Still not sure if my last 2 posts are showing up for anyone but me. i am on my phone now..

this is funny and where my son lives.

I'm seeing your last two posts, but not the original one before that.

Okay. I'm going to copy/paste my post from 6 hours ago. Here it is:

Cucumbers are lacking at my house this year.

Tomatoes are not.

Maybe they'll pick it up. Maybe I'll have a good fall crop.

I spent a couple of hours watering last night and killing squash bugs and smashing their eggs too.

So far, the other Seminole plants haven't died. Still no blossoms, but a FB memory from 2019 came up for me yesterday and there were no blooms on those plants on July 1 either and I still got an amazing harvest of pumpkins. Fingers crossed.

The pickled okra we ate last weekend was pickled and canned last year and it was still very crisp. I got the recipe. It is an old family recipe that includes grape leaves for crispness. But, she said that she did not add them in this batch because she didn't have any. I've read that adding grape leaves to fermenting foods helps with crispness too. As does black tea.

I've only done refrigerator stuff this year--pickled onions and pickled pepperoncini. They're both very crisp and very delicious.

I want to pickle garlic next. I only did two jars last year--one for me and one for mom. It went fast.

And I've only fermented a couple of jars of kraut.

Larry, the Sonny Boy tomatoes are very pretty and very tasty. I put a picture of them on FB.

Garden plans for the day....maybe watering a few things. I have work to do indoors like laundry and cleaning.

Rick and I are canning potatoes on Thursday so I'll need to get jars ready too.

I found a hen down this morning. She is in my bathroom right now. I'm about to go clean her up and check her out. This has happened to her a few times over the years, but she's getting older now. She was in the first batch of chicks that ever hatched from our own eggs. That was the year that only female chicks hatched. I got lucky. Her name is Jorie and she's very sweet. In fact, I think she hatched from Sweetie Pie's egg. She was destined to be sweet. Sweetie Pie was indeed sweet and my rooster, Jean Luc Picard, is a good rooster.

The chickens are fine other than being too hot. Egg production is down a little. I have two broody hens--the two bantams.

If you work outside today, be careful of the heat. Take breaks in the shade and drink lots of water.

Jennifer we have friends who live near Seattle, they were here when we were only in high 80’s - couldnt believe we went outside and worked in that heat.

😂😂All depends on what you are accustomed to. I grew up without even a fan for years then when I was in high school we got a water cooler, or swamp cooler as some called it. It barely cooled off one room but we thought it was wonderful. I’m trying to keep a few plants alive until temps drop back into 90’s next week. Thanks to everyone for the advice on starting seeds - right now I’ve just been trying to keep heat, deer, and coons from finishing off what I have. Think I will keep watered, feed, and hope for the best. I purchased Neem oil which I have never used before, do you spray it on or mix and water around base of plant for best results? I have read about using it both ways. My PEPH peas have aphids galore but I want to wait until ladybugs show up if possible - I have knocked them off with water spray but think they enjoy the shower!

Have a safe 4th - We’ll be home on fire watch from fireworks - already had several small incidents in the area.

Glenda

So apparently I was on the last thread and Larry now we’re having a great talk about the fact that I am possibly getting a one legged duck this weekend. He is getting picked on and beaten up by his group and so I thought I would rescue him and he would come here and be spoiled and eat lots of grasshoppers. If it doesn’t work out I do have a back up plan my nephew has all the birds at his house and a pond as well so we will see. I’m looking forward to having another little critter around here and if he works for his keep that’s even better.

Glenda, be very careful with Neem. It will burn your plants. I actually did use it this year. BUT, I shook the aphids off the plants and then sprayed them while they were on the ground and not the plants. It did work, tho. This time anyways. Someone said they have to ingest it, but it seemed to kill them on contact in my case.

Kim, I'm pretty sure that I saw your post on a FB group. I've sorta avoided those lately, tho, because of the fangirl stuff, so didn't recognize it was YOU.

I love that you're gonna give the little guy a chance.

I have a chicken in my bathroom right now due to an injury.

My post from this morning didn't show up even when I tried do copy/paste it again. I wonder if I've used a word or something that causes that. I can't figure it out.

