Garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wslayer]

We have an old ornamental bird house that sits about 2' off the ground. Yesterday while trimming shrubs I heard a buzzing sound and come to find out that the birdhouse has a yellowjacket nest inside. I put a trash can over it hoping the sun would cook them but since it is in a rock garden, the trash can doesn't seal at the bottom and it took them a fraction of a second to figure that out. I guess I will have to dress in protective gear and douse the house with a diatomaceous earth slurry that has worked in the past. Wish they were pollinators but all they do is destroy apples and other fruit. I did get stung once yesterday when I was dinking with them. My own fault for sure.

They are a pain in the ass. . .

 

[Eatsleeptrap]

2.8 inches in 2 hours. Our garden is a POND....

 

[LBrandt]

Need someone to come in and do some draintile on my sweetcorn patch after that last little gully washer. LB

 

[LBrandt]

Wife and I become 90% vegetarian for when the garden gets going about 4 months of the year. Been a tough one this year, from hail to weather changes every few days. Have made it though, might be a little late but if uncle frost stays away we will be fine with plenty to share. Hope others have faired better. LB and Bun.

 

[Ruttin]

The rain events really put a damper on the garden for us to. Yielded some good potatoes, cucs and zucchini so far. Tomatoes are coming along but need time. They seem thinner on the leafs this year. Pumpkins are looking good

 

[Davey Crockett]

It's been a good growing conditions up here except for the cool weather early on. So far the deer have stayed out but that might change after the electric fencer quit working and waiting on warranty. Been eating like rabbits and freezers are full. sweet corn is still a ways away

 

[CAH]

Tomatoes are just now putting fruit on. If we can hold some heat, I think we will have a bumper crop.

 

[BDub]

I planted Yaqui paste tomatoes for salsa. They are loaded and ripening. Tennis ball size. But after that the other six varieties are slow but large.

 

[tikkalover]

Same here, lots of tomatoes (3 big boy and 1 cherry tomato) but the big tomatoes are not ripping, the cherry tomatoes are just starting to ripen, and some are as big as fifty cent pieces. 200 plus cucumbers off of 3 plants and jalapeños are doing very well. Haven’t dug any potatoes yet.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Ive got a lot of aronia right now, picked and juiced 10 gallons last weekend, got at least 10x that much left on the bushes...

 

[Lycanthrope]

Need someone to come in and do some draintile on my sweetcorn patch after that last little gully washer. LB

On my land, there is a pretty solid layer of clay that is about 2 inches thick, down 16-18 inches from the surface. I bought a ripping claw, with single digger from land pride that will rip down to about 22 inches. If your land is similar to mine, ripping that are up pretty good will create enough cuts/spaces in that clay layer to allow the water to drain through, otherwise it just sits there.

 

[Davey Crockett]

Lycan, what did you get for a tractor ?

 

[Lycanthrope]

Lycan, what did you get for a tractor ?

nothing... yet, kinda keeping my eyes open for a good deal. Im think what Id probably like is a little 25hp with a FEL for small tasks, newer, AWD with HST. And then an older tractor that can do some heavy work, maybe with FEL or without, not as important, but something bigger/heavier for doing some dirt work and stuff like that.

 

[Allen]

nothing... yet, kinda keeping my eyes open for a good deal. Im think what Id probably like is a little 25hp with a FEL for small tasks, newer, AWD with HST. And then an older tractor that can do some heavy work, maybe with FEL or without, not as important, but something bigger/heavier for doing some dirt work and stuff like that.

https://www.bismanonline.com/mandan_nd/2018_john_deere_4044m_compact_tractor_w_loader_bu

or

https://www.bismanonline.com/bismarck_nd/ct450_bobcat_tractor_with_l9_loader_new_tires_all

or

https://www.bismanonline.com/mandan_nd/2006_bobcat_ct120_tractor_w_loader_w_king_kutte

Some of the ones currently listed on Bisman. All 3 look like pretty decent deals (??) so it just depends on how much you want to spend. There's also TractorHouse.com that is easily searchable/sortable to find tractors in ND and bordering states. FWIW, my tractor is 43 hp.

 

[Lycanthrope]

https://www.bismanonline.com/mandan_nd/2018_john_deere_4044m_compact_tractor_w_loader_bu

or

https://www.bismanonline.com/bismarck_nd/ct450_bobcat_tractor_with_l9_loader_new_tires_all

or

https://www.bismanonline.com/mandan_nd/2006_bobcat_ct120_tractor_w_loader_w_king_kutte

Some of the ones currently listed on Bisman. All 3 look like pretty decent deals (??) so it just depends on how much you want to spend. There's also TractorHouse.com that is easily searchable/sortable to find tractors in ND and bordering states. FWIW, my tractor is 43 hp.

seems the price of small used tractors has been dropping lately, ive seen some decent deals at auction, if I was willing to drive to PA or TX...

 

[wslayer]

seems the price of small used tractors has been dropping lately, ive seen some decent deals at auction, if I was willing to drive to PA or TX...

Maybe keep an eye on Orr's auction house online Jmst. Have seen some nice units before. I think it is online bidding but a lot of stuff can be seen prior.
About 5 miles south on hwy281

 

[Lycanthrope]

found someone with mature black walnut trees that doesn't want the nuts...

 

[tikkalover]

Well used up the last of the tomatoes this evening we had ripening in basement for tomato juice

For the year ended up with 8 quarts tomato juice 40 some pints of various canned tomatoes.

Ate and gave away tomatoes and cherry tomatoes until we were sick of them.
Lots of nice sized jalapeños ( these are a few)

Ended the year with 383 cucumbers off 3 hills.

Ended up with three 5 gallon buckets of potatoes off 25 hills. This was the biggest one this year

 

[Davey Crockett]

Nice , I had a few big potatoes but I don't think they are that heavy. But I'll throw one on the scale and see. I can't say enough in one post about how happy I am gardening with hills. The heavy soil we have on a dry year like this usually makes for a long hard harvest but I pulled the potatoes out the side of the hills with my bare hands and they were good size and plentiful. The carrots were bigger than normal and pulled out by the tops with no digging. First time I've saw that. One row of carrots a different variety that I planted without hilling, I ended up digging with the backhoe after I broke my good potato fork. I'm all hilled up for next spring , the snow melts off them first and they warm up faster. I no tilled the seed and what few weeds there were in the rows were a lot easier to manage. I'm sold .

 

[LBrandt]

Well used up the last of the tomatoes this evening we had ripening in basement for tomato juice

For the year up with 8 quarts tomato juice 40 some pints of various canned tomatoes.

Ate and gave away tomatoes and cherry tomatoes until we were sick of them.
Lots of nice sized jalapeños ( these are a few)

Ended the year with 383 cucumbers off 3 hills.

Ended up with three 5 gallon buckets of potatoes off 25 hills. This was the biggest one this year

You did well GRASSHOPPER. very well. LB