Think it will be a banner year for bugs. Looking great, Will!
Edibles - '09 - Part 2
Thanks, Victor! You've been having fun, I hope!
Sherry, be sure you wear rubber gloves, with a long sleeve shirt taped to them.
Immediately wash off gloves before removing them, then immediately change clothes and shower. This is the gist of the info on the can. Wash clothes separately ..... Mask probably wouldn't hurt!
You can also get rid of aphids by dousing them with rubbing alcohol. I think you can dilute the isopropyl with water. Kills them instantly.
This may sound odd, in light of all the rain you are getting, but have you tried simply washing them off?
It might not be a cure, but it will slow down the damage that they cause. And with all that rain, what's a little hosing off??
I used a pretty high pressure shower setting on my handle and washed them all off. There are some who are back, but not like it was. I will shower them off again in a couple days.
Willie and all. I have not even had to water that stinking garden for at least 2 weeks. The next time I do water it has to be fertilized. Its been fertilized once since its been put in.
I have gone to 2 neighbors houses that I sold plants to. They have them also. At least I am not alone.
Here's a recipe for Soapy Water to use on Aphids
2 TBSP dish soap (Dawn, etc. good quality)
1 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP baking soda
Mix into 1 GALLON water
put in spray bottle.
apply every 7 days even to soil.
Just enjoyed my first one!
Victor,Thats funny you should post blueberries. I took this shot a few days ago, boy are we behind!! lol
You'll catch up soon enough!
Harvested Swiss Chard and Basil today
For dinner:
Grilled pork with Barley and Swiss Chard Skillet Casserole
This is one of those recipes that's really good for you but doesn't taste like it is.
Recipe Source:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/barley-and-swiss-chard-skillet-casserole-recipe.htm/printable
Here is a snapshot of the recipe.
Sounds good----we went out to eat, but with the 4, 21/2 & 1 year olds, I didn't eat much---was trying to keep Grant occupied, but he wanted everything he shouldn't touch!
I can imagine that to be quite the handful, Robin!!
Next time I make this, I will use Chicken Broth instead of water and add Parmesan and Asiago Cheeses at the very end before adding the bread crumbs.
Maybe add some fresh parsley, too, if it is ready in time!
That does sound good, Willie!
With all this rain, my tomatos are huge! I'll try to take a pic later. The peppers have blossoms and the cukes are long enough to start climbing the cages.
That's good news, Lucy! I am looking forward to seeing the pics!
I think my peppers are just starting to want to kick in .... my cukes are just starting to take off, too!
I also cut back the coriander / cilantro, and it is starting to re-grow.
My are puny and cold and today they are likely beaten to death by a nor'easter we are having. I suspect many will be beyond repair. Patti
replanted cukes today - for the third time - critters love the new shoots
My peas (Mammoth Melting Sugar) are 4 feet high and starting to bloom. This is very exciting as I have never been able to really successfully grow peas before. At least the cool weather has been good for something! Oh, and the broccoli and cabbage are loving it too.
Now, if only I can get a good harvest of peas before it gets too hot!
Gee, Patti, sorry to hear about the nor'easter----we don't have any wind damage----just too much rain, sogginess---but the pole beans are lovin' it---I need to add more support for them again.
My veggie garden. Lettece to the left, then cukes, and the out of control tomatos! I had lettece on my BLT(from the store),the home grown lettece was divine.
Looking good there, Lucy!!
Here's an panorama update on the veggie path! Things here are out of control, too. Dug another row for more tomatoes, too!!
Sending swiss chard over to the neighbor's already.
Nice! Send some to me, Will.
You got it!
I bought 3 blueberry plants this year, and have 2 green blueberries on one of them.
I have never had luck keeping blueberries.
Maybe my soil isn't acidic enough to keep them happy.
I almost got more this year!
I'm doing mine in containers, read an article on it - will see if they survive the winter.
