Uninvited house guests

Cold snaps mean the bromeliads and other sensitive potted plants come inside. Most years I clear out the spare bedroom but it wasn't an option this time. The pineapples can take up an entire room all on their own.

The pineapples that were on the front porch, moved to the living room for Thanksgiving break.

The ficus can take up a corner all by itself.

Ignore the pile of laundry on the loveseat.

And the ornamental bromeliads go in the back hallway.

These plants spend 9+ months of the year outside, so it's only natural that they have their own symbiotic relationships with other fauna. Unless of course the fauna comes in.

Meet Kermit. Tree frogs usually hang out in the bromeliads all summer, this is the first time one came along for winter. He disappeared before I could relocate him on a warm-ish day. I hope I don't find his dehydrated body somewhere. That's usually what happens to the anoles that come in.

And then there was this:

Good thing I'm friends with an entomologist who specializes in Integrated Pest Management. He identified them as acrobat ants. The pots went back outside. The ants got swept up and tossed outside. Then the pots got several rounds of treatment with some granules, soaked it in with the water hose, and waited.



So far so good.

Gardening on vacation

While my own garden is failing in the drought (no measurable rain since late August) my friend's garden is growing a healthy crop of weeds.

She rents a plot in a community garden program. Very aptly named.

heh heh heh

Where she lives the native soil is rather poor and unsuitable for gardening. The local municipality has several of these community gardens around town. I hear there is a waiting list to get a plot so the garden association will send out threatening notices if you don't maintain your plot.

One of the items on our to-do list while I was visiting was to whip it back into shape and plant some cool-season veggies. It's too cold to do anything from seed but the garden center still had transplants.

before

after

Going in today (front to back ) are red lettuce, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Plenty of room for them to grow, and enough activity to keep the garden association reps at bay.

I wouldn't mind gardening in a place like this.

This doesn't look good

There's not much to blog about when you spend all of your time watering.

October 4, 2016

October 11, 2016

October 18, 2016

October 25, 2016

I can't remember the last measurable rain at my house. By that token I also think the maps are a little off. There were some scattered showers in September a few miles away but I had nothing at my house. A little frustrating when you compare rain gauge reports with a coworker who lives on the other side of town.

Diggin' the sweet potatoes

I've been putting it off as long as I possibly can. Every day that the sweet potatoes stay in the ground is another day they can add to the size of their tubers. But I've reached the point where I have to put in my cool crop transplants (broccoli, Brussels sprouts) and the only place left is where the sweet potatoes are.

I've been trimming back the vines the last couple weeks, helping to redirect the photosynthesis efforts into pumping carbohydrates into the tubers rather than letting the vines take over the whole back yard. First step in the process will be trimming those remaining vines back to the ground so it I can find the soaker hoses before I dig.

And I have to dig deep! Some of those tubers are a good ten inches down. I'm trying to systematically go through the bed without accidentally stabbing one of those tasty orange tubers.

Occasionally you find some weird stuff. These were at the base of a main plant. They would have been the first roots set by the slip when it was stuck in the growing media. Some of them I can't tease apart, I'm just going to have to wait until it is time to cook.

Once everything is dug you have to let them "cure." Sweet potatoes have rather delicate skin when they are first dug. Too much handling and you can leave marks. But because I watered a couple days before hand the ground was still moist and there was too much soil still clinging to the tubers.

This time I'm leaving them laying out on the adjacent tank for a day or two. Anything longer and they might start turning green on me.

Fall-ish planting

The lattice over the raised beds can only mean one thing - keeping the cats out of the freshly planted ground!

After reclaiming the beds from the weeds I plotted out where I was going to seed what. The problem with transitional season gardens like this one is there are still warm/hot season veggies (pepper, bush beans, sweet potatoes) that are still going strong. And there are some beds/tanks that will be in shade by the winter solstice so it is pointless to plant anything there.

This is the time of year I love to plant peas, carrots, and parsnips. Peas will last until the first hard freeze, but by then I'll have harvested a few times. Carrots and parsnips, if started early, will mature through the cold months and can be picked occasionally throughout the winter. Carrots and parsnips are going in the tanks. I'm planting two kinds of peas so they are going in two separate areas: snow peas are going in the low beds (notice the t-posts and twine in the photo above) and snap peas are going in a tank.

What's under the lattice? Little stuff that does not take kindly to kitties scratching in the dirt. Lettuce, kohlrabi, radishes, and beets. Yes, I'm trying beets again. Every year I swear I am giving up, and every year hope springs eternal. As the seedlings pop up I lift the lattice by putting soup cans underneath - this way I still have a kitty deterrent but the seedlings have room to sprout.

