Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday Monday

Monday already.  Wow, the weekend just flew by.  Somehow it seems we've mostly caught up on things around here and have enjoyed a slow and almost lazy weekend.  The grass is all mowed, the weed-eating done, the coop and cages are clean and I actually am caught up on the weeding in the garden.  For a day or so anyway!  

 I took a walk around the garden this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee and a cool breeze.   The squash, no matter how close I keep an eye on it and obviously no matter what I spray, dust or sprinkle on it is still being attacked by squash bugs. I pick them off and kill them almost to obsession.  Kind of like a monkey will groom another monkey?  I search for the eggs and destroy them too, and I'm still loosing this battle.  I am almost to the point that I am ready to just give up trying to grow it.  The problem is that we both love squash. Oh, and did I mention I'm not a quitter?   I wish we could afford row covers because I'm starting to think that might be the only thing left to try. 

In other news around the homestead all the beans and the black=eyed peas are starting to bloom. The pepper's that were planted a few weeks ago are all blooming.  I've even been able to pick about a pint of jalapeno's and a little bell pepper.   The 14 or so that I picked up a couple of weeks ago seem to be coming out of their shock from being so root-bound when I got them.  It may just be a "banner" year for peppers. The row on the right are all the runner beans and the peas.  On the left are two types of bush beans with some different types of peppers and squash mixed in.

 The tomato's are looking great so far.  There are green tomato's all over the place.  I need to tie them up again.  The "cages" that Mars built are working well so far.  Not bad for some old cedar limbs and a bit of baling wire!


 I've read that marigold's planted with your tomato's will help repel insects. So I planted these when they were seedlings.  I don't know how true that is but I love the look of them there! They are just starting to bloom now.  Can you see the green tomato's?  I can! Actually I can see Fried Green Tomato's on my plate very very soon!  In the south, summer isn't official until you've had your first mess of Fried Green Tomato's!

Here's a shot of the lower garden.  The onions are almost ready to pull.  The spinach has bolted and some of the lettuce has also started to bolt.  I harvested turnips last week.  I didn't plant many but will put some more into the fall garden.   We'll start it here as most all of this plot will be about finished soon.  Except of course for the tomato and pepper plant's I stuck in there. 


 I've got lemon basil tucked in and around the garden and the flower beds that I've been harvesting and dehydrating a little at a time. I'm planning on drying a fair portion of the onions for using this winter.  I use a good amount in cooking and would like to have onions last until next year.  We'll see how it all works out.


Right now the garden is in that "limbo" phase.  Where things are either getting ready to take off and others are just about done.  So while I have a chance I think I'll try and give the house a good going over today.  Hang some laundry, find me a shade tree and read a good book.  Not a bad way to spend a Monday.  I've certainly had worse.






18 comments:

  1. Your gardens are beautiful. So neat and clean. Well done.

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    1. Thank you Stephen. I HAD to get a picture of the "neat and clean" rows. We all know they don't last long! LOL!!

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  2. We are just about ready for our first fried green tomatoes as well.

    Do you have any assassin bugs in your area? I discovered them last summer and was so happy when they made a big dent in our squash bug population. I have seen a few again this spring and always say hello and welcome them to the garden.

    Fern

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    1. Hi Fern,

      I've heard of assassin bugs but haven't seen any here. (That I'm aware of) Maybe I should put an ad out in the local bug paper. "Looking for a top notch assassin. Group's welcome!"
      Hey, I'm about ready to try anything!

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  3. Try this site:
    http://www.homeandgardensite.com/companion_planting.htm

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  4. I love your nice clean rows. Not sure mine ever looked like that!
    Do you till, or just clear a spot and plant?
    Have a wonderful day!

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    1. LindaG, I must confess.... We are still trying to "establish" the gardens. We've got a Bermuda grass issue and so we've been tilling, raking, digging, tilling, raking, digging... .So that's how the "neatness" happens. And yes, we till. Then I'll plant. And if something doesn't happen to come up or dies, I'll stick something in it's place.

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    2. Thanks for explaining. Good luck!

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  5. Sci - it sounds like a perfect way to spend a monday! and your gardens are to die for! everything looks so healthy! marigolds are excellent with tomatoes and if you ever get a tomatoe hornworm attack - plant borage with your tomatoes. a few years ago, everyone's city gardens went through a tomatoe hornworm attack - ours were fine. i discovered later that the "volunteer" borage that showed up with the tomatoes was the reason why. anyway - congrats on the beautiful garden!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. kymber I didn't know that about the borage. We've got a couple of them coming up from last year but they are sort of like midgets. I don't know what happened but they are blooming and I swear they're only about 1 1/2 foot tall??? I'll have to remember that about the hornworms. I can't stand those dang things. You miss one for a couple of days and the next thing you know, you're missing a WHOLE plant!
      I'm still working on the squash problem but so far the tomato's look great!
      Thanks for stopping by Buddy!

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  6. What area of the country do you live in order to get such a beautiful garden?

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    1. Hi D.Hausmann, We are in NE OK. I'm originally from Texas and so I'm trying to learn to garden in quite a different climate for the most part here. It's been interesting for sure!
      Thank you for popping in. Come visit anytime!

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  7. Gorgeous garden! I envy you your space. I want to get some acerage some day. My tomatoes are small compared to yours, but we planted late, odd weather here.

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    1. Awww Thanks nancy. When we moved here we both knew one of the things we would do was to have a big big garden. It's a lot of work but it's worth it I think. These tomato's are called Better Boys. They are "supposed" to be indeterminate. (long blooming) but I don't know. I didn't have much luck starting mine from seed this year so I "settled" for these. They are going to be a medium size tomato. Just wait till next year. I'm hoping to have my own plants to put in.

      The weather has been really odd for sure this year. We didn't get our tomato's in until about 6 weeks AFTER they should have been in the ground. Have a Super Day!!

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  8. The gardens look amazing! You may of heard of this method already, but mulching between rows and around the base of the plants will keep the number of weeds way down. We have used straw, grass clippings, saw dust and wood shavings. It really helps. :-)

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