. Trees are all completely leafless. Elderberries are coming back. Tomatoes are hanging in there. Texas star hibiscus was a treat for grasshoppers last year but this year must have produced something to make it unappealing. It’s putting on a beautiful show. It’s supposed to be red but I don’t mind the pink too. I have three empty pots to plant fall crops. Not sure but I do want cabbage and carrots. Forecast next week looks promising.

That's my hope but I'd like to know what the outlook is for Sept.

Grasshoppers done nubbed down my fall green beans and winter squash so I guess that's out.

Still waiting for the okra to get it in gear. When it's too hot and dry for okra that's pretty bad.

I hope I can at least get some cool season greens , turnips and rutabaga going after it cools down a little ( and stays that way.....)

Rick

Jen, thanks for starting the thread.

I just came in from the gardening. some of the peppers and tomatoes are looking better, but I can't see any fruit-set. I brought in 2 tomatoes, and saw some peppers I could bring in, okra needs to be picked, but will save that for the kids who are supposed to come over today.

I am disappointed in the wildlife garden. I really think we have too much to care for, the coons are eating all of our cantaloupe, and it seems as though we are just keeping the soil torn up to cause erosion. I am thinking that I will just tear up more of neighbors soil so he can increase his garden and turn the wildlife garden back into grass and grain for the wildlife. I have been planting a lot of turnips over there to have for friends and neighbors, but few people will stop and pick them. I can grow all we need at the house. While my health holds up I can keep food plots in the pasture, hoping to improve the pasture, I dont have the money to improve all of it, and it seems as the kids dont have an interest in it, it just cost too much money, and requires too work to keep a place up properly. While a person is young and has a job it is much easier to build up a future, but when you are old the future is already hear.

If I can get to it I will spray the fence line today or tomorrow, and get a few seeds planted. I also need to water today. Does anyone out there ever get caught up?

Larry , no such thing as getting caught up.

watering is all I'm doing right now. till it cools off

Rick

Since I'm new to cucumbers, I'm guessing my plants are done as they're not producing much.

But I'm wondering what this is on the leaves .......... aphids or scale ?

outlook for the next couple of weeks looks good. May cool season fall plantings begin.

Rick

Lynn, that looks like aphids to me. In fact, that's exactly what happens to my cantaloupe once they start to take off. The aphids just come in by the millions. Ant hills below the plant are another tell tale sign. They will eat the honeydew that the aphids suck out of the plant.

I can remember a life without fire ants and armadillos in this part of the country, but I cant remember past aphids,I think they have been here longer than I have. and I dont ever remember seeing just a few.

The kids were here and left with a good pile of veggies.

Madge is butchering a watermelon and a few cantaloupes, then we will go find the few cattle and feed the rinds to them.

I will have to water this evening, most everything is wilted.

I forgot to post pic of Texas star hibiscus

Beautiful flowers, Kim!

I did a little cleanup yesterday morning. Got all the dead leaves off the tomatoes, pulled everything that looked done in. Then planted a bunch of cucumber seeds. Because, well, why not? I have empty space, and they're all old seed so I might as well use them up. Think I may plant lettuce & carrots next weekend. Need to clear all the weeds from the circle bed out front & maybe fill with pea seeds. If they grow, great. If not, they'll make good compost. But my goal this winter is to prep that for planting next spring. I don't know what all I want in it yet, I know some sort of small tree or shrub. My dad has some dogwood saplings he wants to get rid of so I may try getting one later this fall.

Jen, I dont have good luck with Dogwood if they are not in a protected area. I dont have good soil, but I pretty much have to plant Dogwood under other trees of up close to the house where they get a lot of shade.

I did get my watering done this evening, and, Rick, my okra looks ready to really kick into gear, what kind of okra did you plant? I have been picking okra every other day, but today is the first day we have picked over 6 pods off of the newer row, I have 2 rows 22' long of Heavy Hitter.

Clemson Splineless and Red Burgundy .

I tried Heavy Hitter a couple of years ago. It wasn't so heavy for me , about like Clemson.

