Green and Chewy

Armageddon

2011-07-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Bloodshed....death...destruction....thousands dead......pre-emptive strike

The proverbial pistols at twilight....

It's my fault for planting so many tasty things and even providing bathing water in the bird bath. Still, I did warn them about nesting in the garage, and randomly buzzing me.

Paper wasps, hornets, muddaubers, carpenter bees, sweat bees.....I hate them all.

Particularily the two baseball size nests out in the garage. Meaning the two nests that were attacked this evening with two full cans of 20-foot-spray, and then conclusively wiped out with three foggers, because dying wasps release a pheromone that alerts their buddies, and we can't risk a sneak attack tomorrow morning.

I leave nothing to chance.

Yippee ki-yay, m*therf**ker!

Lost Motivation Marries Total Disaster...The Sequel

2011-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am reminded this is suppose to be a gardening blog. Unfortunately, I have lost all motivation in the face of a second summer of unprecedented heat. Funny how 107 degrees will do melt any amount of resolve.

So today we have photos of lovely flowers which in fact did exist at some point this spring in my garden - but I will not commit to saying they are still out there. Or, at least, they are not out there and alive.

The wire grass has taken over all the spots it did not take over last year ( when I was busy killing it in the garden itself). I made the mistake of not covering the entire yard with black plastic and nuking it afterwards. So now the wire grass has consumed the blueberry and strawberry patch. Meanwhile the volunteer potatoes have come up, but haven't amounted to much besides some beautiful greenery.

This year even the gourd plants are lagging behind (and it's never too hot or dry for gourds), leaving me with the possibility that there will be no Swan Neck gourds, no Nest Egg gourds, no Dipper gourds.

There are a few tomatoes and pepper plants out there -occasionally I wave at them from the upstairs window and remind them they are on their own -it's too hot to even deal with them. They seem depressed.

Wild hollyhocks have overtaken the rosebed, along with a particularily vicious thorned locust tree. On a more positive note, the fig tree is growing at breakneck speed, and I have no idea why, since I rescued it from the dead plant bin at Lowe's two years ago, planted it and then forgot exactly where I put it, much less to water it.

Meanwhile, I do have tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, sage, calendula, oregano, and a million different kinds of basil growing in containers up by the house, near the water barrels and a bit of shade.

It's just too freaking hot.

We did have these...

Fine, so they aren't mine. Wire grass ate my strawberry plants. These came from my mom's, She's having her own garden issues this year. Peaches didn't set, corn isn't filling out, lettuce is bolting much too soon - see? It's not just me.

Happily, blueberry season opened today, but I am forcing myself to wait until Thursday when it will be a cold frosty 87 degrees.

All I have to deal with there are the emus.

Calendula Harvest

2011-05-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is my first year growing my own calendula - usually I just buy the petals for my salve. But seeing as how many people regard it as a weed, how hard can it be to grow?

It's a sort of tallish, spindley plant, with one big flowerhead on each spindle. It's also known as pot marigold (some of my readers (you know who you are) will be disappointed, as it is neither pot nor a proper marigold).

The official name calendula is Calendula officinalis, and it is not related to the common marigold, but instead to the daisy or chrysanthemum.

But, just like pot, it is edible - you can actually pick those petals and add them to soups or mashed potatoes (along with garlic) to give them a beautiful golden color. The flavor is similar to pumpkin or squash. A handful of petals goes a long way in rice, carrot cake, chicken and dumplings or cream of mushroom soup.

Calendula can be directly seeded with the mature plants growing from 8" to 18" tall. Don't be afraid to cut the flowerheads, as this only encourages more budding. If flowerheads are left, it will self-seed, but generally doesn't become a nuisance. Calendula (the name just rolls off my tongue) is an annual, or a very short-lived perennial.

Petals can be used fresh or dried (NOTE: Dry the entire flowerhead, but only use the petals themselves in your recipes). Harvest in the late morning, after the dew has dried. To dry the petals for later use, spread the flowerheads in a thin layer in a dry shady spot, until they reach a thin papery consistency. Store in an airtight glass container.

Those of you who know me in real life understand that cooking is not my forte -I'd just as soon order out - so my calendula is destined for my herbal salves.

Calendula is loaded with carotenoids which means it's great for healing damaged skin and regenerating skin cells. Think gardening hands, diaper rash, dry skin, skinned knees, burns, etc. Out of all the recipes I found on the net, not one includes rosemary - but mine does, for several reasons: while calendula is an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic, I like to err on the side of cauion by including a double dose of antiseptic - and rosemary is the best. This way, while the calendula is rebuilding skin cells, the rosemary is cleansing the wound.

Calendula Salve

2-3 cups Calendula Petals

1 cup of rosemary needles

Olive Oil (also antibacterial)

2 oz. Beeswax (slice into chips so it melts easily)

For those who prefer scented salves, add several drops Rose or Lavender Oil

To make your salve creamier add 1 oz. Lanolin or 1/2 oz. Glycerin

* Recipe can be proportionately increased if you need larger quantities *

To start, put calendula petals and rosemary needles into glass container, cover in olive oil. Cap tightly and let sit for two weeks.

After letting the petals and needles soak for two weeks, pour through a strainer into a small crock pot ($10 at the big box store). This removes the plant matter, leaving only the infused oil.

With the crock pot on the highest setting, slice the beeswax into slivers and small chips. Stir as it melts. If you choose to add lanolin or glycerin or essential oils for fragrance, do it now.

After the beeswax has melted, test the consistency of the mixture by putting a small amount in a milk cap, or a bottle cap,and then setting in the freezer - this will harden it within a few minutes and you can try it to see if it's creamy enough. To make it creamier add a little extra olive oil *or* lanolin *or* glycerin (for the love of god do not add all three, or it will never solidify again).

Run a second "creaminess" test if needed, and while it's hardening in the freezer, get your containers ready. Over the years I have discovered that while I have many beautiful large glass jars, the best salve containers are the tiny glass ones that are shallow and can be thrown in my purse and handed out to friends.

When pouring the salve into the containers BE CAREFUL. This mixture is HOT. When the containers are full, cap tightly and set in the frig or freezer to cool.

That's it. All the benefits of calendula are now yours.

For more salvemaking info, with photos, here's a previous post from last year's comfrey salve session.

Finally Coming in From the Garden

2011-05-23T15:07:00.001-07:00

Another summer in the garden starts .... and it starts late, thanks to massive disorganization on my part, major life changes at home, and generally too much to do in too little time....just like everyone else reading this.

Took two days to get all the seedlings potted, waterplants moved out of the greenhouse, hanging plants hung, and seeds spread.

This year I have calendula - the flower petals go in my comfrey salve (but can be eaten fresh too).

Lime Basil is added to the basil collection this year...

Along with the Boxwood Basil and Greek Basil..

And the Magic Michael Basil with the fuzzy fragrant purple tops.

Nessie was suppose to have her own water garden this year - that's not going to happen, so instead she's guarding pots of sage, rosemary and jalapeno peppers. I use the jalapeno peppers to make non-toxic insect spray for the vegetable plants later in the summer.

The larger pots of sage and rosemary are thriving, but the sage I wintered over (the red pot)got very spindlely last month and had to be cut back - it lasted all winter, and produced enough leaves to keep me in sage rinse from October to March. Now that its outside I've cut it way down, and new sprouts are already coming out.

Right next to the Magic Michael Basil are the tomatos, two plants to a large pot with several pots. And in spite of my plans, I ended up planting two rows of tomatos and peppers out in the yard gardens - along with a large area of ground covering gourds (noticed today the gourds are up - dipper, nest egg, and apple gourds).

Remember when I bought these last fall? Finally got them together, and as of this week planted. They were meant to go inside over the winter, and this next year will do just that. But the trial run this summer is outdoors, and includes tomatoes planted upside down..

Top trays have green peppers, rosemary, and blue sage. Since this was taken, the top trays have been mulched with straw to keep moisture close to the roots.

These were the recommended plants, but I'm wondering exactly how the watering will accomodate the water-thirsty tomatos and peppers as well as the sage and rosemary that prefer drier soil.

My ancient oregano plant is popping back out - wasn't really sure it would make it again this year.

This is my fourth year lavender - it winters over in the greenhouse and usually blooms a second time in February.

More sage, more oregano, more rosemary.... I use large amounts of each of these in homemade Italian Seasoning, sage rinse, and comfrey/rosemary salve (rosemary is an antibiotic).

At the very top of the Swing Garden, next to the spiral evergreens, is the Monarda Jacob Cline, probably the Monarda variety with the biggest blooms. This plant will be approximately three feet tall, covered with large red flowers and the butterflies that love them.

While I was straightening out the Swing Garden, Boss showed up and decided I had it under control. He actually lives three houses and a field down, with Miss Joyce the Librarian, but has adopted our house as his summer home.

Nothing fazes Boss - not even our noisy barking dogs.

Dismal Experiment Turned Amazing Success

2011-03-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Remember last summer's experiment with hay bale gardening? Remember the sad results (i.e. plants that started out healthy, then within a couple weeks turned sikcly and died)?

Huge discovery as to the reason for that: I bought my hay bales at a commercial provider (a home improvement store that starts with L) not knowing that the growers that supply them automatically spray herbicide on their product, to curb weed growth. Unfortunately that also curbs the growth of desired plants.

So as quickly as I planted young healthy plants, the herbicide did its job and began killing them.

Fast forward to last fall, and when my least favorite garden chore (fall cleanup) came due, I blew it off. There are no words for how much I *hate* fall cleanup.

Sadly, when one blows off fall cleanup, it merely becomes spring cleanup. Therefore this afternoon, I discovered these decomposing hay bales.

They were hidden behind all this.

And this.

A couple hours later, most of the weeds had been piled up on the plastic, and then rolled into a giant weed taco, and hauled away.

Meanwhile, the hay bales have wintered over, the herbicide has disappated, and now they have become some of the finest organic material around. Rich, moist, decomposing- home to earthworms, etc. Perfect for spreading out over the garden.

Couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried.

The name of this year's game plan is budget. In order to conserve water, I'm pulling the veggie crops up into containers close to the house and the rain barrels. This should eliminate most of the need for extra watering. The large beds out in the yard (like the one above) are going to be herbs - basil, lavender, comfrey, oregano, sage - and gourds. All of those do very well with minimal water even in Virginia's heat (worsening every year thanks to global warming-no, don't send me "there-is-no-global-warming" emails). Blooming herbs also attract bees, which will encourage pollination for the veggie crops.

As of today, that's the plan.

D.C. Tour

2011-01-13T11:36:00.001-08:00

Courtesy of the U.S. Botanical Gardens..my new favorite place in D.C.

Beginning at the White House....

complete with Sasha and Melia's playset.

Continuing to the eastern end of the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument (didn't get tickets to this one either)...

and at the other end, the Lincoln Memorial..

with the Big Guy lounging inside. Gift shop is just to the right.

Thomas Jefferson has his memorial over in the ferns, right where FDR requested, so he could see it from the Oval Office.

He stands inside, bearing a startling resemblance to the T.J. bobblehead my DD brought home.

Note the amazing detail on the pediment - you can see all five men, gathered to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, T.J. himself, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.

At the other end of the National Mall, there's the Botanical Gardens itself, with hundreds of tiny glass panes over the orchid gardens, the desert and of course, Hawaii.

Just one block east of the Gardens stands the Capitol.

And another block east, the Supreme Court.

The real buildings don't have giant poinsettias surrounding them, and they aren't created using thousands of tiny bits of wood, sticks, nuts, bark, and oyster shell, like these.

But they're pretty impressive in their own way.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

From the U.S. Botanical Gardens in Washington D.C......

a little bit of spring for the new year...

It won't be long now.

Tucked In

2010-11-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Out past the new bed of comfrey (which is doing very, very well and will be bigger and thicker next spring)...

And past the closed and drained water lines (where the fresh mint is still growing)....

There lies the winter greenhouse door....

Where the temp is still 110 at 2 pm, and the chosen ones have come inside to winter over.

Tansy, salvia, lavender, the sedum that I was suppose to get planted this fall...

Scottish heather, oregano, rosemary and the plants from the water gardens...

Just waiting for this, which is coming soon enough...

Little greenhouse on the frozen tundra.

Help a Damsel in Dis Dress....

2010-11-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Some of my readers are also followers of New Old School by Damsel in Dis Dress - due to a move to a new platform, you may have noticed your feed to her blog has disappeared.

Being that her blog is one of my personal favorites, I missed it immediately (well, immediately for me anyways) and she has just helped me straighten out the feed for it.

You can go here and just follow the instructions under subscribe:

http://damselindisdress.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/feed-me/

or just connect to the latest post and then follow from there:

http://www.mynewoldschool.com/2010/11/17/review-tomorrows-harvest/

Get thee hence and find the Damsel....

Tiding Me Over To Spring

2010-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have spoken to the cats, and they are willing to re-visit the idea of having potted plants inside.Specifically, ones they will refrain from eating down to the ground, as they did during the Great 2005 Boston Fern Incident.

So this is now the view from my office window. There's a suspended shop light with plant bulbs, big saucers under the plants, and we'll see how it goes.

At the moment, I've brought in the two year old Mandeville (the tall one), Cuban oregano (front right), and the sage bush (front left), so I'll have fresh rinse all winter, and have that lovely aroma in my office.

Also rescued this poor recuperating hanging coleus - you can't tell it, but it's on its way back. In it's prime, this was three-foot in diameter, and hung almost three feet down, covered with heart-shaped leaves, all dark red with a light green border. I owe it a second life.

I've hung the Boston Ferns in the livingroom. They are placed away from anything remotely resembling a climbing apparatus.

Not that I don't trust the cats.

Best of all is the wicker stored on the front porch till spring - the epitome of "Southern". All it needs is the sound of the screen porch door, and a glass of ice tea.

That should get me over the winter...

Mildly Magikal and Somewhat Disappointing Bloody Dock

2010-10-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

I mean really.

With name like Bloody Dock, I expected high magic of the Dumbledore level.

Perhaps re-animation powers that produces shuffling zombies?

Maybe the secret ingredient for incantations that allow the user to pass through the veil between the worlds?

Apparently my imagination is better than that of the ages, because even its name couldn't save Bloody Dock from being considered a weed (not the fun kind, just a stupid weed).

It is associated with healing, fertility and money (I should mention here that I personally have never noticed any connection between fertility and having money).

The seeds can be used as incense to draw money to the user, or to gain employment (on second thought perhaps this little weed is one of the great well-kept secrets), or, the leaves can be tied to the left arm to help with conception.

This particular little plant loves a wet environment, but will tolerate a dryer planting out in the garden. It thrives sitting directly in water, which is the reason I have it sitting in my fountains.

Just keep those leaves well away from my left arm.

Wolfsbane.... Magickal and Poisonous

2010-10-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

During this Samhain season, with its full harvest moon, you may run across the occasional werewolf.

If you should choose to run with the werewolves, read no further.

But if you have need of a antidote to lycanthropy, or a protective spell to guard against their nibbles, wolfsbane will suffice.

