2 and 2 are 4…

Now I have found inchworms on the Al Kuffa tomatoes.  Just like the post yesterday, little black specks of caterpillar $h!t was deposited on the leaves and fruit.  I looked on the underside of a munched on leaf and found one of these.

SMASH!  It was too late in the evening to save this little morsel for the birds; so it got the business end of my Croc.  Just keepin’ it organic.  Now I have this song of early mathematics stuck in my head and would like to share.

Danny Kaye Rocks!

Tomato Hornworm

Whenever you see something like this (little black specks)…

…look further up on the tomato plant and you’ll probably find something like this.

Some gardeners will leave caterpillars alone and  let them eat as much as they like.  Not this gardener.  Tomato Hornworms are plucked for the plant and set out for the birds to gobble up.  The birds and I are higher up on the food chain.  Besides, bugs outnumber humans by a whole bunch (high math speak).

It’s probably easier to simply destroy the eggs before they hatch; but that would be a very difficult egg hunt.  I don’t like squashing them; so I simply harvest them for the birds.

By the way birds, stay out of the garden.  Everything is getting nice and ripe.

The next pest adventure is to find out what’s nibbling on the leaves of my Black Hungarian Pepper plants.

Garden Update on a Full Stomach

This evening I had a nice spaghetti dinner with Farmer MacGregor’s Hungarian style sauce.  Doggies, I’m stuffed.  I couldn’t bend over and work in the garden after dinner.  All I could do was take photos and some of those are really out of focus.  Here’s a report of progress in the garden using only photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon Squash and Support

OOOOOOO!  New layout!  How do you like it?

Here are the plans for Farmer MacGregor’s simple yet functional support for the Lemon Squash to climb up.  That’s the plan.  The plants will climb up and the squash will dangle down through the wire support.  The plants will provide enough shade on the underside of the support for me to try to grow beets during the summer. 04/28/10  squash support is installed.  Squash are planted.

05/06/10 squash germinate.

05/18/10 companion radishes germinate.

06/09/10 tendrils reach support and start climbing.

06/10/10  squash form.

06/10/10 Lemon Squash in the background climbing the MacGregor support.  Can you see the Breakfast Radishes growing beneath the squash?  They’re supposed to ward off evil spirits and pesky pests.  So far so good.   Malali Watermelon are growing in the foreground.

Note of interest to me:  I have followed Abby Sunderland’s blog on her journey to sail solo around the world from the beginning.  Today’s news of losing contact with her in the Indian Ocean has me thinking of her and her safety.  This sixteen year old young lady is truly an inspiration.  Please keep her in your thoughts.

Tendrils

The recent blast of heat in the garden has the tendrils reaching out and grabbing on.  I’ve watched the tendrils on the lemon squash grow from a fraction of an inch in the evening to about 3 inches over night.  No kidding.  All the plants are growing vigorously; but the vines are really making their move.

Red Flame Grape

Lemon Squash

Malali Watermelon

 Malali Watermelon

The tendrils are almost humanlike.  I can watch them coil around something within seconds and they really tighten their grip. 

There are other types of vines in the garden besides tendrils.  That’s for another post at another time.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers Part II

I had to chronicle an update on the split leaf philodendron blossom.  It looks like it’s devolving.  This is definitely one of the most unique occurrences in the garden in a long, long time.

Here’s 24 hours worth of photos:

June 7, 2010  8:30pm

June 8, 2010  5:30pm

June 8, 2010  8:30pm

The tip of this hooded thing has curled up like a loofa and the scent has subsided.

I’ve had this plant for years.  I mean years.  When the backyard was remodeled, it was dug up and eventually potted into a gigantic ceramic pot.  The pot is so big and heavy that it’s pretty much where it’s going to stay.  I wonder if transplanting this beast trigger the blossom a year after the fact.  Don’t know.  It’s certainly interesting to watch.

A comment was left on yesterday’s post linking to facts of this fruit.  It is edible; but I’m not touching it.  Especially since it can be poisonous if it’s not ripe enough.  I’ll just enjoy watching the evolution.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

This evening I could smell something mildly sweet.  It was tropical.  It wasn’t jasmine.  It wasn’t gardenia.  What the heck?

It’s my split leaf philodendron, for Pete’s sake.  I’ve never seen this before.  Well, I’m not counting watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  This is really  bizarro.  Take a look and make of it what you will.

