Posted on August 14, 2022August 14, 202208/14/2022 straw bale potatoes We lifted and sorted through our two straw bales of potatoes since the leaves were all eaten off by blister beetles. Upon moving the bales, we found eight bess beetles… One fast isopod… A second fast isopod… Three baby house mice… And one click beetle. This brings us to a total of 14 photographed animals plus a whole nest of ants and a small earwig that got away. Compare this to our glorious harvest: ten potatoes from two bales. Paula is researching where we went wrong. I feel like maybe we should just go back to growing them in soil. (These experiments were my idea so I’m not blaming anyone else.). At least this year’s harvest is safer than last year’s crop of black widow spiders??
Posted on June 25, 2022June 25, 202206/25/2022 it was on sale, we had to Pepper plant from Ellison’s feed store, variety Big Bertha. A sweet pepper. Our neighbor down the street recommended it.
Posted on June 23, 2022June 23, 202206/21/2022 Gram guards the rooting juniperleaf. There’s a new pollinator garden on campus!! Very pleased at least one of the partridge pea seeds I sprinkled last year made it up. Paper wasps made a nest on the debris of the invasive clematis. A small lynx spider eats a fly Just noticed that the long true bugs have little flat pom poms on their antennae. A second individual. I think you have to see them from the right angle to get a good view of the antennae spots. Dog A helpful cat saw this wasp (maybe a spider wasp?) In the aloe and knocked the pot over. I took it outside and shooed the friend off. No dinner in the house for it. Only cat. I spotted a plume moth hiding on rain barrel stand. Potatoes in straw bale getting big. Hope roots are too.
Posted on June 12, 2022June 12, 202206/12/2022 yard Maybe Phacelia? I found at least four leaves full of my amazing tree hopper friends. Each leaf had a different set of adults or immatures. Adults get taken care of too. Babies!!! The leaf bends where the treehopper eggs were. Lace bug Frogfruit east of patio is doing well. Just moved a piece there this spring. Nice true bug Dog flower highly mobile. Monarda future flower bud?? Baptisia and okra Rudbeckia maxima from Abby has a new leaf. A planthopper (Flatidae) on curly dock. First time for this family in the yard?? I used to see them regularly at home. Rattlesnake master still lives. Passionvine (seeds from Bartlesville) doing well in their second year. Tiny bee on butterfly milkweed Hedeoma in with Datura.
Posted on May 31, 2022May 31, 202205/30/2022 afternoon A fleabane in the front yard. Same fleabane, the leaves. This was in the lawn, so I need to decide if I will transplant or save seeds. An Asian long bean from my aunt. Thanks to my aunt!! Only one of many zucchini seeds has sprouted. I think they were too old. I will get new or save new next year. Large leaf basil seedlings. Purple beauty pepper has a flower bud! Briar thought she was interested in my snack but it turns out broccoli isn’t her thing. The swamp milkweed I just bought, receiving its afternoon sunlight.
Posted on May 28, 2022May 28, 2022Back later I’ll deal with last few days updates later. Gotta get new friends in the ground! About half of this is basil.
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022A prairie gardening book with nice species accounts and germination information The Prairie Garden: 70 Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country by J. Robert Smith with Beatrice S. Smith. The authors founded a prairie seed and plant nursery that’s still in business. I’ll have to check them for plants in the future! The table of contents is available online at Google books too. You can get your own copy new or used. It’s still in print!
Posted on April 23, 2022April 23, 202204/23 front yard Viola bicolor going to seed! There’s a lot of it growing this year. I have taken some of the seeds and sprinkled over on the new filled in soil as I don’t want to bury their next generation. Native Bluets going to seed! Mystery plant in raised bed. Tree of heaven (invasive non native) has been suggested. Mostly got this leak taken care of with new rubber seals and Teflon tape. There’s still a tiny drip, but I’ll just call it watering the strawberries. Before, it was a consistent trickle. Extremely bored helper. Four varieties of strawberry. First harvest of the season. Culinary sage in rainbow garden is about to bloom! Potato straw bales are growing!! Blue flax babies where I’m pointing, as well as larger ones near front of picture. The broad leafed plant to the right is mealy blue sage.
Posted on April 23, 2022April 23, 202204/23 checking on the backyard Blackberry has started blooming. Native currant continues blooming. Probably non native oxalis that was here already. Maybe baby Salvia coccinea by the oak. No idea. Lyre leaf sage has just started blooming. Giant ragweed baby (self seeded from last year’s volunteer). Not sure who this friend is on the other side of dividing fence. Frostweed is coming back. The extra Maximilian sunflower we planted seems to be thriving. A type of Solanaceae, I forget which one, but native. A volunteer. A pokeweed coming up! Always good for the birds. The right half of the clump is goldenrod that was already here. The left half is something non native but I forget what. The fancy something is going to bloom though I guess. I remember it’s not native anyways. So eventually it will probably go. New Clematis is surviving. New from yesterday Cleome (Rocky mountain bee plant) is still alive. Rattlebox from yesterday settling in fine. Wild onions from home in front. I’m becoming convinced this is the New Jersey tea I put out last year. Ironweed leaves around it. Showy evening primroses are starting! Frog fruit I transferred from prairie area to east of the patio appears to have taken root. A seedling that probably got transplanted from home. 🤷🤞🤞 I seeded a native lawn mix in this area and I believe this is the buffalo grass. The other item in the mix was blue grama grass; hopefully this is it. The fragrant sumac was starting to wilt again so I gave it some water in a pot to leak out slightly slower.
Posted on April 22, 2022April 22, 2022OU Botanical Society annual plant sale My coworker and I got a good haul. I was very excited they had native plants this year!! I got a Cleome since my seedlings all died and a rattlebox because it sounded cool. I also got three tomatoes (sweet william, green vernissage, and beefsteak), since all mine died except for Mom’s and a few white currant. And one basil, since there’s never enough basil. Biked home with precious cargo in fearsome wind.