Red in the Garden

Red in the garden this time of year seems to be just as abundant now as in the summertime.  Is the garden forecasting the results in November 2012?  Don’t know.

Pansy – Crown Scarlet

Snapdragon – Chimes Red

Skeletons of summertime scaretape decorating the grape arbor.

Lettuce – Parris Island Romaine (green) & Marvielle of Four Seasons (red)

Geranium – No stinkin’ idea what variety.  The nursery didn’t have an identifying tag.  Thanks Bolles Nursery!

Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus)

Some sad bell peppers from hotter days.

Lemon - Variegated Pink blossoms show a blush of red on the buds.

Beans - Borlotto Solista

Ajax’s well worn Kong toy with a nod to Santa to please bring a couple of new ones to enjoy.  He’s been pretty good if you don’t count terrorizing the wisteria and lilacs, destroying the Texas Ranger, and severely “pruning” the Bay Laurel.

Any suggestions for good “red” candidates for the garden? 

Poinsettias need not apply.

Make It Work!

Project Runway meets Maybelline’s Garden.  Tasteful scarecrow attire this season is all natural cotton fabric in pink tones.  Pink is complimentary to every complexion.  Since my scarecrow doesn’t have a complexion, the palette is lost.  Don’t forget accessories.  Using scare tape in two tones of silver and red metallic give just the right amount of “bling”.

The scarecrows were put to work this evening due to the fact that birds had pecked a peach off the tree and knocked down 4 apples.  They do a great job.  Ajax thought 2 strangers were in the garden and barked his disapproval.  Nevertheless.  He couldn’t deny that they were smarty dressed.

Fierce!

Twilight Garlic

I’m out in the garden well past twilight working and inspecting.  It’s about time to harvest the garlic that was planted back in October 2010.  I’m a lousy record keeper regarding the garden; and blogging is helpful but I didn’t note what date the garlic was planted.  At least, I can’t find record of it.  It was sometime in October.  Now the garlic is starting to dry out.  Today the drip lines were pulled away from the garlic and onions because irrigation will switch to automation in the morning.  Prior to that the garden was watered manually as needed. The temperatures are climbing into the 90s this week so it’s time to rely on the water conservation system to keep the garden and gardener happy.  This will help prevent swamp pants.The variety of garlic is a mystery.  In the fall of 2009, I picked up a package of garlic to experiment with.  It grew.  The harvest was dried (cured) then braided and used from June to December.  There was a small, junky head that remained from the braid so I busted it up and planted it in the fall of 2010 to see if it would grow.  It grew.  The circle continues.  From about 40 cloves of garlic came 40 heads of garlic.  The initial investment of 30 cloves was probably no more than $5.  From that came 30 heads plus 40 more.

How much garlic can you buy in the grocery store for $5?  I don’t know.  I believe I’m getting a pretty good return on my investment AND I know how it was grown.  That’s a pretty good feeling.

 

Garden Note:

The summer garden is moving right along.  Here’s what has been going on:

• Tomato starts have been planted in their summer bed.  The supports need to be strung in preparation for a burst of growth.
• Cosmic Purple Carrot seeds from Heirloom Acres Seeds were planted with some of the tomatoes to see if carrots really do love tomatoes.
• Malali Watermelon seeds from Baker Creek were planted along with some French Breakfast Radish seeds.  Last year, this variety of radish was planted with squash as a beneficial.
• Nastursium seeds were planted in the holes of the cinder blocks that form the raised beds to help attract pollinators.  If the pill bugs let some seedlings grow to maturity, it should look good.
• Strawberries received an application of Garden & Bloom.
• Scale was discovered on the grapefruit tree and the orange tree could be threatened.  Take down was applied.  A 2nd application should take place in 10 days.
• Scare tap was tied to the grape arbor to scare away nesting mourning doves.  One empty nest was removed.  The following day a nest with an egg was discovered.  Scare tape does not scare stupid mourning doves.
• Sweet Peas continue to be harvested.  This area will be reserved for more beans this summer.
• Irrigation drip lines are in place to start a regular schedule to begin May 4.
• Bolting parsley was trimmed back.
• Shoots were removed from the healthiest (eastern most) wisteria.  The canopy was adjusted to encourage growth to spread over the top of the pergola.  Tomato cages were removed from the bases of both vines.  Cages were used to prevent puppy from teething on the trunks.
• Received a couple of cherry tomato seedlings from a co-worker.  These have been transplanted into small pots to harden.  They will be used for grilling.

