How does the garden grow?

Well, this year it has been doing beautifully.

It is the first year that we really made a serious vegetable garden.

We picked out a nice sunny spot, got some fencing that would keep even the deer out. Drove over an hour to get some black gold from my girlfriend’s stable. Decided what vegetables we wanted to grow and how they would be planted so the tallest wouldn’t shade the shorter plants.

Okay so we didn’t plant it perfectly and will have some improvements for next year. But you live and learn…right?

We must have planted about a dozen different tomato plants and they got huge! Tons of tomatoes popping out all over…..just have to wait for them to ripen…..

Oh wait….here comes a little chipmunk.

shrumgraphics

He runs right through the fencing.

I didn’t think too much about it until I saw one of the tomato plants quivering. I went out to the garden and sure enough the chipmunk was munching on about 5 different tomatoes!

He even climbed up the plant and half chewed ones still on the vine.

tracyemueller

So now each day I go and check out the tomatoes to see if any are just starting to turn. If they are, I pick them and let them ripen inside.

I gather the half eaten ones and put them near the fence hoping that the chipmunk will finish them off and leave the others alone.

I got the tomato situation (sort of) under control and then I see that there are some ears of corn ready to be picked.

twoeggplants

This corn tasted soooo good! I don’t know if it was because they were so fresh or the fact that we grew them.

I notice that over the next few days that I will be able to pick some more ears, and I can’t wait. 

Now why is that corn stalk shaking like that? 

OH! 

There is a squirrel sitting in my corn stalk!

autumnlaneartistry

I walk (quickly) to the garden and the squirrel peeks at me and takes off, guess he knew I was pissed…

I look at the corn and he climbed up each corn stalk and stripped away the husk and ate one side of each cob.

I don’t mind sharing, but it would have been nice if they ate one or two whole corn cobs and left a few of the others….why eat only half?

*hmph*

The squirrel must have come back looking for more because now my corn stalks are all bent and broken. I can’t even use them for fall decorations……

Now, I am just waiting for the chipmunks and squirrels to discover my chili peppers….HA!

stephaniemirocha

(jj)

Our Mystery Garden

Last year we planted some seeds that a friend shared with us...they were Peanut Pumpkin seeds, probably one of the most "unusual" pumpkins I have ever seen...or at least seen a picture of...

I went online to find out the best way to nurture these seeds into full grown pumpkins....I found out how to tell the male flowers from the females...(It is the females that produce the actual pumpkins, but they have to be pollinated by the males, usually via bees), we had no bees :(  Oh NO!  I learned to take a small brush, brush it across the interior of the male flowers and then across the interior of the female flowers...yep I did that!  

Much to my delight 3 of the females soon had little round pumpkins under them....as the flower dried up and blew away the pumpkins grew, we watered, we moved them, we lovingly tended them and when they were about the size of a large orange...something came in the dark of the night...and drilled a tunnel through them...they shriveled up and died...:(   
My visions of a pumpkin patch....

                                                  Pumpkin Patch

OK, so maybe not one as great as Marlene's...a little smaller maybe....none the less, my vision was over...

And then, a month or so ago, my husband noticed little green plants growing where last years pumpkins had been planted (he had also buried a couple of potatoes there in the spring?).  He noticed there were potato plants coming up and something else....

Not sure but we think these may be pumpkins...since last years pollinating and loving care was for naught...I am going with benign neglect this year...:)
I realize that is obvious from the photos....

We have had little mini pumpkins grow here every few years, they seem to come up on their own, grow on their own and even survive on their own....

I guess time will tell, but for now it is our own little mystery....garden!

VE

Got garlic?

 ShirleyArt

Last year we started a little vegetable garden, this year we expanded. We also moved it to a completely different spot.

We moved it into the back yard….the kids don’t play in the yard anymore, they are more interested in going to work or hanging out with friends and boyfriends…..soooo, we reclaimed a small part of the yard to try our hands at gardening. We’ll see how it goes. 

retrotreasurehunters

The garden ended up being a little bigger than we first planned, but now that we have everything planted, it’s not big enough.

One thing I wanted to plant is garlic, but after reading about it I have to wait until the fall to plant it for next summer.

BoomerangRedux

littlebirdvintage

Did you know that most of the garlic you buy in supermarkets is treated to last longer, and that it does not have nearly as much taste as untreated garlic?  There are two main types of garlic which is then broken down into several different names, with different tastes. So I figure now I have all summer to decide which kinds I want to grow and to see if I can find them. It is pretty easy to grow and does not need much care. You do have to cure it for 2 to 3 weeks once it is harvested. That could be the tricky part if we continue to have this kind of damp rainy weather we’ve been having lately.

MossandLichen

Since I can’t plant any garlic now, I did a little searching (out of curiosity) to see what would show up.

carolbroadleypottery

sierraclayart

Well…

there was a lot that came up and all the pictures here are some of what I found. From vintage to handmade, useful to decorative.  Hope you enjoy looking at these fun items.

HomespunSprout

melbangel

Besides all the health benefits of garlic, there is always the fact that it does keep vampires away…. (just something to keep in mind)

brebird

(jj)

ROSES AND BANANAS

What do roses and bananas have to do with each other? Let me show you some pictures of my roses before and after they dined on banana peels.

                                                                           Before

                                                                              After
When I closed escrow on my house, it had been neglected all summer and the plants were about to just give up. It was the end of October by the time I was able to move in and the best we could do was water and trim up everything.

As soon as the weather began to warm, we began giving each rose bush a banana peel. You simply dig a shallow hole beside the roots big enough to put the peel in, cover it up with the soil, and let nature do the rest. You see, banana peels are loaded with potassium and roses love potassium. It's the easiest and fastest way I know to revive rose bushes.

Now, I love to look at my yard! It's an oasis in the middle of the desert landscaping (which I hate!). I really love it when a plan comes together. Now, back my gardening.

P.S. Since I took these pictures, the rose bushes burst into bloom and now all but one (there are seven) are literally heavy with roses.

I just had to share this, I'm so excited! It's so nice to have a yard again and to be able to garden.

pepper/Helmet Head