Climate Does anyone have a thriving garden in this heat?

[Wildwood]

I've tried...so hard to make this garden work. This was the one year that I really wanted it to produce...all things considered.

I started out great, finally got everything just like I wanted it and then the flood happened around the 10th of June and tore it up but my kids worked hard to save what they could and they saved a lot...about half. It was overwhelming and discouraging but we got all the trellises back up and I hit the ground running but within a few days the heat started so we put in the irrigation system and it was a huge game changer. Everything was thriving again but nothing is a match against this relentless heat.

I go out every morning and gather what is ready.

My tomatoes surprisingly have been doing great but even though they set lots of tomatoes, they aren't getting ripe. I made the decision to go ahead and can half the green tomatoes for frying...DH loves them. I didn't want to end up losing them. Good thing is, I can can a few jars at a time with them and decide on a daily basis.

I decided to make cucumber relish with most of my cucumbers because we have no squash at all and it is a staple for us. I did do a gallon of refridgerator pickles for the grands. They are still producing but they aren't looking the best so I'm not thinking I'll get many more.

My purple hull peas have been the best and I've been getting a handful every day for a few days but they are loaded and about ready to give me a huge yield but just the last day or two, they are looking a little tired so I made sure to use my first ones for seeds for next year...just praying they will hold on another week so all that's on there now will ripen. They are getting plenty of water but at 107 today, they are dehydrating on the vine.

My okra is ok for now and I've managed to can a fair amount of it for frying and they can also be canned one jar at a time if need be.

My green beans and bell peppers are another story. This heat has not agreed with either and they still look like they just came up a few weeks ago. The flood took my squash completely out and it was the last bed to get "fixed". I knew there was no use even trying to start new ones once it got so hot.

I haven't given up and if this heat breaks in time, I'll be replanting a few things. I opened a jar of canned green tomatoes for frying last night and they were canned 11-21-21 so I have time if it will ever cool off.

Despite all my efforts, my chickens are struggling. The fan helps. The babies I hatched from my bielefelder girls who died from the buffalo gnats are inside and doing great at almost 4 weeks...kind of bittersweet. Looks like they will be house babies til fall. In normal temps, they'd be ready for the junior pen outside.

 

[BenIan]

There are thriving weeds, field peas, weeds, Seminole pumpkins, weeds, eggplant, and weeds.

 

[Wildwood]

There are thriving weeds, field peas, weeds, Seminole pumpkins, weeds, eggplant, and weeds.

My Cherokee Tan pumpkins aren't far enough along to judge...they are just now setting fruit but they are doing ok as long as I drag a hose out where they are and water them every day or two. They aren't on the irrigation system. Mine could be worse.

 

[summerthyme]

Are most of the tomatoes decent size? You could try the Dick Raymond method of speeding market garden tomatoes to ripeness. He'd choose a plant with plenty of full sized fruit, and use a pointed shovel to dig a semi-circle about 12" from the stem of the plant. NOT a full circle! Cut about 12 inches deep, if possible.

This stresses the plant so it "thinks" it must hurry and ripen fruit. It really does work.

And if you keep it watered, and your weather doesn't cook the plants, they will generally produce and ripen a second flush of fruit.

Summerthyme

 

[Pebbles]

I am in Arizona, (central western). My garden, although not big, is doing really great. I water for 30 minutes twice a day. I planted early enough(April) that my tomatoes were able to flower before we started having temps over 90 degrees. Zucchini, squash, onions, and cucs do great in the heat (high of 104). Lettuce all bolted when it got up to 90 on a regular basis. Will plant lettuce again is October when it starts to cool down a bit.

I am always so fascinated that people can grow gardens with only rain for watering, what a blessing!!!!

 

[Raggedyman]

western NC . . . mine is doing well this year too . . . giving it LOTS of water though. just set out my second run of zucchini and cucumbers . . . tomatoes are doing really well and beans are coming along

 

[Josie]

Mine was doing pretty well until we had two days with a total of almost 5 inches of rain then the temps shot up to 90 plus. Went out one morning to find 50% of the almost ripe tomatoes had split and apparently it happened that morning because they were still dripping! I'm about ready to give up and just buy from the Amish that have a stand nearby.