The things I talked about have changed up slightly, but I'm too hot and tired to retype it all. And who knows if this post will show up.

Jennifer, you have me beat, your Sonny Boy plants and okra both are ahead of mine. My largest Sonny Boy tomato may be as much as an inch in diameter, and I have a few buds on my okra, but I did not see any blooms. My plants look okay, but most are too close together.

My Knuckle Purple hulls are behind also.

Kim, I worked with a guy that told a funny story about a duck that he had. His kids got two baby ducks at Easter, one of the ducks died not long after they got it, so they let the other duck stay in the back yard with the dog. He said that the duck really took up with that dog, even sleeping in the doghouse with the dog. When they had company the dog and duck would run to the corner of the yard. where they could see the driveway, and both dog and duck would stand there and bark. He told me that the duck never learned to sound like the dog, but it sure tried.

It would be nice if Sophie was nice to the duck. We will see how she behaves. I start off not trusting her at all but with kittens she’s very motherly. Chickens she wanted to eat them.

Hang in there, cool down on the way Friday and next week also ...........

Oklahoma Mesonet

Kim, I sorta agree with Sophie, I think that I had rather eat chicken also, but I don't remember ever eating a kitten. I think that in most cases dogs are gentle with about with anything you want them to be gentle with, but we has a little Yorkie that hated anything with 4 legs, and a lot of things with 2 legs, he would even try to chase the birds that flew over the yard.

My largest tomatoes so far. I do not try to grow large tomatoes, I have seldom had a pretty, large tomato, the larger the tomato is, the uglier it is. A 2.5" diameter on a tomato is fine for slicing, smaller tomatoes work great in salads and for frying.

Lynn, I am ready for a cool down, this old man is a wimp. This weather makes my clothes wet.

My Roma tomatoes are starting to ripen, they seem slow this year, but everything else is also.

I like the roma tomato for frying, they seen to taste better and are bite size, and dont reach the mushy stage as quickly.

Ok, help me out. Dawn used to talk about spraying something on her tomatoes right before a cool snap to help them bloom. Anyone remember what it was? I have a couple of plants that don't look to be too stressed out, so it seems like they might benefit by getting something to boost productivity.

Jen I do remember Dawn spraying some sort of bloom booster but I cannot remember what it was.

Oh Larry when I lived in Quitaque at the slaughterhouse and Sophie mostly just ran free she often would come home with a bird for breakfast

I don't remember what Dawn said, but I do remember going out and buying Bloom Booster fertilizer made by Miracle Gro, and spraying my tomatoes because of a remark that Dawn said. Dawn may have talked about Dr. Earth version of this product, I think that she mentioned DR. Earth a lot, but at the time I did find DR. earth as often as I found Miracle Gro. I think both products were low N, and higher P & K., and I am sure they had other elements in the package also.

I don't recall Dawn spraying a booster, but she used Super Bloom . I recall because I bought some that I still have. Back then, however, it was made by Green Light. Scotts bought Green Light's formula.

Anybody know anything about ' Heat Wave " tomatoes?

I just bought 3 HW plants from Lowes.

Suppose to take the heat and keep producing.

Any good or suck or what ...?

Just trying to come up with something for the fall.

Aside , my sweet corn failed , got too hot too early right when it was starting to make ears and it's just burning up in spite of watering. Corn won't pollinate when it's too hot.

Considering fall corn which I've tried before but failed also from the lingering heat into the fall ( and grass hoppers , ...(and the earworms are worse then too)).

OSU guide says July 15 for fall sweet corn planting.

Rick

Rick I haven’t heard of those. I have grown Porter improved since 2011. They have naturalized at this point. They are twice as big as the original and they produce non stop until first freeze.

Rick, I tried Heat wave one year, I could not tell that it was any better than some of the others. I only tried it the one year, you may have better luck than I did.

I have never done great with late sweet corn either, I have never tried field corn.

I have started my backup watering system, it sure is a lot more work.

