Whatcha Growin'?

[mtka]

We had our first and likely only crop of green beans for dinner last night. They were excellent. We bought some corn from the neighbor down at the farmers market to go with it, not so good. He admitted it wasn't his favorite variety. We also had the first cucumber. We were really late planting and the cucumbers have taken over everything. We don't eat that many of those but we have tons! I read that cows and goats love them, our herd just looked at them like yuck. I couldn't even get a single animal to try it. I have one little sprig of dill growing, will try to make some refrigerator pickles, I guess.

 

[Gardencook]

We had our first and likely only crop of green beans for dinner last night. They were excellent. We bought some corn from the neighbor down at the farmers market to go with it, not so good. He admitted it wasn't his favorite variety. We also had the first cucumber. We were really late planting and the cucumbers have taken over everything. We don't eat that many of those but we have tons! I read that cows and goats love them, our herd just looked at them like yuck. I couldn't even get a single animal to try it. I have one little sprig of dill growing, will try to make some refrigerator pickles, I guess.

There are a couple Youtube Channels based around some husky/malamute dogs that I occasionally watch. The past couple weeks, one of the owners has been feeding her dog vegetables out of the garden. Basically, the dog will eat some of them cooked, but very few raw.

However last week she set a whole cucumber in front of him and he started in just like he would a bone! Rather than have him make a mess, she sliced it up and he gobbled it down. I wasn't expecting that one -- especially when he wouldn't touch the small melon she had grown. Whole he treated that like a ball he couldn't care less about and when she cut it up he turned his nose away.

Don't know what that has to do with anything, other than who knows what one particular animal will eat that another won't?

I know in autumn we've driven by farms and seen cows devouring pumpkins, which is actually a rather funny sight.

 

[mtka]

@Gardencook I will try my Labrador. She loves broccoli. I did make them some turkey stew with broccoli, pumpkin, and mixed veggies. My cows, horses, and goats go crazy about pumpkins. I am trying to grow some and we usually get a few from people, I just have to make sure there are no paints or coatings on them. We usually have some growing from the seeds of those they ate last year, but it didn't happen this year.

 

[jastwins]

D1 and her boyfriend planted a garden at his house. Tonight she brought home a cucumber and 2 dozen little potatoes. We washed them and she boiled them, and they were absolutely delicious!
Rosie hates green beans but she likes broccoli. She will spit a green bean out every time. I will have to see if she will eat some cucumbers.

 

[flowerkitty]

Our chickens love pumpkins plus it really boosts production. A few weeks ago we tried a watermelon that my daughter grew in her garden. It was not ripe yet but the chickens thought it was a great treat.
We do have to cut up the melons & pumpkins...otherwise they show little interest.
Some of the truck gardeners have trouble with the coyotes taking a bite from their cantaloupe & pumpkins while growing in the fields.

 

[busyasabeecrg]

It's a given that I lose a lot of produce to the rabbits, but what surprised me is how much fruit and veggies the coyote and an opossum eat. Not sure which one ate some candy bars left on the patio.

 

[mtka]

Planting some of the free tomato and pepper seeds I got from the library today.

 

[Gardencook]

Couldn't sleep last night, so decided to put the time to good use. I organized a bunch of my early seeds so I know what I've got. Greens do really well in our climate, and I could grow other things when we lived down in the flood plain. Now that we live up a small hill the soil is heavy clay instead of sandy and other than squash and a few other things, our season is just too short and our nights too cold.

Had been hoping to get out and plant a few things, but we got a torrential rain storm Friday night followed by more snow on the ground Saturday morning. Think I'll be waiting another week or so before doing much now.

 

[Gardencook]

... And after posting earlier I looked out the window and realized we got a dusting of snow overnight. It is also predicted for Tuesday and Thursday.

I don't think I'll be planting just quite yet ...

 

[busyasabeecrg]

My arugula is growing so big with healthy dark green color and the chives and lettuce the same...they are loving the periodic rain we've been having and don't seem to mind the low but not freezing night temps. I am getting so anxious to plant more as the weather becomes more stable. As always everything I grow is from organic seed and the soil has never had anything but organic fertilizer, worm castings and minerals added to it so I can even eat the lemon and orange peel and pith.
Love reading all the posts in this thread!

 

[mtka]

I am shopping on facebook marketplace for one of the giant wooden spools to put some planters on. My brother got me one last year and I want another one this year. Marketplace is so bad but there isn't really other local options. I saw a listing but didn't save it, now I cannot find it for the life of me. The cows have free roam on the yard and they like to eat whatever I have growing. My 2 year old steer was inside my raised garden bed with the asparagus yesterday, just munching on the grass that started to grow inside. I do have chicken wire wrapped around, but he is sneaky. I figure if I put all the pots up on a spool, we might have better luck.

I also bought a 4x4 foot garden kit that was clearanced, but it's still sitting on the porch after 2 years. I am thinking about putting it next to the pasture fence and then fencing around it to have a new garden on the west side of the house. I have to figure out a way for us to get inside while keeping the moo babies out. We could be like normal folk and keep the cows in the barnlot or pasture, but they are just so dang cute and cuddly.

 

[flowerkitty]

Last fall I found a terrific deal on tulips at Walmart.
I bought quite a few for $2 per bag.
I potted some of them in shallow bulb pans and placed them in my large pots I plant my tomatoes and peppers in. By the time the tulips are finished, I will be ready to pull the bulb pans out and plant the peppers and tomatoes.
The tulips are growing now...I am looking forward to the beautiful blooming bulbs.

 

[mtka]

Anybody got anything growing yet this year? I have a few tomato starts and 2 pepper starts still in the house. Still have a possibility of frost this week which is crazy! Had a few asparagus spears this year from the greenhouse, but the outside box with it keeps getting eaten by a big fat black labrador who is crazy for asparagus.

 

[jastwins]

D1 and her boyfriend at going to try planter boxes since the boyfriend's family will be getting chickens and are building a chicken coop in one part of the yard.