The ancient Roman physician Dioscorides referred to wolfsbane as lycotonum. Today it is also known as monkshood or aconite. It belongs to the buttercup family, and there are over 250 varieties. The flowers can be blue, purple, pink or white and it grows profusely across the northern hemisphere, particularily in Europe (probably in little remote east European villages, at night and in fog, right next to gypsy women that warn of werewolves...).

Aconite was (is?) known as "the quintessential plant of the occult". It was acknowledged to induce the lycanthropic condition (i.e. the wolfman transformation). Mixed with belladonna, a witch might even create a flying ointment.

At the same time, it was said to be the only antidote that reverses the condition, or outright kills a werewolf.

Fact: The seeds, leaves and roots contain aconitine, a deadly poison that slows the heart rate, decreases blood pressure and creates a numbing pain. It is extremely dangerous if ingested or even with skin contact if there are small cuts. (So don't do it.)

During the 1500-1600's Europe was gripped with a plague of werewolves. Humans accused of being werewolves were hunted down with arrows dipped in acontine, while traps baited with meat laced with the poison. If the acontine didn't kill them, burning at the stake usually did.

A brief recap:

Wolfsbane is beautiful, easy to grow, and really, really poisonous.

Wolfsbane kills werewolves.

But really, why would you want to? Seriously, what'd werewolves ever do to you? Leave 'em alone...

Magick Thyme

2010-10-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

And the reason we have fairies in our garden is because I planted three different varieties of thyme...including elfin thyme (so you'd think we'd have elves instead of fairies, but, not so much). Rumor has it fairies love thyme. Recipes with thyme even claim to enable people to see fairies.

Will Shakespeare believed the thyme and fairy connection: "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows." (Said by Oberon, the king of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream, referring to the bed of thyme where Titania (the fairy queen) sleeps.)

All thyme is magical as far as I'm concerned - the ancient Druids used it to ward off depression and erase negative energy. The Egyptians used it in mummification, and during the Middle Ages it was placed in coffins to ease the passage of the soul to the next world.

My own ancestors - the Scottish Highlanders -believed thyme gave them courage.

For your own fairy visions, or courage, thyme can be burned as incense or sprinkled in a bath.

Or you can just gargle with Listerine (the active ingredient is thyme-also known as thymol).

Best of all, especially during this Halloween season, thyme can be tucked into pillows where it will guard against nightmares.

Remember, you can go in the basement, let the weird guy in with the hockey mask (or fangs/cape, or chainsaw), go off to summer camp, and break open that Egyptian tomb, as long as you have a sprig of thyme. Ultimate protection, it is.

Lavender and Magick

2010-10-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

I grow a lot of lavender, partly for the fragrance, and partly because it's such an unusual plant. Sometimes it appears dusty gray, turning bright green when a misty rain falls. Sometimes it looks almost dead, but after a heavy rain the plants pop back as if they've always been green and bushy.

And the flowers! Flowering lavender is one of the most incredible plants for a garden of any size - the depth of color against the bright green spires, flowers waving in a summer breeze, and the fragrance is overpowering but not cloying.

But what of magick? Lavender has been used for thousands of years for its calming sleep-inducing qualities. Those who practice magick use it for love spells and rituals (as well as for spells to attract money, proving that love and money can go hand in hand although not in my personal experience).

For the ghost hunters among us, try carrying a tiny sachet of lavender (it's known to attract spirits or....other entities).

A few drops of lavender essential oil can be sprayed on sheets or pillows before bed to induce a peaceful night's sleep. Put a few sprigs under running bath water for a relaxing bath, or add a few drops of essential oil directly to the water.

Dried stalks or flowers can both be burnt to cleanse the air (especially good idea for the dead of winter, if you've thought ahead and dried some of your summer crop).

A relaxing lavender tea can be made from dried or fresh flowers (said to promote a peaceful feeling, good health and longevity).

If nothing else, the perfume from the flowers is intoxicating, the plants are drought resistent and lavender makes the bees deliriously happy (and slightly drunk).

Rosemary is magick too ...

2010-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Most of rosemary's special magick comes from its ability to cleanse and purify. Burn it to clean both the air and the negative energy from your home. Wash your hand in rosemary water before applying healing salves or lotions. Add rosemary to your bathwater to refresh your skin.

In ancient classical times rosemary was known to grow on Mount Olympus as the flower of the gods. Its powers of protection can extend to food (add it to bread, tomatoes, butter or drink rosemary tea), and health (I always add rosemary essential oil to shampoo, conditioner and lotions).

It certainly doesn't hurt that rosemary is incredibly easy to grow, drought tolerant, and is a wonderful fragrant addition to your garden.

Probably one of my most favorite of all the herbs, and that alone makes it magickal.

Yep, oregano is magick too

2010-10-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Oregano is the patron saint of sheer happiness. Burn it for tranquility, good luck, health or protection. It's sortof the love and peace herb. Probably could have used it back in the day.

Oregano also comes in handy for dealing with that hurt that comes from letting go of someone you love. I'll have to remember that.

Now the question is almost "what plant ISN'T magical?"

Magick Basil

2010-10-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

The garden magick continues. Seems almost every plant out there (probably including the weeds) has some power attributed to it.

I love basil, and I plant a lot of it. So I guess my garden is full of some potent magic, particularily since basil appears to be one of the strongest harbringers of wealth and love.Hmm. Mine may need more fertilizer.

Oddly enough, basil is also associated with Erzulie, who, besides being the patron saint of New Orleans, is also the name of three Voodun goddess' representing love, art and sex. One of the three Erzulie, Dantor, is a fierce protector of women, offering protection and possibilites beyond imagination. She is also considered a protector of men who love, honor and respect women. I'm enchanted that my favorite herb is associated with my favorite city, and far be it from me to disrespect the voodun loas.

Legend says placing basil leaves in the four corners of a room guarantees protection for the occupants. Carrying basil in your pocket gives luck in gambling. Basil oil used in room diffusers promotes tranquility. And finally, basil leaves laid on your computer will keep it working.

So I have mint leaves tucked in my cabinets for the mice, and basil leaves strewn across my computer.

And I have no mice in my kitchen and my computer works just fine, thank you very much.

Magick Comfrey

2010-10-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Comfrey has been my new favorite herb for the last couple years. Initially I found the leaves would make a rich, low-cost fertilizer simply being left in a pail of water for several days. It got even better when I found out the huge leaves can be picked off and just laid around the base of plants (especially onions), and while decomposing, give off all sorts of rich nutrients.

Then I made comfrey salve, since the roots and leaves contain allantoin, a natural chemical that encourages cell reproduction and makes for some fast healing wounds.

I even discovered that at one time it was believed that a comfrey bath would repair the hymen, thereby creating born-again virgins. This has to be a useless endeavor if there ever was one.

NOW....I find comfrey has it's own magickal attributes as well.

Historically comfrey leaves were burned to help with concentration and divination, as well as to help the practitioner let go of unhealthy relationships or as an additional boost to love spells (very versatile characteristics there: letting go and bringing forth all at the same time).

Comfrey was (and is still) used in protective spells for travelers, and for guarding against theft.

And finally (of interest to a particular friend of mine who frequents casinos), there is an obscure mention of wrapping money in comfrey leaves for several days before gambling, as it will keep the money flowing in, versus out.

I'll settle for decent fertilizer and compost, but it's nice to know I have options.

Magick Sage

2010-10-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

Since this is Halloween month, it seems only natural to mention that many of the everyday herbs in my garden historically have had magick powers attributed to them.

The ancient Druids believed sage could be used to raise the dead (see here for more on zombies). Not likely I'd want to do that anytime soon, results being uncontrollable and all.

The Druids also believed that a healthy crop of sage indicated a home where the wife ruled the household. Evidently husbands would prune the plants back just to show they weren't henpecked. My husband knows better.

Sage is credited with granting wisdom, psychic awareness, long life and wealth. But, by far, its most potent aspect is wisdom and learning ("sage advice").

At our house, sage is dried and burnt to clear the air, while a sage rinse keeps my hair healthy.

Sage is easy to grow. Just make sure your husband doesn't use the weed whacker on it. Plays havoc with the psychic energy.

Renaissance of Peppers

2010-10-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

The last of the summer's peppers, looking for all the world like a painting by an old world master displaying the play between light and shadow, the synchronicity of curve and line, and the deep vivid rich colors.

And me smiling like Mona Lisa, 'cause they taste so good.

**The indoor-winter-growing-of-tomatos-project is about to begin, updates shortly.

Turmeric. And Why.

2010-09-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of makeup. I think the last time I actually owned any was my freshman year of college, when some hippie company put out blush that came in a little clay pot with a brush - loved the little clay pot, but years later, it was still full of blush.

I just could never stand putting the stuff on my face. I can barely stand putting lotion on my skin. Makes me feel like I'm suffocating.

Now you know that, you know how great turmeric has to be for me to recommend it.

It's not a brand name - just a spice (actually a ground root, and if you really want to grow and grind it yourself, be my guest, but I just went to The Well and bought mine).

Cost is minimal -about $1 an ounce. So much cheaper than high buck products with none of the poisons that go into them.

What do I use it for? What wouldn't I use it for? Especially since turmeric .....

Is natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent for disinfecting cuts and burns.

Might prevent melanoma and even kill existing melanoma cells.

Is a very potent natural anti-inflammatory that works just as well as anti-inflammatory drugs but without side effects.

Is a natural painkiller.

Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, is a natural treatment for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Has been shown to stop the growth of new blood vessels in tumors.

Speeds up wound healing and assists in remodeling of damaged skin.

Helps in the treatment of psoriasis, dry skin, and other inflammatory skin conditions. *

If that isn't enough, it's also a natural antivenin for King Cobra snake bites *and* a home remedy for sunburn (it's the active ingredient in most commmercial sunscreens).

But what do I use it for? Well even though I don't use makeup or face cream or any of that, I still prefer that my skin not look like a weathered old prune. So I fill one of my empty Italian seasoning shakers with turmeric, and sprinkle it onto a generic face wipe**, then use like soap on my face (neck,arms,hands,etc). Then rinse.

Try it. Trust me - it'll blow you away how amazing your skin feels and looks.

Turns out turmeric is loaded with anti-oxidants that will do your skin a thousand times more good than any amounts of expensive face creams or creepy botox - and without tiny needles, never mind the incredibly cheap $$ factor.

**You can use a washcloth, but turmeric is *BRIGHT YELLOW* and I'd preferred it didn't stain the wash cloths. Your face will be bright yellow when you wash with it, but that comes right off with the rinse. I rinse with cold water just because I've always used ice cold water, but I don't think it makes a difference.

Turmeric can also made into a tea or used as a spice or food additive, but before you orally consume any amount of it, go here and read about possible side effects of oral use (not many, abut there are some meds it interacts with).

Meanwhile, I bought a soap making kit, and I'm planning on making turmeric soap. Update to follow.

*information gathered from EAT THIS - HEALTH DIARIES

Dispersant?

2010-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Now I know what kills morning glories....

Found this a day or so after the last heavy rain - not on all the leaves but sporadically. Pretty much like....hmmm.....just like it had randomly come down in...oh, THE RAIN maybe?

This is normal after the first light frost.

But this was August, and this is Virginia, and our daytime temps are in the upper 90s, meaning nighttime temps are in the mid-80's.

No frost here. Trust me. Not even in front of the air conditioner.

Without any scientific proof, I'm voting dispersant, carried in water picked up from the poor mistreated Gulf of Mexico. My other choice would be acid rain, which may or may not be better.

And, yes, other plants have the same symptoms, but the morning glories make it through *anything* - nothing fazes these guys. Except apparently dispersant. Or acid rain. Morning glories are the proverbial canary-in-the-mine.

Thanks, BP. Like I can't screw my garden up enough on my own.

Now I'm kindof glad we have no tomato crop coming in, because I wouldn't be eating them.

On the bright side (for me), a drastic turn of events for some close friends (waving to Deb) meant they relocated their outside furniture and various garden implements to our house.

So now the Swing Garden will have the appropriately comfy southern white wicker furniture, just as soon as I get the 20 backed-up projects cleared out and make space for it. We'll give it a good home till you need it back.

Shepherd Girl and Buddha came with the wicker furniture - they aren't happy about the dispersant either. Or possibly their new home. Or both.

As always The Angel is hopeful, even though she's been tag-teamed with the pagan Gnome (she is at our house after all, complete with Fairies in the garden...).

Wait till she gets a load of Halloween at our house.

Experiment #2

2010-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

And hopefully this one will turn out better than the excruciatingly painful straw bales....

Last week our local evil-that-is-walmart had these upside gardens in the clearance section, marked down from $40 to $15. For $40 I wouldn't try one, but for $15 - hell, I'll try two.

I have plans to grow cherry tomatoes, sage and basil over the fall and winter, in my office, right over there next to the HP All-in-One. The first idea was potted plants set on a gravel base inside one of our 20 gallon aquariums.

Then I saw these.

How perfect!

Easy assembly. Or at least not too bad. Here's the base and the top piece.

And the various leg pieces and connectors. (They're sitting on top of two rolling plant caddies I'm adding to the idea, so I can move them when necessary.)

The legs -if you end up doing this, use a rubber mallet or a block of wood to connect the pieces tightly.

Voila!

All I need to do is add 30 lbs of sand to each base once they are in place in the office, add potting soil to the top, then in a month or so, plant two tomato seedlings in each one (hanging down of course) and seed the top of one with basil, and the other with sage.

I'll be back in September with the update.

Morning Glories Should Be Good For Something

2010-08-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

The path to my garden. It's in there somewhere.

The cukes I planted 2 months ago. They should be long winding vines by now, loaded with cucumbers.

The blueberry patch, after a month of drought and 2 torrential rains. I cannot even begin to think about where to start.

Straw bales - totally not working. Almost the entire tomato crop was planted in these.

Butternut squash. Vine is dead, leaving this little mutant.

One cherry tomato plant in the straw bales has fruit, although every single one is split from too much rain at once. Note the healthy flowers that are climbing up the tomatoes.

There are several healthy gourds. Not a bumper crop, but a few.

This is this year's bumper crop. Anyone who knows me well knows this is my favorite flower. Roses can come and go, but a morning glory is breathtaking.

Plus they're easy to grow, don't care about water, propagate themselves, and are next to impossible to kill.

They also cross-breed, resulting in all sort of color combinations.

Cloudy days bring out walls of blossoms.

Deep jewel tone colors show up on both flowers and leaves...

This vine had both pink and purple blossoms -I've never seen that before.

Sometimes the colors reverse to white with a star.

And sometimes they blend and produce two colors on one blossom -with a glow from inside.

But usually a morning glory is just it's usual intense breathaking beautiful self.

Now if I could just find some way to harvest and eat them.

In the Midnight Garden of Nothin' Growin'

2010-07-14T12:38:00.001-07:00

What do you do when your garden is a complete and abject totally dismal failure?

You harvest the only two things growing: cherry tomatoes and armloads of mint.

And beg your parents for fresh veggies.

