RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Friday, June 26, 2020

I'VE BEEN WORKING OUTSIDE IN THE HEAT A LITTLE AT A TIME.

I'm sorry I've been slow at posting but by the time I come in from the garden, I'm too tired to post.
I usually work in the yard in the late morning or after it cools down in the late afternoon Spring came early this year but soon the temperature started rising and we are having August heat in June and we have been in a drought. The ground is so dry, it takes longer to dig out weeds and watering takes so much time. Thank goodness it's raining a little.  That means I can spend some time on the computer and finally do a post. It didn't rain much but it cooled things down. Maybe we will get some more showers tomorrow.

I really don't have much new stuff to show you except a few things.    This year,  my flowers and bushes have suffered from a lack of rain and higher heat than normal. I've lost a hydrangea bush and some of my rose bushes are partially dead. Today,  I noticed my hostas by the gazebo was getting brown leaves from lack of water and shade. It was starting to sprinkle so I didn't have time to get my camera to show you the damage.

I've assembled some raised bed that I lined with landscape fabric and I planted some tomatoes, peppers, and carrots in them. So far the veggies are doing well. I put the raised beds were put right on top of the grass without digging. I put some small patio blocks in between to give more space between the tomato plants as they take up a lot of room and to cut down on mowing in between. My first idea was to dig out the sod around the perimeter and put some flat cement blocks to make it easy to mow around but this would involve cutting a lot of cement block. It might be a project for later.



An earlier photo of the cloches. I used some plastic cloches I had purchased at the Dollar Store last year to protect the transplants from the cold during the night but in the day it would get very hot and some of the leaves tips got scorched but they seem to have bounced right back.




My next project was mulching all the dead debris from my daylily flower bed.  I had put all the debris in bags this spring and saved it to use as mulch.  I use my mulcher lawn mower to mulch the debris in my gazebo. It made a lot of dust but it was worth it. I got 21 full feed bags packed with mulch. I knew I would not have enough so I bought some premium straw to mulch other parts of the gardens. I'm not done but I'm making some progress.  One word of caution when mulching dry debris is to be very careful not to catch the dry matter on fire as the heat coming from the carburetor is enough to start a fire. I always have a water hose nearby ready just in case.




Daylily debris before mulching. This is only a few bags worth.  I had about 30 bags saved in all but after mulching, I got 21 bags full bags.



After mulching the debris above, this is how much I  got from it.



Up close, this is what it looks like after mulching in the bag


My next experiment has been to try to root a sweet potato to make slips to plant. I started late but at least, I'm getting to know how to do it for next year. To have sweet potato tubers, you need to plant slips with roots. It takes a little longer than a month for the slips to grow big enough to plant in the garden.  Next year, I'll start them earlier. One end only made roots and the other end made roots and slips.



My sweet potato rooting experiment. You can see the slips growing on the sides and lots of roots after a little more than a month.  Next year, I'll start them earlier.


Weeds in my daylily bed because I lost all my mulch last year.





The daylily bed mulched after weeding and mulching.

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I hope that your gardens are doing well. Stay safe and happy.

13 comments:

  1. You have been busy. And productive. I hope the heat backs off and you get some regular rain. Each summer it seems we are hit by extreme temperatures and drought, and some plants simply don't survive.
    We are in winter now, but it is warmer than usual and I am already worrying about next summer.

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  2. This has been a strange spring and early summer here in Alabama. Usually it toasty and dry this time of year but yesterday was Ike fall.
    Take care and stay safe.

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  3. I totally understand about feeling wiped out and no energy after weeding - I've been doing the same. Not even energy for playing wiht fabric or stitching after that. I hope you get some decent rain soon. I saw those raised bed kits earlier this year, I look forward to seeing how they work out for you. I need to do something different in my garden.

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  4. Wow Julia, that is a ton of work! I grew sweet potato slips like that last year and I got a bumper crop. I love seeing your new raised beds. That looks so cool. I will have to do something like that. I am so sorry its hot and you are having a drought. I hope it all changes back to normal. So nice to see a post. Have a nice weekend.

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  5. Hi Julia,
    I always enjoy seeing your gardens and yard and am always amazed by how much you do!! Looks like you have some nice things growing and hope you get some much needed rain!! I can't believe how all that debris only made that small amount of mulch!!! So much work to get things weeded and planted! Love the sweet potato idea and hope it works as that would be a nice addition!!
    Take care and enjoy your weekend!
    Heart Hugs~
    Julie xo

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  6. Hi Julia,
    What a great tip on making mulch. Also about the mower!!
    I always enjoy seeing what you are up too. I love that you are experimenting with the sweet potatoes.
    Carla

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  7. I hope you've gotten more rain! We have finally gotten some but more is needed.
    You have so much yard to take care of. No wonder it wears you out, but it always looks amazing.
    Take good care!!!

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  8. My goodness, Julia! You have been very busy! No wonder you haven't been blogging! Your raised beds look really great! Here, we've had more rain than we need. Ended last year with a surplus, and a surplus at this point, too, for this year. We've cut way back on our gardening, though we still have blueberries that are just beginning to ripen. We are still following a stay at home policy, though our area has "opened." Much too soon for that, as far as I'm concerned, as new highs for cases have been reported every day this week. Take care, be safe, and stay well!

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  9. I like your raised beds. You certainly have a lot to keep you busy.

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  10. Every time I read your posts I think you work so hard. I know you must enjoy it though and you will have so many good things to eat when it all ripens.

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  11. Good luck with your sweet potatoes! Janice

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  12. The weather HAS been so dry this year! I'm SO grateful for the rain we've had in the last few weeks! If only there was more regularly!
    I like your new raised tomato beds very much! They look really good! I hope you get lots of fruit from them.
    The mulch is a really good idea. I considered making a leaf mulch tray/basket, but haven't actually done anything.
    What I've been doing, is going to the field of horses behind my house with a sack and a trowel and half filling a bag with the manure so hopefully I can use them next year for the garden once they've been resting for a while.
    Good luck with your sweet potatoes! I've also been experimenting with them. Not sure if I've done it right but I found some sprouts in my sweet potato so I pulled them out, put them in water and now planted them out. They're quite small but I HOPE they grow!!!
    You're really working hard. I hope God sends you more rain!

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  13. Lots of good information here. We are growing tomatoes and cucumbers in pots on our deck. Here's hoping for the best! 😏

    Thank you for your insightful comments on my blog posts about communism and freedom of speech. They are much appreciated!

    It really is obvious now what has been going on. But I feel hopeful about the future. We have work ahead of us, but it is kind of like your garden. What is planted, the good seed, will bloom.

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