Kids are Funny

Sometimes kids are funny because they are kids and they do weird kid stuff.  But sometimes they are funny because they are truly clever and just... funny.

When my daughter and I released the 1500 ladybugs the other morning, she came in from checking on them and said, "I named one David, but now I can't find him.  I think I'm just going to name them all Mark." So, we had 1500 ladybugs named Mark.

The next morning, all the ladybugs had flown off, and there was one left.  Leila said, "Well, at least we still have Mark!"

So what do I do if I've unleashed 1500 ladybugs named Mark to take care of the 500 aphids on my broccoli, and they all fly the coop?  Money well spent...

There are a number of things wrong...

I seemed to have made it through the entire summer without pests, but now they are here.  With a vengeance.  I went to the garden store and bought: Sluggo, for the slug problem, some Bt for the catepillar problem, some nitrogen rich fertilizer, and 1500 ladybugs to take care of all those aphids.  Here is what I learned:

This is what aphids look like.  Ew.

If there are holes in the middle of the leaf, those are made my slugs and snails. 
If the holes are on the edges of the leaf, those are caterpillars.  I am fortunate enough to have both...

I just noticed

that my dog is using the dead corn as something to life his leg over.  Sorry, corn.  That's no way to go.

The Good News and the Bad News

R.I.P. Corn...

But check out this bumper crop of lemon cucumbers and tomatoes, with a couple of peppers thrown in!

You Know What?

I think I need a whole second bed for lettuce.  I just don't have any room for lettuce in my current bed, and lettuce is the whole reason I did the bed in the first place.  Let's see: where to put a second bed...

Whoa #2.

I found two more of those zucchinis today, and more green beans than anyone can eat.  Anyone have any ideas about what to do with three foot-long zooks?

Whoa.

Oops.  Went away for a week and came back to a zucchini as big as my arm.  Zucchini bread anyone?

Ahhh

Here is todays harvest.  See the little carrot? 
I just wanted to peak at what I have to look forward to...

Gad Zooks!

The veggies keep rolling in! I didn't look at my zucchs for two days, and when I went back out there, look what I found!



And that little bunch of beans in the last post? Completely overshadowed by the two huge handfuls I've harvested in the last few days! My daughter even tasted on. She declared that it was disgusting. Things are getting exciting...

And then there were BEANS!

I have achieved beans! Actual, edible beans!

I thought I only had one little anorexic little bean, but I didn't look under the leaves at the bottom of the plants! Beans! Ha!

Also, one of my peppers is growing upside down, with the end facing up. Is this a sign of the apocalypse?

Yay!

The very first fruit of my labor! It was delicious!

I guess I didn't really tell you about the strawberry plant. Probably because I planted it behind the tomato and I can't really see it now that the tomato has gone ballistic. But then, here was a fat, red strawberry! Yay!

Day 40

I'm feeling good again. My corn is at a standstill, but...

I've counted at least two dozen tomatoes.

When will they start to turn red?

I have two peppers growing on this plant

I've got some zucs goin'

Some soon-to-be lemon cucumber

And will you look at these beans!? Jeez!

What started like this

Now looks like this!

Yeah: I've got some mad gardening skills.

I have some concerns

My euphoria has worn off a little bit. I'm still watering and saying good morning to all the little plants, but I've run into a few snags. For example, I don't feel good about my corn:

I learned that each of these little fladangly things,

Has to attach itself to every one of these hairs here

I was warned that I would have to plant a lot of corn for it to actually make a cob I can sink my teeth into, and I only planted two plants. I don't like my chances.

Also, there is the matter of my lettuce. I was told by the expert at the nursery that in my sunny yard, this was not the optimal time for planting this kind of lettuce, but this kind of lettuce, Little Gem, was almost the whole reason I wanted to start a garden in the first place, so I went for it. Here is the result:

Out of about 20 seeds, I have these two, pitiful little sprouts.

Then, there are the carrots. They are doing very well, but its time to thin them and I can't bear to do it! Its just so heartbreaking to me to pull out these little hopeful sproutlets!

I can't get too down though. So far I haven't outright killed anything, so that's good news, and all I have to do is look at my rockin' tomato plant to feel good about my efforts!

Now, with stakes!

Pics from June 13th

Okay, first post that's not copied from the other blog.

Following are pictures from June 13th. It was a hot one! I haven't mentioned that I am also growing corn and some scallions in pots. I have my doubts about the corn, but its still growing so something is going right!

Scallions, looking a little peeked...

Corn One and Corn Two

A scorcher! It was actually only this hot when the sun was hitting the thermometer, but still...

Shade structure for the babies

The first carrot sprouts! Seeds really do grow!! Wow!

The Madness Continues...

I don't know what's gotten into me. I think I've gone mad.

First, Rob built a box

then, we filled it with dirt and I planted stuff

It doesn't look like much now, but I planted two pepper plants, 6 pole bean plants, one zuchini, one cucumber, carrot, scallion and lettuce seeds. I don't have high hopes for the lettuce, I'm told its too late, but I'm going for it because, for reasons I can't fathom, I am suddenly very excited to grow things I can eat. We irrigated the whole back yard, too. I've been suspiciously productive lately. Its a little alarming. I don't know where this sudden zeal for gardening has come from, but its been so fun! And so far, nothing has died, which is a utter miracle!

