October Skies

Flying Saucer Morning Glory

Earth has tilted so the sun's rays are a more tolerable angle.  Not quite so harsh at noon.  Have the shorter but still blazing hot days encouraged the morning glories planted in June to finally grow vigorously and bloom?  Is the increase in irrigation because of the pea seedling sprouts planted in the same area the reason the vines are popping with flowers bringing all kinds of pollinators into the garden?  The seed package said this variety does not like a lot of water.  Lies.  It's probably a combination of everything.  Maybe even the blood moon had something to do with a trellis of blue and white blooms.

Dorothy (Soil Sister of the San Joaquin), up in Visalia, was bragging about her beautiful morning glories back in early September. I was always under the impression that morning glories were like weeds in the garden and my measly vines weren't growing much at all.  Kind of an ego crusher.  But Dorothy seems to be able to grow pretty much any kind of flower.  Then the calendar page turned to October and my measly vines are coming right along.

This variety reminds me of soft, old blue jeans that have been splattered with bleach.  Or white painter's pants splashed with indigo paint. Blue and white are the colors of my high school - Bakersfield High School.  It's the name of the school paper - The Blue & White.  The Drillers are great.

Most all the flowers are blue and white.  Of course, nature throws in a peculiar nonconformist once in a while.  Almost perfect except for the blotch of something at one o'clock.  I'm glad I tried to grow these weeds called morning glories.  So far, no regrets.  I may change my mind once the seeds start to explode.

Enjoy your October skies wherever you are.

Morning Glories

Early Call

Morning glories are finally taking off in the garden.  They were planted in mid June!  What the heck?  Early Call should be renamed "I'll Bloom Whenever I Feel Like It".  Peas have been planted where the morning glories are now growing.  When the morning glory vines fade, the peas should take over to provide veggies later this winter.

Flying Saucer

Pollinators are nice, but are they leaving eggs full of hungry larva behind to munch on my seedlings?  Here's hoping for some very cold very wet weather this winter.

Mustard Seeds

I took advantage of some very rare cloud cover this morning to take on some fall garden tasks. (Fall in spirit only because the temp today should be just under the 100 mark.). More experimentation regarding root knot nematode control by planting a cover crop of mustard got under way by cleaning and raking the soil. Two beds are being set aside for this green manure application. Once the mustard blooms, it needs to be cut down and turned under before seed is set.  The chemical formed is repulsive to root knot nematodes plus nutrients are added back into the soil.

One of the two beds was solarized for over 8 weeks this summer.  The other bed grew peppers and tomatoes without any signs of the pest. Tomato roots show now galls formed.  These tomatoes were not nematode resistant; so I'm feeling better that the pest is being eradicated. 

No rows were formed. I purchased the seed by weight to insure the bed will produce a full cover crop. As the temperatures cool, an application of beneficial nematodes will be introduced to all the beds. The beneficials will attack the bad bugs - including grubs. Earthworms are supposed to be safe from their attack.

 The current predator in the garden are the mourning doves feasting on my mustard seeds.  If they don't munch on my onion seeds, it's the mustard seeds.  Pinwheels from the 4th of July have been re-purposed as scarecrows.  So far so good.  But it's only been a few hours.  I'm a bit concerned if this mustard program goes biblical.

"He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”"  Matthew 13:31-32

Garden hopes are are high that a cover crop of mustard will be great green manure making the soil fertile for seeds to come.

Garden side note:

This morning, a bloom finally developed on a morning glory vine. For some reason, these plants have not been vigorous and will soon be replaced by peas. Flying Saucer morning glories were planted on June 19 and just now had a pitiful bloom.  Early Call morning glories were planted two days earlier on June 17. Only one vine germinated. Slug? Snails? I don't know. The 1st bloom on this puny vine occurred this morning. I would have to seriously consider ever planting morning glories again. Pitiful.

Wando Peas were planted this evening on the north side of the west bed where this morning glory remains

Solar Power Part II

Ajax Approved

Bed #2 was prepared for solarization today.  A deep soaking and 2 sacks of chicken fertilizer mixed into the soil before being covered.  The manure is supposed to release volatile compounds in the soil that kill pests and help stimulate the growth of beneficial soil organisms.  Note:  I believe the volatile compounds are released as soon as the bag is opened.  Pee EWE!  The 4ml plastic sheeting will be removed around September 6.  Bed #1 will be planted in lettuce for the winter.  Bed #2 will be the cabbage patch with broccoli and cauliflower.

Flying Saucer Morning Glories have been planted at the head of Bed #2.  Thyme and oregano frame the rest of the bed.  The morning glories should grow up to 15' and flower through the fall.  Pollinators should enjoy these purple and white flowers.  The plants enjoy dry heat.  Congratulations.  This is the place.

Ajax - December 2010

Bed #2 was last a successful cabbage patch in 2010.  Fingers crossed.  Let's hope for a healthy bed to be planted at the end of summer.  The soil solarization study by the University of California at Davis is fairly interesting and helpful if your garden is haunted with root knot nematodes.