Bah Humbug

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Well, I finally made it out to the farm a week ago today, 6 weeks after my knee surgery, to find a total disaster of a garden.
Only the potatoes came up. Nothing else.
I had planted seeds for everything two days before surgery, hoping in my recovery time everything would germinate and begin growing.
The only other growth was weeds between the raised beds, which did really well. A sea of daisies, buttercups, foxgloves and wildflowers I couldn't identify. Up to 4' tall.
As most of you know, I've been complaining about the rain and cold here for months. Record breaking rain and even 6" of snow on April 11th. I'm now convinced the winter like weather has done my garden in for the year. Whatever sprouts in the heat wave of the last 3 days will not have enough time to fruit before growing season is over.
We usually have a growing season that spans May through September, in normal times. Some years I can plant in early April, usually seedlings started in a seed room under grow lights. but I had poor results even in the seed room this year.
This year is very different and I don't think I could have done anything to mitigate the poor weather.
Fortunately, I did manage to get some tomato seeds to germinate under the lights in mid April and they managed to grow to 8" or so. But they need to be transplanted quickly as they are root bound.
There are 10 of them, Beefsteak, Early Girl, Roma, and Cherry. Will give it a shot.
Have some more nice sunny days coming up (finally) and the Family have already started coming in for the big family get together over the Fourth of July holiday. There will be about 50 of us spread over all 3 acres in tents, motor homes, and travel trailers. A couple are going to rough it under the stars.
Ahh, I sometimes miss those days. Although, I could run an extension cord for my C-PAP machine. Hah!
The Farm is located roughly halfway between the Portland metro area and the Seattle metro, about a hundred miles from both. Very little light pollution and billions of stars.
I'll just stay up late and break out the telescope, the grand kids love it. But cleaning off the smores smeared on it can be a chore.
So I may just buy some 4 or 6 inch seedlings from Home Depot or somewhere and try to salvage the season.
Anyway, will keep y'all informed.
What's going on in your neck of the woods?
PS. I'm going to post this OT later in the morning (Pacific time) so as to respond to your comments in a more real time experience instead of the 3 hour time delay from back east. I don't crawl out of bed until 7 AM or so.
Z floor is open.

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two guys with mattocks
found on NC
amazing 7 minutes

https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1541459351537426432?ref_src=twsrc%...

Have fun with your independence day mini woodstock celebration!

thanks for the OT earthling!

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earthling1's picture

@QMS
Really wanted to know what a Mattox was.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

lotlizard's picture

earthling1's picture

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

enhydra lutris's picture

@lotlizard

That looks more like an adze, most mattocks combine an adze on one side with either a pick or an axe-like blade on the other side.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@earthling1

Here is the NC link ..
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/links-6-28-2022.html
if you scroll down to the bottom it is by Tansu Yegen

a mattok is an entrenching tool

cheers

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Lookout's picture

for weedy patches. Then I recommend the cardboard lasagna treatment meaning cover with cardboard, add compost or manure, and finally a layer of mulch. It is the lazy no dig process.

I think of a mattock as a root axe. Use it when digging a hole among roots, cutting the roots with the axe end and digging with the adze end. It is a go to tool on our forest homestead.
mattock.jpg

Another gardening option might be cover crops to build soil...peas, clovers, vetch, or some legume.
best of luck and growing!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

earthling1's picture

The bushfire kind of firefighters. They tear up some ground in a short time. Fire breaks.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

enhydra lutris's picture

garden for a butterfly walk today. Sorry about your garden, but sounds like you have a fun gathering gathering. Our garden is largely dud city except for some kale and chard. Only one tomato so far has any tomatoes, for example, less than half of our carrots came up, etc.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

earthling1's picture

@enhydra lutris
butterflys around here yet. Not many insects at all. They probably stayed in California for the summer. Very few bees.
Thanks for stopping by.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Still not crying? Then read this.

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earthling1's picture

@gjohnsit

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

@gjohnsit , can't read that right now, just not up to it. I will tackle it latter though. Thanks for posting.

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Sima's picture

@gjohnsit
Sad

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

earthling. Sorry about your gardening troubles. I'm in the same boat but for opposite reasons. We've had 20 plus days of 100 degree temps or higher. My plants don't like that. My bush beans are functioning as a cover crop now but barely. I will not get any beans from them but they are at least covering the soil and maybe adding some nitrogen?
On the other hand, it is raining right now, as we speak (or as I type)!! It's fantastic. I do love a good summer thunderstorm, and that is what we are getting.
Keep on keeping on. Hopefully things turn around for you a bit.

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earthling1's picture

@randtntx
Rest assured this peculiar weather we are having is just a normal earth cycle, and things will get better in 9,999 years.
See ya then.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

They get through and get over people's fencing, and will eat potted plants off your porch.
This doe was in my brother's garden,nibbling away at the last bit of growth. Not too much, since the blistering sun killed off much of it.
Now, he is a deer hunter. He eats venison. When she was eating his rose bushes, he was thinking evil thoughts.
It was when he saw that she had birthed a fawn in his neighbor's enclosed back yard that my brother knew if anything happened to her, the fawn dies. He has watched her jump out to find food, jump back in to tend to the fawn. The fawn has a lot of growing to do before it can jump over that fence. He said she can have what she wants, and stay close to the fawn.
Then, "Sister, I think I have gotten old, past the time when that kill was an adrenaline rush. That doe would be hard for me to bring to the table. I am done with hunting."

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Sima's picture

@on the cusp
as your brother. I was much, much younger, though. So good on him!

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Sima's picture

Due to the power outage, but, I just wanted to say that we are having some of the same troubles with our garden. The 'weeds' are growing great, the rest, not so great. The early planted broccoli still hasn't made heads. The radishes grew huge, then died, all at once. Lettuce is sorta ok. The garlic and onions are doing ok, but some of the onions are bolting. And I still haven't planted potatoes!

Keep on keeping on, it's all we can do. Plan for a fall garden harvest and plant it now. Rutabaga, cabbages, some kinds of beans, peas, broccoli and cauliflower, lettuce, salad plants... darn, I'm making myself feel guilty because I haven't gotten them all planted! Smile

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so