Partly cloudy with a low of 74°F and a high of 96°F. I started off checking the rain gauge since we had some rain on Friday and again while I was out at the Patch Saturday morning. My gauge showed 3/8 inch, or .38 inches rounded up. That was enough that I didn’t need to water today, and I didn’t want to give my Bocking tea to the RRR plants since my moisture meter was reading “super moist.”
At dawn I sprayed everything with copper fungicide. They needed their shield again with the humidity still running high, and I’m hoping the cooler weather next weekend helps bring that down.
I was going to do the other protective sprays — Spinosad and BT — but it was getting late and the sun was heating up.
We still have the 11 a.m. heat advisory every day, so I’ve been doing pretty well getting finished before the witching hour. Today I was heading out of the gardens right on the stroke of 11 a.m.
Guess who greeted me with a tucked‑in sleepy hello. Yup, Fredericus. I think I know where he likes to sleep now, since this is twice in a row. Maybe he just likes seeing me every day to let me know he is okay.
Once that little moment passed, I moved on to the Bocking 14 tea. Instead of giving it to the RRR plants, I decided to give it to the blueberries, strawberries, and the horseradish plants. I had just enough.
While I was giving the tea to the strawberries, I decided to clean them up a bit since there was a lot of dead foliage and, of course, some weeds. As I was clearing one of the plants, something suddenly darted out — a wolf spider, and not just any spider, but one carrying all her babies on her back.
After the Bocking tea, I started on the Back 40 pulling any weeds in the planting beds that will be getting a cover crop of crimson clover, white mustard, and daikon radish. I ended up with a heaping wheelbarrow full that I’ll run to the vegetation pile on Road 5. The county picks it up once a month. I don’t like to put weeds in my Amish compost — knowing my luck I’d end up tossing in the wrong weeds or seed heads. This way the only seeds in the Amish compost come from my veggies, which is why I get a few volunteers in the garden. I don’t mind.
Of course, after I finished this I picked okra, zucchini, Chinese long beans, and a few leaves of Swiss chard as I was getting ready to cook my Chinese winter melon. My melon weighed 14 pounds — so I have enough for a couple of meals. My husband and I gave it a “yummy good,” as we both went back for a little more.
One thing I did when cutting the melon — if you guessed I saved the seeds, then you get a gold star. Being a gardener, that’s what we do when you get something you’ve never had and don’t think you’ll be able to find the seeds at our local stores. It’s easy to do: make sure there is no pulp mixed in with the seeds, fill the container with water, and keep the seeds that sink. Dry them on a paper towel for 7 days until fully dry, then put them in a paper envelope and store them in a dry place. I have these little seed‑packet‑size Seal‑A‑Meal bags, and that’s what I plan to use.
It’s funny — my gardening is becoming more rounded. When I first started, it was the typical veggies that most people grow, but now I’m growing Chinese long beans, Chinese cucumbers, India cucumbers, and next, winter melons. I love trying and growing new veggies. Don’t you?
Happy Gardening