And, instead of wasting water on the sad, sad remains of wasted delinquent plants - you regroup and start planning the fall garden, which will lay the groundwork for the garden next spring.

A quick rehash: my normal garden site was inundated with the Evil Wiregrass. This spring, that site was covered with black plastic to bake out the said Evil. Meanwhile I decided to try straw bale gardening as a temporary solution.

The good news: none of the plants in the straw bales has been eaten by the various bunnies, deer, groundhogs, or neighborhood dogs.

The bad news: it's because the plants are either dying or dead, and not even the groundhogs will touch them.

There comes a time when every gardener should be smart enough to throw in the trowel, and give it up. This would be that time for me.

Straw bale gardening works for a lot of people. Didn't work for me.

Global warming works for a lot of people. Isn't working for me. What should be a May/June growing season has accelerated into a late April/May growing season, followed by two months of searing hot temps. Spare me the "global warming is a myth" emails - I am permanently entrenched in the camp of your opposition, having seen the evidence for my own eyes, for more than a few years.

Even the mint is two months ahead of itself, which considering the lack of rain, is pretty much unexplainable.

The one bright spot is that the cherry tomatoes are all container grown, and are as sweet as they can be.

What's coming out of all this is a decision to cut back on the backyard garden next year and pull the veggies in close to the house, in containers. The big growing space out back is going to be replanted with large herb beds - plants that do well in heat without extra watering (herb is simply code for "weed" after all).

And gourds. That's the third crop that's doing well this summer - the gourds are deliriously happy out there - they *LOVE* the black plastic.

So let me know if you need any birdhouses, dippers, or carved out bowls. I'll have plenty to go around.

Blueberries.......The Sequel

2010-07-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Spent Tuesday picking blueberries *BUT* this year we haven't had much rain, so as a result the berries are much smaller and not quite as sweet. In my personal opinion, any blueberry is better than no blueberry, and in that spirit I'm re-posting last July's entry on what to do with said blueberries once you get them home.

Perhaps this will summon the rain gods, and next week we'll be back picking those gigantic sweet berries.....

My life mantra: One can never, ever, eat too many blueberries....

Therefore, one must think of a way to preserve them, 'cause those canned blueberries don't cut it. Not even in January, when I'm desperate. Frozen berries are pricey, unless I buy the frozen wild blueberries, which are affordable, and 10 times as healthy as the cultivated blueberries, but the wild ones just don't taste the same.

Even as I speak, blueberries are on sale and very affordable in our area, so I loaded up on the little suckers, and decided to freeze enough for this winter. Or at least as many as I can fit in the freezer.

First: lay a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap on a cookie sheet. Cover the pan with a single layer of the best berries (unwashed). Set the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple hours.

It doesn't take the berries long to freeze, so multiple batches can be made in a single day. In my case, I froze a gallon's worth in a day. Did I mention I LOVE blueberries?

Note: When the berries come out of the freezer, they sound like marbles rolling around on the cookie sheet and are hard as rocks. It will very tempting for your children to use them as BB's or mini-balls. They will hurt if launched out of any sort of propelling device.

Probably best to keep them all for yourself, just for safety's sake.

***Note from July 2010: This winter I discovered that the frozen blueberries can be eaten like candy - they melt in your mouth literally. In fact, many never made it to any sort of cereal at all...

Solar Flair

2010-07-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Monthly Payday, meaning last night was Bill Paying Night. meaning I wrote out this HUGE check to the stupid power company, on account of we live in unbearably hot, humid Virginia (or "hell" as a friend of mine put it the other day).

Coincidentally yesterday, I was reading another blog, The Simple Dollar, and while I disagree a lot with the author (pretty much everyday, but it's an interesting blog irregardless), one of their readers sent in this way to cut air conditioning bills.

Today I tried it, and I'm so impressed I have to pass it on. You can find the original write-up here for more in-depth detail, but my personal adventure is below.

First - we have a total of four windows on the west side of our house. Almost all of our interior summer heat comes from these four windows. Today I went to wal*art (hate to give them any free publicity) and purchased the thinnest, least expensive tension curtain rods ($2.57 each) to fit our window width, four emergency solar blankets from the camping department (they're about the size of a pack of playing cards, but unfold to approximately 4'x6', and cost $2.98 each), plus a 99 cent pack of hinged plastic hair clips.

Total cost: $23.19.

Arriving home at 3 p.m. (peak afternoon sun heating time), I moved the first window curtain, raised the mini blinds and set the tension rod at the correct width. Then I unfolded the first solar blanket (pretty much just a large sheet of mylar as near as I can tell), folded it over the tension rod, securing it with two of the plastic hair clips. Then I snapped the rod into place over the window, lowered the mini blinds, and released the curtain.

Within 5 minutes, the temperature in the room had noticeably cooled off, and within 20 minutes, it was 20 minutes cooler. Placing my hand back in the window, behind the solar blanket next to the window pane, it was almost hot enough to burn my hand. All that heat had been coming in the window, and I was paying to cool it.

The solar blanket is barely visible behind the shades.

But there it is.

With the curtain down, it's invisible.

Outside, it looks shiny, but, really, it's hotter than Hades out there, and no one is walking around looking at my windows. Or offering to pay my a/c bill so I can have more attractive windows.

We're about halfway through the next utility bill, and I'll let you know if there's a noticeable difference. We've already cut the a/c off today, because suddenly it's comfortable in here.

Of Mice and Mint

2010-06-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

We live in an old house. Really old, as in built in 1858. Therefore (and it is inescapable) we have mice from time to time. Or more accurately, we remember we have mice from time to time. I'm sure they have an entire mousey metropolis' complete with tunnels and elevators to the buffet in our kitchen, probably complete with little waiting lines.

When we are reminded that we have mice (observe the tiny mousey calling cards left in the towel drawer), the solution is simple. Skip the old-fashioned mousetraps (and the pinched fingers) and leave the D-Con on the store shelf.

Go out to the mint patch and cut a handful. Spearmint or peppermint or any mint - doesn't matter. Turns out our mouse friends despise mint, both the taste and the fragance.

I cut the mint stalks into 5-6" pieces.

And strew them evenly throughout my kitchen drawers and cabinets,

and tuck them in anywhere the mice may be,

including those areas that serve as a mouse highway to the buffet areas.

And, if you are so lucky as to know the precise location of the mice-revolving-door, tuck a few branches in there as well. The branches will continue to deter our little friends even after they dry out. I replace mine approximately every four weeks.

Mint is the perfect guilt-free, non-toxic solution to all our mousey problems.

Birdie Mama

2010-06-21T08:21:00.001-07:00

Got out there early this morning, while it was cool (meaning 87 versus 98 later on), watered the tomatoes and cukes, and then cleaned and filled the bird bath. It's turned into a beautiful shady, leafy nook, thanks to the rampant Virginia Creeper vines.

The ground cover is all spearmint which is currently in full flower, and covered with bees of every kind. And the birdies flock to their baths,literally. They line up waiting turns.

Except for this little baby. His mama left him sitting almost next to my faucet and I nearly stepped on him when turning on the water. Mama sat in the tree fussing at me (or him, or both of us). He's one of many mourning doves we have this year, all of them nesting and leaving their babies here and there in the yard.

He just sat tight, and waited for the giant with the big flashing eye to go away and leave him alone.

I think they should bump him to first in line. He's had a scary morning.

Hosed

2010-06-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

If I had a dollar for every hose that our household has bought, I'd be a multimillionaire.

In some horrible twist of fate, our main spigot sits on the side of our house. Right along the driveway and directly in full sun. That's the standard HOT Virginia summer sun. Never mind the constant cars driving over said hose and occasionally the nozzle that's attached.

So Sunday afternoon (in the middle of a floor home improvement project ) our occasionally variant water pressure decided to surge and blow out yet another hose. Water everywhere. Increased the humidity by 1000% (if that was possible).

So, off to Lowe's to buy yet another hose. Thought I'd gather up the dead hoses and dump them on the way.

This is the one that blew out. Perfect length, but never met a kink it didn't love. Actually lasted since last summer. (It's Virginia. There are really only about 2 months out of the year we don't use a hose for something.) Into the trash with it. (I've got a garden shed full of hose I use for homemade soaker hose, and have sent a bunch over to the farm for my dad to use. No one needs any more. And as far as I know there are no hose craft projects. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Then this one went - the water pressure blew off the nozzle end of it. (Yes I know about hose menders, it had three of those already. We have a drawer of hose menders.)

These two filled in temporarily -but one's a marine hose and can't take constant high water pressure (the husband power sprays everything). The blue one isn't long enough to reach the Swing Garden.

When I got back from Lowe's (pretty sure I'm their favorite customer, cause their faces light up when I walk in), with my new commercial $40 Guaranteed-Not-To-Kink hose, I hooked it right up.

Ran it up the driveway, so the cars could find it.

All 100' of heavy-duty, black, non-kinking commercial hose.

Did I ever tell you about the soaker hose I killed with a hoe when I thought it was a snake?

First Tomatoes of 2010

2010-06-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

PERFECT.

Another Day in Paradise...More or Less

2010-06-08T08:51:00.001-07:00

Morning glories are my favorite flower, but even I have to admit they spread like crazy and last summer completely took over the potato patch. So this year I've been pulling most of them up. I've left one bank near the garage door. Then, this stubborn little bloom poked it's head out of the basil pot. No idea how it came about, since I always plant blue and purple, but, hey there it is.

Just haven't got the heart to pull it. Hope it doesn't strangle the basil.

The water plants are in full bloom including the deep purple iris.

This shot is from late last week -these container tomatoes have grown at least another foot since then. Oddly though there aren't many blossoms (meaning there won't be many tomatoes). I noticed the same with the sugar snap peas. I've also noticed this year the broccoli going directly to flower and seed, without forming heads, and I've had to pinch off the basil twice already to keep it from going to seed. This is all running a month ahead of where it should be.

While talking with another gardener this weekend I discovered she and others had the same problems - literally a sped-up gardening season. Every year the plants have popped a little earlier, and the crops get skimpier as the plants go straight to seed. If this keeps up, our main vegetable growing season may be February to June, using cold frames in the first two months,then replanting in September for a December harvest.

The yuccas bloom when it gets hot and this year instead of blooming one stalk and then having it die down, they've grown one or two extra stalks, with a second set of blossoms on each stalk.

This year's swing garden is a little sad. I had a project in mind for a in-ground pond for Nessie to swim in, but it's not happening, so she's bobbing out of gravel, with potted plants and the gnome to keep her company. This year there's more projects than energy and time.

But the swing garden does have the fragrant smell of lavender (which is also early this year).

This year it'll just have to be enough.

They're here

2010-06-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

THE FIRST BLUEBERRIES......

The nineteen assorted blueberry bushes, the trailerload of mulch, the underground soaker hose, the shiny CD's sprinkled by the plants, and the irritating black netting over the plants.......

It's all paid off.

AND IT'S WORTH IT.

I am in heaven.

Max and His Hollyhocks

2010-06-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Max, on the right, usually spends his mornings sleeping in the sunshine with his buds.

But this time of year, Max is preoccupied with his garden.

Max raises 10 foot hollyhocks. This is his third year. The old hollyhock bed runs right alongside the fencing of the puppy yard. Every year it gets a little thinner as the hollyhocks migrate through the fence, into Max's dominion. Every year my hollyhocks get shorter and sparser, and Max's get taller, brighter, and thicker.

This year the hollyhocks are red with maroon details.

Plain and ruffled.

The behind-the-scenes look.

The blossoms still have pollen on them (this means next years hollyhocks will be even thicker).

He refuses to tell me how he lures them over to his side of the fence, or how he gets them to grow so tall.

He says it's a trade secret.

Whatever it is, he runs right out there first thing every morning to check on them.

Next year I may put him in charge of the rest of the garden too.

First Peas!

2010-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

And I've already eaten the one on the bottom. All of a sudden the vines are loaded with blossoms and peas. We've had rain at some point almost every day this week,so the broccoli is coming to fruit, the blueberries are just barely starting to turn, and the comfrey is spreading.

The first cherry tomatoes are out, and a couple larger tomatoes but I'm not impressed with them,but hopefully those plants will give better fruit in the long run.

Very very first morning glory (my favorite flower). I've pulled up a lot this year so they don't overtake the garden, but there's plenty left over.

The straw bales are growing their own mushroom crops - at least six or seven varieties.

This one looks to have been nibbled, hope the bunny had a nice trip.

These look like they came out of some Gothic tattoo catalog.

And these look for all the world like little buttons.

The family yuccas are in high bloom right now - all the ancestors are tied up in these.

And in the fountain, the water iris has perfect blossoms.

The hard part is done - now all I have to do is tie plants up, put out netting and CD's on the berries to keep the birds away, fertilize in mid-summer, and wait for that first exquisite fresh tomato.

After the Rain

2010-05-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

Everything pops!

The Genovese Basil added 3" and lots of bushy leaves.

The comfrey I transplanted has taken hold, and (with any luck) started to spread. These two plants are actually blooming.

The spearmint has grown at least 12" and should be blooming in the next couple weeks, drawing hundreds of bees (they love its nectar), and guaranteeing my other plants will be pollinated.

Sugar snap peas are over a foot tall now, meaning I need to add the string trellis.

There are one or two blossoms, and there should be a lot more this next week. Peas come in around June 1-15th, so we are very close.

Cauliflower added 3" easy and the little seedlings are 4" high now.

Look on the left about mid-point down - the first tiny green tomato is there. Fresh tomatoes are within our grasp!

This is my first year growing butternut squash, so no idea how much this baby will grow. I'm thinking it's probably like a zucchini or gourd plant, so I gave it plenty of room.

Meanwhile in the greenhouse, a couple of the cauliflower plants have crossed with the neighboring broccoli, meaning I now have caulibroc, which I love - it has a nutty taste, and goes great in salads.

Caulibroc is like tiny heads of cauliflower with the size and taste of young broccoli, but white. It will never form a proper head, and will be ready for cutting tomorrow or Friday.

This is a lesson in gourd growing. They hate transplanting. The two at the bottom in the pot came up in the middle of the blueberries, and had to be moved. The healthy one at the top came up exactly where it sits. Hated to move the other ones but they would have killed the blueberries, and nothing comes between me and my blueberry crop.

First broccoli is out.

And I add this only because someone else may have this problem. This is Virginia Creeper. We have it everywhere. I pull it up constantly so it doesn't overtake my garden beds.

I probably should use gloves, because.....

Turns out I'm allergic to it. It's not the same as poison ivy which has an oil in it that binds to your skin (that's the reason it takes so long to get rid of it). Instead it has oxalate crystals. Those are nasty little diamond shaped crystals that literally cut into your skin. Only 5% of the population is allergic to those crystals.

Lucky me - I'm one of them. It'll go away in a week or so. And I have got to remember to put gloves on the next time.

Snarky comments

2010-05-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

Were made by an old friend this week when I sent him some photos of last years garden (and me in it) (you know who you are), more or less implying my garden looked pretty sad (or possibly that I looked sad, which I can totally see). Today's pics are just to emphasize that those pics were of LAST YEARS GARDEN - when I was still trying to plant peppers in the middle of the wiregrass patch. This years garden is all about the straw bales and black plastic (to kill said wiregrass invasion), and it's growing just fine, thank you very much.

