Tuesday, June 25, 2013

56 days?

I'm losing count of the days but that's not a biggie, right? Anyhoot, its getting super hot out and
I'm not one to be out in that heat so I'm pondering on adding a drip irrigation system to these beds and asking my hubby to help. That's gonna be a challenge! Good luck to me!

Everything in the yard is going well. Still having a problem with these worms. I really think I'm done with cabbage plants. I pulled the Brussels sprouts. Grrrrr!  I have 3 broccoli plants in one of the beds. If they continue to attract nasty creatures then I will pull them also. Surprisingly, the collards are now doing well.  Yay!

Uriahs spraying the bugs :)
I planted corn, sunflowers, potatoes, beets, random flower seeds my daughter brought from work, and cantaloupe; all from seeds cause its cheaper.  I do not like these Topsy turvy's at all. I've had to give the plants so much support with rope its ridiculous.  I will plant tomatoes the traditional way from now on.  I've replanted suckers and they are doing well. Hand clap for that!

The squash bugs are getting to the cucumber plant and I believe that's gonna be gone soon. :(  No cucumbers? :( But I love cucumbers. :(  However, still got hopes for the watermelon. :)  I covered the core of the plant with aluminum in hopes of keeping borers way from them. We shall see....

This gardening stuff is tough and attention needy.  However, with the fact that I decided to experiment with so many different things, I now know what works and what doesn't. I can say that I am way more prepared for the fall and even better prepared for the spring. That alone makes me smile.

Thanks for tuning in.

In Him, debb.
Harvest 6/25/2013
Harvest 6/24/2013
Harvest 6/25/2013
The Worm eating my Flowers
 

Thai Basil getting Huge
 


My Garden Dragon Fly
 



Squash bug down, I repeat, Squash bug down
 


Beautiful Thyme

Egg plant harvest
Spicy Bell Peppers and Sweet Peppers
 



Watermelon and Cucumber
3 Broccoli Plants

Collard Greens
Eggplants are growing well

Sweet Potatoes
Corn, Sunflowers & Stuff





Romaine Lettuce and Celery
Spanish Sweet Potato




Thursday, June 6, 2013

36 days later...

Zoriah's Yellow Marigold
Today makes 36 days since my first post, I'm really trying to make my updates on a weekly basis but that's not going very well.   Any-hoot, I've encountered some very disappointing obstacles in the
garden.  The squash was doing so good but here came the humidity, moisture, squash bugs and squash borers; screwing up the whole squash operation. The only survivors in the bed were the cucumber and watermelon vines.  At this point I'm not sure if I want to replant squashes. I have learned that aluminum paper wrapped around the core of the plant will minimize the chances of borers going in the stem and killing the plant from the inside.  So, maybe I will give it another chance next month for the summer squash.  Maybe!
No more squash

Cucumber and Watermelon

In addition to all the squash issues, I had an infestation of cabbage worms; evil creatures.  I woke up one day and my beets were all eaten up. OMG, I freaked out. So much damage overnight. I had to chop off the beets, Swiss chard, kale, and radishes. I'm currently attempting to save the Brussels sprouts and the collard greens.  I sprayed this product I bought at Lowe's called Sevin. I'm currently monitoring those plants very closely. I was really looking forward to juicing some Swill chard and Kale. Bummer!

Swiss chard gone

Cabbage worms

Collard greens
Swiss chard
 

Beets
 

Brussels sprouts
 

 
Everything else is doing well in the garden. I have harvested banana peppers and lots of basil.  I will be spraying some neem oil on my veggies.  I have planted corn and sunflower seeds. Once the corn sprouts I will be adding beans and squash seeds to try out the "3 sister" Native American thing. I added the sunflowers to attract the pollinators. :) The onions are getting big in the ground. The flowers are booming and so are the herbs.

 I will be adding basil and marigolds in all the beds to help repel the nasty bugs. I planted the broccoli seedlings near the monster basil. I planted the lettuce and spinach seedlings; I'm keeping those in the shade. I'm having a hard time growing peppers from the seed so, I will be buying some at the store. Like John from "Growing Your Greens" http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens says, "plant what's easy to grow and expensive to buy."

Thanks for tuning in everyone.

Till next time, Debbie.

Basil multiplying
Uriahs Sunflower
Eggplant

Cucumber seedlings

Garlic

Asparagus


Purple peppers

Purple basil seedlings



Broccoli seedlings

Bed 1

Bed 2

Lettuce, Spinach & Cilantro

Nasturtium & Rosemary
Jalapenos


Cayenne Peppers

Eggplant

Onions

Baby Dragon Fly on the Onions

New tomato plant


Papaya Tree (planted 4 years ago, died 2 winters in a row and grew back)
I throw all my fruit & veggie waste on the papaya tree and a random squash plant grew. The tree is also surrounded by random mint cover that grows in Florida. It smells delish when you step on it.