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/promotion/bluecontainer.html
Cool idea for blueberries if you can't grow them in the ground. I have many, but the very best are several that were native to this property when we bought it.
The one on the left is an indigenous one and the other is one of many that we planted 20 to 25 years ago. The Native is huge with branches thicker than my arm and at least 12 feet high. And it is not the biggest one on the property. Now that we have cleared around it and removed all the smothering vines, it should get even bigger. It is a beautiful plant year round. They make the birds very happy too. Patti
I have planted a couple of other interesting berry plants. One is Viburnum edule or mooseberry. It survived it's first winter after being gnawed on by the rabbits. Now caged and regrowing. It will be a few years before jelly. Patti
From my journal notes
Quoting:
Forest farm. 2 for 17.90 Highbush cranberry is an erect to straggly shrub that grows to 8' and is native to the northern US, Alaska, and Canada. The white flowers are in small, flattened clusters up to 1" wide. Red or orange fruits form clusters of from 2 to 5 fruits each. The fruits are hard and sour and become soft and mildly acidic after exposure to autumn freezes. They are used to make very good preserves. The fall foliage is crimson red.
Highbush cranberry is found in moist forests and forest edges, thickets, rocky slopes stream banks, river terraces, and rocky shorelines.
Positive Weezingreens On Sep 14, 2002, Weezingreens from Seward, AK
(Zone 3b) wrote:
High-bush cranberry is a common sight throughout most of Alaska. While the lower leaves have three lobes, similar to a maple, the upper leaves are elliptical. The leaves burnish red in the fall. Small white clusters of flowers are followed by clusters of red berries in late summer or early fall. The soft, sour, red berries have a large seed and exude a strange odor. They can be used for syrups and jellies.
These 2-8'shrubs of NW forests might be "overlooked until autumn, when they declare their presence w crimson-purple lvs & brilliantly scarlet fruit...yielding a tart but pleasing jelly"(L.J.Clark). Psh/Med
Whoa----didn't like the part where the quote says "exudes a strange odor"----are you sure about making jelly, Patti? LOL Does your native blueberry have dark, purple berries? I remember picking native berries at the reservoir that were much darker than cultivated berries, & twice as sweet.
Wow! That native blueberry is massive. Looks great!
That's a great link, Debi .... I have plenty of empty pots just itching for a plant .... maybe I will experiment.
I want to get those going and also black raspberries. We used to have a shrub of that when I was a kid under the oak tree until the oak grew too big for it to get enough light.
I planted them in a spot that if they stink, it won't be a problem. There are many stinky viburnums. I don't grow Blue Muffin for that reason.
Robindog, The blueberries on those big bushes are smaller and darker. I don't like blueberries very much, so I will ask my DH, as he loves them. But I don't think they would be as sweet as the low growing ground ones. But maybe the ones you remember as being so good. Patti
Do you think the stink in Blue Muffin will thwart the deer? I have one planted right in their path into my yard.
Don't count on it, Harp, though mine have never been nibbled. V. nudum stinks too. I'm smelling it now.
Thanks, Patti---the bushes at the reservoir were low growing. I thought the Nantucket ones grew larger because of the clime.
Yeah, I figured. Well, at least they will probably stay away from the blue muffin. Think it'll keep my neighbors away?
Leave it to you, Victor, to have a cultivar named "nudum". LOL
Remember my grousing about the prolific back-breaking, spirit-breaking gallant soldier weeds???? Well, how would you like to tackle these babies????? Thanks, Rainy weather!!!
These are my beds where I haven't yet planted my zinnias and glads. Something else has claimed them. :(
This message was edited Jun 25, 2009 4:28 PM
Oh, that's awful Louise! Do you have a propane torch?
No, Harper, I wouldn't be trustworthy with that kind of toy! I think I'm going to put tarps over the crops and use the dreaded roundup. I won't survive this if I do what I did last year. One of these buggers already had a flower on it. Gone!
Lordy Louise, your garden looks like mine, except you have some tall plants that look great!