Over at Jennifer's we planted Becks Big Buck and Clemson Splineless and it's not hardly a foot tall and just making a few pods here and there. I was reading the thread just below about okra not producing and according to what Dawn was saying the okra may have gotten stunted when planting earlier while it was still a little cool and wet.. I remember having to replant about half of it.

Rick

I think that the only problem I have ever had with okra, was it getting too tall and hard to pick. I use to grow Clemson Spinless nearly every year, and I think Heavy Hitter came from Clemson parentage.

I would like to try Big Buck okra, and would like to try velvet okra again. I think I tried Green Velvet several years ago, not sure, anyway the okra was long and skinny.

I tried Cowhorn okra one year, I liked it, except it just got too tall, my tallest plant was over 14', it is just too much work to pick okra like that.

A problem I am going to have this year is, I did not thin properly. I was afraid I would lose some plants, so only lightly thinned. I also dont have a lot of faith in my seed saving ability. With the okra being close it will make it harder to find the pods, plus by the end of the growing season the okra will be too tall anyway.

Lynn, there's time to get some fall cucumbers planted. I put seed in a couple of days ago.

Larry, in my garden aphids and ants go hand-in-hand. I know they don't in everyone's garden, but if I see ants busily running up and down plants--yep. There's aphids.

Kim, those flowers are BEAUTIFUL!

Jen, maybe it will soon be cool enough to enjoy your garden clean up.

Today is not it though. Wow. It was 90 before 10. Tuesday and Saturday are still my days off, so I got out early and did some watering. Found 3 hornworms and drove them to the haunted house. Even went to get a Coke Zero. I love those things especially when it's so hot outside. Not good for me, but taste so good.

I've been comparing our okra with people who are having success with it. The people I know who are having good harvests planted EARLIER than normal. Not later. Earlier than I would think is wise. Those plants were already up to a decent size, so the little bit of rain we got in June and before, were nourishing to them instead of stunting tiny seedlings or rotting seeds. Then it got so hot and dry.

It's odd for sure.

Cowpeas are in the same situation.

I put tomatoes in several different areas out here. I like that. Sometimes things will do well in one area and not so well in others. Maybe that is something I should try with other things like okra and peas. Honestly 10 healthy okra plants give enough produce for us.

Other than thinking about herbs for next year, I'm thinking about a couple of other things too.

I'm wondering if a determinate sauce tomato would be the way to go. Maybe even determinate tomatoes for canning diced tomatoes. The Jet Setters and Jet Stars make such good diced tomatoes, though. And they're not bad for fresh eating.

Also, thinking of elderberries and how I can help them be healthier. I'm wondering if they get too much sun. IF I could plant a small tree in strategic places around the elders, maybe having extra shade and/or dappled light would be helpful. Does anyone have suggestions for a good smallish native tree that likes the sun.

Last night I was weary of only watering, so started working on my herb spiral. I like it. It only has the base layer, but it's nice. It's possible it's oriented in the wrong direction. For some reason in the northern hemisphere, it should be oriented clockwise. From what I understand, the lowest part of the spiral should face the north. I get very confused with this type of thing. I made it by using my feelings. So, maybe it's wrong. Either way, I'm sure it will be fine.

It was a workout, though. Pulling up the blocks and carrying them to the spiral. I was a sweaty mess.

I'm about to make hot pepper/peach BBQ sauce, although sitting feels so nice.

H/J ........ I won't be planting fall cucumbers. We've got more jars of pickles and cucumbers to make more than we can deal with. Should have enough dill and bread/butter pickles to last till January, if they don't go bad first.

My next project is get the garden tilled and my winter cover planted.

I was confused about my Texas star hibiscus. Last year it was all red. This year some are pink. I guess it is a hybrid. So happy my peph are making. They are under cover so grasshoppers don’t get them. I need fresh dill and I keep forgetting to plant it.

