Posted on September 6, 2021September 6, 2021Labor day, last of wild three day weekend Buckwheat about to bloom. The two honeyberries that I planted, then moved for geothermal, then planted again, have been very unhappy lately, but some long slow drips with hose have revived one. Hoping the second plant follows suit.
Posted on September 6, 2021September 7, 2021Holiday Sunday An outdoor dinner. Garden basil and oregano. Moved the chives and garlic chives that Judy gave me last year. Maybe they’ll like this spot better. Uzbek golden, little, and New Kuroda carrots. Gram helps me get seeds out. Fall seeds planted of cabbage, mizuna, greens, and cauliflower. Tomatoes and peppers for overwintering. And a few pots of Roman chamomile for the front yard ground cover. This is where I shall attempt peppers and tomatoes over the winter. This goldenrod was already here and is doing very nicely. A giant 1″+ horsefly on a backyard window sill. Never going outside again. I lied. Outside again. Chiltepin peppers. Frostweed doing alright after it died back earlier in summer. A little spider got this Eastern Tailed-Blue on the englemann daisy. Texas mallow blooming! The non native clematis. I’ll clean it out over the winter. Okra flower A bumblebee on the okra!
Posted on September 5, 2021September 5, 2021How are the baby cacti Two cacti on the middle level of the three-tier planter. There were 7+ of these last year on the top tier, but only one has survived. The third tier had one baby cactus that did not make it.
Posted on September 4, 2021September 4, 2021Wild times on a Friday night I am extremely excited to report that we have the first baby moon and stars watermelon!!! Same fruit. The other side is almost half yellow. A wasp mimic robber fly! Love finding predators in the garden. Butterfly milkweed in rainbow garden has grown quickly. Dog and I came back inside. Briar promptly sat by her little brother. I don’t think he minded, but her settling in seemed to remind him he could go places. Abandoned for kitty snacks.
Posted on August 21, 2021August 21, 2021Almost caught up? The buffalograss in spots with more dirt and grass trimmings over it is sprouting! I pulled up a single sprout from here and it had the seed hull attached, so definitely the right plant. Peruvian ground cherries!! White currant tomatoes on nachos last night. Salsa verde enchiladas intrigue Gram. “ew, loud smell” he didn’t like them but we did!!
Posted on August 21, 2021August 21, 2021A week ago Saturday Very excited to have a Gulf Fritillary in the yard! I hope it found the passionvine in the back yard. Made more salsa verde. The Chef helpfully cans. Ruff day gardening, need a nap. Mail call!! Fall/winter peas, trying new ones. A wildflower and an herb. Trying again on parsnip this year with fresh seeds. Winter indoor gardening ideas.
Posted on August 18, 2021August 21, 2021Assorted stuff Three hours to harvest and sort all this. First canning tomato variety fruit. I can’t remember which one, I need to look at spreadsheet. The marker is buried in dirt. Update: is Amish Paste tomato. Grass seeds did not wash away in rain. Whew. Intruder alert!! Possibly the frass of the offending hornworm??? Loofah gourd flower disintegrated in rain. A jewel of rain on succulent.
Posted on August 18, 2021August 18, 2021Face bean I think I’ve texted everyone with the tiny face bean but it needs blog documentation. It’s an Inca pea bean. I love it.
Posted on August 14, 2021August 14, 2021A day off for errands Bisbee cowpeas flowering more I liked the contrast on this one. “Stubby” variety of okra. An okra flower with a little sweat bee flying by! This is the first okra flower I’ve seen in person here since they seem to keep banker’s hours. A little green-striped cushaw squash! Leaf of the squash is looking a bit rough. Found another Madhu Ras melon! This one is bigger. Salvia greggii “Diane” purple cultivar has bloomed! Now only waiting on the orange part of rainbow garden to bloom. Whoa. I did not realize this cushaw squash was here! A male Sachem on a Peruvian ground cherry. There is a flower in the background so I hope it’ll start producing soon. Two immature fruits on Amish Paste tomato. I think this is one of my stratification butterfly milkweed that I planted directly! Very excited! A doodlebug (also known as an ant lion) trap waiting for some little critter to walk by! I feel very good about the predators in the garden right now, keeping plant-eaters in check, as I also saw a little brown snake slither away. We had a Dekay’s Brown Snake last year so it was probably that. May it be fat and happy on earwigs! One of the rosemary bushes is blooming!