Gardeners: how's it looking?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I have several herbs, tomatoes and bell peppers planted outside that are doing well, but I'm stuck on the couch with the heating pad (tried ice) because I did something to my back. :(

I want to go outside and PLAY, but SO said I need to rest my back.

[clean]

Having hurt my back, and taken several forms of pharmaceuticals, I can tell you that 2 allieve are as good as 1/2 a 5mg hydrocodone  and wont make you hung over/stupid. 

also heating pads work better for me than ice, and a hot shower with a massage head shower on the spot helps too. 

However, just because the pain is gone doesnt mean that the injury is healed and you can do what a teen could do! 

(the 'it's Hell getting old' reminder). 

Best, IF your hubby is telling you to relax, you should listen!!  (Especially IF he is willing to do a bunch of housework, or anything that qualifies as pampering!)

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Having hurt my back, and taken several forms of pharmaceuticals, I can tell you that 2 allieve are as good as 1/2 a 5mg hydrocodone  and wont make you hung over/stupid. 

also heating pads work better for me than ice, and a hot shower with a massage head shower on the spot helps too. 

However, just because the pain is gone doesnt mean that the injury is healed and you can do what a teen could do! 

(the 'it's Hell getting old' reminder). 

Best, IF your hubby is telling you to relax, you should listen!!  (Especially IF he is willing to do a bunch of housework, or anything that qualifies as pampering!)

:)

Yep. I'm 'taking it easy' for now.

[Parasaurolophus]

Lots of corn is ouy now, along with... cabbage? Cauliflower? And some new kale. The old kale is enormous and flowering and will need to have many leaves eaten soon.

More raspberries have popped up in the planters.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I don't know if I mentioned this and I don't feel like looking, but does anyone save seed?

Just curious.

[clean]

Given the price of seeds, I can sure see the incentive!! 

A coworker gave me some cantaloupe seeds from a 1920 heirloom  strain.  My grandfather used to save mustard seeds.  (green leafy plant).  He didnt have a large plot and collected nearly 3/4 of a quart size mason jar.  Given that some see packages are over $2 for a table spoon, a few veggies worth of seeds can save a fortune!

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Given the price of seeds, I can sure see the incentive!! 

A coworker gave me some cantaloupe seeds from a 1920 heirloom  strain.  My grandfather used to save mustard seeds.  (green leafy plant).  He didnt have a large plot and collected nearly 3/4 of a quart size mason jar.  Given that some see packages are over $2 for a table spoon, a few veggies worth of seeds can save a fortune!

Yes, it's fairly simple to collect mustard, broccoli, collard and kale seeds. We have a bunch of plants that have bolted and now we're just waiting for the pods to be large enough to harvest and dry. There are also some turnips and radish seeds in the garden. I can't say that I have saved lettuce or carrot seeds, since they are so tiny, but I have saved seeds from most other plants. :)

[Parasaurolophus]

Given that some see packages are over $2 for a table spoon, a few veggies worth of seeds can save a fortune!

I was astonished to discover that here, they're now selling at $7+. I'll be doing what I can to save seeds from this year's planting.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I have officially declared war on the squirrels who are eating my UNRIPE blueberries. Grr.... I guess I need to net/fence them in now. What a pain in the ass.

[clean]

A solo cherry tomato is already turning blush, and should be red in another day I think!

[Harlow2]

will finally start hardening off the seedlings that have been indoors tomorrow. I've got a variety of dwarf plants that usually do well and grow quickly; this is the latest I've ever planted, so fingers crossed.

[Puget]

Lots of veggies started blooming this week-- tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peas. Lots of green strawberries. Raspberries are putting out lots of new canes but not blooming yet.  Everything looks healthy and is growing well, so I'm pleased.

In the non-edible beds, the irises are blooming in profusion and the first roses have opened. Zinnias and something from the wildflower mix I'm not sure of (black eyed Susan perhaps?) have buds.

[clean]

While watering my plants yesterday, I noted that I have some okra!  I saw a few blooms, but later noted that some must have bloomed while I was away!  I m going to see if I get enough to eat today! 

[clean]

I picked my first full (medium really) tomato. I think I remember it is a Roma tomato. It might have used one more day, but it was starting to look like it was developing a split and I think that I saw some birds eyeing it! 

On the bad news front, I have been battling mushrooms in one of my beds and today I found them in the other one too!
Other than use a trowel to dig them out, I dont really know what to do. I spend several minutes a day circling the bed while sitting on my chair, parsing the leaves to open the soil to see if there are any of them.  It seems that they can sprout and spread over night! 

I got a shot yesterday so I didnt go out to check yesterday and this morning there were big clumps of tiny mushrooms!

I first noticed them on a bean plant. The seed 'got stuck'.  The base protruded from the ground but the leaves didnt make it and it died before the bean could break through the soil.  Then it was covered with mushrooms.  Since them, I have been going through with my trowel trying to dig them out where ever I find them. 

I dont know if they were on the defective bean seed or if they were part of the soil mixture.  The mix has a large percentage of mulch in it and I realized after I spread it out that it wasnt exactly the correct type for raised beds, but should ahve been mixed directly wiith the soil, but after i had it in the box, I wasnt going to worry about it! 

Any ideas about what to do other than dig them out?

[mamselle]

Mushrooms grow from an underground mycelium, a long, spreading trail of proto-mushroom stuff that is hard to eradicate because once started, it goes everywhere, like thready fingers, in all directions.

That said, I don't know what you do about them.

It might make sense to take a few of them, plus a baggie of the soil you found them in, with you to your local plant store and ask their expert what kind they are and what about your soil might be encouraging them (I think they're very species- and soil-type specific).

They might be able to help you with whatever you have, if it's a well-known regional issue. Maybe a simple soil additive of something they don't like that still doesn't hurt your plants is my thought, but again, that's expert territory.

M.