 

[momma_soapmaker]

Thankfully I didn't get mine going this year. Too many irons in the fire.

One of our neighbors told hubby that he was able to get one picking from his before he let it go due to the heat. Another neighbor appears to have given up as well. Despite watering, everything has burned to a crisp.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

MOST of my garden is thriving. I am getting my usual bountiful tomato harvest, my bell peppers are producing strong and healthy fruit, my squash are still producing, my one and only watermelon plant was harvested for the 4th of July, and my strawberry plants have set their runner vines in preparation for next year’s crop. Even my cream pea (southern pea) plants are now growing their bean pods. That surprised me, because of how late I planted those beans.

The one planting that is struggling to survive are my purple pod string beans.

They just do not seem to be able to produce this year, and some of the vines are burning up.

But I water the garden every day, without fail.

And I have a very healthy soil that I have been building up with plenty of organic matter for years now. No chemicals in my garden. I purposefully grow an earthworm’s idea of heaven on earth. Which turns out to be the best thing for plants too.

Zone 7, suburban Memphis, TN.

 

[ioujc]

I've tried...so hard to make this garden work. This was the one year that I really wanted it to produce...all things considered.

I started out great, finally got everything just like I wanted it and then the flood happened around the 10th of June and tore it up but my kids worked hard to save what they could and they saved a lot...about half. It was overwhelming and discouraging but we got all the trellises back up and I hit the ground running but within a few days the heat started so we put in the irrigation system and it was a huge game changer. Everything was thriving again but nothing is a match against this relentless heat.

I go out every morning and gather what is ready.

My tomatoes surprisingly have been doing great but even though they set lots of tomatoes, they aren't getting ripe. I made the decision to go ahead and can half the green tomatoes for frying...DH loves them. I didn't want to end up losing them. Good thing is, I can can a few jars at a time with them and decide on a daily basis.

I decided to make cucumber relish with most of my cucumbers because we have no squash at all and it is a staple for us. I did do a gallon of refridgerator pickles for the grands. They are still producing but they aren't looking the best so I'm not thinking I'll get many more.

My purple hull peas have been the best and I've been getting a handful every day for a few days but they are loaded and about ready to give me a huge yield but just the last day or two, they are looking a little tired so I made sure to use my first ones for seeds for next year...just praying they will hold on another week so all that's on there now will ripen. They are getting plenty of water but at 107 today, they are dehydrating on the vine.

My okra is ok for now and I've managed to can a fair amount of it for frying and they can also be canned one jar at a time if need be.

My green beans and bell peppers are another story. This heat has not agreed with either and they still look like they just came up a few weeks ago. The flood took my squash completely out and it was the last bed to get "fixed". I knew there was no use even trying to start new ones once it got so hot.

I haven't given up and if this heat breaks in time, I'll be replanting a few things. I opened a jar of canned green tomatoes for frying last night and they were canned 11-21-21 so I have time if it will ever cool off.

Despite all my efforts, my chickens are struggling. The fan helps. The babies I hatched from my bielefelder girls who died from the buffalo gnats are inside and doing great at almost 4 weeks...kind of bittersweet. Looks like they will be house babies til fall. In normal temps, they'd be ready for the junior pen outside.

PLEASE!!!!?

Tell me how you can okra and green tomatoes for frying!!!

I have never heard of this before!! Do you cut them up. Before canning?? Doesn't the okra get "mucilaginous" or SLIMY?? And the green tomatoes???? Are they sliced and placed in the jars??