Rick I start most of my own tomato plants and share with several. This year my brother brought me a Heatwave plant in exchange. It had a nice sized tomato but has already cratered due to heat and spider mites, but so have some other varieties - maybe it will perform better in Fall

My cucumbers never produced. Too hot and dry. They got diseased and never recovered. Tomatoes in the greenhouse have done fairly well and are winding down now.

The tomatoes in the garden are nowhere as productive being stunted from all the early rain , broadmites and now grasshoppers.

I've been picking okra for a couple weeks. It's finally getting tall enough I don't have to bend over as far. Being 6 ft tall has disadvantages when it comes to be d bending over.looks like I stuttered there. Lol.

I'm not going to baby anything in the garden. Our water department decided to jack the prices up. It $47 before I use any water and goes up from there.

Happy 4th!

We're not really doing anything like a party today. Rick and I will be canning potatoes instead.

Normally it gets pretty loud out here with all the fireworks. This year I was smart and got some medication for our dog from the vet.

You know, when I look for properties to purchase in the Edmond area, I always look for ones with wells. We have a well now and I like it. Is it possible to add a well to an existing house or property? Can you put one on a property that's in a "normal" neighborhood? I really just have no idea. How expensive? Our tax guy (he's sort of a doomsday prepper) says we need to get a hand pump.

We wouldn't be able to keep our gardens going if we didn't have a well. I would have to choose a few things to keep alive and let the rest go.

I ate the first okra pod. Clemson Spineless. It's not fancy but it's a favorite. We saved seed from last year. Lots and lots of seed. Also seed from Beck's Big Buck.

Kim, we have at least of couple of Porters in the SG. They remind me of Juliet in how they are loaded with fruit. Unfortunately, they're getting overlooked right now because of all of the large slicing types that are so big and pretty. Many of them have been nearly a lb. However, once the big ones fizzle out, the Porter will probably keep going. I'm going to make pico de gallo for our lunch with family tomorrow. I'll use those Porters for that.

I do finally see a blossom on the Seminole vines.

I think I mentioned in the post that wouldn't show up, how a FB memory a couple of days ago, showed Seminole vines from 2019. They didn't have blossoms either and went on to produce well. Just gotta keep the pests from destroying them.

I have jars soaking so I'm off to get those washed up now.

I have been out watering from the water company, at this phase I can "hand held" water every other day, but the next phase is no outside watering at all.

I have a 330 gallon tote in the back of the truck now, but I think that I will swap it out for a 275 gallon, I really don't like the extra weight in the back of the truck, plus the taller tote catches more wind, and that truck burns enough gas even without any extra weight on it.

I need to mulch and stake some peppers and tomatoes today. I am not looking forward to being out in the heat, but I am trying my luck at keeping a supply of peppers and tomatoes up till frost.

Our cabinet is loaded with produce. The kids took all the produce Sunday afternoon to give to friends and extended families. I ask Madge to text Emmy and tell her that we are out of room again, she will be over this afternoon to haul the produce away.

HJ, not sure about putting a well in a residential area, but yes you can add a well to a property. I don't know what permits you need, but estimate about $10 K, or at least that was what I got quoted a couple years ago.

Still weeding that big circle bed. Some of the zinnia, partridge pea, gaillardia, verbena, and sunflowers came up, but there are still a few empty spots. So I dumped a couple of those cheap 'butterfly mix ' boxes of seed out. I forget where they came from, but even if I get 25% germination I'll be happy.

HJ, I see your last post about the Porters. I like them too. They usually do keep going until thry freeze. They were’t Dawn’s favorite, though. She didn’t love the flavor. I like them in salads. I thought I had a Porter planted this year, but it may be a mismarked Fourth of July. Definitely not making Porter shaped fruit.

Jen, are you still trying to sell, or did plans change?

I have tried a few of the heat set tomatoes. Never found any to be impressed with. They may do a little bit better in heat, but I haven’t found that they fight disease any better. I have one Phoenix plant that has been battling fungus and spider mites since I planted it in April, and is almost naked at this point, except for where it’s coming back from the roots. I haven’t decided if I’m going to let it grow yet. I really prefer swapping out declining tomatoes for fresh plants for fall. My usual varieties taste better too.