I've got a good start on this bed.

Topping off the sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are in the home stretch of their growing season. But that also means I need to act fast to max out their productivity. See, every place that a leaf comes out of the vine is a potential spot for root development. More roots means more water and nutrient uptake, and also the potential for more yummy tubers.

See there - lots of nodes not in contact with the ground (thanks in part to the soaker hoses, best irrigation ever!). There are also a few spots where tubers formed near the base of the transplants are partially exposed.

The solution: top dress with top soil. Seeing as I have to top off the raised beds every year with more top soil, garden soil, mulch, or some combination thereof it's not like this will go to waste.

Fingers crossed this will help!

Leaning towers of peppers

I don't know what it is this year, but the pepper plants have really struggled to stay upright. At the beginning of the summer I had to put a t-post in to hold up the two plants of Cubanelle peppers because they were so prolific.

Now its the bells. It's been really windy the last few days and the plants have taking a beating despite the cages.

Before

After

I had to stand on a step stool to drive in the t-post, but I got it done. It's in all the way down to the floor of the raised bed. Then I attached the cages with zip ties.

Hopefully this will keep things upright for a few more weeks.

New assistant

My long-time four-legged assistant moved on to better gardens at the end of June.

The beginning of August I got a new assistant.

She's getting the hang of this gardening thing and is making a very good supervisor. The mulched paths make for a good place to watch the world go by.

However, we are still learning not to lay down on the weeds that need to be pulled.

Making up for missed time

I spent a lot of July on the road or doing contract work. Then August hit and the usually ramp up of late summer/early fall workload. It was all I could do just to keep the garden watered.

And at some point I realized the weeds have taken over.

 It's a mess.

A brief update

I left the sweltering heat of Alabama for 10 days in the upper Midwest. There was a 20 degree difference in temperature some days.

But before I left, I flew the white flag of surrender for the zucchini. They hung in there valiantly, unfortunately they were no match for some strong wind from a passing thunderstorm.

It's been so dry I relented and let the horses graze in the back yard. Why start the gas-powered mower when the horse-powered mowers can do the work for you?

And it's time to be on the lookout for army worms. This guy was munching away on my tomatoes before I left. I came back to some chewed up leaves but no sign of the perpetrators (yet).

(Partial) Surrender

I came back from a work trip to find the garden quite parched. My house sitter did a good job keeping things alive, but no decent rainfall in several weeks means the plants are sucking up water as fast as you can put it on them.

The tub of yellow squash was looking particularly pitiful. Last night I put 10-12 gallons of water on each of the squash and zucchini planters. This morning it was evident that the yellow squash was not going to rebound, thanks to a healthy infestation of squash borers.

I had been trying to stay ahead of them this year. I was regularly spraying the vines with Bt solution. I even tried injecting Bt into the vines whenever I saw frass. I think this may be the longest I've kept them alive and producing for several years. But alas, this battle is lost.

Cutting off the vines told the tale. I found five borers in this spot alone.

Off to the disposal (i.e. NOT compost) pile in the pasture.

So far the two tubs of zucchini are looking OK.

But when I picked yesterday there were some borers trying to get established in the stems of two zucchini. And then upon closer inspection today I'm seeing this.

I took a syringe and flushed out the stem with Bt solution, including removing a few small borers. Then I came through with the hand sprayer and liberally sprayed all the vines. Not sure how much longer the zucchini will last, but I hope I can at least get the remaining set fruits off the vines before calling it a season.

Blackberries!

Two years ago I planted two blackberry vines. Actually I planted them twice, first the bare root into pots because I hadn't developed the bed yet, and then the second time a few months later into their official home.

And then I waited.

I got a few handfuls of berries last year. And then the vines grew. And grew. And grew. I had chosen the variety "Apache" because it was a) thornless and b) it was supposed to have a height of 5-8 feet. The thornless part is true, but some of the canes measure well over 12 feet! I had to redo my staking last summer and wind some of the longer ones back and forth as they kept growing.

And this year I have been rewarded.

So far I've picked over four quarts. To put that in perspective, my recipe for blackberry cobbler calls for two cups, which means I could make eight cobblers.

And there still is a lot on the vine. 

Part of the picking process is figuring out which ones are ripe and which still need more time. You would think with a name like "blackberry" that color alone will determine if they are ready. In reality, if they are still clinging tightly to the vine they need a few more days.