 

[Martinhouse]

ioujc, I discovered by experience that mixing tomato with okra eliminates the sliminess of the okra. After slicing a big picking of okra, I wiped off the cutting board and gotten a dishcloth feeling like a handfull of sticky Jello. The problem totally disappeard when I used the cloth to wipe out a big pot in which I'd heated a batch of tomato juice for canning

 

[Wildwood]

Old Alabama Gardner is the one who posted the original video about canning okra for frying later, as far as I know. Lots of people have done videos giving him credit but more than a few get his recipe wrong and it's usually the amount of vinegar. With this recipe, that cannot be played with so I use his only. It adds just enough acid to preserve and even enhance the taste of the okra but not enough to make it tart. He uses this same protocol to can squash.

I've used this recipe for a few years and it's always great. My one change is that I turn my jars upside down as soon as I get the lid on because, even though it sealed without that step, it wasn't a tight enough seal to make me comfortable. Also, when I fill my jars, I always make sure the jars are very hot and my brine is still at a simmer. If it makes you feel better, you could even put it in a water bath for one minute but the hot jars and simmering brine give me a great seal.

This is one of the easiest things to can and what I love is you can do one jar or multiple jars. When I'm ready to fry it, I dump the okra into a large strainer and strain for just a minute. The liquid left is the right amount to make the breading stick perfectly. For breading I use about three parts self rising corn meal to one part self rising flour. I put a handful of okra in, toss it a little bit and put it in hot oil. Don't add any extra salt...it's plenty salty as is.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcaABHSCjUM&t=40s&ab_channel=OldAlabamaGardener


As far as the tomatoes, I've used multiple recipes for them and am still not settled on a favorite yet but I'm getting close. I've used the same brine used in the okra recipe above. I heat my jars and have the brine at a low simmer, stack my sliced tomatoes in the jar quickly, pour the brine in, de-bubble, put the lid on and water bath for ten minutes instead of cooking for eight minutes like I do the okra. There are recipes calling for citric acid or lemon juice instead of vinegar. I've tried both and will probably go back to one of them.

With any of the recipes, you have to take the tomato slices out of the jar carefully. I dredge mine with the same mixture as my okra. There's a bunch of recipes on youtube for canning them and the methods vary somewhat. Supposedly green tomatoes have more acid naturally than ripe ones.

This is considered rebel canning and you can find some less than safe recipes if you don't know anything about canning so do your research. Without enough acid, vegetables really need to be pressure canned. Acid would be vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice for me. I know some of the Amish water bath just about everything and lots of old timers did too but I'm not willing to take that chance.

 

[Wildwood]

Are most of the tomatoes decent size? You could try the Dick Raymond method of speeding market garden tonatoes to ripeness. He'd choose a plant with plenty of full sized fruit, and use a pointed shovel to dig a semi-circle about 12" from the stem of the plant. NOT a full circle! Cut about 12 inches deep, if possible.

This stresses the plant so it "thinks" it must hurry and ripen fruit. It really does work.

And if you keep it watered, and your weather doesn't cook the plants, they will generally produce and ripen a second flush of fruit.

Summerthyme

I've never heard that...thanks!

 

[Wildwood]

I am in Arizona, (central western). My garden, although not big, is doing really great. I water for 30 minutes twice a day. I planted early enough(April) that my tomatoes were able to flower before we started having temps over 90 degrees. Zucchini, squash, onions, and cucs do great in the heat (high of 104). Lettuce all bolted when it got up to 90 on a regular basis. Will plant lettuce again is October when it starts to cool down a bit.

I am always so fascinated that people can grow gardens with only rain for watering, what a blessing!!!!

That is the only reason I have tomatoes now I believe. Mine also had blooms well before the heat kicked in.

 

[Wildwood]

MOST of my garden is thriving. I am getting my usual bountiful tomato harvest, my bell peppers are producing strong and healthy fruit, my squash are still producing, my one and only watermelon plant was harvested for the 4th of July, and my strawberry plants have set their runner vines in preparation for next year’s crop. Even my cream pea (southern pea) plants are now growing their bean pods. That surprised me, because of how late I planted those beans.

The one planting that is struggling to survive are my purple pod string beans.

