Category: Edible

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Moving day

The two black swallowtail cats I moved to parsley from my carrots seem to be settling in after an hour.
So I moved the third. Here it is very angry still on carrots. Its orange “horns” are defense with a foul smelling liquid. Smelled sort of like a rotten orange to me but I have a bad sense of smell.
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Some beans

Left to right: vaquero, mbombo bush (disappointed at color, the original packet beans were like jade), and greasy grits pole beans.
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Getting there on post-geothermal landscaping and other Wednesday news

You can see where I plan to put Peruvian ground cherries (the tomato cages) and honeyberries (white flags) on the last raised bed in the side yard. Those four plants were dug up when the geothermal HVAC was put in.
Ready to be planted! The buckwheat seeds I planted around them. I’ll take another pic in a day or two as it got too dark by the time I got done planting and watering them.
Earlier in the day I noticed the bisbee gray cowpeas are producing nicely in backyard.
One lone seedling of a Texas mallow is coming up!
A native cucurbit with a very tiny gourd. Not edible or at least not good according to various sources. But it’s an adorable vine and quite pretty when a bunch grows in one spot.
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Corn on the cob, third time’s the charm?

Yesterday morning I picked half a dozen sweet corns and Wes buttered them up and roasted them in foil. The front one we threw out because of too few kernels from incomplete pollination.
Steak and corn.
While taking the husks out to the compost pile, I was relieved to see that my mysteriously dying frostweed is resprouting at the base.
Steak, a roll, a baked potato, and corn. Very classic.
Everything buttered up extra. It was pretty good but nothing to write home about. First year I picked way too late (hard and rubbery), last year didn’t pollinate, so I’m counting this as a win.
After dinner, the Chef found this fine friend on the porch.
The stealthy bagworm (a moth caterpillar). So invisible in its natural habitat of Rubbermaid tub lid!
Here it was walking so you can see its head.
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Harvest and pruning

Surprise! A loofah gourd I didn’t plant has already reached the top of the trellis.
Chard, mini bell peppers, and Chimayó peppers.
The Chef found a cutworm in the chard.
I found a big beautiful banana spider (Argiope) in the tomatoes while I harvested! I made sure not to bother her more.
I finally determined the zucchini plant was a total loss to squash vine borers. I also made an executive decision to not let the very thriving white currant tomato plant shade out the moon and stars watermelon or the salvia or the rosemary. There’s only one plant and it’s a monster! I got over 900 g this evening alone.
All tidy now. I hope the watermelon will do better now.
I came inside to find this beautiful meal prepared by the Chef. Greens are chard from the garden and the bell pepper topping is mini bell peppers sliced. Yum. Nice and cool after working in the heat and humidity.