Okay.  That’s enough. 

You know, over at A Sonoma Garden a suggestion was made to make a bouquet each week for your home.  I think I would win a prize if I brought this into the house and set the table.

Boysenberry Mystery Solved

This morning the boysenberry bloomed.  There’s only one.  I’m surprised because this was only planted this past winter.  I wanted to check my plant because I had read about a spotted leaf problem on boysenberries over at The Family Garden.  I have learned that this year’s growth should grow wild.  During the winter it will be tied up on a trellis because those canes will produce berries.  At the end of their season they are to be removed and the new growth will take its place on the trellis.  This cycle continues to maintain berry production on year old growth. 

Anyway, I wanted to check for this spotted leaf problem on my plant. There is a little discoloration; but this may have been caused by wind storms earlier this year.  What’s this?  Spots? But…these are green spots.  What the heck?!  After a little detective work, I determined that Farmer MacGregor is the guilty culprit.  The evidence is staggering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the price I must pay for such cheap excellent labor.

Swamp Pants

Like nails on a chalkboard.   As regular as Punxsutawney Phil on February 2 – I cringe when I hear those non natives to Bakersfield, California whine, “When is it going to get warm?” each winter and spring.   Be careful what you ask for, stranger.

Well it’s here.  Hibernating season in the Great San Joaquin Valley has begun.  Get up before the sun has a chance to pierce your spirit and get as much outside work done before swamp pants sets in.  What is swamp pants?  Turn away now if you really don’t want to know.

Swamp pants is where all the sweat on your body trickles down and rests in the crotch of your pants.  Yeah.  It’s gross and I hate it.  Wearing cotton or linen helps but does not prevent the disgusting occurrence of swamp pants.  There will be no relief until Halloween or beyond.  Each day that I turn the calendar page and chant, “It’s almost October.  It’s almost October,” is one day closer to relief from swamp pants.

That’s the way summer rolls here.  Take a peek at the temperature in the shade today.  Happy?

This is the 1st day the air conditioner was switched on.  Time to pay tithing to PG&E.

I’m a Pepper. You’re a Pepper.

Remember that Dr. Pepper jingle from the 1970s?  Oh, it’s stuck in my noggin. 

The heat has been turned up in the garden and everything is starting to pop.  Here’s an update:The Black Hungarian Peppers have started to develop.  This variety of hot pepper is definitely living up to its name – BLACK.  All the varieties of tomatoes have fruit.  Carbon won the award for most bashful as it developed last.  Now I need to decide if I want to prune off lateral branches to encourage vertical growth up the string.  Like thinning seedlings, this may take psychological strength. The Butterfly Bush is in full bloom.  It’s about a week behind where it was in 2009.  I guess it’s because of the mild spring weather that its schedule is slightly off.  This variety is Black Knight.  It’s deciduous and blooms on new growth.  In the fall, it needs to be pruned down severely.  If sugar was a flower, it would be a Butterfly Bush.  The scent is sugary sweet to me.Jaune D’Or Ovale radishes are taking off faster than I can eat them.  They will be distributed to friends and neighbors for their enjoyment.  The radishes were planted with a row of Mule Team tomatoes to ward off pests.  So far, so good.  As these are harvested, a new crop will be sown.  These radishes are mild.

More lavender has been harvested and hung to dry.  All the Candy Hybrid Onions have been harvested and are on the drying rack along with the garlic to be used throughout the summer.

Summer Savory was planted in the holes of the cinder blocks where the Borlotto Solista Beans are growing.  Insects are repelled by this herb.  The peppery taste helps flavor the beans.

I also planted some Italian Parsley.  The directions on the seed packet from Victory Seeds directs me to freeze the seeds for 3 – 5 days and to soak them in warm water for 4 hours before planting.  Phewy!  I just sprinkled the seeds in some rich soil and lightly covered them.  They are being irrigated with a drip line.  Hope my shortcut method works just as well.

As always, my supervisor was there to oversee all the work. Licorice had a sister by the name of Pepper.  Good Old Pepper is buried on the other side of the garden wall.  She was a good cat.

So with Black Hungarian Peppers, the peppery taste of Summer Savory, and thoughts of Pepper the Cat, I was humming the Dr. Pepper commercial from the 1970’s.  The video quality stinks; but the tune is just fine.  Enjoy the ride in my time machine.