Whew...Gradening is a lot of work

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kate_ce1995
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Whew...Gradening is a lot of work

Post by kate_ce1995 »

Well, I just came in after another hour long stint trying to turn over my vegetable garden and weeding my strawberries. I've got creeping geranium all around my garden and the stuff is such a pain to weed through. Especially in the strawberries because their crawlers get tangled with the strawberry crawlers! I've got a row turned ready for tomatos, and another row in which I'll put my snap peas. THat leaves some room for lettuce and herbs. To get the corn and cucumbers in I'll have to undertake another large weeding. Next year I buy a rottotiller.

Now I'm waiting for Geoff to wake up so we can go fishing. Of course by then I might be too tired!

Katy
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tex
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Post by tex »

Wow! Sounds like you're earning your vegetables. I hope they justify all the hard work. Of course, that should just make them taste that much better.

To illustrate the difference in the climates of our locations, I'd like to point out that the corn is pollinating here in Central Texas, of course there's almost 2,000 miles between us.

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kate_ce1995
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Post by kate_ce1995 »

Yup, Tex, here in Vermont Memorial Day weekend is the traditional "no more fear of frost" weekend in which most planting can be done. Farmers started tilling their fields over the last couple of weeks and probably planted corn last week. If I don't get mine in soon, it will be hard for it to have a long enough season to get good ears. Last year it was doing great and then it was too wet so they all sort of shriveled up and died. I should have had my peas in two weeks ago...they like the cold. Ah well. Had wedding planning to do. Interestingly, I've seen several fields being hayed already, which seems early to me. Either the grass is growing great, or they are short hay from last year.

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Post by tex »

Hay is probably short from last year, in your area. Down here, it was as short as I've ever seen it, after the second short year in a row, and the price got sky high. By now, thought, the supply is being restocked, and there's a bumper crop on the way, with all this rain.

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Post by JJ »

Hi Tex and Katy!

Is the saying "Knee high by the 4th of July correct"? My dad used to say that when I was little. He loved gardening and had quite a nice suburban garden going after he retired.

I worked in my yard this weekend :grin: I put in 2 tomato plants.....hope they will love the sun in the front flower bed. I moved some other plants and pulled out some weeds....looks a bit better. I don't want to buy too many plants since my future in this house is so uncertain!

I also bought an electric lawn mower...it was getting too hard to depend on the neighbor boy to mow the lawn. My neighbor Josh, came over and helped assemble it....it works like a charm....kind of hard juggling the mower and the cord, but I will get the hang of it. :grin:

TTFN...JJ
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kate_ce1995
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Post by kate_ce1995 »

HA HA Jill, Tex and I had a discussion on the "knee high by the 4th of July" phrase last summer! As he pointed out they already have pollination going on. I grew up hearing that phrase as well, and it's true up here in VT so I think it is a northern saying.

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Post by MaggieRedwings »

In our area is the knee high by 4th of July for the Corn. Supposed to indicate a great crop.

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Post by barbaranoela »

By golly in New York is was always *knee high in deep S---!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: ---
What can I say----couldnt grow corn in the city!!!

Cute Xpression--u guyz---
But with all the crops my gramps did --I never heard that Xpression--
He did the corn --remember me and Uncle Joe---smoking the husks and getting soooooooo sick!!!

Brought back some more good memories--

So to U Corn peoples !!HAPPY KNEE HIGH by THE 4th of JULY!!

luve city -slicker
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tex
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Post by tex »

I think that expression originated in the Midwest, didn't it? I'm thinking that it originally referred to the growing stage necessary, on that date, in order for the corn to produce optimum yields, as Maggie mentioned. Normally, though, corn should be taller than that, in the Midwest, unless planting is seriously delayed.

That's probably a norm, for northern areas though, due to the shorter growing season. Down here, corn is as high as an elephant's eye, by July 4, (well, anyway, it's as tall as it's going to get). In fact, it's as tall as it's going to get, about a month before that.

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Post by Mars »

Yep, knee high by the 4th of July is an Ohio saying too - AND it's pretty acurate!
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -- Buddha
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JJ
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Post by JJ »

:grin: JJ
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