plowed the garden

[joyce]

I reckon the groundhogs have found my cantaloupe patch. For the past 4 mornings I go out there and anywhere from 1 to 3 loupes have been gnawed opened and about half of it eat out. I know it ain't deer I can't find any tracks.

I guess it could be raccoons but Daddy seems to think it was groundhogs. Other than a shotgun blast I don't know really what to do about groundhogs.

[SpyderLady]

All my life, I have never seen a groundhog in the wild, except for one that was peekin outa hole.
On Paul Coffman Drive there was a high bank and had several holes dug in it. One afternoon going home from work I saw one looking out the hole. Only one I ever spotted before.
Dang them critters getting in your garden, but reckon they are mighty hungry. Guess they are thinking they hit the jackpot.

[joyce]

When I was out in the country we had a groundhog den on our property. Several times always when Daddy would be at work the devil would get in the garden. They are destructive lil critters. I would try to run it down and chop it with the weeding hoe. ::)They can run fast no doubt. I would get so mad and Momma would always laugh at me for chasing em all over the garden.

Finally Daddy shot the one around there. I am sure there was more than one but after he killed it we never saw anymore.

[joyce]

My late garden I planted the kidney beans are blooming. ;D Considering the weather it's doing good.

The butternut squash are covered with lil butternuts.

Hopefully after the middle of this month gonna plant my mustard and turnip green patch.

[SpyderLady]

That's great joyce.

You ain't gonna know what to do with yourself this fall after the garden is gone.

[buzzard]

Oooo, I love roasted turnip!!!!

[joyce]

More time on the computer, I guess. I'll have plenty to do. I do dread thinking about fall and winter, knowing I will be stuck in the house.

Never had roasted turnips. I just always peel em and stew em down in water. Add some salt, pepper, some oil, and a little sugar.

[buzzard]

I cook them sometimes with a roast, just like potatoes, only they have to cook a little bit longer.

[joyce]

Sounds good, buzzy.

I feel like I am fighting a loosing battle right now with the late garden. The heat and lack of rain is making it hard. I am watering it about every other day and it's growing but still a drink from Heaven would help it alot.

Guess I will soak down the area for my turnip and mustard green patch and plant them next week.

May put Ratman behind the tiller and let him use it when he comes down here next weekend.

[shyangel]

sorry about it being so dry... that isn't good.

Happy news though...

My daughter brought home some kinda been plant in a cup and I put in a shadowy place, it grew... So I planted it in the ground by the house where it will get mine and the suns undivided attention about the same time you planted your late garden. Now it has little beans on it! It has about 3 on there and still blooming. She is sooooo excited about it.
I find myself anticipating what's going to happen next.

[joyce]

Cool shy. I love watching stuff grow.

Talk about getting the surprise of my life while ago I went out and was looking at the sweet taters. They were so wilted so I took the hose and went down there to water em. Well I been having a mole making runs all in the sweet tater row and I kept seeing all the huge cracks in the top of the row and just figured it was the stupid mole. Well where the water was hitting that it knocked off some of the dirt and I am seeing huge sweet taters. Crap it ain't the mole I got sweet taters ready to dig. I will have to post some pictures. OMG they are huge.

I planted em really late this year. I was talking about how I couldn't find any plants, well good grief in less than 3 months they made. Guess I will start early in the morning digging. Any volunteers?

[joyce]

Told ya I had sweet taters. Dug a bushel this morning.

[SpyderLady]

wow, you tater pickin thang, you!!!

Sure are purdy; to be so hard to find them this yr. lol

[califgirl]

Wow Joyce that is a lot of sweet potato's.

[shyangel]

WOW!!!!!!!!

MMMMMM... Yummy!!!!

those look so goooooood!

[joyce]

Yea they may be hard to find. I hadn't really heard anybody else round here say how their tater crop is. The moles did do some damage to some of them. Big holes eat on some of them. Gonna finish digging the rest of em today.

I sure am sore. Before I started digging em yesterday I was moving the sprinkler to water the north garden and was crossing the electric fence (which I had turned off) well my foot got tangled in the bottom wire and down I went and hard to. My back started hurting right away and this morning, it's my back, shoulders and my bottom that is hurting. The route was hard to do, couldn't hardly lift the bundles. Ouch!!!!!

[SpyderLady]

Oh dang! That hurt me just reading it. I will bring ya some pain patches. They are real good ones. So sorry you went down on that hard dry ground.

Stupid moles! Don't ya hate em! I haven't seen too many fresh trails since its been so dry. But I was watering yesterday and saw some where I been watering.

[joyce]

Got em all dug. Thought I might work out some of the soreness. Ain't too bad right now.

I tried some of those pain patches before that you can get at Wally World. I hadn't got any right now. You got any that can go from my legs to my neck. ;D

[buzzard]

Ouch Joyce! But the taters are beautiful. I can just picture them now, baked in their skins, with a bit of brown sugar and marshmallows on top (just a bit), swimming in real butter, with some nutmeg and cinnamon sprinkled on them too, Oh! and some toasted pecans. Yummy!

[joyce]

Yep that'll work. ;D

I fixed some night before last with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Sure was good.

Soreness is some better today except my right hand. For some reason today my fingers and wrist are really hurting.