Larry, I’m afraid to look at my next water bill too. Last one was only slightly elevated, but the next one might send me into heart failure.

I was thinking the other day (while impregnating the cucumbers), wondering if this would be one of the years when Dawn would just walk away from the garden, because of the heat and water bill. That, and I know she would have been busy with tornado recovery work. Probably sharing produce with people too.

I have 4 more replacement tomato plants to go in this weekend. Glad it’s going to be cooler. Two of the ones I put in a week ago don’t look strong, even though I shaded them and soaked them well. I’ve planted a couple fresh cucumbers too. Okra hasn’t started producing yet, nor have the pole beans. There are fresh bush beans soaking to go in too.

Dawn used a bloom booster fertilizer. Which one, I don’t know. Ive already treated all the plants that are capable of blooming. I’ll be out rattling cages starting tomorrow.

I have not talked to anyone about a well in 10 years of more, but when I checked on a well it was expected to cost around $3500.00, but the cost can vary a lot by how much work you do your self. At the time I checked the charge was around $!4.00 per foot drilling cost, plus how much casing you need, what diameter well you want, what type of pump you want, and who does the pump work. A friend whom I dont see often owns, or did own Hard Rock Drilling co., and at the time I talked with him, he told me that he was putting in a few solar systems, which were a little expensive. I would expect that the cost would depend on where you live and what you want. In some areas you have to go deep for water, on my place I have 2 wells, the deepest is 60 feet deep, but the water is not good, if I were to use the water for the house I would need an good filtering system.

Rebecca, I am trying to mulch some plants, and hope to put in some irrigation tubes, but the heat is really slowing me down. My min/max got up to 103 a little while ago, it has dropped back to 101 now, but that is still too hot for me to be goofing around outside. I can get in 2 or 3 hours in the morning and 1 or 2 hours in the evening, and that is about it. It make Madge uneasy for me to be outside in the heat. My doctor knows my head is a little too thick, so he has ask Madge to keep me in line. I feel lucky to have a wife and doctor that is not afraid to get on my case when I need it.

I have at least 6 more plants that I want to plant, but I need to have the water and soil ready when I do. I have the water now, and can have the soil ready quickly when the temp drops.

I could be wrong, but I thought Dawn talked about Mater Magic and Tomato Tone. I do remember her talking about something that would push the tomatoes to bloom and set fruit. I don't remember a spray, tho.

Thanks for the well information, Larry and Jen. It's something to keep in mind if we ever move and that property doesn't have a well. If it has city water for the house, that would be fine. I would want a "little" well for watering stuff...and emergencies. I've seen some older homes that do have wells, but they're also on city water. Our friends had a house like that out in Newcastle.

Rebecca, I used the Porter for the pico de gallo that I made last night for today's lunch. They are a good choice for things like that....and they make a lot of fruit. It's always good to have a tomato like that around for sure even if they're not the most flavorful. They're still much better than store-bought.

Still not much action on the cucumbers. They've been very unhappy with the heat. Limp vines, but blossoms. Maybe this cool down will help out.

The rain largely missed us yesterday, but it's raining now! A nice rain too. When I went out to feed everyone a couple of hours ago, there was a half inch in the gauge. That's something! I'm thrilled.

Of course, Rick and I watered everything yesterday evening. lol

We canned 11 quarts and 6 pints of potatoes. The red variety. Rick, what's the name? I've got a block to the name of that potato.

It took a couple of hours to peel all those potatoes. I started around 9 and Rick came at 10 and we got them all peeled by around 11, I think.

We blanch and fill the jars indoors where it's clean. But, we take the jars to the camp stove in the shop (doors open on both ends, as well as the "front" door)

That 107 heat index got us. The stove and canning process adds it's own heat to the 107. Sweat was literally rolling off my back. I rarely sweat.

Then....that lovely cool down came through right at the end.

The animals were struggling yesterday.. I brought Juno to the house and Sturgeon found a cool place in the soil. The chickens--they were panting and lethargic. I sprayed them with water a few times, which they hate.

It was just gross.