The photo above is just one of 19 blueberry bushes that are loaded with fruit that should mature in about 3-4 weeks.

The peas are over a foot high and have reached the first rung of their trellis. Hopefully the heat won't kill them before they blossom. The heat has come on very early this year (it was 85 today).

Baby horseradish is coming up everywhere, I planted an entire bed of comfrey today, transplanted three 12" broccoli plants, thinned basil seedlings, did the mowing (including the trim work and the weed whacking), weeded the extra raised bed, unloaded two trailer loads of mulch, and then we got to work.

Actually, by this time I just watched the husband and my dad load these logs. They hauled off two trailer loads, which meant the trailer tires (of course) were low and had to have air added.

Then they got the idea to check the spare tire, which also turned out to be flat. That led to a discussion of whether or not it was sealing properly. After getting the whole tire situation straightened out, the logs were hauled off to dad's farm, where I have no idea what they are doing with them.

But they have 52 acres so there's probably room for them somewhere.

Mushrooms...and Not the Good Kind

2010-05-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Our Virginia weather has not been conducive to being out in the yard gardening. First we had cool super windy days (the kind that dried out the straw bales) and then nights with a possibility of frost. Now it's cool, cloudy and rainy. Which is great since it saves on the watering, but not so great for potting and setting out plants.

What is wonderful is watching some of the wintered-over plants green up. The top photo is the Provence Lavender. I wasn't sure it would come back this year since it had spent its third winter in the greenhouse, and all good things have to come to an end. But it has exploded with new growth and decided to take on another year.

Last weekend I potted up the patio tomatoes with a few basil plants - they've added almost 2" to their height already.

And the straw bales are growing mushrooms. Several different varieties, none of them edible or useful for any other activity. I'm no mushroom expert, but these were the most ethereal of the bunch.

The cauliflowers started from seed are adding an inch a day or so.

And the transplanted cauliflower is almost a foot tall, while the plants left in the greenhouse have 2" cauliflower heads.

Those 2" heads mean it's time to tie up the leaves around the heads. If you do this, just use regular jute twine. Tying the leaves around the baby heads protects them from insects, who will eat the whole head if you don't stop them, but apparently aren't smart enough to crawl in between the leaves. Just trust me, it works.

The differences in these plants tells me it's better to grow cauliflower in the greenhouse and have them produce earlier. But I'm hoping when the plants in the greenhouse are done, the transplants outside will come into season, and when they are done, the seed stock will be sporting heads. That's the plan anyway.

I have a whole bed of comfrey to plant -it's my new second-favorite herb (my first is any kind of basil- see below). I use comfrey to make salve, fertilizer water for the other plants, and as a mulch for my onions. Remember, once you plant this, it's hard to get rid of. I'm okay with that, since the more I have the happier I am.

The oregano in the greenhouse needs to be transplanted and if I don't get it done soon, I'll have to leave it where it is. I want beds of basil, marjoram, oregano and sage this year so I can make my own Italian seasoning. This may be one of those products that's just easier to buy, but I wanted to try and make my own. If nothing else, the yard will smell wonderful.

Baby basil, ready for transplanting. Is there any such thing as too much basil?

Boxwood basil, Lemon basil, Greek Columnar Basil, Purple Basil, Sweet basil, Genovese basil,Thai basil, Magical Basil (ha), Spicy Globe basil, Cinnamon basil, Purple Ruffled basil, Fino Verde basil, Licorice basil, Nufar basil, Mammoth basil, Osmin Purple basil, Red Rubin basil, Cuban basil, Dark Opal basil, Lime basil, Holy basil, Greek Bush basil, Dwarf basil, African Blue basil, Thai Lemon basil.....

Thank god it's one of the plants I'm not allergic to.

Off On Off On Off On Off On

2010-05-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is our back door.

(Yes I know we need to power wash the siding. Move past that.)

More importantly, notice the small wood sign. One side says "on" and it can be flipped over to the other side which says ........yes....... "Off".

This is one of my most important pieces of gardening equipment. The water faucet used to water my gardens is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy out in the middle of the backyard. I have an amazing ability to forget to turn it off, or leave it running intentionally, meaning to leave the drip hose on for a half hour, but then forgetting all about it, remembering it three or four hours later.

No more.

This little wooden sign hangs outside the back door - it's impossible to go in or out, or leave in a vehicle without being reminded that either I *am* watering or I *need* to water something.

Well, it's not impossible.

So there's another one inside the back door.

Between the two signs there will be no more incidents of $50 and $60 water bills.

Cause I really had to grow a lot of lettuce to compensate for that little mistake.

Pollen and It's Enablers

2010-04-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

The pollen cartel is out in full force.......the locust tree is loaded with blossoms

Many of which are blowin' in the wind.....

Right down into the bird bath....

Which has just been cleaned and filled for the first time this year.

The first iris has appeared....

Along with the second iris...

But this is the one I'm waiting for. Maybe tomorrow.

A Leg Up To Climb On

2010-04-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Since the tornado weather is coming our way tomorrow, today was the day to work on the yard. First the mowing, then putting up fencing for the peas and soon-to-be-planted tomatoes.

This "fencing" is actually left over wire that goes in concrete, zip-tied to rebar poles. We put two rows across, one a few inches above the peas, and the other at the top of the rebar. In between I'll run a wire line, so the peas can jump the gap.

The little peas just have to grow another three inches before they can grab hold and start climbing.

I love zip ties! Mid-summer I'll be zip-tying the tomatoes to their fencing.

Speaking of which, the tomato fencing went up this afternoon too. Tomatoes will be planted along the back side and the bottom arm of the bales.

Now their fencing is in place. Extra added bonus: the fencing posts and rebar poles are placed very tightly against the end bales, so that when the bales loosen naturally from decomposition the poles will act like bookends to keep them intact.

Hopefully it will all remain in place after tomorrow's stormy weather!

Days of Mulch and Sunflowers

2010-04-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Gardening has slowed a little this year. Days are warm (after being hot for a week or so), but the nights are still cool, so cool that we had frost warnings night before last.

So the tomato seedlings (Better Boy, Mr. Stripey, Sweet 100, Red Oxheart and a new one: Viva Italia) are still inside the greenhouse, along with the green, sweet red and cayenne peppers,the Sweet Italian basil, the thyme, the chives, the parsley, and the sweet marjoram.

I may continue to coddle them until next weekend, just in case.

Meanwhile, this afternoon was spent spreading a trailerload of mulch on the former hollyhock flowerbed. It use to be impossible to kill hollyhocks, but somehow the thick bed I've had for years has thinned out. A few hollyhocks come up along the edges, but none in the middle, so today I tossed in a lot of sunflower seeds -the big 12 foot mammoth ones - and then covered them with mulch.

After that, two 5 gallon buckets of strawberry plants were installed in between the blueberry bushes, covered with pine straw and watered with the drip hose. Blueberries and strawberries both love acidity in their soil. The pine straw mulch not only keeps the pH of the soil acidic, but it also keeps the water from evaporating and keeps the weeding to a minimum.

Also planted today: 1/2 each of a set of red onions and a set of white onions (these went in with the roses - roses LOVE onions), a flat of basil seed, and another flat of oregano seed.

I also broke down and thinned the peas. I hate thinning plants. It seems so cruel to plant the seed, water it, nurture it and then pull it up for no other reason except it has too many siblings.

This weekend plans include *finally* connecting the remaining water barrels, putting up trellis for the peas, adding fertilizer to the straw bales, and planting beans.

Unless it snows, freezes, or we have another frost.

Strategy in Ink

2010-04-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here we are mid-week and the romaine has exploded out of its pot, the spinach has sprung (another 3"), the oregano has achieved bush status, and the peas will be wanting their trellis within 4-5 days.

Now more than ever, it's time for advance planning and some form of strategy.

I really can't recommend anything more important in a garden than the yearly garden notebook.

Three months in you will not remember exactly when you planted what, or more importantly, what was planted there last year and whether or not it's a conflict with what you want to plant there now. Those peas that refused to come up last year -what brand were they? That corn that was so tasty -what was the name of that again? Silver Queen? Golden King? Did I put a 20-20-20 fertilizer there last year, or a limestone dust?

To prevent confusion as well as wasted time and money, get yourself a notebook and a pack of sheet protectors. Many years my notes are handwritten, but in 2003, I got ambitious and typed everything. First a list of plants I'm planning on having in the garden.

Then, a map of the garden. Actually, more than a few maps, where I can scribble, erase, highlight, and map out the planting map.

Also included in the notebook are lists of previous plants from prior years, and notes on what went right and what flopped big-time. All my receipts are tucked in so I know how much the garden is costing from year to year.

Some people (HI CARRIE!) actually weigh out their garden produce, so they know how many pounds they managed to grow. I've never done this, but maybe this year I will.

Might be nice to know how much that head of romaine is actually costing me.

Or maybe I'm better off not knowing....

Guess What I Found?

2010-04-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

A whole fan page on Facebook for straw bale gardening!

Learn to Grow a Straw Bale Garden

The creator lives in Minnesota, my old stomping grounds, and there's lots of info, plus he has a website.

He uses ammonium nitrate (a type of fertilizer) in place of legume inoculant, otherwise very similar to other attempts I've read. BUT - lots of great photos of mature bale gardens and ideas for doing fencing.

I'm in heaven!

Addiction

2010-04-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

My name is Carole.....and I am a Seed Addict.

This is what down and dirty garden planning looks like. Garden maps, highlighters, lists of what plants I have, what I need, and of course those I want. What goes where, what will need extra water, what will need trellis or fencing, and what needs plenty of room to spread out.

And the seeds. The beautiful piles of seed packets I've been accumulating this spring.

And the ones that wintered in the back of the second shelf of the refrigerator.

And the other ones that wintered in the back of the third shelf of the refrigerator.

And the ones gathered by hand from last years plants, fresh from the back of the fourth shelf of the refrigerator.

It's a wonder there's any room for food in our frig.

This is the rough garden plan for this year. The highlighted items are items already planted, either as seeds or plants (blueberries, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, onions, romaine lettuce, oregano, lavender, rosemary, valerian, comfrey, peas, roses, marigold and hollyhocks).

The handwritten notes are crops that still need to go in as spring progresses (tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, squash, 6 different sorts of gourds, cantalope, sunflowers, several varieties of basil, sage, marjoram, calendula, and, of course, more comfrey).

Eventually this week the handdrawn map will move onto a computer drawn version. And I'm trying to figure a way to file my seeds and better organize them. I'll get back to you on that.

Today's updates: The peas in the straw bales are 1/2" tall, the caulfilower seedlings have two tiny leaves, no spinach as of yet (I am cursed with spinach-barrenness). Oregano is doubling and tripling, even from just yesterday. Also, I added 9 broccoli plants today, and 9 cauliflower plants. Between the seedlings and these older plants, the cauliflower crop will be spread out over the spring (maybe even the summer).

100 Degrees in the Shade

2010-04-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

It is unseasonably warm in Virginia -about 20 degrees above the norm for this time of year. This means it is 120 degrees in the greenhouse, and even the tropical water plants are wilting.

This calls for some sort of shading on the southern side. The first summer we built the greenhouse, I planted mammoth sunflowers on either side, thinking it would be a low cost alternative for shade, as well as a food source for the birds. The sunflowers were beautiful, but weren't thick enough to block any degree of sunlight.

The two following years I simply moved plants out when it became too hot inside, and sacrificed the use of the greenhouse for the summer months.

This year, I really want to see how long I can stretch out the growth season for both lettuce and spinach (both cool weather crops).

So this year I purchased a 60% shade cloth. This means the weave blocks 60% of the sunight and UV rays. Not only will it keep the temperatures down, but it will protect the outside wood a little more from the sunlight. The one I chose is black, but they also come in white, green, and tan, in a cariet of sizes. (Source: CatalogClearance) Order a larger size than you think you'll need, particularily if your greenhouse has a gable roof. Voice of experience here.

The shade cloth comes with both finished edges and grommets. Ours is anchored at the bottom with a 12' length of 1" PVC pipe. We drilled holes to match the grommet spacing, then ran zipties through the pipe, and then securely through the grommets. The PVC pipe is then attached to eyehooks on the greenhouse. This anchors it on windy days.

The other end is attached the same way to another length of PVC pipe and then secured to the roof line and anchored to eye hooks.

Inside, the temperature has already started dropping from 120 down to 100 degrees, and the light is softer with the heat filtered out.

By the end of the day the temperature has dropped to 80 degrees.

This morning the lettuce was crisp and literally a brighter, deeper shade of green.

The oregano seedlings have started sprouting.

And the pot of oregano literally exploded.

The comfrey added an inch or two, and the leaves are more alert with variations of green.

On the whole, everything just seems to prefer the filtered light, and the warm, but not searing hot temps.

Even the water plants have greened-up. They are probably anxious to get back in the outdoor pond. Hopefully, that will be ready next weekend.

Meanwhile in the outside garden:

Horseradish is back with a vengeance. I use it as an insect deterrant, but it can be easily harvested to make horseradish (just grate the root). But be warned that this is a plant that is almost impossible to get rid of - every piece of root will sprout a new plant. I happen to like it, and don't mind it spreading.

The peas planted in bales a week or so ago are sprouting now, thanks to everyday watering to get them established.

Today we had to mow for the first time this year, and cut down some wild paradise trees that seem to pop up everywhere. Next weekend is the rain barrel system!

Tote That Bale and Hose...and Coathanger

2010-03-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

Yes, coathanger.

Specifically the wire ones that DH gets with his drycleaning. The rest of the family likes plastic hangers, meaning there are TONS of these accumulating.

So what better use for them than out in the garden?

These are dykes.

No, not that kind.

The kind used to cut metal or wire........like wire coathangers.

Cut each side of the hanger at the shoulders.

Then cut the long bottom side exactly in half.

Leaving this. (Toss the hook part unless you have another creative use for it).

Here's the two ends, looking suspiciously like stakes, perfectly designed for holding down drip hose in any sort of garden: raised bed, tilled earth, lasagna or........wait for it.............straw bale!

One can never have too many stakes for hose.

And here they are serving their new purpose - just push them down over your hose every 2 feet or so.

Keeping staking those miles of drip hose, using T-connectors where necessary, and caps at the endpoints.

I love drip hose. To use the straight or T-connectors, just push the hose into the connector. Drip hose lasts season after season and can be re-configured every year when I change my mind as to which way my garden is laid out. At the end of the gardening season, I watch the stores and buy up whatever hose and connectors are put on sale, stashing it away till the next spring.

The yellow hose leading towards the camera is the main hose that connects to the yard spigot.

The eventual goal is to have a water barrel here in the corner of this end of the garden, but I'm not entirely sure that it will have enough water pressure to push water through the permeable drip hose. Either way, the spigot water remains a backup, with the water barrel being a main source for water buckets.