I need to pay more to my gardens, this is a hard time of the year for me, it seems as though I am tired, and my gardens are tired also. I have 3 or cucumbers that need to be tied to the trellis now, I expect they will be battling insects all their life, I have a very healthy bunch of grasshoppers, the rabbits are not doing to bad either.

I planted 2 rows of rutabagas yesterday. I have only grown them one time before, they did very well, but that has been about 20 years ago when I had better garden soil. I have 2 rows of peas that look pretty good, two rows with a lot of skips in them. peppers are still not producing much, nothing of any size.

I hope to plant some turnips, collards and mustard in the house garden, I hope to plant some of the same, plus a few other things in the wildlife garden. I hope to plant a food plot with rye and people food also, but I am going to need help. My youngest son says he wants to learn to use the tractor, so the food plots may be a job for him.

I need to go water, i think I will have to do that often if i get the rutabagas to germinate.

I got plans for fall plantings turning in my head with this cold front coming.

Bring it on I say.. Today is suppose to be the last 100* day. Good riddens.

I'm starting out with planting out rutabaga and some of the turnips.

I'll replant a row of green beans , maybe even plant a couple of rows of red kidney shell beans since I got the seed.

Think I'll plant some more summer squash , yellow straight neck , maybe some more patty pan.

It's too late for winter squash now. I tried earlier but the grasshoppers nubbed it down.

Thinking about beets , carrots , kohlrabi ,....

I'll wait till Sept before planting any greens. last thing thing I'll plant out is spinach and mustard.

I'd like to know for the outlook is for Sept.

https://www.almanac.com/power-veggies

Rick

Yes, good riddance to the 100-degree days for sure.

It's raining a mile to my north. It's not here, but I can feel the slight coolness coming in.

I begged my elders to hold on just a few more hours. They are so tired and over it.

Something ate the broccoli seedlings in the hoop house. I suspect it was a grasshopper. I found one and killed it.

It was over 100 here today. We had an appointment in Van Buren , it was 94 when we left there, went to lunch, then home where it was 100, got a little hotter later.

I am feeding critters in my sweet potatoes. I go out to water them, I place a low stool out in the vines and sit spray with a hand held spray device, like we have to do, two times I have had a rabbit bounce out from near my feet, sometimes that can make your heart skip a beat. You might guess that I have a fear of snakes, that is most often what I think of.

We got rain last night, and a cloudy misty day, had no run-off, and the moisture did not go very deep, but every little bit helps.

I tied my cucumbers up on their trellis, I have 5 small vines. I planted more straight neck squash seeds, and planted more Egyptian walking onions. I don't know why I fool with planting more EW onions, I already have more than I need. I took out some dead tomato plants, I should take out all the tomatoes, they will never produce enough to pay the water bill, and I could plant cole crops along the trellises. I also ripped more treated boards to use on trellises. I try to keep material here at the house that I can use to make a lot of the things that I need.

I fell today while picking my okra. I try to make my trellises strong enough to use as hand rails also, because I am unstable on my feet, but that row of okra is planted in a new area and I have not put a trellis in that area yet. Anyway, that row of okra looks like a buffalo ran through it. The ground was damp and the mulch was thick where I fell, and my pride was the only thing that was damaged.

Larry I so wish I was your neighbor. I could garden with you and make sure you are okay. I fall too though so that might not work. I made sure my space doesn’t have anything that would hurt me.

Thanks, kim, that is a nice thought, but I do pretty well, I just have to take my time. I am so slow that it normally takes me all day to fall down, but I was faster than that today.

I am going over to the wildlife garden this afternoon, I need to till 3 spots, 2 more for turnips, and 1 for collards, then another spot at neighbors for more turnips. I will do some brush hogging in the neighbors garden also. I think turnips will go in neighbors, I would be embarrassed to tell you how many pounds of turnip seeds we have bought.

Hi.

It's been really busy at work. I'm pretty tired.

Other than watering, we have another 3 rows of planted beans. Rick came out last night and tilled up the pitiful fall corn. It just couldn't take that last really hot day. It's funny (not in a haha way) how plants can/will take so many super hot days and then one day it's just one too many and they die.