They just do not seem to be able to produce this year, and some of the vines are burning up.

But I water the garden every day, without fail.

And I have a very healthy soil that I have been building up with plenty of organic matter for years now. No chemicals in my garden. I purposefully grow an earthworm’s idea of heaven on earth. Which turns out to be the best thing for plants too.

Zone 7, suburban Memphis, TN.

My cream peas are at the exact same stage they were at when the heat kicked in. It's like they just quit growing and they get watered almost daily. I'm not sure I will have enough time for a crop of them when and if the heat lets up.

 

[Wildwood]

PLEASE!!!!?

Tell me how you can okra and green tomatoes for frying!!!

I have never heard of this before!! Do you cut them up. Before canning?? Doesn't the okra get "mucilaginous" or SLIMY?? And the green tomatoes???? Are they sliced and placed in the jars??

Sorry I didn't address those last questions. The okra is not slimy like boiled okra, just a tiny bit thicker than water. I do cut them up. The tomatoes are sliced and I use a wide mouth pint jar for mine but if your tomatoes aren't very big, a small mouth would be fine.

 

[summerthyme]

Yeah, our English pea plants look great, and are loaded with blossoms and pods, but the pods often only have one or two peas... they just don't pollinate above 90 degrees. We've mulched them with wood chips, and are hoping for some slightly cooler weather to help... I grow the Tall Telephone variety on livestock panels, which gives me a much longer window of production, and can often bridge a hot spell long enough to give us a decent crop.

Summerthyme

 

[ioujc]

Old Alabama Gardner is the one who posted the original video about canning okra for frying later, as far as I know. Lots of people have done videos giving him credit but more than a few get his recipe wrong and it's usually the amount of vinegar. With this recipe, that cannot be played with so I use his only. It adds just enough acid to preserve and even enhance the taste of the okra but not enough to make it tart. He uses this same protocol to can squash.

I've used this recipe for a few years and it's always great. My one change is that I turn my jars upside down as soon as I get the lid on because, even though it sealed without that step, it wasn't a tight enough seal to make me comfortable. Also, when I fill my jars, I always make sure the jars are very hot and my brine is still at a simmer. If it makes you feel better, you could even put it in a water bath for one minute but the hot jars and simmering brine give me a great seal.

This is one of the easiest things to can and what I love is you can do one jar or multiple jars. When I'm ready to fry it, I dump the okra into a large strainer and strain for just a minute. The liquid left is the right amount to make the breading stick perfectly. For breading I use about three parts self rising corn meal to one part self rising flour. I put a handful of okra in, toss it a little bit and put it in hot oil. Don't add any extra salt...it's plenty salty as is.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcaABHSCjUM&t=40s&ab_channel=OldAlabamaGardener


As far as the tomatoes, I've used multiple recipes for them and am still not settled on a favorite yet but I'm getting close. I've used the same brine used in the okra recipe above. I heat my jars and have the brine at a low simmer, stack my sliced tomatoes in the jar quickly, pour the brine in, de-bubble, put the lid on and water bath for ten minutes instead of cooking for eight minutes like I do the okra. There are recipes calling for citric acid or lemon juice instead of vinegar. I've tried both and will probably go back to one of them.

With any of the recipes, you have to take the tomato slices out of the jar carefully. I dredge mine with the same mixture as my okra. There's a bunch of recipes on youtube for canning them and the methods vary somewhat. Supposedly green tomatoes have more acid naturally than ripe ones.

This is considered rebel canning and you can find some less than safe recipes if you don't know anything about canning so do your research. Without enough acid, vegetables really need to be pressure canned. Acid would be vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice for me. I know some of the Amish water bath just about everything and lots of old timers did too but I'm not willing to take that chance.

THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH!!!

I will DEFINITELY be doing this this year!!

YIPPEE!!

 

[Wildwood]

THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH!!!

I will DEFINITELY be doing this this year!!

YIPPEE!!

You'll love it! DH would rather have the canned than the fresh now. That little touch of vinegar does something for it.