All that hose laid out and staked with the wirehanger stakes. Yes you can purchase "garden stakes" if you need them, but why spend your hardearned money if you have wire hangers around the house? They work for staking hose, black plastic, clear plastic tunnels for starting plants early, the list is endless.

Occasionally when the drip hoses are first connected and turned on, there are geysers in unexpected places (that's what that odd brown root is marking). Then the water is turned off and that section of hose is cut and a connector put in. Or sometimes it's mended with duct tape. Depending on what I have available. Duct tape works, but is not the most aesthetically pleasing.

If you're planting a straw bale garden, and have laid and staked your drip hose, the next step is to spread a layer of soil over the drip hose.

This afternoon I had enough garden dirt (not potting soil) to layer over the first U shape of the bales. This early in the spring, this is all I need to prepare at this time. On the left arm of the U will be the melting sugar snap peas; along the back of the U spinach will be planted, and on the right hand side of the U, cauliflower.

The peas (and later the beans) will do much better (no matter where they are planted) if this Granular Garden Soil Inoculant is used. After reading about it (and reading it was available in any garden supply store, which it wasn't) I eventually had to order it online from Planet Natural.

It's easy to apply and non-toxic. Make a furrow in the dirt, add the seed, then sprinkle in the inoculant. The can above is enough for 150 linear feet (cost is $8.95 plus shipping). No danger of an overdose - the legume roots love it. The idea behind it is that the bacteria (that's what it is -bacteria) clings to the plant roots, and pulls nitrogen out of the soil/air/straw/planting medium and making the roots thick and healthy.

Then comes the fun part: writing the name on the little copper sign. I love these old-fashioned copper markers, and I pick them up at Target every year, in that $1 section at the front of the store.

What I planted today: Melting Sugar Snap Peas, Cauliflower, and Spinach. All cold weather crops that will love to have the occasional chilly evening, and then the hot sunny afternoons.

And if there should be a late frost or light snow, they'll be okay with that too.

I won't, but they will.

Disclaimer: No coathanger manufacturer has supplied me with coat hangers free of charge, and all Planet Natural did was accept my order and ship it to me for their customary charge. I can't remember the last time I got anything free. Definitely not the packets of seeds. Paid full price for them. Sure hope they grow.

Bales Upon Bales Upon Bales

2010-03-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Picked up 10 more bales today to line the side of the garage (that IS NOT a black snake, it's the soaker hose for that area).....

Also grabbed another bag of soil - this will be laid out on top of the bales, and the cucumber seeds planted there. Then watered every day, or every other day with the soaker hose. One day in June, the cucumber vines will be all leafy and green, and they will hide the soaker hose, and inevitably I will forget about it, then catch a glimpse, shriek, and kill the soaker hose with my hoe.

I promise you this will happen.

The daylilies are back at the spigot.

I had three extra bales after finishing off the garage bed, so they were added to the yard. These bails will get soil, seeds or plants, and soaker hose as well.

Something in the greenhouse is eating the tops off my broccoli and cauliflower. But only in those two tubs. the other blats and pots are left untouched.

Comfrey is back! I think I'm going to add some more plants -I love the way I can use it for mulch and making fertilizer water, and, of course, comfrey salve.

Tomorrow is repair day for one of the faucets that froze and broke, plus starting to get the pond water system thought out.

Romaine and Bales

2010-03-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a law firm....

I rearranged the straw bales again, just in time to catch a huge rainstorm that began wetting them down. I'm thinking I can plant a few big container tubs and set them in the open area, or/and arrange gourd plants (they always cooperate and cover large amounts of area).

I've been in search of the elusive legume inoculant that I need to sprinkle on the bales before planting peas or beans. Having no luck locally, I ordered it online from Planet Natural. I haven't used them before, so no recommendation yet. I did notice they have quite a few hydroponic supplies, and that's something else I've been wanting to try.

While at the feed store looking for inoculant, I found 9-packs of romaine lettuce and picked up a couple.

Twelve romaine plants went here, in big tubs, then covered with an old cotton curtain panel to keep out bunnies. It also filters the light and lets the rain come through.

They'll look better after they recouperate from transplanting.

The remaining 6 plants were planted in the greenhouse - just stuck in wherever there was room.

Meanwhile the romaine planted from seed is finally popping up.

Also ordered a 60% shade cloth this weekend for the greenhouse -with its help, I'm hoping to grow lettuce and spinach all summer.

Hope springs eternal.

Straw Bales R Us

2010-03-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

The experiment begins.....

Today we brought home 18 straw bales, in two loads, and could easily use 18 more, but I'm baled out for the day.

The trick is to place them where you want them. Never plan on moving them 1) after they are wet at all; and 2) after they are planted. The first will break your back and the second will break your plants.

First I wasn't sure if they are meant to be planted sitting with the raw side up, or the flat compacted side. Ended up going with the flat compacted side. 50-50 chance that's wrong -I'll let you know.

Then I couldn't decide how to arrange them. Started with a long line, like outside walls. then realized the drip hose has to run along the top, and it would be more efficient not to have walk-through breaks. So currently they are set serpentine style. This may change.

Started looking for legume inoculant, which is harder to say outloud than you would think. i want to plant peas and beans in some of these bales, and the inoculant is a bacteria that gets sprinkled on the top to help the root systems convert nitrogen in oxygen into nitrogen for their roots. Kindof like making it out of thin air. This will eliminate the need for additional fertilizer.

Found it online, but am going to try one more local place on Monday to save the shipping cost if possible.

Also got the remainder of the plastic down - this will be a pepper bed I think - it's the lower side of the blueberry patch. Peppers love black plastic and the warmth it gives their roots.

Also got the plastic down next to the garage bed. Somehow I forgot to get the straw bales for this area. For the last several years, whatever I plant here (cukes, cauliflower, broccoli) have been eatten alive. Only in this bed though, making me think it's some insect that winters over in the soil, then pops up to find I've planted it a smorgasbord breakfast. Like the big garden, this small patch can bake over the summer, and kill whatever lives there. Meanwhile the straw bales will grow cukes galore.

A few volunteer onions are up -this bed needs revitalizing this year. I may just do plastic here and bales too -it's cool and shady even at the height of summer -might be a great place for lettuce.

Speaking of lettuce, I also ordered the shade cloth for the greenhouse this afternoon. It's cloudy, and low 60's today, but it's 100 degrees in the greenhouse. The shade cloth coming is 60% black woven meaning it should cut 60% of the UV and sun, so I can continue growing some crops in the greenhouse this summer.

The pot of comfrey is coming up. I want to plant a bed of this somewhere in the yard this year -this plant lasted until January, and provided leaves for the water bucket. Comfrey leaves in water makes a great fertilizer, plus it's a prime ingredient for comfrey salve.

The cauliflower plants are almost ready to set out.

In back of the cauliflower, the Sicilian Marjoram is coming back. I've decided to plant large amounts of marjoram, basil, oregano and sage this year to mix my own Italian seasoning.

My poor sad spinach seedlings. I seem to be incapable of growing this. Maybe if I buy larger plants....

Lettuce taking it's leisurely time to get big enough to eat. We may starve before this is large enough.

And of course there's still the whole rain barrel system to tweak this year, and the pond to add to the mix, and the drip hoses to lay......

Plus the more I look at those photos of the straw bales, the more I think I'm going to rearrange them. Perhaps a T-design.

Cucumbers And Why You Want To Plant Lots of Them

2010-03-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

It may seem nearly inconceivable now, but for each of you that plants a cucumber seed in May, there will come a time in July when you wonder to yourself "What the hell was I thinking????"

Your cucumber plants will be overflowing with blossoms and fruit, and you will be sick of cucumbers. Your co-workers will run from you, and you will be reduced to leaving unmarked brown bags of cucumbers on random doorsteps, simply to dispose of your overabundance of good fortune.

This incredible list of magical uses for cucumbers was just received from a friend, who received it from another friend, thereby it's origins being lost in the mists of time and cyberspace. Print and save for that moment in July. That moment will come, I promise you.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day

Just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon? Put down the caffeinated soda and
pick up a cucumber

Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?

Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror: it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds?

Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area. (Word from Chewy: This will be especially useful in strawberry beds, where slugs love to hang out, and you can't leave beer traps, on account of the possum keeps drinking them....)

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going
out or to the pool?

Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes. The phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too! (Word from Chewy: I love this one, but trust me, there aren't enough cucumbers in the universe to help with my cellulite)

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache?

Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body has lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, and avoiding both a hangover and headache!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge?

Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that
you don't have enough time to polish your shoes?

Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe. Its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Need to fix a squeaky hinge?

Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for a massage, facial or visit
to the spa?

Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water. The chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finished a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or
mints?

Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath. The phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your taps, sinks or stainless
steel?

Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean; not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean. (Word from Chewy: For some reason this reminds me of the tip to rub your hands on a stainless steel sink to get rid of the onion odor after cutting onions.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake?

Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing. Also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!

See? Now you have to plant more cucumbers, cause you'll never have enough for all these uses (especially the cellulite one.....)

If you know the origin for this list, let me know. I'd love to credit it.

Wiregrass Battle.....Day 3

2010-03-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

Progress is being made. I may even live through it.

The black plastic is down (hopefully staying in place). Now the sun gets to bake the wiregrass.

Well, except for the next 6 days, all of which are suppose to be rainy.

Just so you believe me about the blueberries, this is one of the babies surrounded by the blanket of pine straw. It already has green leaves and buds, and stands about 12" tall. Since it's a 3-year-old plant, it *might* have one or two blueberries this summer.

While it rains this week, I'll be planning my garden. I'm wavering between an intense square-foot-garden layout, versus the straw bales, or a bit of both. This is the week to start seedlings of lettuce, broccoli, spinach, onion, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. The warmer weather plants like potato, tomato, pepper, and basil can be started in the greenhouse, in order to be ready in 6-8 weeks when it's warm enough here in Virginia to set them out.

Later this week, we'll discuss garden notebooks and why you really, really want to keep one.

Wiregrass Battle....Day Two

2010-03-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

Long, long day.

Complete with aching back.

But the net result is that both newly tilled garden plots have been combed for the random strands of wiregrass. Tomorrow they will be covered in black plastic, with the goal of literally burning and baking the remaining bits and pieces of wiregrass runners/roots. Sortof like waving a torch at wild animals and hoping for the best.

Meanwhile, we also replanted 20 blueberry bushes today. The process involves digging the hole, shaking out the blueberry roots while removing the wiregrass runners that bound them up last year, adding fertilizer and a bit of sulfur to each hole, then lining the hole with pine straw (keeps the soil acidic for the blueberries), adding the bush itself, giving it a long drink of water, then filling in with soil, and mulching again with an overall pine straw blanket.

Then repeat 19 more times.

You can't see them, but under and in this pine straw are the 20 blueberry bushes. From left to right, there are 2 -six year plants, 3 -five year plants, 10- four year plants, and 5-three year old plants (the babies of the bunch).

Someday they will grow up to be like these old-timers, approximately 5-6 tall and just as wide.

And loaded with these.

That photo kind of makes it all worthwhile.

That, and a handful of Advil.

Wiregrass Battle.....Day One

2010-03-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

First we had to pull up all the rocks and bricks, and then the carpet paths the rocks were anchoring.

Almost all the carpet had to be tossed -the wiregrass had literally woven itself into the carpet fibers. A few pieces were salvaged.

Then the drip hose was pulled up - found out a 10 foot section had hardened to the point of being brittle. Also removed and stacked the plastic racks that the gourds grow on (have I mentioned I found new gourd seeds a couple days ago: snake gourds, swan gourds, apple gourds and....nest egg gourds).

Lastly, before roto-tilling, we dug and temporarily potted the blueberry bushes. Discovered the wiregrass had grown into the roots and bound them. No wonder my poor babies didn't grow much last year.

Then we raked up all the loose mulch and straw, piling it up to be removed with the bad carpet.

And then - roto-tilling. This is the final result:

There's one strip left of wiregrass on the lefthand side - we'll get it tomorrow.

All of this tilled dirt has to be gone over with a rake, clump by clump, so we can remove the wiregrass runners.

Have I mentioned that wirefrass is The Devil?

Plan B is a flamethrower.

This Year's Game Plan

2010-03-05T13:58:00.001-08:00

This is the year we deal with the dreaded evil wiregrass.

As mentioned a few days ago, I'm pulling up all my tomato fencing, carpet paths and drip hoses just so I can rototill my lasagna-garden beds and rake out as much of the cut-up wiregrass as possible. Then, the entire garden, or almost all of it, will be covered with black plastic. The idea is to literally bake the soil and burn up the wiregrass in the soil.

Of course this will affect the rest of the healthy soil microbes, and mean I'll need to refresh the soil with manure, compost and everything else I can think of to bring it back to life - BUT- if I don't bake the soil, the wiregrass will just increase and choke out the desirable plants.

So my entire garden will be under black plastic this year but I still need to grow veggies.

The answer is straw bale gardening.

Photo from Nichols Garden Nursery

The idea is perfect not only for my situation but for anyone who wants to garden without digging, tilling, building raised beds, or doing much weeding.

Straw bales are available at most gardening centers, or at rural farms if you're lucky enough. At our Lowe's they cost approximately $4.00 each.

Clicking on the credits for either of these pictures will take you to two sites with much more detail. The basic idea works this way:

1) Set the dry bale whenever you want your garden to be. Water the bale for 10 days.

2) To plant seeds, spread a layer of compost, fertilizer, and potting soil over the top of the bail. Water. Plant the seed in this layer.

3) For seedlings, hollow out a planting hole, and fill it with compost, fertilizer, potting soil, and water again. Plant the seedling in said hole.

3) You must water everyday. I've seen a couple ideas, and the best is at the site below (Charlotte Nelson's) - the idea of laying the drip hose across the tops of a succession of bales. I'm planning on hooking up the drip hoses to my rain barrel system.

4) The top site, Nichols Garden Nursery, mentions I'll need something called legume inoculant for my peas and beans. I've no idea what this is, but as soon as I find it, I'll let you know.

This is the goal:

Photo from Charlotte Nelson's Straw Bale Garden

Pros would also include less chance of disease and soil insects finding the plants, easy to mow around, bales should last at least two years, and after they begin to fall apart and decompose, they can be used as mulch (on what will hopefully be my newly wiregrasss-free garden).

Plus, I'm thinking I can build mazes with the bales and provide instant entertainment for the neighborhood kids.

Weary of Time...Ready For Spring

2010-03-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

My friend Suzie The Ebay Queen posted spring pictures on her blog today - just a little somethin' to get us over these last few winter days. Seemed like a great idea, so I'm posting a few of my own.

The last of our snow melted today, and it's suppose to be in the 50's this weekend and maybe 60 by Monday, so maybe the photos are working.

Last year's Swing Garden. Don't look directly at the Gnome, it makes him nervous.

The Hollyhock Ladies...their specialty is bobbing and nodding.

Pink Mandeville....a tropical plant who somehow found itself lost in southern Virginia.

One of the 2005 daylilies.....one of the most perfect flowers....they never demand fertilizer, weeding or water......and they multiply without being asked to.

Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done...

William Blake (1757-1827, London England)

Hang on -spring is almost here!

Planning Stages

2010-03-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

This is from last year - as I type there is 4" of snow in this very location. But it's early March which means I need to be getting seeds planted in the flats out in the greenhouse and start planning this year's garden.

Here's my biggest problem this year:

Wiregrass.

Wiregrass is the Devil. It is an evil, evil plant sent directly from hell.

And it's all over my yard and all in my garden. The straw you see above was an attempt to smother the wiregrass. The carpet you see was an attempt to smother the wiregrass.

Nothing kills it. I even tried spraying it with the equally-evil chemical roundup, and *guess what* wiregrass luuves roundup. It sucks up glasses of it for breakfast and then turns to me and says "More please ma'm."

This year's game plan is to pull up the fencing, and the buried drip hoses, roto-till the garden, rake out as much of the torn up wiregrass roots as possible, and then cover the entire garden in black plastic for the summer, and steambake the soil. This will cancel out all the good from my lasagna garden layers, and kill off some good soil bacteria -BUT- it might also kill the wiregrass.

If it doesn't, there's always the flamethrower.

Herbs and Spices

2010-02-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Slowly but surely our snow is melting.

More is predicted for later this week, but hopefully we are on the downhill side!

One of my favorite online herb suppliers provided two great links today that I wanted to share:

How To Buy, Store and Use Spices

and

Quick Guide To Every Herb and Spice in the Cupboard

The last link is *almost* every herb in the cupboard, nevertheless it's a good start.

I can't recommend enough having a good mortar and pestle. Years ago I had a marble set, but somehow in a move it was mislaid. Now I use a vintage wooden set - I suspect it's oak and handturned.

Over the last couple years I've learned the value of buying herbs and spices fresh. The difference between a reputable bulk dealer and those little overpriced bottles at the local grocery store is staggering. A week ago I stopped at my local herb store The Well to pick up another 8 oz of Italian seasoning. When I left I ended up with powdered rosemary, oregano oil, and a bottle of stinging nettle tincture, in addition to the Itlaian seasoning. Linda is right - powdered rosemary is much tastier on roast chicken than dried rosemary.

Use these links to expand your choices and then we'll talk about what you can plant in your own garden this spring.

Tom and Sue and Spring

2010-02-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

This is Tom and Sue in the winter.

See Tom pull Sue on the sled.

Nothing is growing.

The tree has no leaves.

Everything is buried under deep, deep snow.

But no matter how cold it gets, eventually it will be spring.

Like Tom, we will plant our garden.

We will plant lettuce, broccoli, onions, peas and spinach.

And when it is even warmer, we will plant tomatoes, beans, melons and peppers.

Just as soon as this d**n snow melts.

A Gardening Merit Badge

2010-02-03T19:39:00.000-08:00

So Much Concern, painted 1975, Norman Rockwell

The Boy Scouts were founded in 1910, when Norman Rockwell was 16 years old. Two years later he walked out of the offices of Boys Life magazine with a commission and what would become a 60-year relationship with the Scouts that included hundreds of paintings.

He said he loved painting the Scouts during "the time America believed in itself."

Happy Birthday Norman! With any luck, America will believe in itself again.

Hibiscus Rinse

2010-02-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Last October I posted a lovely sage rinse recipes for brunettes and somehow neglected the redheaded and blonde readers. This is inexcusable, particularily since I have a daughter with red hair.

To make amends: in place of the sage rinse, simply use a hibiscus rinse.

The Hibiscus (also known as sorrel or rosemallow, for those of you with old-timey herb books) is actually part of a very large family with approximately 200 or so members and it grows around the world from temperate to tropical regions. It can be an annual, perennial, a plant or a small tree.

It also appears regularly at your local greenhouse, Lowe's or Home Depot in the spring, at a very affordable price. Easy to grow, hard to kill. The flowers come in many colors, and grow darker as they age.

A hibiscus rinse works the same way as the sage rinse. First decide if you want to make a large batch for several weeks, or just enough for tomorrow's shower.

Then, bring either a cup or a pot of water to a boil (I use the same pot I make pasta in for dinner. It's 4-5 quarts approximately, enough rinse for at least three weeks). Try to avoid using metal pots. The West Africans believe that metal dilutes the active properties of the plant. Use glass, teflon-coated or ceramic-coated.

Remove from heat and add the hibiscus (either fresh-picked flowers or dried herb: 1 flower for a cup, 4-5 for a potful; dried herb approx 2 tablespoons for a cup of rinse to 2 cups for a potful). Let it steep and cool, preferably at least 24 hours. Drain and discard the flowers or dried leaves, and store the liquid in a tightly capped bottle. Currently I use clear glass bottles, but I'm thinking dark brown bottles would preserve it even longer.

To use just shampoo and condition your hair as usual, rinsing afterwards. Then pour the hibiscus rinse on your hair. Leave it in and dry your hair. Repeat with every shampoo. Initially you will notice a bit more shine, less flyaway hair. With each use, you'll notice a bit more shine and control. If you have gray, it will slowly disappear over several weeks.

Now, as to using fresh flowers or dried leaves. Either works. With sage, I have found that fresh seemed a bit more fragrant in the bottle and it seemed to keep better. Remember, your store-bought products have preservative chemicals in them to keep them fresh. This homemade product does not. So making what you can use in three weeks or so is probably the outside perimeter.

Refrigerating the bottles of liquid can extend the shelf life. If it should go bad, you'll notice floating spots on the top. Just restrain the liquid or discard if there is too much sediment.

Using fresh flowers in the summer is easy since hibiscus plants are easy to find and grow, and at the end of the season, you can move them indoors, add a grow light, and you've got a supply of fresh flowers for the winter. ***NOTE: Hibiscus is poisonous to both cats and dogs(so watch it if you have indoor pets), but in no way toxic to humans, and in fact completely edible.***

Dried hibiscus petals are readily available both in any herb store or online. I have seen them priced as high as $40 for 2 lbs, or a much more reasonable $12 for 1 lb.

Here's the amazing part. You can use some of that dried hibiscus to make your rinse, take your shower, then sit down and make yourself a cup of hot or cold hibiscus tea. It helps lower blood pressure while containing Vitamin C and minerals. You can even snack on the dried petals - they're a delicacy in the Caribbean.

If you're growing it at home, you can also shred the bark off the stalk and make a grass skirt, like the Polynesians do.

But that's another blog entirely.

Dried hibiscus petals....perfect for tea, snacking, hair rinse,even making candy if you live in Mexico.

Vintage Garden Catalogs

2010-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when the seed catalogs come daily. Time for decisions on what to plant where, always keeping in mind the idea of crop rotation, as well as what vegetable we need and can preserve.

These are some of my favorite vintage catalogs. The artwork is vivid and detailed, and the prices can't be beat.

Ratekin's was a mail-order seed company started in 1884 in Shenandoah Iowa. They were the first to sell the famous Iowa seed corn. They were “the largest seed house in the West and the largest producer of seed corn in the world.” Each seed offered was accompanied by testimonials from satisfied customers. Alas, sometime before 1920, Ratekin's was out of business.

Peter Henderson was a Scotsman who came to America in 1843. He started a truck garden in New Jersey, then expanded into floral gardening, and finally by 1890 had five acres of gardens under glass. Henderson’s contemporaries called him “the father of horticulture and ornamental gardening” in the United States. In 1871 he established a seed company called Peter Henderson & Company and was the very first to use color in a mail-order catalog.

Farmer Seed Company is actually still in business in Faribault Minnesota -sortof - they are now a division of something called Plantron. Their current catalogs are much less appealing than this 1906 edition.

Ross Brothers appear to be out of business now, possibly because all that gentile lady found out it wasn't quite that easy to mow the lawn in full dress. Any woman living in a house like that would definitely not be out mowing her lawn. Or maybe that giant corn toppled over on some unsuspecting gardeners.

But my absolute favorite is this Burpees catalog:

Never, ever, in all my years of gardening, have naked cherubs ever helped me carry in vegetables.

The Patron Saint of Gardeners

2010-01-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Louisiana, surrounded by Catholics, I've always been enchanted by the idea of saints. Which is sortof strange, considered my family was Southern Baptist, and pretty much had no use for saints. What's even stranger is that as an adult I'm not religious at all, and I still like the idea of saints.

So naturally I lean towards having a saint in my garden (hoping he or she can undo some of the mistakes I constantly make). I always thought St. Francis was the proper saint for the basil rows, with his arms outstretched and the birds perched on his shoulders. Turned out that was because he is the patron saint of animals.

But now I've discovered St. Fiacre. Who it turns out is THE saint to go to for gardening help. St. Fiacre was born in the 600s in Ireland in a monastery where he was educated and taught about all sorts of plants and seeds the common people would never hear of.

Traveling to France, he was granted forestland to build his monastery on and plant his gardens. He planted so many flower and herb gardens he ran out of land. St. Firo offered Fiacre as much land as he could turn up in a day. Legend says Fiacre took his cane and drew a trench in the ground, then prayed. By the next morning, all the soil was turned. As a result of this miracle, one woman reported Fiacre to the local Bishop for using magic. But the Bishop decided it was a miracle, proclaimed Fiacre a Saint, and then turned around declared the woman a witch. (One man's miracle is another's magic).

Fiacre grew amazing herbs and was know far and wide as an accomplished healer. He also had an extreme dislike of women, never allowing any women to enter his gardens or chapel. This may dull my enthusiasm for him in the long run, but at the moment I like the idea that he was a herbalist who managed to avoid being called a witch.

Probably cause he was a man.

At any rate, I'm in the market for a St. Fiacre statue, if he'll have me and my female garden. I'd like to have one by September 1st, St. Fiacre Day. Also known as the traditional Labor Day. And the date of the first publication of Mary Had A Little Lamb, but that's not really pertinent. Unless you have sheep in your garden, in which case it's a lovely connection.

Forgotten and Unearthed

2010-01-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

If you read my other relatively normal blog, 365 Days in the Moonshine Capitol of the World (yes that's where I live), you've heard about The Great Clean, Paint, Rearrange Project currently underway.

This is the "before" view of my office. When there's an "after" view, I'll post it. It'll be a bit.

BUT - part of cleaning is going through endless stacks of clippings I've saved - gardening ideas, genealogy notes, recipes, remodeling projects, hard copies of emails, the list is endless. It's lovely to have many areas of interest, but it's really hard to keep the areas organized. And I won't even mention the books. I'm a bookseller by trade, but probably less than a quarter of the books in my home will ever be offered for sale. I'm an unapologetic book addict.

One of those piles I sifted through yielded a couple winter tips I had forgotten about:

For those icy steps -throw baking soda down in place of ice-melt chemicals or kitty litter*. Baking soda will provide traction and help the ice to melt. If it gets tracked inside, it doesn't damage the carpet or floors (just helps deodorize them).

Still got icy steps or run out of baking soda? Mix a little Dawn detergent with warm water and pour it over the steps. They won't refreeze.

*Our household has been a member of the "kitty litter" club since our winter days in Minnesota. Every fall, each vehicle gets 40 lbs of basic clay kitty litter tossed in the truck. It provides extra weight on icy roads, and if the car gets stuck, the litter can be thrown under the wheels for instant traction. At the end of the winter driving season, whatever's left goes to the real kitty box, killing two birds with one stone. In Minnesota we kept a bag by the back and front door to throw on the walkways. It's much less damaging to the environment than the chemical melts and works just as well.

I'm saving the gardening and compost tips for this spring. I'm getting all organized so I don't lose them again. Really. I am.

Shades of Mrs. Leyel

2010-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Odds things are afoot in this New Year....

Just two days ago I found a 1948 edition of Mrs. Leyel's Hearts Ease, in which she elaborates on the works of Nicholas Culpeper, 17th century herbalist, apothecary and astrologer.

Then ..... today..... after trying unsuccessfully to attend a gun show (we live in Virginia, attendance is almost mandatory), then wandering across town to an antique mall (where my daughter bought a World War II gas mask -those of you who know us IRL will immediately understand this- the rest of you simply try to get past it).....then, completely unexpectedly, I found these:

Culinary & Medicinal Herbs, Bulletin No. 76 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1951.

This is a puzzlement, since the 1941 Pharmacy Act was in full swing, and the only way to enjoy herbs in a medicinal manner was to join the Society of Herbalists. The table of contents lists something fascinating called a 'squirting cucumber'. Can't wait to see what that is....

On the same shelf:

Herb Gathering, 1934, London, England. Explains herb by herb all the various ways they should be gathered to be used and preserved. The inside back cover carries an advertisement for Brome & Schimmer, Wholesale Druggists, Botanical Drug Importers and Spice Merchants, Drug and Spice Millers. These folks pre-date the Pharmacy Act. I wonder if they were put out of business by it?

And then the rhyming Herbs For Urbans - and Suburbans, by Katherine van der Veer, 1938.

It has a spiral binding, with a note on the back cover that the patent for said binding has been applied for. It contains lots of recipes, and a entire section on herbal vinegars, many with blended flavors, something I haven't seen before.

But, the absolute surprise was seeing Mrs. Leyel's cosmic hands deliver this book into my possession, just 48 hours after learning of Nicolas Culpeper:

Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine

The entire book combines Culpeper's views on herbal medicine, philosophy and astrology, with an entire section on his life (1616-1654), and is focus on preserving health and prevention of disease.

The author, Graeme Tobyn, is a practicing herbalist, and a translator of medieval astrological texts. Not often you see that combination.

Even more pleasant than finding this book is discovering Culpeper was a man after my own heart. From the book, a quote from Nicholas Culpeper:

"The Liberty of our Common-Wealth (if I may call it so without a solecism) is most infringed by three sorts of men, Priests, Physicians, Lawyers...the one deceives men in matters belonging to their soul, the other in matters belonging to their bodies, and the third in matters belonging to their estates."

Give me time to absorb the book and we'll share more Culpeper.

Speedwell

2009-12-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

With three blogs, it's surprising how rarely one topic carries over from one blog to the other, but this is one of those times.

Today at a local antique shop I found a rare herbal book, Hearts-Ease, by Mrs. C.F. Leyel, one of the most respected herbalists of the last century. She singlehanded saved the knowledge of natural medicine in the United Kingdom, pushing forward even after the 1941 Pharmacy Act made her practice almost illegal. Wander here for more on that topic.

Meanwhile, this amazing book has detailed line-illustrated plates, and fourteen indexes. Each herb is detailed to a minute degree.

For example, this lovely flower:

Speedwell (the little Speedwell's darling blue) Tennyson

Botanical name: Veronica officinalis (Linn.)

Natural order: Scrophulariaceae

Familiar names: Paul's Betony, Cat's eye, Fluellin

French names: The d'Europe, Veronique,

German names: Ehrenpreis, Speedwelltee

Italian names: Veronic, The d'Europa, Quadernuzzo

Spanish name: Veronica

Turkish names: Yarsan otu, Oropa cayi

Symbolizes: Feminine fidelity

Part Used: herb

Action: Alternative, diuretic, expectorant, tonic, vulnerary (this will make sense to those of you who grow and blend herbs)

Mrs. C.F. Leyel's notes:

The Speedwell is almost the first blue flower to appear in the hedges, and is so truely the colour of the heavens, or as the Chinese say, ;the sky after rain', that it is not surprising that it should have been chosen as a subject for legends.