Super happy about the rain and coolness. I hope everyone else is getting some rain too. Kim, I misunderstood your comment on Lisa's FB post. I thought you were saying you were ready for the water to stop. But, I was so very tired last night. So much that I hated the fireworks last night.

I'm glad I powered through and got the food ready for lunch today, tho. I just need to make a salad. Tom is smoking the steaks. Deviled eggs and salsa are made. Other people are bringing potato salad and desserts.

That's all from me.....

We canned "Red Pontiac " potatoes .

Rick

I pulled out dead tomato plants yesterday morning. The ones the cutworms killed. I got a pic on how they ate away at the stalk right at ground level. It cut off water and nutrients.

I'm still studying the life cycle of the cutworm moth. I'm reading the moth lays eggs on " any green plants, including weeds and cover crops " . So the rye grass I plant as a winter cover may be what attracted the moth. But I've been planting a winter cover since 2009 and never had a big problem with cutworms. I had an infestation this year and they worked in three areas of my small garden.

Still don't have a plan for next year. I've bought some insecticide for cutworms, but not used it. They're turned to moths some time ago.

I've marked the area that was at ground level.

Lynn, thanks so much for the picture and the post, this is a new one on me, please keep us posted on your work. I have never really had a problem with cut worms, I always have them, but sticks, tooth picks or aluminum foil have save me so far, however I do kill one when I find i

Well, as I've said earlier, I thought they just attacked seedlings. The popsicle sticks or toothpicks wll protect seedlings. I used plastic Braums straws on my pepper plants. Next year, I think I'm gonna use Toby Kieth's red solo cups :) .

These plants were 2 foot tall and had set fruit when the worms attacked. I did find a worm early on. It was buried in the mulch at the bottom of a plant. I killed it not knowing what it was, but know now it was a cutworm. It was black and when they're disturbed they curl up into a " C " .

This is making me rethink everything I do, from winter cover to mulch.

Here's what I found from OSU

CUTWORMS – THE ARCH NEMESIS OF THE OKLAHOMA GARDENER

Rebecca, we're still trying to sell, just not having luck finding anyone who wants this property. From what the realtor said, we're in a weird bubble. There are properties larger than this but with trailers/mobile homes that are cheaper, and there are properties this size and smaller with traditional homes that are newer or recently remodeled and twice what this is. So we just sit and wait for the "right buyer" to come along.

We got a little rain, just enough rumblings to send our 2 guest dogs into a tizzy. Both are high anxiety and don't do well with loud noises (like thunder or fireworks), so last night was miserable for them. But in total maybe 2/5 of an inch.

Mowing is on the list for tomorrow. Any higher and we could bale it for hay. But lots of grass also means lots of mulch, so here's hoping for a nice cool weekend.

Lynn, it looks like I may be doing something that helps protect me from cutworms, and didn't even know it. I try to keep a band, or strip around my garden sprayed. The strip is to protect against Bermuda grass, but it may also help protect against cutworms.

This is the east side of my south garden, this is the direction that I expand if I feel I need more space. I can still expand a little to the south also, but I feel that I don't need anymore expansion.

Kim, I had to tighten one of the ties on your tomato this morning, that plant looks like it may be a good summer producer. I have two plants that I have high hope in as far as producing in high heat. I think that I want to get some Porter seeds also. I am out of 4th of July seeds, but I also hope to reorder those seeds also.

Larry i can help you out with those porter seeds. I have been growing and saving them for 12 years now and have quite a few extras.

Lynn, I've had more cutworm damage this year too.

Jen, we had a hard time selling our last house. Our situation was that our house was the second largest in the neighborhood. Both ours and the largest were significantly larger than the others. While it's nice to have a large house, it was almost overbuilt for that neighborhood. So, the house next door sold for a lot less than what we were asking. It took many months to sell and we came out with just enough to make the smallest down payment on this property.

Honestly, I was trying to figure out how to sneak in chickens (the guy next door had chickens at one point) and make the entire backyard into a garden, but still leave a space for Kane to walk around. It was a very small backyard. I had a plan, tho, just in case it never sold.

I do miss that house. It was spacious and comfortable and had a large field behind us. Lots of good memories.

Anyway, the right buyer will eventually come along for you. It's a nice property.