 

[energy_wave]

I picked my first beans today. I have zucchini and summer squash forming and they should be ready to harvest next week.

My onions are pickable, but still a little to small. I'd rather give them another 4 to 6 weeks, but I am thinking of topping them to form larger bulbs while drying the greens to grind into onion powder.

Tomato's have formed flowers as well as water melon and musk melon.

Green peppers are doing well. I was a little behind on getting everything planted this year but it looks like most will do OK.

My brussel sprouts were attacked by squirrels and army worms, so I might not get a harvest. Pisses me off to no end.

Peas are ready to pick, but most plants are way behind, so I don't expect to many this year.

Here are a few photos of my patio raised beds and roof top garden.

Raised beds are growing several types of onions this year with peas along the lattice. Boxes in between are beets, basil, fern dill, rosemary and thyme. On the roof, green bell peppers, water melon, musk melon, potato's, carrots, tomato's, butternut squash, cyan peppers and beans which are still on the deck, not shown. I also have a bucket of garlic cloves that I'll replant in the fall. The onions on the left raised bed, they were from last year. Very small bulbs I grew for seed.

All the wood I used to build was salvaged and I used left over paint with no primer. Just slapped it on for color. I have plenty of room under the raised beds to store soil in totes. Also have compost bins not shown. My cats love all this. I'll be spreading everything out on the roof next week to redistribute the weight and give the plants more sun light and room to grow, that's when my cats will spend their days sleeping under the greenery. I find dead mice all the time. Crows fly in in the morning to pick them up and blue jays as well to pick the bugs. I hear them every morning.

Next year, the steep upper roof, I plan on making wood brackets that lay on the roof with shelves to hold 40 one gallon grow bags so I can plant onions. I'm expanding every year. This is my 3rd year doing roof top. I get a lot of comments from the tourists as well as locals. I'm a visionary. By next year, I'll eliminate all the buckets and just use grow bags. I also dug a root cellar under my front porch.

 

[energy_wave]

Raised beds are around 4 foot by 22 foot with removable grow boxes in between so I can harvest peas or do maintenance as they are right on the property line. I get a lot of sun and walking on the roof in bare feet, man-o-man can that burn like hell. It gets real hot on that roof, but some plants love the heat, which is why I grew the best cucumbers I have ever grown in my life last year. Best carrots and beats as well. Takes a bit of mussel to lift soil on the roof but well worth it if you have no other garden space.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I think my garden might have gone into hibernation, we're not even getting weeds, it's just too bloody hot!

 

[Wildwood]

Raised beds are around 4 foot by 22 foot with removable grow boxes in between so I can harvest peas or do maintenance as they are right on the property line. I get a lot of sun and walking on the roof in bare feet, man-o-man can that burn like hell. It gets real hot on that roof, but some plants love the heat, which is why I grew the best cucumbers I have ever grown in my life last year. Best carrots and beats as well. Takes a bit of mussel to lift soil on the roof but well worth it if you have no other garden space.

I'm impressed! Great use of space and beautiful plants. I'd love to see updated pics when everything reaches its peak..

 

[onmyown30]

Well I was away for a little over 2 weeks and set up an automatic sprinkler to water it while I was gone. Looks great, green and beautiful but…………. The water company put a tag on our door alerting us to the fact that we used 13,000 gallons of water this month and to check for a leak if we weren’t using more!!! I have nooooo idea what 13,000 gallons of water is going to cost but hubby gonna call today since I lost my voice with this covid. May not be able to afford the garden if it’s too much

 

[TxGal]

Our blackberry and blueberry plants/bushes did great, but they fruited before the dreadful heat wave came in. Our potatoes were looking great, until the darn heat wave. We finally called it and harvested them, we may have gotten back our seed potatoes in pounds, but most aren't even medium-sized. I'm trying to hold them inside in a cool, dark place until the fall planting.