In The Pink & A Winner!

There’s plenty of pink in the garden this spring.  I expect the pink Candytuft to explode later; but in the meantime…

Azalea – George L. Taber

 

Peach – O’Henry

 

Camellia – Mrs. Tingley

 

Christmas Cactus – Nutty Screwy

This weekend

• The espalier lines were tightened after all the tie downs were removed.  Not many blossoms were sacrificed. 
• Tomatoes from last summer were brought out of the freezer in order to make some garlic heavy spaghetti sauce.  Italian parsley and Thyme from the garden added to the seasoning.
• Scare tape was hung above the hanging plants to encourage the twitterpated mourning doves to build their nests elsewhere.
• The garden fence was washed down in anticipation of Farmer MacGregor’s paintbrush.  Rain prevented the application of paint.

 

The winner of the Hometown Seeds Kitchen Herb Value Pack is Donna.  Congratulations Donna.  Please send me an email so I can make arrangements for delivery of the seeds to your garden.

Scare Tape Revisited

The Red Flame Grapes did way more than I expected from them this season.  The 2 year old vine grew up and over the arbor and is now growing along the fence.  Fruit production was at least 10 times more than the year before.  Although the grapes were kinda small, they had plenty of flavor.  The scare tape still dangles even though there is no more grapes to protect from pecking birds.  It still keeps the birds away from tomatoes, strawberries, and peaches.

The scare tape works really well.  Birds stay out of the garden.  I don’t know if it’s because of the tape or the garden kitties.  Pumpkin (one of two garden kitties) is a menacing creature and always enjoys a good cut of meat.  Since she lounges in the vegetable garden, she may be the one responsible for keeping the birds away.  However… …it seems that birds could get used to the scare tape and disregard the metallic glimmer as if it were only a disco ball.  Thankfully, the local birds remain scared of the tape and Pumpkin - except for the birds that I believe are one of God’s dumbest creatures.

That’s okay, Pumpkin.  I know you’re letting this one fatten up before Dove Season officially starts on September 1.  Hope you have the discipline.

Scare Tape

Scare tape is new to the garden this season and I love it.  It’s mylar tape that is silver on one side and red on the other.  It’s strong and thin and very durable.  This stuff is great.  Birds fly over and don’t stop in for a visit.  This may be the reason that I am the sole warrior in my War On Hornworms (WOH pronounced “whoa”.).  That’s okay.  I’m winning that war without the help of birds that want to be paid in produce.  There may be more bugs than me; but I’m tenacious.  Last year the birds flew in to sample strawberries, tomatoes, grapes, and peaches.  It’s bad enough that they were helping themselves but couldn’t they at least finish off the piece of fruit they pecked at before moving on to something else?  Really.  This year they are staying away.  Even parrots munching on my neighbor’s sunflowers don’t bother to enter the garden.  Yet. Scare tape dangles from the grape arbor, the tomato supports, peach tree, and around the strawberries.  The slightest breeze makes the tape move.  The reflection of light and the crackling noise scares the birds away.  Oh sure, I have garden kitties; but they’re semi retired and slowed down by arthritis and the hot weather. The $5 per roll investment was a wise investment.  If you can’t find it at your local hardware store it’s available online.

 

FYI – for everyone wanting the hot weather of summer to get here…thanks.  Thanks ever so much.  Your wish has been granted.  It’s here and it’s here pretty good.  As I was coming inside this evening my vision was blurred by the waves of heat; but I was able to see it was a hellish 90 degrees.  Swamp pants central here.  Come on October.