If I take a look back to a month or so ago, I could tell this was coming. And that it will be a couple weeks until the season is through. Given the dry spell we are in right now, the vines are getting a good soak with the hose at least once a week to help the berries get big and juicy.

Now, to figure out what I'm going to do with all these berries...

Seasons are a-changin'

Got back from a week on the road and realized it was finally time to dig up the potatoes and put in tomatoes.

This is the first time I'm putting tomatoes in the wooden raised bed nearest the house. This is the same bed that is usually shaded most of the winter, so it's taken a little creativity to keep it productive. Earlier this year I planted potatoes in it to help with loosening up the soil. Hilling the potatoes with new garden dirt helped raised the soil level.

The whole process goes really quick. First I cut out all of the broccoli plants that were running down the length of the bed. They pretty much shaded out half of it. The potato vines have been slowly dying off, which meant it was time to dig.

You need to dig Adirondack Blues in good light, because those purple skins can get lost in the dark soil.

After the potatoes were out I continued spading and turning the rest of the bed.

Then it's time to rake the bed smooth and plot out the tomato plants.

I prefer to really loosen up the soil before planting tomatoes because they need deep holes. Remember, when planting tomatoes you want to bury half the plant. It helps develop a stronger root system.

 Repeat five more times.

Tomatoes are in. Still need to give them a good soak tonight. The little dams around each plant will help keep the water where it needs to go.

The next step will be to lay down the soaker hose and put in the tomato cages, but that's for another day.

Garden Update

I've had a few people asking for a whole-garden update.

So what's out there in all those beds?

Potatoes are about ready to dig up. When I get back from the next round of work meetings they will come out, as will the broccoli and snow peas. I already have the tomato plants to put in where the Adirondack Blue potatoes and broccoli are right now. Sweet potatoes will go in the bed where the Yukon Gold potatoes and snow peas are. Shallots will also be ready to dig soon. Kale is going like crazy, but I think they will probably get replaced by bush beans.

A (Good) Problem

I have so much coming produce in the garden right now I'm giving it away.

And today I started my seasonal quasi-vegetarian diet. I have so many vegetables to eat, I end up having 2/3 of my plate covered in brightly colored herbivorous matter.

Tonight: Exhibit A

(oops, ate about half the snow peas before thinking to take a picture)

The menu this evening featured steamed broccoli with salt and pepper, stir-fry snow peas drizzled with white cranberry pear balsamic vinegar, and rice pilaf from scratch. That should offset the sliced BBQ pork sub, Sun Chips, and peanut butter pie I had for lunch, right?

Right?

(And before you chastise me about lack of dairy, dessert was two containers of Activia yogurt.)

Ants in my plants!

Imported fire ants, to be specific. Those nasty little reddish-colored buggers that bite and sting when you piss them off.

from www.aces.edu

Last week I got off easy. I had set my pruning shears on the edge of one of the raised beds. When I picked them up a few hours later to clean up for the day, I soon had about a half-dozen of these beauties exploring the back of my hand. That time I lucked out and didn't get bit, just blew them off my hand before they had a chance to get irritated with the change in environment.

If you garden in Alabama, you will meet them at some point.

They are everywhere! www.aces.edu

Sometimes it's pretty obvious they are in your yard.

Fire ant mound under my crepe myrtles

Other times they catch you by surprise. Like when you are hand-weeding raised beds or pruning back your lemongrass. For example. So I've heard. Maybe.

So I called up my friend the entomologist who is part of the Alabama Fire Ant Management Program. Yes, there are some great resources online, like from eXtension.org. Heck, they even have information specific to gardeners. But if I want to know what chemicals are approved for use in Alabama, and double check the application instructions, it's just easier to call my friend.

I used a product called Extinguish, which is labeled for use in vegetable gardens. I could have tried something at the big box store, but stuff for lawns is not necessarily safe for vegetable gardens.

My friend said it was best to wait until we had several days in a row of daytime temps in the mid-80's. That way the ants are busy foraging and will be more likely to pick up the bait and take it back to feed the queen. He said to do a little field testing to make sure the ants were actively foraging before spreading the bait. Also a good test to see if the bait is fresh.

Yesterday I got done with work early and the conditions were perfect. I found a small but active hill in the lawn and put out a pinch of bait about 2 feet away. I came back a half hour later and found this:

And then I set to work starting their demise (insert evil cackle here).

Another 2-3 weeks and I shouldn't have to worry about those little suckers for a while. Just about the time the potatoes should be ready to dig up.