The old name was forget-me-not, and speedwell means goodbye, the name having been given because when it is picked its petals fly away almost at once. (The sister ship to the Mayflower was the Speedwell, but upon departure the Speedwell leaked so badly that she had to be left behind. As a result, the Mayflower shared the historical spotlight with no other, in addition to carrying twice as many passengers as planned.)

A long account of the healing properties of an allied species, veronica orientalis, was written by Francus in 1690, in which an account was given of a king of France being cured of leprosy by it. A woman who was barren gave birth to children after taking it. A few years later other reports were written by Hanniel, at Dusseldorf, and by Hoffman.

Hoffman considered it a particularily efficacious remedy for catarrhal complaints and recommended it for asthma.

As an herbal goes I can't really ask for any more.

Necessary Disclaimer: the gentle reader should not infer that they are to go out and pick large amounts of speedwell (forget-me-nots) and ingest them. No matter how beautiful they are.

Free Calendars....Or, A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

2009-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you have several calendars about thehouse.

I have one at my desk for billpaying and a second for my bookselling. A third on the frig door for appointments and family events and a fourth for gardening schedules. And, until recently, another for homeschooling records.

As much as I love the beautifully photographed calendars the bookstore sells, it isn't happening in our budget. Even the Dollar Store versions cost more than my solution.

Every year I print my own. Takes 15 minutes, and a minimum of 48 pieces of paper (for four calendars), plus the ink. Done.

Thanks to these lovely people at Vertex42 I have access not only to calendars, but all sorts of forms and lists and logs. My next stop is their debt reduction calculator.

Enjoy!

Chewy wishes each and everyone of you and yours a healthy, safe and prosperous New Year!

Never Mind the Snow! Think Rain Barrels!

2009-12-27T17:02:00.001-08:00

Those of you who have been reading here for awhile know about my rain barrels. For the rest of you, suffice it to say it is an obsession with me.

Our county went through a couple years of drought and rationing, and I built my system large enough to store almost 500 gallons. Then last summer we bought a pond form, and started laying plans to connect a pump to the barrel system that would pump the overflow into a 115 gallon wetlands holding pond, where it could be released through drip irrigation to the blueberry patch and then downhill to the tomatoes, gourds, peppers, etc. (Plus a friend has offered their used pond form which appears to be another 100 gallons or so, and we'll try to hook it up as well).

Never mind that this appears to be one of the wettest winters we've had in ages. Put that thought right out of your mind.

The drought will return. It nothing else, I can store enough water to negate any outdoor water usage on my town water bill.

These are my water barrels (the Greeks as they are known,since they started life in Greece carrying olives), and the older trashbin system in the background. All in storage for the winter, and actually at the moment covered in deep snow (we got 16" this last weekend).

Most importantly, this is an example of the four *new* formerly-pickle-barrels-now-rain- barrels I picked up today from a wonderful guy on Craigslist. Thanks to Jonathan in North Carolina who hauled a huge load of barrels up here this morning and fueled the obsessions of the Roanoke water barrel fanatics!

These four will replace the original "trashbin" system, and the trashbins will go out to Dad's farm so he can use them to store drying walnuts.

Recycle, Reuse.....repeat as necessary.

9 And A Half Inches Morphs Into 20

2009-12-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

So far so good - got power, got heat, got gas for the snowblower (which is probably the only one in town- we are popular with neighbors today). Also got 20" of snow.

This is before the big earthmover (road grader?) came through to plow. Last night it was pulling commercial tow trucks up this hill. You can't even see the road anymore, but it's there, twisting and turning down towards the creek. Last night, it looked like it must have looked a hundred years ago - a narrow snowy country lane.

And this is my Swing Garden. Someplace under there are the water gardens. Slightly different than summer.

Little Greenhouse in the Blizzard. I no longer own boots after living in the South for 12 years, so I sent DH and DD out there to sweep off the top. The plastic material is from

North Dakota so it is geared for the cold, and the snow weight. I'm just not too sure about the wooden frame.

Even the birds are snowed in.

And the yellow jackets under the yucca won't be coming up anytime soon.

About noon, this little snow plow showed up, but he decided didn't want to try the hill and headed off to the courthouse instead.

Meanwhile the rest of the state and southern West Virginia are a mess. Interstate 81 has hundreds of tractor trailers jackknifed and waiting for the National Guard to figure out how to remove them. This has cause a 15 mile traffic jam, with who knows how many people stranded overnight. The West Virginia Turnpike came to a complete stop overnight, with stranded motorists spending the night high in the mountains in their vehicles. They hope to get those pileups cleared sometime this afternoon.

Wherever you are, be glad you're not there.

9 And A Half Inches

2009-12-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

This was actually earlier this afternoon, when we were still at the 3" level. But at the moment, out there in the dark, it's at approximately 9.5". The road has disappeared, and the hill we sit at the top of is impassable (except for a giant earth mover that went by pulling a commercial tow truck carrying one of those big fancy pickups. Pickup was crumpled. I'm thinking it's owner tried to drive down the hill).

After living in Minnesota for 23 years, driving in the snow is as easy as breathing or walking, but throw in a move to Virginia 12 years ago, and global warming, and now it's nervewracking. Especially when surrounded by native Virginians who haven't got a clue how to drive in this stuff. Plus the 45 degree mountain roads. Plus our usual winter consists of a couple icy slushy days, and its over.

This weekend we make up for that.

Our neighbor's house, circa 1865. This weather sets it off beautifully.

This driver is headed directly past our house, which means they are looking down a 45 degree snow-packed hill, and thinking this might not be a good idea.

They were right. It's a weekend for staying home. I just wish I'd picked up a gallon of paint this morning. I could have painted my office as long as we're snowbound.

Did I mention our town doesn't own a snowplow?

Washable Produce Bags

2009-12-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I received a great offer from Mother Earth magazine: the entire Mother Earth news archives from 1970 through 2008, on CD, for $29.95 (the deal is still available). As an extra incentive, they threw in a pack of 6 washable reusable produce bags.

I actually received the CD within days, and had completely forgot about the produce bags until they arrived today.

These nifty little bags are such a simple idea: scrap nylon net, with a lightweight nylon drawstring at the top. Perfect for letting fresh produce breathe, and washable! You can take them to the store or farmers market, use them to store veggies or fruit in the frig, and I'm thinking I can stuff my pockets full of them when I go to pick blueberries next summer.

Plastic bags emit ethylene gas, causing produce to ripen more quickly than they should. You may have seen the green plastic produce bags sold on TV - they've been treated not to emit the gas, but, hey, they're still plastic. These nylon net bags eliminate the whole problem.

The bags measure 11" x 14", and there are 5 for $6.99. Plus the bag they are packaged in is another net bag, size 8"x12". If I had my druther's, I think I'd like at least one just an inch longer, for celery and romaine (we buy a lot of romaine), but other than that, this is a great little deal and another step closer to being green.

This is a family owned business founded by Cindi Valverde, a great idea and lots of value for the price: WashableProduceBags.com

FTC Disclaimer: They didn't give me the bags. Mother Earth News did, but only after I bought their Archive CD, which is pretty cool too.

Red Light Green Light

2009-12-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Warning: This post has nothing to do with gardening, green-life style, or how to make your own detergent.

This post is what happens when you've spent your day in Christmas traffic jams, staring at traffic lights.

Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green? Who decided against orange, white and blue? Or red, white and blue for that matter?

It's things like this - thoughts I mull over while staring at 50 sets of red brakelights, and the all-powerful traffic signals- that drive me nuts until I know the answer.

In case you're the same way, here's the scoop.

It takes a very long distance to stop a train. So the first signal to stop a train was a fire built between the rails. Meanwhile in 1868, London had the first crude gas lantern designed to control carriage traffic. It used red and green glass plates that were operated manually by a policeman. When it exploded, killing the operator, it became the last traffic signal, until electricity was invented in the late 1800's.

One of the first uses for this new technology was an electronic railway signal: green was on top as the universal signal for "all clear"; red was below it, of picked to be the color for "stop", being the same color as the fire that was already used to stop the trains. Then white was added for the lowest signal, as a caution or warning light.

Eventually, in the early 1920s, automobiles had grown to such a volume that traffic was chaotic and out of control. An African American inventor, Garrett Morgan, designed and patented the first electronic traffic light. He chose to use the railway system light colors: red for danger or stop, green for proceed safely, and white for caution. The order was changed, to differentiate the lights from the railway signals.

Trains run on tracks, disregarding street lights. When a white railway bulb burnt out, it was not as big a problem as when a white traffic signal bulb burnt out, causing drivers to mistake the white bulb of the corner street lights for the signal, jamming on their brakes for no reason and thereby inventing the multiple vehicle pile-up.

Several hundred insurance claims later, white was exchanged for yellow, a color associated with sunny warmth and happiness. Now everyone would be happy about stopping for that red light.

Psychologically red creates tension and nervousness in the brain, alerting our thought process that a decision is imminent, while green is soothing and calm.

But I think the immortal words uttered by Jeff Bridges in Starman best explains traffic lights:

"Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast."

By The Light of the Silvery Moon

2009-12-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've been putting off gathering basil seeds, mostly just because I've been busy. But tonight is the full moon, and they needed to be harvested in the next couple days.

All those old gardener tales about planting by the lunar cycles have some truth to them.

There are two waxing (increasing) lunar quarters, and two waning (decreasing) lunar quarters. The full moon falls right in the middle.

During the waxing quarters, the pull of the moon raises the water table, and plants draw up water faster, making it a better time to plant.

The waning phase is better for pruning and weeding.

Some evidence also exists showing larger harvests among gardens planted following the lunar cycles.

Here's a quick guide to planting by the moon:

Quarter 1: The waxing phase that begins with the new moon is the best time to plant above ground leafy vegetables. Plants that respond well during this quarter include broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, celery and cauliflower. The water table is rising and the plants will take up nutrients and germinate quickly.

Quarter 2: The gravitational pull of the moon is less but the additional light theoretically aids leafy growth. Vegetables that respond well to being planted in this phase include those that form internal seeds like beans, peas, tomatoes and vine crops. The second quarter is also where vegetables should be harvested. This is when their moisture is at its peak.

Quarter 3: Just past the full moon, the water table is dropping and growth is slowing. This is the best phase for planting root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, beets and onions. It's also a great time to do any pruning in the garden that is needed. The cut ends will lose less moisture or sap during this period.

Quarter 4: A dormant period and no planting, harvesting or pruning should be carried out. This time is best used for weeding, turning the compost and other garden chores.

Thanks to http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/gardening-by-the-moon.html

Tomorrow night, I'll be harvesting my basil seeds -sweet basil, Greek columnar basil, lemon basil and my new favorite, boxwood basil.

And feeling somewhat like a oldtime pagan out there, harvesting by the light of the moon.

Better Than Breakfast at Tiffany's

2009-11-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

Remember these?

And this trip last summer to the blueberry farm to pick 4 gallons worth?

And remember how they were divided up and frozen, individually, on cookie sheets, then divided up into pint size bags?

Today's their day to shine. Now that it's late fall, and no fresh blueberries are to be found (excepting the $4.00/pint grocery store version), it's time to go to the freezer.

I like my blueberries on bowls of Special K Red Berry. (Really I do - and Kellogg's has not offered me anything to say this, but if they want to ship me free cereal, I'm okay with it).

The frozen blueberries are packed in pint bags, and the bags are packed inside a gallon size bag.This way I can take out one pint bag at a time, for each bowl of cereal. I keep a wire strainer just for this purpose. Pour the frozen bag of blueberries into the strainer, set the strainer into a bowl, and run cold water over the berries. They will thaw quickly (2 minutes at most). **Frozen blueberries are a great snack BTW -pop one in your mouth, and let it thaw gradually.

After they thaw, I usually pour them out of the strainer onto a paper towel and pat them dry to remove the extra water.

Then pour all the blueberries on your cereal. I like A LOT of blueberries. (This is why I picked 4 gallons last summer, and only had 3 gallons by the time I got home).

Add milk, and savor the taste of summer. And, unlikely as it seems, blueberries are really, really good for you.

The Butterfly Book

2009-11-19T21:59:00.001-08:00

While we wait for the greenhouse lettuce to get big enough to eat, let us dwell on summery topics like butterflies.

Usually I save my book reviews for While Reading to the Dog, but in this case I'll make an exception. I got lucky at a library sale earlier this month and found another vintage copy (1931) of The Butterfly Book: A Popular and Scientific Manual Depicting All the Butterflies of the United States and Canada by W.J. Holland.

Sounds dull doesn't it?

It isn't. This thick, heavy book includes more than 70 full-color plates, with butterflies and their vivid colors exploding out of the pages.

The scientific text includes the names, habitat, natural predators, and line illustrations of the wing profile of each species.

As well as a black and white plate of the very first scientific drawing of an American butterfly from 1887.

Several of the plates include each species' catapillars, in great detail, and on their plant food of choice if it's unique and unusual.

Here and there are tucked butterfly poems and trivia. Did you know the Scots refer to them as flutterby's?

Mostly though, there are just beautiful color illustrations of every conceiveable butterfly, enough to convince you summer is right around the corner.

The Butterfly Book: A Popular and Scientific Manual Depicting All the Butterflies of the United States and Canada by W.J. Holland, Offered for Sale by Chewybooks as of November 20,2009.

Solar Greenhouse on A Cloudy Day

2009-11-10T08:04:00.001-08:00

Someday I'll have a greenhouse with heat, electricity, a automatic water and venting system.....

But for now, my greenhouse uses the sun as its sole source of heat. (And no electricity or auto -venting on too-warm days). Of course the automatic watering consists of me turning the hose on.

So this leaves the problem of maintaining sufficient warmth during the cold months and having a water source that doesn't freeze.

Note: I live in southern Virginia. Having previously lived in Minnesota, I do understand that cold is very relative. Our lowest temperatures of the year *usually* fall at 10-15 degrees during a two week period in January. Even on those days, if the sun is out, the greenhouse will be at 80 degrees, during the day. Your mileage if you live father north will be much different and this particular sort of solar greenhouse wouldn't be worth your time. But you can check the DIY plans at Build It Solar. It can be done.

Keeping some warmth in it at night is the problem. The walls are half-wood, giving it some shelter, and the outside paint is dark green, which helps absorb some heat. The interior walls are white, so they reflect as much light during the darker winter daylight hours. The upper walls/roof area is a heavy duty plastic (an excellent product purchased from Northern Sun in North Dakota -it's lasted three years even in our southern sun, with no visible deterioration or brittleness).

The northern upper wall/roof is also covered inside with bubble wrap - the large bubble air pockets give it some extra insulation. And believe it or not, the floor is carpeted. As of this last week, there are two-three layers covering the dirt floor. Long-term plans include a brick paver floor. Meanwhile the carpet retains some warmth, and minimizes mud.