Especially when there's a lack of rain.

IF we get that rain on Sunday, it will be a game changer.

If we don't....I just don't know. The cracks in the property are getting wider and wider.

I've been working on the herb spiral. It doesn't look great right now and I've run out of blocks, so I'm looking for about 16 more blocks. I think it will be pretty when it's planted. I would rather have natural stone, but can't afford it. I'll try to come back with a picture.

That's about it for me.

Oh Jennifer how cute is that going to be.

That stone spiral has given me some great ideas on how to make use of a stack of circular landscape stones. Right now they are collecting black widows and scorpions. Anybody want to come out and fight of the spiders for me? I hate those things.

Jennifer, that sure is cute, but I would sure hate to try to till that. I agree about liking the natural stone, this part of the country is just eaten up with rock. There is a town a few miles away called Rock Island, Oklahoma, there are rock quarries all around this area. Rock use to be cheap, but those days are gone.

I have all of the fall tilling done now, except the food plots I am putting in. Neighbor is going to try to have all the fall stuff plant in a day or two. I brush hogged the pumpkin patch yesterday, it will have to cut up with the disc before it is tilled, but I may not have time to do that, I have another hospital trip planned for next week, depending on what is done, I may be down for a month. I expect that Madge or my daughter will shoot me in the foot if I start walking toward a tiller or tractor.

We are already getting more okra than we need, I would like to find some way to use it, but Madge and I are both getting to the point that we don't want to do a lot, and she does not want to freeze as much this year.

Hwy20, I would spray those stones, I don't like Black Widows or scorpions.

Kim, I am feeding your grasshoppers very well, but I will need to send them home before frost, because I wont have enough food to overwinter them.

I see on the computer that storms may be pushed this way. I hope we don't get a flash flood like we did earlier in the year, with all the ground I have tilled we wont have any soil left.

It looks like everyone but me is busy, but I do need to get out and plant something. I notice that the rutabaga I planted earlier this week is coming up, I think I will plant more of it. I have some extra space, beets may be a good thing to toss in it, even if it is a little early. I may take out some tomatoes, they are not sitting fruit, so may as well toss in a few collard or mustard seeds.

Jen, it you will give me your address I will send you some sunflower seed, they are coming up in the area where I tilled them in ( rutabaga area ), if you don't have seed to trade, that is fine.

Thanks, Kim. I'm hoping it will be cute. I have a vision of how the kitchen garden will look next year. I'm going to make another bed a bit narrower and use it for flowers instead of veggies. I'm scraping the pole beans for a while and will try another viney veggie/fruit. Perhaps that Kajari melon.

Larry, I was busy today. Got morning chores and my workout done this morning. Drove to Edmond to a baby shower, came home, rested for an hour, fed everyone and met friends for dinner at a Caribbean restaurant.

On our way home we noticed wet roads and puddles about a mile from our house. But, guess what? Nothing at our house. Crazy they had such a nice rain a mile or so away.

Also, Larry, sorry about your hospital trip....and the instructions to be still. I know that's not easy for you.

My facebook memory today is from 4 years ago. I had a foot injury and couldn't go to the garden or anywhere really. So frustrating, right? My feet haven't been the same since.

But month for you is such long time.

Be praying for rain, everyone. I'm sitting here falling asleep.

I’m gonna get it!!! Finally !!!

We are hoping for some rain also.

I busted up some ground that I had already tilled, some of the ground was too hard to get much depth on the tillers, but neighbor does not like to use the cultivator ( which I think is needed ), but he did ask me to come back with my John Deere, which had over 2 times the horse power as our smaller tractors. I tore up 3 of our gardens deep enough to make good beds. I then took neighbor several pounds of mustard, kale, turnip, and radish seeds to plant. I have a push type planter, but cant walk well enough to use it, so neighbor was going to finish the planting. One of our patches will be for a guy that is building a zoo at Greenwood AR., he has some critters that like turnips. The zoo owner has had trouble getting food for his animals since covid hit.