The only thing that is growing well are two Juliet cherry tomato plants. They seem to be the most successful in the heat, year after year. The wind (strong outflow boundary) we got with a nearby thunderstorm (we didn't get any rain) tossed them around a bit but they're surviving. My other favorite tomato, Cherokee Purple, finally has one tomato on it. Usually they do pretty well in the heat, but not this year.

I'm holding out hope (and seeds) for the fall planting season.

 

[pauldingbabe]

I don't want to talk about it....

 

[Martinhouse]

My potato harvest turned out pretty much the same as that of TxGal. I'll sort them, can some, store the rest, many of which can hopefully be for next spring's planting. Not gonna plant anything for this fall unless the rains come back.

I wonder if we will see anything next spring in the way of the usual stuff we need for putting in the year's gardens? Or will those "shelves" be empty, too? I'm already prepared for that, but it would be nicer if the worst doesn't happen after all.

 

[pauldingbabe]

I think we should wait a few weeks and replant everything.

Seriously. well not sweet potatoes, gords, etc.

Ima thinking our fall is going to be extended. Don't know about rain.

Just a feeling I have and I'm going to give it a go. If I had planted Cole crops in January, I could have brought in and set the damn market.

Makes me pissy...sorry.

 

[33dInd]

No way
Garden is barely hanging on even with us watering twice a day

 

[Wildwood]

I think we should wait a few weeks and replant everything.

Seriously. well not sweet potatoes, gords, etc.

Ima thinking our fall is going to be extended. Don't know about rain.

Just a feeling I have and I'm going to give it a go. If I had planted Cole crops in January, I could have brought in and set the damn market.

Makes me pissy...sorry.

Don't apologize, I feel the same way. I don't think I've ever worked so hard for so little. If not for the drip irrigation, we'd have gotten nothing.

I'm also planning on fall if this heat wave ever breaks. We get a few days break at the end of the week and then it's right back to 104.

 

[pauldingbabe]

Don't apologize, I feel the same way. I don't think I've ever worked so hard for so little. If not for the drip irrigation, we'd have gotten nothing.

I'm also planning on fall if this heat wave ever breaks. We get a few days break at the end of the week and then it's right back to 104.

God bless ya love...its been a long row to hoe this year!

I refuse to give in! I will have okra!

 

[Wildwood]

Well I was away for a little over 2 weeks and set up an automatic sprinkler to water it while I was gone. Looks great, green and beautiful but…………. The water company put a tag on our door alerting us to the fact that we used 13,000 gallons of water this month and to check for a leak if we weren’t using more!!! I have nooooo idea what 13,000 gallons of water is going to cost but hubby gonna call today since I lost my voice with this covid. May not be able to afford the garden if it’s too much

Just be glad you aren't on the county water...I've heard nightmares. My sister had a leak several months back and they didn't work with her at all. She was telling me her friends who live in town sometimes get a break from the city on those big water bills.

We have a well but our electric bill came yesterday and it was high but our air has been on 24/7 for weeks. DH thinks our watering hasn't made much difference since the drip irrigation is very slow but I'm not sure.

I'm sorry you've had to deal with covid again. DH is just getting over a very nasty, several week long battle with it and he never gets sick. Back when I had such a bad case if it, he had it but was barely sick.

 

[Wildwood]

God bless ya love...its been a long row to hoe this year!

I refuse to give in! I will have okra!

I'm about to start more seeds in cups. I love it too and have seven plants that survived the flood. They are giving me about one pod every other day each...it's slow but I hoard it until I have enough for a pint jar and can it for frying later. I have four jars lol. I'd have five but one's seal failed after a few days...I may have said one or two ugly words.

 

[pauldingbabe]

I'm about to start more seeds in cups. I love it too and have seven plants that survived the flood. They are giving me about one pod every other day each...it's slow but I hoard it until I have enough for a pint jar and can it for frying later. I have four jars lol. I'd have five but one's seal failed after a few days...I may have said one or two ugly words.

One or two ugly words?

My garden and all my canning equipment....hell my wheelbarrow needs a therapist!

