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ErnieCopp

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Drove North the last three days, so today i had to do three days work for one days pay. picked two five gallon buckets of bi color cantaloupe. Shared one bucket with three neighbors, picked a milk crate full of Persian melons, and all the ripe tomatoes, as i had to spray everything with Kocide. Been very warm and humid and both Downy Mildew and Black Mold are showing up again. Cannot buy Kocide 3000 in CA anymore, so using Kocide 2000. same basic stuff but 2000 is not as soluble so more trouble to keep sprayer filter clean. I finished spraying without having to clean the filter, but I am going to install a pressure relief valve and plumb to tank bottom to agitate when not spraying. Then modified the deflectors on three rainbirds, to disperse the water more evenly, and moved the rainbirds a few times. Humidity was well over 99%, so easy to work up a sweat, for sure.

Ernie
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Did a little work on the garden wall... setting about 50 more stones. Then drained & refilled the EZ-Flo injection system. I tried to take it easy today, while still 'pushing the ball forward'.

I still need to set the last 8 stones to complete the edging around Mrs Ranch's newest flowerbed, which I will try to accomplish tomorrow. I just didn't feel like working on my knees today...
 
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ErnieCopp

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I am sure you will get satisfaction from that rock job when it is done. I have laid a lot of pavers and block walls here, as well as tiling the veranda. I have laid brick and planted trees at every house i have ever owned.
Just picked some melons and peppers today, did some irrigating, sprayed some humming bird vines that i am getting started, and found some pretty blossoms on those vines that i did not expect this year. Things are slowing down in the garden, and except for watermelons, the melons will soon be done.

Ernie
 
finkikin

finkikin

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Tomball
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Last night I pulled all the Tomato plants up. This heat just did a number on them and plus it is about that time anyway.
 
Cody

Cody

Active Member
Messages
71
Planting Zone
8a
I justed harvested a lot of garlic that I thouggt was dead. Someone gave me a few young plants a long time ago. Then I spent 2hrs. catching up on yard work. Time to regroup and then pull up my maters.
 
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ErnieCopp

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I have had a busy morning, but done for the day now. I sprayed some Hummingbird bushes for Mildew and a new Nectarine that brought some bad shothole disease with it, Spraying now will probably not help it, as that must be sprayed during dormant season to do any good, but i am tired of looking at the sick leaves.

Then I mixed some acid fertilizer for the plants that need it to combat the Alkali, drenched the tree roots and then diluted the solution and foliar sprayed.

Himrod grapes are ripe on the sunny side of the Arbor, so picked four gallons, and about a gallon fell off as i was untangling the clusters from the vines. Lesson Learned, next year i will prune the growth away from the clusters while the grapes are young and hard, and make sure the clusters are not tangling with any vines. Filled the new dryer and a couple of shelves in the old dryer, and left a pan full of grapes for Linda to make a compote from.

Will stay inside now until it is Happy Hour.

Ernie
 
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Slowngreen

Guest
I picked one tomato that was finally red but something had nibbled on the bottom. Jerk.
 
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ErnieCopp

Guest
That is too bad. I do not mind a few nibblers when I have plenty, but it hurts when you only have a few. I had a lot of round holes eaten in my tomatoes early on, and think they were climbing cutworms, but now, with lots of tomatoes, i do not see them anymore. I did remove the lower branches and sprayed the ground beneath the vines with Malathion, but did not spray my vines.
Ernie
w_r_ranch said:
A man after my own heart!!! My favorite time of the day, it rivals watching the sun rise!!!
Click to expand...
Sam, that is right, for sure. I have always been an early riser, and enjoyed many a beautiful sunrise.
Ernie
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Every morning here Ernie... I & the dogs always watch the sun come up from our back porch & we don't go into the house until the sun is over the trees (when it starts getting hot). We also enjoy our 'high tea time', which is 1400 hrs local time here, when we have our daily margaritas & talk about whatever.... The back porch is our favorite room here (dogs included... even for the margaritas, LOL!!!).
 
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ErnieCopp

Guest
Sam,
Los Angeles is not a good place for sunrises, because of the marine layer, meaning low clouds and haze. It is a little better here in Vista, but there are fifty foot Eucalyptus on my East P/L, so that blocks it. But i was fortunate to have lived about 20 years on my sailboat and i was nearly always in the cockpit drinking coffee by the time the sun came up.

I get the New York news programs at 3 PM here, and at 4 PM we have our happy hour time on the Veranda. I have been thinking of taking a couple of pictures showing what i am looking at over my whiskey glass. Lots of birds here, so we have feeders out, and often see a new variety stop by or an old variety come back. Some are local, some are migratory.

Ernie
 
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ErnieCopp

Guest
That is certainly a good one. My best ones are from the boat down in Mexico, where the air is dry. That is also good looking pasture. Is it Springtime, irrigated, or do you get enough rain in the summer to keep it like that?

Ernie
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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I only wished we had rainfall like that every year. Spring (up to May is normally sufficient), 2007, when that picture was taken, was exceptional for us... 86.5". It as an extremely good hay year, to say the least!!!
 
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ErnieCopp

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Not much happened around here today, mowed the lawn and found what i hope is just Powdery Mildew in the very top of my Babcock Peach tree.

But a lot of excitement at one of our Crushing Plants down in Cathedral City, Our foreman had told the Contractor's project manager that they should stop digging up on top, until they got the Boulders taken care of, but an hour later, down it came, No one was hurt, fuel tank not punctured, but trailer probably ruined. See the Pix. Ernie
 

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ErnieCopp

Guest
Yes, it missed the steps and access door by about six feet, and could have hit and killed someone going in or out.

Ernie
 
Cody

Cody

Active Member
Messages
71
Planting Zone
8a
Since I pulled all my plants, I just drank a beer and smoked a cigar while watching my son try to catch a chicken. He was unsuccessful. lol.
 
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ErnieCopp

Guest
Just finished my work, Fertilized the lawn, using my lightweight JD tow spreader. For some reason it has a flat area around the outlet, so some of the fertilizer will not go through. I got tired of getting off the tractor to brush it down, and wound up leaning back and grabbing that little sucker and shaking it hard, That worked fine, but nearly ran into a tree while i was looking back, and think it must be just about as easy to use a hand spreader as it is shaking that thing like that.

Then i have a beautiful, healthy looking peach tree, very lush, and the top foot wilted. Kind of late for Leaf Curl and finally saw some mildew on the leaves, so sprayed, or soaked, that with Kocide, hoping it controls it. Picked a few melons too, but we have too many and they are just going to waste.

Ernie
 
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Northernfox

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nothing in my garden except for a few raspberries this evening. I then spent the night thinking about how I could make a buck or two with my garden. nothing substantial just enough to offset my hobby if I am lucky!
 
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ErnieCopp

Guest
My garden is winding down so i have been pruning tomato vines, only leaving the ones with green tomatoes to ripen, hauling away melon vines, blackberry vines, and such, just keeping up with Mother Nature.

Been picking black figs to dry, every other day, and finished picking all the sweet peppers we wanted to freeze. Peppers are still producing like crazy, so will try to give them away. Variety is called Big Man, and easy to see how they got that name.

Still have a couple of patches of watermelons, but will pick those tomorrow and clean out those areas, and turn off some of the drip tubes.

A very pleasant feeling, to see the garden coming to an end after a successful growing season. I have learned more this summer and will put that to good use as i plant next Spring.

Ernie
 
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