I cut one of my Peonies back today--every stem and leaf was covered
in mildew...Should cut all the others back as well.
Phlox are hanging on--but there are signs of mildew. G.
Weather: Dog Days of Summer Part 2
hm, my peonies and phlox are OK, but zucchini is mega mildewwed.
My cucumbers are about done too, due to mildew.
Suffice to say that Jim is not allowed to use a power lawn aerator now. Also,I have hoses that carry irrigation water to soaker hoses in the back beds... turns out that running those hoses down the little trench edging the front of the veggie garden is just asking for them to be shoveled in two!
My monarda leaves are looking just awful right now, but phlox is doing ok -- even the ones right next to the monarda. My japanese maples have mildew again! :( No fall color this year, I guess. Is it the weather? Lack of rain?
Yikes, Critter! That's exactly what would happen if my husband decided to "help" in the yard. He's already broken two plant stands.
My monarda is looking pretty sad too. I think when it's done blooming I might cut it down. My phlox is doing well yet and so far no mildew on my asters.
Robin--
I think my Cherokee Purple Tomatoes (2) are done.
All of a sudden--they are looking really bad. drying up? crunchy.
Same starting on my Cuke plants. However--they don't last long anyway.
I have a 2nd batch growing in that bed by the fence i was trying to demolish.
Dug it up a bit, pulled out a pile of roots, amended the soil a bit--and they
are growing pretty well--so far. The problem will be lack of direct sun.
I really don't know WHY I grow Tomatoes and Cukes???? I seldom eat them--
as I do not cook meals all that much. Can't just take a Cuke out of the fridge
and decide I will eat the whole thing....need to make more salads....
Need to make more pickles....At work--people think they are ultimate gift from me..
I believe the pleasure to me is in sharing them.
G.
This message was edited Aug 9, 2014 8:39 AM
it's hard to NOT grow tomatoes and cukes, they are usually somewhat successful.
I don't know Why I again tried to grow yellow squash and zucchini. Years of failures there.
sally--
That is what i am talking about....Zuchini and Squash are so cheap in season.
WHY use up all kinds of space to grow one or two?
I know everything home-grown tastes better--but, from the farmers that supply
veggie stands,--they are just as fresh...and tasty.
Now--I KNOW fresh Tomatoes and Cukes at Farmer stands still run a lot
of money. Like--fresh peaches are out of this world in price!!!.
They are, probably, much cheaper in grocery stores...but those are picked
NOT ripe and then ripened. A big difference in taste.
A week or so ago--I went to "Gershbecks"--an old, favorite grocery store here--
and this girl was unloading fresh Peaches from boxes and boxes. They were from a farm
in Westminster--very local! Outside of Baltimore...
The peaches were 79 cents/lb--just THAT day. I bought about 4lbs.
They were hard as rocks....BUT--in just 2 days...they were soft and ripe.
In 4 days--they were, already, showing soft, rotting spots. Weird!
G.
Of course it's raining today. I finally hooked up three hoses and watered half the garden yesterday and planned to do more today.
What can I do with myself if I can't go in my garden this morning?? (sulk, pout) So easy to get spoiled by perfect weather!
Josh started the great room floor yesterday. It's raining here so I guess that we will be setting up a popup on the patio for him to work under.
yay exciting! can't wait to see it!
the new floor not the pop up...
Pretty humid up my way but at least it's cooler. The NWS says we're in for a good bout of rain but we'll see. We got 0.30" last night. I was walking around the yard and one of our primrose was nearly dead from dehydration. I put down about 3 gallons of water on it and today it's perked up. That thing has such huge leaves no wonder it uses so much water. Plus it's right near the trunk of our Dawn Redwood so I'm sure the tree sucks up most of the water in that area.
Jeff--
What kind of primrose do you have? Large leaves???
I just know the small ones in spring--and the Evening primroses...
Picture, please. G.
G, it's called Primula denticulata Cashmeriana Ruby. I got it from Bluestone but it has been a thirsty little bugger. This is not a photo of mine as I planted it after it bloomed. The photo is from a russian flower site: http://www.magia-naturalis.ru/page-18.html...It's the best pic I could find.
WOW!
Those are huge...and gorgeous...
The link above did not open for me...some kind of error....
G.
Well I can't edit my post but try this instead:
http://www.magia-naturalis.ru/page-18.html
ooh, pretty!
Is the writing, on the very top of the page, Latin?
Part of it is also in the link.
I had to take Latin in High School. Only class I ever failed.... G.
I have no clue. I can't read any of it; the entire website is in Russian.
We have a nice, steady,soaking rain coming down at this time.
We sure needed it! G.
lots of indoor stuff to do here, but still tempted to go out and weed in the rain! once you're all wet, it's not like you can get any wetter, LOL
Just sitting around doing nothing at all. Can't work outside raining way too hard for that. Can't work inside with everything squished into one half of the living space. Josh is having trouble with his air gun so him and Ric have been sitting here with it all tore apart on the kitchen table. So none of the flooring is getting done either. Talk about storm clouds over your head, rainy day..... fun?????
oh poor Holly! Wish I could drive up and take you out for lunch, Or visit Gita. Or Jill. Or anything other than go to work (not that I dislike my work)
Addy the dog is laying on the deck by the door just watching the steady soaking rain, and looks so relaxed and content. Mostly content; always on guard against Evil Squirrels.