 

[alpha]

OPEN SOURCE INTEL: I’d posted to @iceagefarmer that I’d received many reports of poor germination and other issues from corporate seed sources, and asked people to share what they were seeing.
Over 700 people replied. Here is a summary; huge thanks to Kate B. for reviewing, compiling, and sharing. It paints an interesting picture of a uniquely difficult season. Original thread here. (How's your garden doing?)
[ Join the garden group: @iaf_garden ! More groups: @iaf_groups ]
___
Just been through about 700+ comments from the US, Canada, Europe, UK, Sweden, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and beyond:
a) seeds are showing poor germination from a wide range of suppliers
b) those that do germinate and start to grow are doing so i) slower than usual OR ii) are getting so far in their growth then dying (a bit like Tesco's herbs unless you transplant into fresh earth!) OR iii) are growing well but producing greenery not edible produce, so poor yields
c) suspicion is also falling on contaminated bagged compost -- many reports of issues here, some discussion around Grazon contamination
d) in addition, folks are noticing that store bought veg & fruit is not lasting, plus some is rotten on opening although firm externally
e) suggestions also being made about soil alkalinity from chemtrails inhibiting growth
f) some people raising animals are getting all male babies [!?]
g) sunflowers & other plants are being burnt up by the sun's rays
h) there is poor growth/yield from fruit trees
j) plentiful complaints from folks that have been growing for 25-40 years that things just aren't right with a degree of confusion as to the source
k) livestock feed prices are skyrocketing
l) many sick & dead animals around this year & dead birds found daily (Italy)
m) too hot/ too dry/ no rain/ storms/ erratic weather with false forecasting
n) absence of bees for pollination
p) cold nights inhibiting growth
q) abundance of pests & bugs at levels not seen before
r) zucchini with zero female flowers
s) blatant chemtrail spraying with some warning of "cancer in the ground for gardeners",
t) healthy hens stopping laying
u) pullets dropping dead at 6 months with no obvious cause
v) cooler spring so plants are a month behind
w) hard to get the cows/goats back in calf
x) change in taste of store bought veg/fruit
y) salads are going straight to seed and bolting
z) overall poor germination & growth - a weird growing year,
Common phrase: "Never seen anything like it in 30 years"

Telegram

Ice Age Farmer

OPEN THREAD: Many reports of empty shelves, rationing at Costco and others.
Also hearing lots of reports of poor germination/yields from seeds from corporate sources (home depot, etc)..
What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?
#OpenThread

 

[packyderms_wife]

Everything in my garden is stunted at this point. I'll be interesting to see what survives this weeks heat wave. Central Iowa.

 

[dioptase]

The only edibles that I'm growing are tomatoes, and the perennial herbs (chives, garlic chives, peppermint, apple mint, rosemary). I do have a couple of (leftover from last year) bunching onions, but that's it. I got the tomatoes planted late, and we just harvested the first few tomatoes last week, with no more red ones in sight. I'm hoping that we get some sort of crop out of them. (They aren't in an ideal location - too much shade for starters.)

There are a few vines poking up from where I had planted potatoes previously, but I don't expect anything from that.

Everything here is irrigated 2x/week on low-flow spray heads, and everything is mulched with redwood chips. Things are holding up... it's just whether or not we get tomatoes in any kind of abundance.

(I don't know HOW you guys down in TX get any kind of a crop! Do you plant in Jan-Feb or something for a spring harvest?)

 

[onmyown30]

Oh my water bill came… the extra 13,000 gallons or so only came to about $30 more on the bills so it was about $80 bill. Phewwwwwwww I don’t know why they made such a fuss for only $30 extra! Still exhausted and haven’t been in the garden all week, it’s a mess but things are growing. Hopefully end of this week I’ll clean it up and see what I can keep and what I can take out

 

[Wildwood]

Oh my water bill came… the extra 13,000 gallons or so only came to about $30 more on the bills so it was about $80 bill. Phewwwwwwww I don’t know why they made such a fuss for only $30 extra! Still exhausted and haven’t been in the garden all week, it’s a mess but things are growing. Hopefully end of this week I’ll clean it up and see what I can keep and what I can take out

Thank goodness...that sounded like a few hundred extra to me!

