Garden August 2021

Monday, August 2

Summer Garden List

TNG Continue to build cage

TNG Prepare strawberry bed

TNG Continue to work on pathway

TNG Continue weed management

TNG Work on water tower

TNG Replace weak posts

TNG Work on North fence.

TNG Work on tree cleanup

TNG Cleanup and mulch road area outside fence.

TNG repair street side fence.

UR Cleanup back yard

UR Start working on concrete block raised bed

UR Work on side yard cleanup

UR Set up second gutter auto water

UR Clean up front patio

Monday August 2

Thoughts for the garden in August are leaning toward completing the cage and more weed control. I'm thinking about just cutting down all the all the brush in front of the street side fence at Terra Nova Gardens and putting down a mulch of about a foot deep. It has gotten totally out hand the last two years. I have a trimmer with a saw blade that would be able make it easy work. Before I put the blade to work, I would just use the trimmer attachment to clean up as much as I could. I have a huge mountain of mulch to use so that's not an issue.

There's still lots of things to accomplish at the Urban Ranch. I haven't started the process of building the next raised bed from cement blocks. I should keep track of how many hours it takes to build one. I still have yet to set up the second gutter auto watering. I did buy the lag bolts for the height adjuster. 

Garden life is not what I thought it would at this time of my life. I thought the garden would be much better and produce much more.

Yes, it's a weed mess again at Terra Nova Gardens but I am determined to make some headway in August. This year has been a struggle to get to Terra Nova Gardens. I'm not sure why but I haven't had the desire to go and work on the things that need doing. Are my expectations to high? Is my desire to garden waning? Is my age slowing me and desire down? Many considerations are in my mind.

Another pathway cleared of the weed mess. This pathway was weeded earlier this year which was easier to clear this time. I still like the weed pulling method the best. The trimmer just makes it into a lawn that needs mowing every week. Pulling the weeds keeps the paths clear much longer. The compost heap in the woods is getting bigger and bigger. Bind weed isn't as much an issue as it used to be but Creeping Charlie is taking over under the grass. It's a large challenge to keep the grass under control. I think I might continue to work on the one cage and just use those beds next year while I work on the next two beds. Things are so far out of control that I need to start again on a smaller scale. 

Today will be a day to work on the Urban Ranch things. I do want to clean up the front patio and start another round of mowing. Lydia's yard needs to be mowed today. Both my yards need to me mowed and 35th street needs to be mowed again. This year I have gotten into the rhythm of mowing my yards every two weeks.

The fence line is in need of complete cleaning up. The final push of summer is upon me. 

Tuesday, August 3
Today will be a day of Urban Ranch yard and garden work. There is plenty to do. 

Nice. These are the first of many larger tomatoes. I am buried under cherry tomatoes. I don't know what to do with them all. They are determinate tomatoes so after the flush they will be done. I can pull them out and maybe plant something else in the buckets.

Saturday, August 7

I got the second gutter leak fixed and the auto water set up. It needs to be adjusted down more so as to not overflow the gutter. I made the adjusters a couple days ago and now I just need to watch them to be sure they keep the gutters at the right level.

The cherry tomatoes are almost done and are starting to dry up. The major harvest needs to be done and then they can be pulled out. The in ground tomatoes are starting to produce bigger tomatoes. I gave away some of the tomatoes yesterday to Bill and Keith. There's more on the way.

Monday, August 9

The accumulation continues to pile up. Every time about this time of the year that happens. I really don't want to can any tomatoes but it looks like I might have to do that. No one seems to want any tomatoes because most have their own. I'm cutting back on what I grow next year. I really don't have to have a big garden for just me.

This garden is pretty much spent. The cherry tomatoes are mostly done and the bell peppers are all but done. I am seriously thinking about pulling them all out, refreshing the soil, and planting a fall crop there. I don't think I have enough time for that. 

Tuesday, August 10

Garden life is winding down. I never got the Terra Nova Gardens cage built so I suspect the sweet corn will be a bust. I could throw up the electric fence but my desire for gardening at Terra Nova Gardens has all but disappeared for this year. I'm not sure why. I just never got a good start in the spring so I couldn't catch up and stay inspired during the garden year. My energy level was not the best this year either. Life is winding down and my biggest concern is upon me. I have always thought that by the time my family responsibilities were minimal my ability to do what I want in the garden I would not be able to do it because of old age. It seems to becoming true. I have really noticed that I can't do nearly as much as I used to be able to do. Only a could years ago I could carry two concrete blocks easily. Now I struggle just carry one. I suspect my energy and strength will only continue to dwindle. I'm just not ready for that to happen. There's so much more I want to accomplish. The slow down of life is upon me.

Wednesday, August 11

Not much gardening today. I am going to try to get out to Terra Nova Gardens to carry the bags of grass for mulch. I'm not mulching much this year. The grass will get piled up in the compost area by the back fence until later in the fall or next spring. I'm not sure just how much I'll be able to accomplish this year at Terra Nova Gardens.

I still want to cut down all the bushes and trees along the road and heavy mulch it. I suspect the bushes will come up through the heavy mulch to start life over. I really had envisioned a much better look when I planted the rose bush hedges. 

Tuesday, August 17

No garden work again today. It's been many days since I've actually did anything with my gardens. I did water the eggplants a couple days ago but other than that, nothing. I'm just letting the bucket garden go since it's mostly on the way out anyway. I have very low key thoughts about planting a fall garden in the buckets but the time is slipping away for that. Maybe some leafy greens could be grown but with only 58 days left until frost, there's not much that can mature in that time. It's really time to start cleaning up the gardens and prepare for next year. I still haven't started working on structure things. The cage isn't built, the raised bed isn't even started, and the health of the gardens are dwindling. I didn't get the electric fence up so I doubt if I'll get any corn this year. The potatoes are totally overgrown with weeds so I'm not sure what the harvest will be there. It's been a terrible year for gardens. Everything is a mess. So the winter will reset the gardens and I'll start over next year. I haven't even used any grass mulch from the mowing this year. I'm just going to dump them into a pile inside the fence and help they will compost down. Life really went awry this year as far as physical gardens go. I have to hope that the people garden flourished better.

The doctor visit was just as I suspected. No problem. She wants me back in a month to see if there's any change but from what she described it's been that way all my life. Keri is just being cautious. And I get that. 

Wednesday, August 18

I am hoping to get out Terra Nova Gardens. I want to cleanup the driveway. I have all the grass from mowing this year setting in the driveway. I want to get that inside the fence in a compost area to compost down into a usable compost. Then there's the brush from the fallen tree that needs to be taken away and piled up in the woods. Those are the two things I want to get done today. Anything else will be a plus. I am going to try to get small bites done at both the Urban Ranch and Terra Nova Gardens as long as I can before Winter sets in. I think it's time to start transplanting the strawberries that I have potted up this year.

Tuesday, August 31

This is the end of August. It was a busy month for sure and the first part of September will be busy with Sharon stuff.

Here is the work for this day. This corner always gets over grown with with trees and bind weed type stuff. This year I let it go a little longer than I should. It was a real mess to clean up. Now I need to root out the stumps with digging and a reciprocating saw. 

Looks a lot better now with all the debris gone. There's a big pile of brush and weeds to feed into the weekly trash container. Since the trash container is so big I am filling it weekly with cleanup from the yard. 

I have decided to use plastic bags for the yard grass clippings because there's no yard waste pickup any more and really I didn't need to use yard waste bags because I just take it out to Terra Nova Gardens anyway. I had the problem of soggy bags if it set in the bag too long and total deterioration if it rained. I don't know why I didn't think about that sooner.