Larry, your garden always looks so nice.

Our latest issue is drugstore beetles. Last year it was Pharoah ants.

This little beetle is tiny. It's 1/10 of an inch. We don't have tons of them, but they are here.

They like dried herbs, especially medicinal herbs. Great. Of course, I have drying herbs all over the place, as well drying elderberries. I'm pretty sure it was the dried garlic from last year that attracted them and/or came in with it as I noticed a couple of little beetles over the winter when I took garlic bulbs out of the pantry.

Next week I won't go play with the baby on my days off, I'll be emptying all cabinets and scrubbing it all down.

So irritating.

I really do try to keep things clean, but with a garden, we have produce lying about. And onions/potatoes/garlic stored. I have ferments going, kombucha going, fire cider. I'm sure all of that is attractive to those little suckers.

I do need to find a place to put the Yukon Gold potatoes. We didn't can those. We should be able to eat them all in the next few months. They lasted through January last year, but these won't last that long.

We are doing a round of Whole 30 beginning Monday to try to get back on track with better eating. Potatoes are thankfully allowed on Whole 30. Of course, we can make our own rules. I don't give up my daily Coke Zero on Whole 30.

As I was making the shopping list for the week, I was stumped on what veggie sides to make. The broccoli is done. So are the cabbage, green beans, lettuce/kale/spinach and asparagus. What fresh veggies can we eat? Okra! The okra is here now. We like that roasted and grilled.

We do have things in the freezer and canned veggies. Fresh is always better.

There's plenty of tomatoes still, and peppers.

So....the seed I saved from the organic lunchbox peppers ended up being just fine. At first, the fruit seemed like a small banana pepper, but it was just immature. I am happy about this, because I don't know how these little peppers are created and didn't really know what I would get.

It appears that I have 2 red ones and 1 orange one. Didn't get a yellow one. I'll start more of this next year.

Jennifer those potatoes look great. I need to get some beans canned it has been on my list all summer. They are store-bought dry beans. I have a 5 gallon bucket of them and would use them more if they were in jars ready to eat. I have been planting green beans Since after the last frost and I still only have three plants up right now. I had three plants that were producing and I got some beans and they were delicious and then the grasshoppers eat the plants because they weren’t covered well. my noodle bean plants are doing well. I uncovered and got out At least five grasshoppers recovered and secured. Hope they don’t find their way back in. In that pot I also have basil dill squash and another herb I can’t remember. It is a nice full pot. I finally got my pink eye purple whole peas planted. Today I’m going to get my duck. We will see how he likes it here.

Jennifer, my garden does not look as good in person, I try to take pictures of the better plants, from the best angle. I have quite a bit of disease, and now I am get a lot of damage fruit. I had rather not spray, but most years I have to spray something. I had planned to spray squash bugs yesterday and forgot it. There was a bunch that had just hatched out, and that is when I like to get them. I have been killing them by hand up till now, but cant keep up. I am very careful, and just spray where there is a cluster of bugs, I wont spray around the blooms, and don't spray when the blooms are open.

I had to google drug store beetle, figured that I had them also, I seem to have everything else, but I guess I don't have any drug store beetles, Jennifer, you may want to send me a start of the beetles, I hate to feel left out.

Kim, your plant is getting unruly, I am going to have to build more trellis for it. The tomatoes are a little small, but there is a ton of them. I am hauling water for the garden now. I think I will dump a packet of Miracle Gro in one of the water tanks, I don't normally feed my plants, but now that I don't have compost a little feeding is needed.

Jennifer, Madge was asking me what the light colored tomatoes were ( we seem to have tomatoes everywhere), I looked up a picture of the dwarf sweet sue, and those are the pale green/yellow tomatoes. I have not eaten any yet, but they are pretty, and a nice size. I will try to post a picture of some of the last tomatoes we picked.

The first tomato I think is a Fred's Tie Dye, the second is a Green Zebra, third is a Dwarf Sweet Sue. Some of the tomatoes are larger than these, and the color may vary some. The Green Zebra is the only one I would not chose to grow again. The Green Zebra plant is already almost dead. The other Sweet Sue's don't have this much red on them, and I have no idea of what I am doing. I still say that Brandywine is hard to beat.

