Food plots have exploded with seedlings after a good soaking rain. Exciting stuff for me. And, my '54 Ford that was used for the tilling, etc. for the food plots has had its facelift in plenty of time for the Mid-Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association show (MMOGTA) later in August. Fords are to be one of two featured tractors this year, so I had to dress her up one more time. Posting a picture a bit later. Just got it reassembled yesterday and fired it up. Good feeling to be ready so much in advance.
2026 gardens
- Thread starter SONNY
- Start date
- Featured
picked another 100 pounds of tomatoes and sis took them to the midwest food bank. ---garden is wierd this year ----- stuff just not growing or producing like normal. The eggplant is not normal either and it usually is a never fail crop here so this years garden was mostly a loss from the go it seams. I did plant late green beans and cucumbers and even they look strange! --- they are about 6 to 8 inches tall now and growing fast so hard to say what they will do.
Peter Person
501 Club
Yellow and Green Zucchini are coming in fast.
Agway “Provider” green beans producing excellent as usual.
Beets are really good this year.
Tomatoes are so-so.
Cucumbers doing well in the new location as are the Honeynut Squash. More sun!
Swiss heirloom red raspberries are setting lots of berries this year. These plants came over from Switzerland in the early 1900’s in her great-uncle’s jacket.
Agway “Provider” green beans producing excellent as usual.
Beets are really good this year.
Tomatoes are so-so.
Cucumbers doing well in the new location as are the Honeynut Squash. More sun!
Swiss heirloom red raspberries are setting lots of berries this year. These plants came over from Switzerland in the early 1900’s in her great-uncle’s jacket.
Tomatoes around here are just gatting going. Zuks, two plants and we are giving them away. Cukes the slicer are producing well and the picklers we can't use all. Threw away a bushel this morning but keep picking them as the dill is just now ready. Wax beans could be better but green ones doing well. Of course. I prefer the wax. Just starting sweet corn, garden overall is doing well. Vern
When we finally got some rain, it came in buckets. Washed my clover seed into puddles, so I top-seeded again.
Finally got into the garden yesterday to check things out after all the rain we've had. Picked some Currant tomatoes for a snack on while doing so. They are loaded and will produce way more than I can eat. the rest of the tomatoes are loaded and just now starting to ripen.
A groundhog ate a lot of the cabbage a while back, thought it'd recover but not looking good. I'll probably go to a produce wholesaler and buy a case of cabbage to make kraut. Peppers are loaded too.
The Sudan grass seems to have kept the deer out, although a lot of it blew over during some severe storms we've had, enough is still standing they seem to walk on by. It kept them out of a small patch of sweet corn I have, just planted a small patch to see if it would. Will definitely be doing that again next year.
A groundhog ate a lot of the cabbage a while back, thought it'd recover but not looking good. I'll probably go to a produce wholesaler and buy a case of cabbage to make kraut. Peppers are loaded too.
The Sudan grass seems to have kept the deer out, although a lot of it blew over during some severe storms we've had, enough is still standing they seem to walk on by. It kept them out of a small patch of sweet corn I have, just planted a small patch to see if it would. Will definitely be doing that again next year.
Attachments
been pickin tomatoes here--160 pounds every week and taking them to the food bank. NOT a good garden year here. planted late zucs,cucs, and greenbeans. They are starting to bloom now--or at leas the ones that the storm left are! it tore a lot of plants out of the ground. Tore up most of the trees in the orchard--up rooted several apple trees, split a pecan tree in half, ripped big branches off the peach trees so i have a mess now. the smartest thing would be to just bulldoze all of it out and give it up BUT the trees WERE a good screen and windbreak so i hate to get rid of all of them!
My lack of constant application of Liquid Fence has cost me a few pumpkins. Now I'm desperately trying to get the spray to repel the deer but so much rain lately is making it difficult to get things under control. Still lots of pumpkins coming along and hoping to save them. Watermelons seem fine so far but have a way to go.
Thought I'd post a late season report on planting Sudan grass around the garden. Success..!! It kept the Deer out of the garden. Beets, green beans and sweet corn went untouched. A groundhog did get in and got my cabbage plants, got the single strand low electric fence up too late, but still major success keeping Deer out which was my main concern. We did get several severe storms with high winds that blew some of it partially down but the Deer still stayed out. Deer didn't seem to even browse on it, so that was even better.
I did leave a 12' opening to the left of this picture and put a 4' high strand of electric fence plus left the carrier I made to carry cattle panels set there at a slight angle to steer them away, but all in all feel it was a success. I'll definitely will do it again next year. Already have the seed, as I bought more than I needed this year because I wasn't sure how much it would take.
I'm sure I'll have some volunteer's next year from all of the seed heads on it now, I'll mow it later this Fall with the flail mower to clean things up. I can mow or cultivate out next year whatever may come up where it's not wanted. Cost was right at $5.00 buying the seeds from a local cover crop seed dealer, so definitely worth it..!!
I did leave a 12' opening to the left of this picture and put a 4' high strand of electric fence plus left the carrier I made to carry cattle panels set there at a slight angle to steer them away, but all in all feel it was a success. I'll definitely will do it again next year. Already have the seed, as I bought more than I needed this year because I wasn't sure how much it would take.
I'm sure I'll have some volunteer's next year from all of the seed heads on it now, I'll mow it later this Fall with the flail mower to clean things up. I can mow or cultivate out next year whatever may come up where it's not wanted. Cost was right at $5.00 buying the seeds from a local cover crop seed dealer, so definitely worth it..!!
Attachments
Don McCombs
501 Club
The Liquid Fence granules may be a better choice in rainy conditions.
Thanks, Don. Didn't know about them. At least the melons are not being eaten by the deer. I'll see if I can find some granules locally.
Don McCombs
501 Club
7
Try Lowes, if you have one nearby.