And check this out!

Day 42, June 5

From May 11

On Sunday morning, the morning that there was no man and no kid in the house, the morning I was going to stretch out in my bed and sleep in, on freakin' Mother's day, the lamest holiday EVER, next to Father's Day, my fabulous drip system exploded. Well, it didn't really explode, I'm just feeling a little dramatic today. The end of the black hose that all the little black hoses come out of, is bent over and wrapped in electrical tape, per the instructions of my buddy, Sarge, at Orchard Supply. At 6:30 a.m., the time the drippers are suppose to start dripping, the force of the water shot the electrical tape off and water was gushing all over my deck and making clackity clack sounds on the pavement below. It took me a minute to talk myself out of ignoring it, but I finally went outside, in my pjs, down to the water valve, and started pressing all kinds of buttons on the timer trying to get the thing to turn off. I was too sleepy to remember that I could just turn off the water. Genius. So now I'm all wet, its 6:30 in the morning, freakin' mother's day, and I'm wide awake. Shit.

Let the Irrigation Begin!

I just can't get enough of myself right now. I am impressing myself left and right. I'm insufferable! I will now kiss my guns: (kiss noise, kiss noise)

Guess what I did today? Drum roll, please: I installed a new hose bib and A DRIP SYSTEM all by myself. And you know what else? IT WORKS! I just sat outside in a chair in front of my little herb-garden-in-a-barrel, and, voila! right at eight o'clock, it went on, and nothing is leaking, and its a freakin' miracle!

I'm so pumped on this project, and I have enough materials left over, that I am thinking of installing another drip system in my front yard tomorrow. It took less than an hour, so I could totally do it, and still hit two grocery stores and take a nap. I rule. I rule the free world!!!

I wanted to do it myself anyway, but with Rob out of town, it was the perfect time to test my skills. La la la! I am the best!

Day 25, May 19

It started back in April...

First post. I will be copying some stuff from my other blog, so if you're one of my regular readers, sorry for the repeats. I'll do this until I'm up to date which shouldn't take too long since it seems to take a long time for seeds to produce anything I can get excited about.

So, here it is April, and I am in full gardening mode. I'm at the peak of my abilities and interest right now. My big picture, my idea, my concept was to get a half wine barrel, put it right outside my back door, and fill it with herbs and a tomato plant. That way when I needed fresh herbs, I only have to take a few steps from the kitchen and snip. If the herbs are out in the actual yard, forget it. That would be mean going down the stairs, which would mean going up the stairs, and you all know who you're dealing with.

On Sunday, my family and I drove up to wine country to find the elusive wine barrel. I love how my husband indulges me in these pursuits, watching his hard-earned money slip through my fingers on pipe dreams of live plants. There was a guy on Craig's list selling wine barrels, but I sometimes feel a little weird calling random dudes off the internet and meeting them at their houses to buy leftovers from the hooch trade. So we decided just to go up there and drive around and see what we could find. It was like The Amazing Race, or what I imagine The Amazing Race to be like since I've never actually watched that show. We drove around, looking left and right for garden stores, or roadside stands, thinking that we'd be tripping over wine barrels up there, but no. We bumped into the Napa Visitor's center where the nice lady with the leathery tan and the fake nails told me to try Walmart or Home Depot. Would I have dragged my whole family, including the dog, all the way up to wine country to go to Walmart? Um, no. So she sent us in the direction of a local nursery and garden store; they were fresh out of wine barrels (seems the boy scouts supply them, which is kind of funny) They sent us to the OSH (we were getting a little desperate by this time) and they didn't have any either, but there was a guy in there who told me he sees a guy selling them out of the back of his truck over on Coombs street. So we drove in circles for a while looking for Coombs street, and Voila! we find the truck! I'll spare you the part about how my cell battery was dead, and we didn't have correct change, but suffice it to say that I purchased an oak wine barrel, stained red on the inside and reeking of cabernet, out of the back of a truck, owned by a guy named Randy. The same Randy who had wine barrels advertised on Craig's list...

After we got home, Leila was released from the clutches of the family outing and allowed to go play with a friend while Rob and I went to the nursery to buy all the plants that I will surely kill. More money sliding in the wrong direction. I got all kinds of cool stuff, but I couldn't actually plant anything because the barrel really needs to be on wheels so you can move it once its full of dirt. Monday I went to Home Depot to get the rollie thing, and some more plants, and then, I PLANTED. You heard right, I implemented my grand plan. It rained last night so they're not dead yet, but I had trouble sleeping during the rain worrying about my little darlings out there on the deck. Of course they were completely fine, they're plants, for chrisakes. I keep having to go over to the back door and admire my little barrel. I have parsley, basil, cilantro, chives, cherry tomatoes and one strawberry plant. I also have some corn, but I'm going to get Rob to implement that big idea.

Now I'm thinking about installing a drip system so I don't kill off everything. The deck out there is hot enough to fry bacon (mmmm bacon...) in the summer time, and if these plants are going to meet their makers anywhere, it will be on this deck. A drip system might just be the thing, and I think I can pretty much install it myself. Or, at the very least, I can communicate my vision to someone who knows what they're doing, or maybe just Rob.

Day one, April 26