Lol...Jill you're a goof!
I'm so grateful for this rain! Watering my teeny vegetable garden is not a chore that I enjoy. I can't imagine watering a large plot in a droughty summer.
I'm inside the office with no windows. It is so weird to have no visual clue what the weather is doing. I'm with Jill - I like weeding in the rain, it is so much easier to pull those suckers. Then, when I am done and soaked to the bone, a hot bath and dry clothes are the bomb LOL. Then I'd finish up the afternoon by sitting on the porch with my book listening to the rain on the roof. A nice rainy day is preferable to being stuck here. For that matter, any type of day is preferable to being stuck here :)
Well--Terri--
When SS brings you 14 Astilbes to plant I am sure you will
have plenty to do....They are all sitting outside getting this beautiful rain.
Still have to clean them up a bit..dead leaves and stems. I just want to....
Jeff--our Sally is a serious GOOF! But--it is always so subtle....so benign...
I love her sense of humor....always....sort of...unexpected.....leaves me wishing
I could have that kind of a mind....
G.
Sally is a goof to G, that's for certain :) We're all goofs in our own way. I'm extremely goofy when you get to know me better.
This rain has turned nasty! No more "soaking rain"---it id now flooding
all over--many water rescues--roads flooded, car accidents--etc.
They just said on radio that this rain system has parked itself over the
Baltimore area--and is not going anywhere.
Earlier--BWI (our airport) got 4" in 70 minutes. I am sure it is a lot more now (3PM)
The hardest hit area is North Anne Arundell CO. That is where Sally lives.
They have had 6" of rain already. Thunderstorms are still predicted.....
Hope you are OK, Sally. And--everyone else in this area??
Let us hear from you! Gita
Jeff is in Annapolis helping Sam move today. Soggy for sure.
Second wettest day on record for Baltimore and it is not over yet. Just 10 miles south of Sally and airport. Real heavy rain for about an hour. Hope all the papers I delivered stayed dry cause I was soaked. And then when I got home since rain was still heavy I went all around the house and yard checing for good drainage.. After Way got up on the roof and unclogged the front gutter it worked well, too and the basement has stayed dry.
Hope all are safe and dry!
We had a nice long blessed rain late this morning/early afternoon today too, BOY that was nice!! It was awfully humid early this morning, while DH and I were moving furniture out onto the deck, down the deck steps, and into the basement. Thankfully I'm not too much of a sweater. ;)
Was a perfect day to tear apart the living room and scrub it down, in preparation for the delivery of our 2 Lazy Boy chairs tomorrow, wheee!! =)
We had over 4" of rain, about 2" more than I had in mind when I wished for rain this past weekend as I watered non-stop!
SSG, have you tried using soaker hoses? It really cuts down the time it takes to water. I keep adding them here and there so I can do other things while the plants get a good soaking. I did forget to turn one off recently though, and didn't discover it until the next day. Oops!
Critter, where does your irrigation water come from?
Muddy, I've tried soaker hoses with mixed results. I think the main issue was that I needed to reduce the pressure of the outdoor faucets first.
We got almost 4 inches! I think a system got stalled just above my neighborhood.
Speedie, How nice new furniture! They are delivering mine on Tuesday, so there is a dead line on getting the floor down before they show up with the furniture.
I use hose connectors with levers to adjust the pressure. I love those things because I can also use them to turn the water off, move the hose into another soaker hose, and turn the water back on without going back to the spigot or hose reel.
SS--
This may help with you water pressure problems. Get a "Hose Splitter"
This one has 4 outlets--but they also come with 2 outlets. Plain--and fancier--
each split has a turn-off. This is from HD--of course.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Melnor-4-Way-Hose-Faucet-Connection-9009/202881087
If you run more than one hose--the pressure will go down on both of them.
may help....Gita
Muddy that hose system sounds great but I'm sure I'd forget and leave it on too, sometime...
Holy cow! Got in the library at 12:45 and at 1:15 the ceiling started raining. Rounded up trashcans, then ended up with a huge recycling bin parked right in the middle of the public area, thankfully no leaks onto book shelves, or computers, which would be a huge disaster. (We don't care that much if people get wet LOL) That was interesting. Then the main road (Ritchie) flooded a mile south, and heard all kinds of flooded roads in the area. What a day if you were going to or coming from work.
At closing time we had a toad or frog up on the roof croaking, heard it through the skylights.
I came home and noticed a small bucket full of water on the deck and said, 'Mark, that thing has like 4 inches of water in it'. He looked at me funny and said' BWI (couple miles away) got 6 inches!'
Glad no one had a disaster to report ( unless we haven't heard yet)
Yes, the hose splitter has really helped out front. I just need to remember to get one for the back!
I should pick up a hose connector with levers while I'm picking up another hose splitter.