However, to solve both the heat retention problem and the winter water source, I have several large tubs of water (dark colored tubs, bought at walmart for $5 each) that I fill late in the fall (say, today for instance). The hose connections actually run across the yard, being buried approx 2 feet down, but the connection is outside the greenhouse (it was there first), and so the connecting hose is exposed and vulnerable to freezing.

After filling the tubs, I fill as many plastic jugs as I can save up during the summer, and use through out the winter as needed. Milk jugs can be used, but will only last one winter -the heat in the greenhouse makes them brittle. Ice tea jugs are intentionally heavier, due to the tannic acid found in tea and will hold up much longer.

Most of the solar greenhouse sites I see recommend painting the water reservoirs black. I've tried this and found no discernable difference in heat retention, plus the paint eats the plastic while it peels and chips off.

I have 5 large tubs of water, and 36 waterjugs - this will probably get the crops almost completely through the winter. In the last three years, the water has never froze or even iced over.

The coleus are on borrowed time, but I'm hoping to baby the green peppers through at least December since they are loaded with little peppers.

During the day, both the peppers and the coleus are covered with a gauzey sheet, to keep the heat from burning up (average daytime temps now are 100 degrees,even when it's 50 outside), and during the evening hours the gauze holds more warmth in close to the plants.

Last tip for today: remember this plant? The ever-useful, easy-to-grow comfrey? It naturally loses a leaf or two a week, so I toss the leaves into the water tubs -they decompose quickly and are a wonderful natural source of fertilizer for the other plants.

Milk Thistle

2009-11-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

While working in the greenhouse some two weeks ago, I leaned over, and as I straightened up I felt a familiar twinge in my back.

After hurting my back some 15 years ago, it acts up more or less annually now -usually resulting in severe pain for approximately two weeks. During this time I am addicted to heating pads and Advil.

This time, I happened to have an annual checkup, complete with bloodwork, and lo and behold, the liver tests came back high, meaning there might be some liver damage. Immediately I thought it was due to the large amount of Advil I'd been taking. Eventually, a second set of tests were taken, and came back clean.

While I was waiting for the second tests to come back, a friend mentioned milk thistle to me as a liver cleanser.

Turns out milk thistle extract has been used for thousands of years to help clean the liver. It helps to detox and maintain liver health, and canhelp with cirrhosis, jaundice, hepatitis and even gallbladder disorders.

It may also help lower "bad" cholesterol, reduce the growth of cancer cells in breast, cervical and prostate cancers, and help with type 2 diabetes.

The only warnings I can find in research are directed towards women who are pregnant or breatfeeding, and those who have had endometriosis, fibroid tumors, breast, uterine or ovarian cancers. (Didn't find the exact reason why though).

As usual, your mileage may vary, and it may interact with other medications.

This is the part where I say I have milk thistle growing in my backyard and I make teas or dry my own. I don't. I tend to pull up thistle when I find it in my yard (and I have no idea if it's milk thistle or some other type).

I buy my milk thistle at the store. The dried extract is sold in capsules, and I take one a day. I also take as few Advil as possible, but when the choice is writhing in pain or ruining my liver, I figure I'm dead either way, so I take the Advil.

And now I follow it with a milk thistle chaser.

Presents For the Greenhouse!

2009-10-28T17:56:00.001-07:00

Guess what came in the mail today!

Last week Carole & Chewy were lucky enough to win first prize in a giveaway at the wonderful White Spray Paint blog, run by Miss Laura.

We were flabbergasted, since, by tradition, we never win anything (at least not since the unfortunate incident with the BBgun in our childhood).

So today - our prize arrives (and the box alone was wonderful, since as booksellers, we appreciate the box as much as the contents) - and it's a wonderful heavy duty canvas gardening apron and a LARGE size foam knee pad. Now we have no excuse for being covered in dirt at the end of the gardening day, or losing one trowel after another in the pepper/potato/tomato/gourd patch (pick your favorite, they are all holding trowels hostage).

Also, our knees deeply appreciate the size of this foam knee pad, since the point of contention with the previous ones has been how-to-kneel-on-one-while-trying-to-move-it-at-the-same-time.

Immediately I had to run out to the greenhouse and introduce the presents to their new home:

This is what photos look like when you run in to take a photo, and it's 65 degrees outside, and 120 degrees inside..... the humidity makes the hanging garden apron look all misty and romantic.

This is what it *really* looks like, when I stepped outside to take the photo looking back in - see the foam knee pad (showing it's striped side, versus it's sortof Frenchy-looking side)?

As long I was out there I watered everything a bit, and the lettuce has grown almost 1/2" since yesterday...

Spinach is still crappy though.

Thanks again Miss Laura! This is ten times better than the BB gun! Everyone go check out her blog - it's one of the best:

White Spray Paint

Garden...Round Two

2009-10-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the big garden was a total disaster this year, for various sundry reasons too depressing to mention (mostly those horrid little *(&#*&% stinkbugs), but there's always Round Two....the Winter Greenhouse.

Two weeks ago, I planted several flats of romaine lettuce, a small spinach pot, and a large tub of Early Snowball cauliflower.

They've all come up (not a stinkbug in sight).... and are growing like weeds, so to speak.

Well, except for the spinach. It's looking kindof weak and puny. Might have to plant some more. We'll see.

Shortly after the planting, the nights turned a bit cool, so more than a few of the garden plants were moved in to the greenhouse.

Fiddlefern, valerian, dark-red plants my daughter picks out every year, bloody dock, and comfrey, with some geraniums thrown in - they won't survive the winter, but they get a few more months of summer this way.

Two aquariums full of water plants (they are *so* easy to winter over) to save having to buy more next year for the fountains (they are *so* expensive). In front of the water babies are the three pots of Scottish heather (it will actually go through a second blooming during the winter).

Those are coleus hiding under the gauze -they are sensitive to...well, apparently, just about everything. Too much sun, too much shade, too much heat, too much cold.....picky plants.

I ended up sending several home with my mom to vacation in her sunny windows. These in the greenhouse will be trimmed when it gets cooler so we can put cuttings in water and start new plants for next spring.

Seems like there's just as much gardening to do now as there was during the summer.

The Voices of A Thousand Little Gnomes....

2009-10-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

"Gnomes live ten times faster than humans. They're harder to see than a high-speed mouse. That's one reason why most humans hardly ever see them. The other is that humans are very good at not seeing things they know aren't there. And, since sensible humans know that there are no such things as people four inches high, a gnome who doesn't want to be seen probably won't be seen." Terry Pratchett

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower." Albert Camus

"It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous." Ron Weasley

"It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in Autumn." B. C. Forbes

"Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be; what is is change." Edwin Way Teale

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." George Eliot

"Autumn wins you best by this its mute Appeal to sympathy for its decay." Robert Browning

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." David Letterman

Wise Old Sage

2009-10-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is what some other fortunate person's sage patch looks like -mine did look like this, until this summer (which shall be forever known as The-Summer-Of-the Dead-Garden).

However, I am lucky enough to have a friend who has tons of sage, and she was kind enough to cut me a grocery sack full a couple days ago.

For the various projects I had in mind, it needed to be processed while it was fresh.

First step: strip off the leaves and leaf clusters. I had enough for two large potfuls. This lot will be dried, a bit at a time, so that I have sage throughout the winter.

The stripped stems can be planted out in your garden to come up next year. Just lay them down and cover with a bit of dirt. Each segment will produce a new plant, leaf by leaf.

And this is the second pot -it was actually much darker green. This will be a sage rinse for my hair. Sage is great for dark hair, keeps it shiny, gives it body, and used over a period of weeks will cover any elusive gray hairs.

The rinse recipe is simple: strip the sage leaves (1/4 cup to 2 cups of water for a single batch) while bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add the leaves to the boiling water, remove from heat, and let steep until cool (for a pot's worth, this will be overnight). Then pour through a strainer, removing the leaves, and bottle the sage water. Keep it in a cool,dry place, and use once a week as a final rinse left-in rinse on hair.

The discarded leaves can go into the compost bucket or out into the garden.

Meanwhile, the first lot is drying, bit by bit in the oven. You can do this in your regular oven too. Lay the sage out in a thin layer, set on 250 degrees, and let it dry. Note: keep a close eye on your first batch, so you know how long *your* oven will take. According to the manual, this little oven was suppose to dry herbs in 16 hours. It actually only takes 35 minutes. Something probably got lost in the translation.

Make sure you have containers (airtight, clean and dry) ready and waiting. The sage is ready when it's a light gray, and crumbles easily.

This is one batch worth -it took 6 batches to fill the jar. The pot of sage water made 6 bottles of sage rinse, enough to share and still have enough for winter.

Finally, I kept a couple sprigs of sage and just stuck them in a glass of water. They've already started rooting and will make beautiful plants.

Then you can do this all over again next fall.

*For those with lighter fair hair, substitute fresh or dried chamomile flowers to make a rinse.

**To add red highlights to light or dark hair, substitute fresh or dried hibiscus flowers.

UPDATE:

If possible, store your extra sage rinse in the back of the frig until needed. Since there are no chemicals or preservatives in it, after several weeks, mold will form and float on the top. that's just the impurities coming out. Use a q-tip to scoop it out - the liquid rinse underneath is absolutely safe to use.

Also - an idea from my friend The Damsel - put your rinse in a squeezeable plastic bottle (I bought a 97cent ketchup style bottle). That way you can squeeze a small amount on exactly where you need it (like roots maybe), and it goes much further. I love that idea, can't believe I didn't think of it myself!

Cranking Up the Greenhouse

2009-10-11T13:00:00.001-07:00

Remember this from last week?

A little tossing, a little junking, a little chopping, and I ended up with this:

Everything in it's place, and a place for everything. More or less.

So this afternoon it was time to start planting (and this really should have been done in early September, but whatever).

Today's goal: get flats of lettuce and spinach planted, and a pot of cauliflower.

The first flat of lettuce sits in the left foreground - it's just a plastic container, lined with plastic since it already has huge holes in sides and base (remember the three R's: reuse, recycle, reduce).

I've been known to get used cat litter pans at yard sales and scrub them out with a salt solution, then scalding hot water, add drainage holes and plant in them. Works great -but the sanitizing is an step you must never forget (no matter how clean the owner got it before they threw it in the sale).

Those big round pots were used last winter, but I think this year they'll sit to one side, and be used up by the house next summer in the Swing Garden. I'm looking for more efficient space usage this winter.

My lettuce of choice: Romaine. I never bother with iceberg lettuce. Unless you have a perfect soil/mineral mixture, it almost always turns out bitter, and it's nutritional value is next- to-nothing. But romaine is one of the healthiest foods you can eat -packed with Vitamin K,A,C and so much more.

It's one of those rare good for you foods that actually taste great too.

So I plant LOTS of romaine. Today alone three flats are done. If I want enough lettuce for all winter, plus some for friends, the planting needs to be done in succession. Next week, I'll plant 3 more. When I pick, I try to pick from one bed, and replant it as I pick. This keeps us in fresh lettuce most of the winter.

Come late January, there will probably be a cold snap lasting a couple weeks. I have an idea this year to put the lettuce flats inside a second baby greenhouse inside the large one. Hopefully that will help it pull through till it warms up again.

This is the planted flat, just before watering. Below in the closeup, you can just pick out the long thin lettuce seeds, sprinkled thinly over the surface. The thinner you sprinkle, the less thinning you'll need to do after they sprout.

These tubs will be filled with fresh water when we get closer to a frost, so that the main waterline can be cut off and drained for winter. Water can be dipped out as needed, while the tubs act as a heat collector during the daytime, releasing that heat during the night to help keep the plants warm.

More lettuce -right next to my giant bag of MiracleGro -I always use it, sometimes mixing it with top soil if I need to stretch it. No, they didn't give me a free bag for saying that (but if they want to, I'll take it).

Next tub up is prepared for cauliflower. Cauliflower is incredibly easy to grow, and while the homegrown heads are sometimes smaller (mine are anyway), they have a nutty flavor the store-bought ones don't. One year, I was fortunate to get to plants for caulibroc, a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli. If you are ever able to find it, try it - think broccoli florets,with little heads of miniature cauliflower.

Cauliflower tub, filled partway with top soil, maybe 3 cups of peat moss mixed in, topped with the balance in MiracleGro. The cauliflower seeds are lightly mixed on top.

And finally spinach. It would probably grow better outside (it's a cold weather crop), but I have to completely clean out my garden this year so it's being relegated to pots in the greenhouse. I'm trying an experiment using these containers we've gotten with deli chickens - it seems they would make perfect miniature greenhouses to start plants in.

Spinach, being hardy, has volunteered to be the guinea pig.

Mix of peat moss, MiracleGro, with a couple drainage holes in bottom. Seeds sprinkled on top.

Top popped on after watering. Should form the perfect environment for germinating seeds.

Here's the timetable according to the seed packets:

Little Gem Romaine Lettuce: 7-10 days to germination, thin at 8 inches, harvest in 45 days (approx Thanksgiving Day)

Early Snowball A Cauliflower: 8-10 days to germination, 55 days to harvest (approx Dec 1-3)

Teton Hybrid Spinach: 8-10 days to germination, 45-50 days to harvest (approx Thanksgiving to Dec 5)

Looks like we'll be eating our own harvest for Thanksgiving Dinner!

Walnut Dodgeball

2009-10-06T09:07:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again -here's our 150 year old walnut tree (it may be older than that). There are several different kind of walnut trees - this one is a black walnut tree - the nuts have a particular oil in them that can cause allergies in some people, and that same oil gives the nuts a little sharper taste than the English walnuts found on store shelves.

This is what a loaded walnut tree looks like.

Each walnut is 3-4" in diameter. They are hard as rocks. Hard enough so when you have children, you spend the first 13 years of their lives randomly yelling: "*DO*NOT*THROW*THE*WALNUTS*AT*EACH*OTHER*."

But then comes fall, in more ways than one, since there is no Mother Walnut to tell the tree itself Not To Throw The Walnuts.

And the only way to pick the walnuts up, is to stand under the tree.

Yep. Picking up 33 bags worth of black walnuts, dodging that rustle that tells you are about to be IT, cleaning up the loose branches that fell with the walnuts, then finishing up the last mowing of the season....

Until the wind picks up again.

Gourds Gone Wild

2009-10-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Remember these? From back in late May?

And then they grew into this in mid June?

And then in mid July, they were off and running?

Well, it's all over now. The vines have died down and dried up, and all that's left is gourds. These are birdhouse gourds. About half are dried, and the other half are on their way.

Once dried, these make great bowls, bottles, maracas, and, of course, birdhouses. Easyto grow, drought tolerant to a degree, and they have huge green leaves that smell like baking bread.

My personal favorites are the bushel gourds (get up to 3 feet in diameter -we make permanent jack o' lanterns out of ours) and dipper gourds (long extended necks that can be trained to wrap themselves in spirals).

Couldn't find seeds for either this year, so we grew the old-fashioned favorite: : birdhouse gourds.