Whatcha Up To???

[Mike]

After work yesterday I came home and spent most all evening doing yard work. Our average rainfall for the month of July is about 4" and this year we've received over 9" so the yard has been growing out of control or soaked with water. Nice seeing a decent looking lawn again.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Cut the grass.

Made the last of the stuffed japs for supper.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Made bread & hoagie rolls.

Watered tree & flowerbeds in the front, then hosed off the back porch.

Washed & refilled the hummingbird feeders.

Did some computer maintenance... getting ready to install a NAS (network attached storage) system. The ultimate goal is to boot/run all the computers off the network to minimize maintenance.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Mowed the front lawn.

Cleaned up some of the weeds along the side walk and edge of the house.

Harvested some rogue garlic that should work to grow for next year. I thought I had killed all of it with neglect.

Removed the rest of the peas and collected the finished and dried pods for seeds.

Mixed another compost start - I want a chipper / shredded.

Topped off some beds with a mix of compost and native soil.

Set up the kiddie pool.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Clean the garden's bean trellis off.

Watered the trees & flowerbeds in the back/side yards.

Wire-wheel & applied acid to the 'burn barrel', fireplace chimney cover & the big smoker. I'll paint them all with high-temp paint sometime later in the week.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Picked watermelons, Cantaloupe and Persian melons, and Dried another batch of Black Figs.

Ernie

 

[Mr_Yan]

About 90° F here. No rain for a week and half to two weeks.

Watered my community garden. Harvested almost 10 pounds up there. The rutagagas are looking really good especially for having never grown them before.

Started some seeds in hopes of a fall garden - 45 turnips, 25 lettuce, 25 mixed greens (russian red kale, dwarf siberian blue kale, mustard, chard).

After reading about the Mexican cilantro I think I should start some. Never had luck with cilantro or parsley though. I need to get more peat based potting mix for making soil blocks.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Picked 3 more watermelons & moved 2 of them into the guest house for the time being. The 3rd was cut up for today.

Clean the garden's cucumber/spaghetti squash trellis off.

Watered the hanging baskets.

Getting hot here... 1 more week till the official start of 'hotter than hell week'... yeah, we all look forward to them 3 weeks... Nothing like 105-115 degrees in the shade to make you appreciate a cold drink & the start of September... At least the grass shuts down & I won't have to mow, LOL!!! Margarita time moves up to 1100 hrs instead of 1400 hrs.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Watered the home garden.

Walked two kids around a few blocks while they were on bikes.

Walked another kid around a few blocks while she was screaming until she fell asleep. Less than a half hour in her bassinet and she was awake again.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Worked at cleaning up the garden some more & then burned the 'trash'.

Picked some poblano peppers.

Fed the cattle.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Didn't do anything yesterday, as it was our shopping day.

Today I made my 1st attempt at a 'Rolled Wheat Bread' from a recipe I received from a friend. 'Rolled Wheat' is hard to find & I had to order it...

Made stuffed jalapenos again for supper.

 

[Mike]

I watched it rain. Seems all the July rain has followed us into August as well.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Watered and fertilized. Something is wrong my my soil this year. Nothing is ripening. I used General Hydroponics KoolBloom (2-45-28 plus some micro nutrients) fertilizer today.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Water all trees & flowerbeds.

Painted the burn barrel & chimney cap. I need to get more high-temp paint to do the big smoker.

Filled the chlorine tank on the septic system.

Clean/refilled the bird feeders & water tank.

Pruned the dead stuff out of the asparagus bed.

Picked 5 watermelons & 3 honeydews & gave them to people that stopped by...

 

[Mr_Yan]

Sifted some vermicompost and mixed it with store bought seedling mix to make soil blocks. Used these soil blocks to start:
40 Turnips
40 Beets
40 Spinach
10 Parsley
15 Cilantro
As usual many of the seeds were placed by my 5 year old daughter. I don't know if it is building small motor skills like some of her pre-school games or it is unabashed use of child labor.

The soil blocks are great to start succession plants but I wish I had bought the next size larger block maker -- the 2" blocks rather than the 1.5" blocks I have.

Also tried to add mulch, uncomposted organic matter, and some partially finished worm compost with worms around my kale and collards. My hopes are this will be a combo of added nutrients as it breaks down and effective mulch for these greens.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Too hot here to work outside... it's currently 106. Having said that, I've been making our bread dough at night, letting it rise in the refrigerator overnight & then baking it before sun up the next morning.

Spent most of the day cleaning & oiling our shotguns.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Our hot weather dissipated, and it is pretty good now. I picked all the Watermelons except two. Had a wheelbarrow full. Cleaned out the vines that were picked out. Waiting for a one or two more cantaloupe, and about a dozen or so Persians to ripen.

Volunteer Butternut vine finding damp spots by drip tube and putting down new roots, and still making more squash. Exccept for some hot peppers i am growing for my helper, Garden is almost done.

Ernie

 

[Mr_Yan]

Hot weather is gone for now. About 75° here now. Tried to rain but just enough to almost get the pavement wet.

Peaches are almost ripe and this year looks like a heavy crop.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I love fresh peaches!!! Unfortunately the trees don't seem to last very long here. Maybe 4-6 years...

 

[Mr_Yan]

@w_r_ranch This tree was a volunteer that I dug up from a former co-worker's house. I think I got it 6 years ago now and it was about 6" tall and the trunk was no larger in diameter than a pencil. Now I can't hack it back fast enough and am wishing I planted it somewhere else. The trunk is about 5" in diameter.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Yan,
I am having the same overgrowth problem with a Babcock peach. Far too may peaches some years and not enough other years, and just growing like a weed in all directions. Four or five feet of new growth in all directions this year. I am thinking of taking it out as it is shading my cantaloupe patch.


Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Water the trees & flowerbeds.

Picked 5 watermelons for the mail lady.

Feed cattle.

Continue shredding pastures.

Temperature is 109 @ 1530 hrs.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Watered the trees & flowerbeds again because of the extreme heat... then watered the hanging baskets.

I must be insane because I'm smoking a brisket for supper... I started it at 1000 hrs & plan on just getting some smoke on it & will then finish it in the oven. This is a recipe I got from Sunbeam.

Pick another watermelon for dessert.

​

 

[Mr_Yan]

@w_r_ranch so any vodka infused watermelon yet this year?

 

[w_r_ranch]

LOL, we don't do vodka... ever. I had a bad experience with it back in 1962 & have never touch it again. Tequila is my drug of choice.