Jen Fulkerson

Time to start fall seeds again. This year I have been battling Harlequin bugs.  I don't know if it's the weather, our persistence, or both, but we have been seeing a fewer Harlequin bugs. Fewer isn't zero, so I have been worried about starting my fall seeds, which are heavy on the brassica's which are the Harlequin bugs plants of choice. My work has roe cover that got a little dirty, so they are clearancing for . 39 per foot it comes 12' wide, so I got 20'. A 12X20' piece  cost 6.00, a heck of a deal. I covered the chicken wire top with the row cover, and nailed a piece on the top of the seed table. I will probably still throw some shade cloth over the top in the beginning, but will remove it as the days get shorter, or if the seedlings show signs of not enough light.
I hope it works, I'm just thinking an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I made  new rollaway nesting boxes. It's a better design, the eggs roll to the back instead of to the front like my last one. Also the only part of the boxes in the coop is the front of the boxes and the ledge to get inside. This doesn't take up much coop space, and is nice for the family who don't want to go into the coop. Maybe now I won't be the only one to gather the eggs. I wanted to keep expense down, so repurposed a lot. I used up 4 different paints I had. It's a little funky, but now I have 4 less quarts of paint in my work space (most of the cans were about 1/4 to a 1/3 full).
Now let's hope they use it. The first day 0, day two 1 egg(I put one in the box hoping to give them the idea) Day three 2 eggs. Not fast learners, but at least we are going in the right direction.

I will toss this in as part of the redo. The trash can I keep in the chicken yard is old, and the lid pops off easy. I constantly have to pick up the same trash over and over again. I drilled a few holes on side. I put wire through the can and lid, and secured it loosely like a kind of hinge. On the other side There's a handle on the can and a hole that runs through the lid. I attached a piece of wire through both.  I will just remove the wire on the handle when I need to use the can. Now if the chickens, or the wind knock it down the chickens won't be able to remove everything from the can. Plus this is their new hiding spot to lay eggs, so many it will encourage them to use the new nesting boxes.

As you can see I did manage to grow watermelon. We got to eat a few. They were good, not great, but pretty good.
I wouldn't say I was very successful, but not a total fail either. I did grow them, and I learned a lot. Next year I think I will plant them sooner. I think I will plant the seeds around an olla. I'm not the most consistent waterer. I'm pretty good in the beginning, but as time goes by I mess up now and then. So an olla will at least provide a consistent amount of water at all times (as long as I keep it full). I didn't try the toothpick in the stem a little while before I pick the melons, and I do think it would help intensify the flavor .

Things have been better lately. I haven't seen any for a while until today. They seem to like the nasturtium for some reason. This time I found about a dozen. I watered very well, and looked every time I walked by that bed. I realize I probably won't get rid of them, but I'm content with keeping the numbers down. Even with the large numbers we have dealt with I haven't lost a plant to the Harlequin bugs.
I do plan on covering my seed starting table and cover with a row cover to protect my seedlings which will include a lot of members of the brassica family, just in case. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention.

I grew sweet potato slips this spring in my greenhouse. I planted a few, not as many as I wanted, but oh well. I stopped using my greenhouse for anything in the summer because it's way too hot. I watered the sweet potato for a while, but when I decided it was to late to plant more slips I didn't bother. You would think they would die. Not only did they not die, they grew like crazy. It totally amazes me. The temperature in there even though the door has been open getting super hot and I haven't watered for 4, maybe even 6 weeks. I don't think the vines I planted and care for look this good.

this is a better picture of the cup cosmos.

20+ years ago I built rollaway nesting boxes I had never built anything like that before, and used what ever scrap wood I could find. It functioned very well and lasted many years. The only real problem with it was it was impossible to clean.

2023 My son and I built  front rollaway nesting boxes. I was very happy with it. It was easy to clean and very functional, so I thought. Turns out having the eggs roll to the front is not a good design. It almost incurages the hens to break and eat the eggs.