I cleaned out part of my garden today and haven't made up my mind what to put in it's place. It was the cucumbers I pulled. They gave me a fair crop but they were through and starting to die but that is partly my fault because I missed a few that got huge and that is game over for most cukes.

 

[Wildwood]

View attachment 354294
OPEN SOURCE INTEL: I’d posted to @iceagefarmer that I’d received many reports of poor germination and other issues from corporate seed sources, and asked people to share what they were seeing.
Over 700 people replied. Here is a summary; huge thanks to Kate B. for reviewing, compiling, and sharing. It paints an interesting picture of a uniquely difficult season. Original thread here. (How's your garden doing?)
[ Join the garden group: @iaf_garden ! More groups: @iaf_groups ]
___
Just been through about 700+ comments from the US, Canada, Europe, UK, Sweden, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and beyond:
a) seeds are showing poor germination from a wide range of suppliers
b) those that do germinate and start to grow are doing so i) slower than usual OR ii) are getting so far in their growth then dying (a bit like Tesco's herbs unless you transplant into fresh earth!) OR iii) are growing well but producing greenery not edible produce, so poor yields
c) suspicion is also falling on contaminated bagged compost -- many reports of issues here, some discussion around Grazon contamination
d) in addition, folks are noticing that store bought veg & fruit is not lasting, plus some is rotten on opening although firm externally
e) suggestions also being made about soil alkalinity from chemtrails inhibiting growth
f) some people raising animals are getting all male babies [!?]
g) sunflowers & other plants are being burnt up by the sun's rays
h) there is poor growth/yield from fruit trees
j) plentiful complaints from folks that have been growing for 25-40 years that things just aren't right with a degree of confusion as to the source
k) livestock feed prices are skyrocketing
l) many sick & dead animals around this year & dead birds found daily (Italy)
m) too hot/ too dry/ no rain/ storms/ erratic weather with false forecasting
n) absence of bees for pollination
p) cold nights inhibiting growth
q) abundance of pests & bugs at levels not seen before
r) zucchini with zero female flowers
s) blatant chemtrail spraying with some warning of "cancer in the ground for gardeners",
t) healthy hens stopping laying
u) pullets dropping dead at 6 months with no obvious cause
v) cooler spring so plants are a month behind
w) hard to get the cows/goats back in calf
x) change in taste of store bought veg/fruit
y) salads are going straight to seed and bolting
z) overall poor germination & growth - a weird growing year,
Common phrase: "Never seen anything like it in 30 years"

Telegram

Ice Age Farmer
OPEN THREAD: Many reports of empty shelves, rationing at Costco and others.
Also hearing lots of reports of poor germination/yields from seeds from corporate sources (home depot, etc)..
What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?
#OpenThread

I am seeing so many of the things on this list. I don't know if I put it here or not but I've had just as much trouble getting my own saved seeds to germinate as the ones I bought. I think it's something in the rain, maybe last year, that hurt our seeds or messed up our soil. I also think all our commercial dirts have the potential to be contaminated with things like grazon. I had to reseed bare spots at least four times before I got adequate germination and once the plants came up, some didn't grow and had spindly stems. I go above and beyond to amend my soil and this year was no exception.

The Miracle Grow I bought to start seeds in this year gave me the worst results I've ever had in germination....an epic failure in everything but especially tomatoes. The same MG from years ago that I had left over didn't do it. Being me, after I found the old bag, I did a controlled study with the old stuff, the new stuff and some Jiffy potting soil. The old MG and the Jiffy had much better germination than the new Miracle grow...by far. I may have already mentioned this...if so, forgive me.

I'm so afraid of store bought dirt now that I refuse to put anything in my raised beds other than dirt off our place or my compost.