I write again on this blog to relax and procrastinate on a school project I should be working on.
The golpher (another one) has drilled a hole in my front lawn and even eaten some of the surrounding grass. I suspect this is the one which is responsible for the demise of my margarite daisy. Since it isn't near any food I'm growing I'll go after it with bait. I don't want my front yard looking like something from 'Caddyshack'.
I removed the chinese cabbage which bolted again. I've also removed the wrinkly spinach which had also bolted. The backyard golpher (I'll call him Fred... the front yard one will be called Barney) is destroying the lettuce plant by plant so I'm just not going to worry about them anymore. This decission really doesn't have anything to do with the golpher but more so with having worms ending up on the dinner plate. Let me rewind here a moment...
Back a few months ago, we had family over and the salad from the garden had a worm in it. I don't spray anything (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides) on it so bugs (and gophers) live. Diatomaceous earth is supposed to slow them down or stop them but only with limited success. Tonight we had corned beef (no, it's not from the garden) and cabbage (yes, it is) and a worm ended up with dinner. In a nutshell, that sort of killed dinner (as well as the worm) so we ended up snacking all night for food. As a result, no more food will be grown where worms can hide. I'm just realizing I need to dig out the artichoke plant for this reason. Smaller vegetables, fruit trees and herbs can stay.
The first bell-pepper is starting to show. It's coming off of a Home Depot plant. The chilis are taking their time. The corn should be ready in about another week (for the first one, anyway). I haven't decided what I'm going to plant in the bare areas yet. The pole beans are between 6 and 12 inches tall. It'll be awhile before there's anything to harvest.
I cleaned up the garden shed (sometimes referred to as the 'barn' because of the gambriel roof). I need to build shelves to increase storage.
Not much else.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
Lots of activity in the garden
The cucumbers which never germinated have started. Two plants have snuck out from under the zuchinni canopy. They look like those evil vines in sci-fi movies which wrap themselves around your leg. The squash continues to produce tons of produce. Next year should only plant two and hope the golpher doesn't get both of them.
The beefsteak and roma tomato plants are taller than the zuchinni plants now. They've completely overgrown the wire cages I put around them (the largest one Home Depot had). I'm not sure what to do about it now. I've seen pictures of much larger plants. I don't want to add another cage because I still want to be able to reach inside for the tomatos.
The golpher likes beets. There are enough of them, though, that I still have plenty to harvest. I boiled my first beets last night. I actually don't like beets but will try them later today. The leaves are supposed to be edible. I found them somewhat salty which stands to reason since online literature says 1) beets are high in potassium and 2) they are salty (duhhhhh.....).
Haven't had time to plant china peas yet. If I had done so when I pulled the last ones out I would have seedlings by now. Speaking of, the pole beans are small but started. Out of maybe 25, five germinated. Maybe they need more sun or its just too early in the season.
Cilantro keeps flowering. I keep plucking them off. Weird plant.
Cabbage actually looks like it might be edible. I had worm problems about a month and a half ago and put diatomateous earth around it. There might still be a worm in it. The cabbage at the grocery stores always look nice.
Viney weeds are back. Fortunately I found a good vine killer (same guys as Round-Up?). Have to spray again (but not around food plants). Wisteria and Bougainvilla are overgrown again. Have to purchase trellis for plants by back door.
Impatiens are very sensitive to light or heat. Even established plants, if usually in the shade, will wilt on a warm/hot day. Direct sunshine a no-no for it.
Ceramic plant pots sure absorb water. They look nice but have to keep an eye on them on hot or windy days.
Green shiso doing nicely. Purple ones hanging in there.
The miniature roses I transplanted to the front yard are still alive. The first one I put out there is really taking off. It's been there around three months or more.
The lemon and lime dwarf trees appear to be doing better. There are flower buds coming back. I think those two are underwatered. I'm going to put an extra sprinkler head over those two to provide more moisture.
The beefsteak and roma tomato plants are taller than the zuchinni plants now. They've completely overgrown the wire cages I put around them (the largest one Home Depot had). I'm not sure what to do about it now. I've seen pictures of much larger plants. I don't want to add another cage because I still want to be able to reach inside for the tomatos.
The golpher likes beets. There are enough of them, though, that I still have plenty to harvest. I boiled my first beets last night. I actually don't like beets but will try them later today. The leaves are supposed to be edible. I found them somewhat salty which stands to reason since online literature says 1) beets are high in potassium and 2) they are salty (duhhhhh.....).
Haven't had time to plant china peas yet. If I had done so when I pulled the last ones out I would have seedlings by now. Speaking of, the pole beans are small but started. Out of maybe 25, five germinated. Maybe they need more sun or its just too early in the season.
Cilantro keeps flowering. I keep plucking them off. Weird plant.
Cabbage actually looks like it might be edible. I had worm problems about a month and a half ago and put diatomateous earth around it. There might still be a worm in it. The cabbage at the grocery stores always look nice.
Viney weeds are back. Fortunately I found a good vine killer (same guys as Round-Up?). Have to spray again (but not around food plants). Wisteria and Bougainvilla are overgrown again. Have to purchase trellis for plants by back door.
Impatiens are very sensitive to light or heat. Even established plants, if usually in the shade, will wilt on a warm/hot day. Direct sunshine a no-no for it.
Ceramic plant pots sure absorb water. They look nice but have to keep an eye on them on hot or windy days.
Green shiso doing nicely. Purple ones hanging in there.
The miniature roses I transplanted to the front yard are still alive. The first one I put out there is really taking off. It's been there around three months or more.
The lemon and lime dwarf trees appear to be doing better. There are flower buds coming back. I think those two are underwatered. I'm going to put an extra sprinkler head over those two to provide more moisture.
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