Third times a charm, I hope. I'm not going to lie this was a simple design that I screwed up so many times. The plan was to not buy anything for the project except the 1/4" coated hardware cloth, which I decided the chickens might get there nails caught. So I had to remove it ( not an easy task) and used 1/2" coated hardware cloth. Then my son said the 1/4" plywood wasn't strong enough, and I said I wasn't structural, and didn't need to be strong, but then I worried it might not last being cleaned. I had already used it on the front, and didn't want to redo it, but I decided not to use it for the dividers. This meant taking the old nesting boxes apart (not  an easy task, I guess we built it strong) and using the wood from that. (which had to be scrubbed) I cut sanded and painted the old dividers making them work the best I could. I wanted to use something in the back of the boxes to separate the chickens from the egg collection tray.  My work sells 1/4" rolled rubber by the foot. I bought some site unseen. It was not going to work, to thick and heavy. I ended up using rubber from an old water tank membrane. It had to be cut and scrubbed. It's not what I envisioned, but will do. It took forever, and I had to use 4 fence boards instead of the pallet wood I planned on using because they weren't long enough, but I got it done. Installing it went the same as making it. My son helped, we unscrewed the front of the roof and tucked the coop chicken wire under it, and screwed it back together. the rest was stapled to frame.
Day one no one used it. I have 5 older hens that used the last one that didn't look that different from this one. I thought they would use it, and hoped the younger hens would follow.  That night I balanced an egg in the box, to help encourage them to use it. Day 2, 2 eggs. One chicken used it. I hope they will all start to use it soon.  If they don't, I may put something over the hardware cloth to make it nicer for them, at least until they get used to it. We will see.

I feel like I go through this every August. It's hot, the garden is a total disaster, and I should be planting my fall/winter crops. On top of it all I'm a little burnt out. Don't get me wrong, I love my garden, and pretty much always find peace and joy there, but when it looks the way it does there's a bit of frustration and anxiety too. One time around this time of year ( a few years ago) I was looking at my garden with disgust, and my daughter comes up and says she loves the way my garden looks. I was so surprised and asked why? She said it looks wild and kinda natural. I try to remember that. I guess nature is also trying to reassure me as well because as I write this post there's a little bird eating the lettuce seeds I meant to harvest weeks ago. A few minutes ago a hummingbird was enjoying all my flowers.

I live in N California zone 9B, so there's lots of hot/warm weather left, and I can grow year round. Decisions need to be made, and work needs to be done, and here I sit, watching the birds, and whining to you. I've gotten great and sound advice from the wonderful people of permies before, make a list, do small jobs each day... I just don't seem to be able to get my act together lately. I wander around, do this thing here, that thing there, so I'm working, but in a way that doesn't feel like I have accomplished anything. Today is the perfect example. It's cooler today then It's been for months, it's my day off, I finally finished the nesting boxes I made for the chickens. I should have gotten so much done. Instead I do a little and wander back into the house and read for a while, then I come back out do a little, and go back inside. I have pretty much waisted the best day of the summer. I'm so annoyed with myself!
I better try to accomplish something before the mosquito drive me inside. thanks for listening,. I hope you don't have August Angst, and if you do I wish you luck and The gumption to push your way through it.

Thank you so much for the great info. I didn't try it, and I'm glad , thought we get pretty much no rain in the summer.
I mulched my veggie garden with wheat straw, and did get sprouts. It didn't bother me, just more mulch. So maybe I will try that someday.
I was able to get lots of pine shavings for free. I'm going to open the package and leave them for the chickens to spread around. Right now the chicken yard is a mess. The lid on the trash can can easily be popped off, and the hens love to put all the feed bags out and spread them around. Also there are all the bricks and cement chunks I pulled out of the coop when I put hardware cloth on the bottom of the coop. It's a mess! I hated the nesting boxes, so I didn't put it back into the coop ( so every day is an egg hunt). So that's what I have been working on. There's always more to do then I have time for. I hope to finish the nesting boxes tomorrow, and maybe get it installed tomorrow or the next day. I work full time, the garden needs regular watering, have to feed the chickens, then there's this, that and the other thing. Such as life, at least mine.
Thanks

It's a bummer you struggle with cosmos May. Your example is why I try when posting to not say things like it's so easy, or anyone can grow it. Comments like these that are meant to be encouraging can often make gardeners, especially inexperienced ones feel bad, and think they aren't doing things right, but it's not them at all but the environment, weather, soil, or many other factors that often can't be controlled. Sometimes if you keep experimenting, and don't give up you find a way. Sometimes the answer is this isn't the plant for me.
Thanks for sharing your struggles, that's also a relief for people to hear that even a phenomenal! gardener like you struggles now and then. To be honest I don't love the war with certain bugs, or failing to grow something I want to grow, but the challenges, the endless ability to learn something new, add spice to the tranquility and joy I find in my garden.
Thanks everyone for posting, happy gardening