I have finished a spot to plant 6 more plants under a trellis. I will have to go and see if I still have 6 plants that I think I can salvage. I also need to start some cucumbers and butternut, I don't have room in the garden, I will start then in 6" pots and keep then there till I can make room in the garden.

The Gov is bringing in a harvest .......

Gov Stitt's garden

Busy1, you have a Supermarket on wheels.

Larry, the Dwarf Sweet Sue is taller than me.

Jennifer, my sweet sue is about half that size, Have you got any tomatoes off of it yet, and do they look like mine? I picked 2 or 3 more today, but they are cracking, they are in mineral tubs, and we are to water every other day, that is not enough for the tubs.

I have a Sonny Boy in the ground that has fruit turning, but they are smaller than you Sonny Boy. I have had very few large fruit this year on any plant.

I planted more tomatoes and peppers today, they were some that have been sitting in 6 packs for months. I may have to pull them up for fall planting, it just depends if I can find space. I may not have to worry about the plants long, they really look bad.

I have been putting down a little mulch, hoping to cool the ground and save a little water, and hopefully help with fruit set.

My new slug and grasshoppers controller.

He’s just a baby. I am getting him a friend soon.

Kim, that is a pretty baby you have, and maybe a valuable baby. I think that the birds are eating some of the bugs in my garden. Each year I seem to have a good crop of birds and insects.

I am so tired today, and have so much that I would like to do. The heat seem to wear me out much more than it use to. I can remember working hard as long as I could see what I was doing. When I think of that now, it seem as tough it was not me, no way could I have done that. I tell Madge that just rolling over in bed wears me out now.

Larry, the tomatoes on the Sweet Sue are still green. There's blossoms as well. The Fred's Tie Die has fruit and blooms as well. However, I think something is up because the fruit on the two Fred's don't match. LOL

They are all in the hoop house. I pruned and tied them up yesterday. Also, I have a dwarf whippersnapper tomato from Jen in the hoop house. They all look reasonably healthy.

Kim, your duckie baby is adorable.

Jennifer, this is our tallest tomato plant, It is setting fruit higher than I can reach.

This is one of the odd tomatoes that Madge ordered seeds for. All of the seeds she ordered had strange names for them, I think this one was Purple and Red Hybrid. I expect that it had a picture of the tomato, and she ordered it because it was pretty.

The tomato starts out green, and by the time it is ripe it changes pretty much like is shown in the picture. The plant seems to be very hardy, and productive.

Kim, this is your plant, it wants to grow everywhere.

Jennifer, I want to know how your whippersnapper tastes. I seeded it for a couple of years, but gave it away. When I finally kept one I found the fruit mealy. I always wondered if it was just my plant or if I had given away tomato plants that made "spitters".
Kim we had a couple of ducks adopt us when we had geese. They followed the geese around and ate the bugs the geese stirred up.
Last week someone asked if beans were effected by the heat...yes, like tomatoes, they stop producing., may even drop blossoms. Southern peas are not effected this way. Noodles beans or yard long beans are the same species, so they continue to produce. Bush beans are kind of like determinate tomatoes in that they produce a couple of flushes and they're done. I have had pole beans live on a trellis behind tomatoes and start producing again in fall.
Old busy, you have quite a selection there, wish I lived closer.

I think Dawn used Miracle-Gro bloom booster on tomatoes before cool downs. I remember because she had no use for MG other wise. I actually have a never used bottle. It still troubles me because foliar fertilization is supposed to be a myth. It also comes in versions put on the soil and other companies have their own versions.

Amy, I often use Miracle-Gro on my light shelves. I will mix it in a gallon milk jug, then use it as needed in a good squirt bottle. I have to be a good shot, because I use our center bedroom as my seed starting station, and Madge would toss me out if the room got too messy. I like Miracle-Gro, but I don't use a lot of it. I might drop a tea spoon down the water pipe of my self wicking tubs if I think they need it. I have a tub with a Bush Beefsteak in it that looks bad, I may try feeding it.