Had a good start to the day spraying weeds around the watermelon patch. Everything is still pretty soaked from the big downpour Wednesday but we've been doing a little advance watering just in case it turns real hot again.
Spent the whole afternoon mowing the walk-ways in the first cornfield with the riding mower. My sunblock ran out about 2:30 and I was there until after 5. So now I'm nursing the subject in question. Ouch, thank goodness for Solarcaine.
Very tired. Long, hot, dirty day of work with little or no time to pursue my sidelines, leaves me spent and weary. The sunset was beautiful, high whispy clouds drenched in the colors of full summer.
Wishing you all peace, strength and mischief.
3 comments:
Ouch on the sunburn. Seems like I get burned quicker and easier as I get older. Is it me or is it the sun? ;-)
Gardening question: I'm getting lots of blooms on my cucumbers but no fruits (are they fruits?). What have I done wrong? I've never had any luck with cucumbers. Some things are like that.
How old are your plants? The male flowers will show up first and the females a couple weeks later. Female flowers look like they have a tiny fruit behind the bloom while males are just blooms. Cucumbers need LOTS of pollination. Encourage bees to visit by planting things like bergamot, butterfly bush etc. and avoid insecticides after the blossoms have opened. Steady, even watering is a plus. Don't drench and dry, but don't over water either.
Technically cucumber is a fruit although it could be valid to classify it as a vegetable since that is (in this sense) a culinary term and not a botanical one.
Cucuribts (anything in the squash/melon/cucumber family) are fond of Boron, a trace element missing from many soils. I get "20 mule team Borax" and put about 1/4 teaspoon in a gallon of water and feed my plants that with a hand spray tank usually a few hours before watering overhead. Only once or twice a year! It's called Trace Element for a reason.
20 mule team borax is 100% natural, mined directly from the earth.
thanks! I think maybe they aren't getting pollinated enough, but I'll have to go look more closely to see if the blooms are male or female. I've noticed a marked decline in the number of bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects this summer. Maybe that bee problem is at its peak here? I don't usually use insecticides, unless there is a huge problem. But honestly, there just aren't that many bugs at all this year. Probably related to the drought, but I don't really know.
I'll get some borax next time I go to the store. Gotta go later today anyway for laundry detergent and bleach. lol (always needing that!)
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