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June 25, 2007
Asking the age-old question: "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?"
All about our garden-eating friend, the woodchuck
And how much zucchini, peppers, greens, tomatoes, leeks, etc. etc?
Our woodchuck lives under the shed, where Bandit chased him this morning. Not too energetically, mind, because he's as big as she is. But she heard me shouting at her to get away, so she had to try.
We have a few "chucked" plants -- the squash in particular are well chucked -- but I think the cause is caterpillars not chucks.
Posted by Sue at 12:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US Botanic Garden. Dale Chihuly blown glass
Posted by Bob at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2007
US Botanic Garden. Orchid (1)
Posted by Bob at 12:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US Botanic Garden. Orchid (2)
Posted by Bob at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
US Botanic Garden. Orchid (3)
Posted by Bob at 12:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 22, 2007
Chinch Bug Invasion
I may have mentioned that the Indian mustard was doing well... past tense. It got eaten by chinch bugs. Chinch bugs feed on the weed tansy mustard in the spring. When the tansy mustard goes to seed and dries out, the chinch bugs migrate looking for something else to eat. They usually get a few leaves of cabbage and do some damage to the peas and move on. This was the first year I grew Indian mustard, and the bugs blanketed it.
I bought some pesticide made from the oil of the neem tree, which I'm familiar with-- in India, they make soap and other cosmetics from it. This neem-based pesticide is supposed to kill all kinds of insects. But it didn't even slow the chinch bugs down. By evening, the mustard looked black, the bugs were so thick. By next morning, they'd sucked the life out of the leaves, which looked more like cheesecloth than plant.
Well, that caused me to lose my sense of humor. I got out some Bug-B-Gone super toxic hazardous waste-based wide spectrum pest killer. (OK, that may be a slight exaggeration.) It killed the chinch bugs. But I think it's too late for the mustard. It'll be a miracle if it comes back now.
Posted by DJSueellen at 11:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In the pink
Following the birth of our daughter four weeks ago, everything is suddenly blooming pink in our little garden...
Azalea:
Catherine:
Posted by Tracy at 02:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2007
We interrupt this blog for a blatant advertisement
In rapid response to our emergency plea, "Tick-Be-Gone" (SM) sent a surveyor and left an estimate in a discrete plastic envelope on our front porch this morning. $135 to spray over 1/2 acre with a relatively non-toxic insecticide (odorless, approved for use in hospitals etc). First spraying scheduled for Saturday morning ... two to follow later in the summer, during the height of the "tick season."
Next step: a bulldozer for the weed patch.
Posted by Sue at 02:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2007
Everywhere in the garden today
Freaking out, we thought these were deer ticks. But Betsy kindly enlighted us. These are aphids.
Aphids are irritating but do not transmit zoonotic diseases. Deer ticks, however, are responsible for most lyme disease transmission to humans.
Now, come *on* New England. Who ever heard of red aphids? Aphids are supposed to be white -- maybe beige, or light green ... but BLOOD RED? Totally, like, weird.
Film at Eleven: LA girl moves to Connecticut, also gets totally freaked out by fireflies. True story.
Posted by Sue at 11:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2007
The Right Way
Protective cover made from two 10' lengths of 1/2-inch PVC conduit (about $4 each), cable ties (about $.25), and bird netting purchased at the discount store (about $2.50). The netting is there -- it's just hard to see.
For protection against a wide range of varmints.
Posted by Sue at 06:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2007
Jumpin' Joey
Jumpin' Joey Between Jumps
I put the netting around the base of the garden beds, thinking that would keep out the chipmunks. True, but it didn't stop Joey the cat from jumping into the box & using 2 radish and 2 lettuce squares as his personal toilet.
Next time, I will follow the instructions. Make a half-circle hoop from pvc conduit, and put the netting *over* the beds. Keeps everything out -- even jumpin' Joey.
Posted by Sue at 01:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 09, 2007
Square foot gardens in the Weed Patch
Bed #1: (L to R, T to B): zuke, zuke, Early Girl Tomato, Sandi's painted rock, radish, radish, marigolds, tarragon, lettuce, Japanese mustard spinach, basil, thyme, lettuce, lettuce, lettuce and marigolds.
Bed #2: kuri, kuri, cuke, cuke, jalapeno, jalapeno, habanero, habanero, japanese turnip, marigold, marigold, habanero (Bob likes habaneros), beet, stir fry greens, stir fry green, italian turnip.
We bought more plants & seeds & Mel's Mix ingredients -- two more beds to go.
Posted by Sue at 10:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
'Don't Like New England's Weather?' Asks Bob.
'Wait a few minutes.'
Posted by Sue at 02:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 05, 2007
Wild turkey in the backyard
Joey, one of our cats, charged it, then thought better of the idea. Wild turkey, bobcat, deer, and bear are common where we live in the semi-burbs outside Hartford CT.
Posted by Bob at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2007
A cure for poison ivy. Zanfel
There is now a genuine cure for poison ivy. Zanfel is the first lotion that removes urushiol, the toxin responsible for the itching, from the skin. Moreover, it works at any time, not just in the first few hours after exposure.
Up until now, lotions and spray for poison ivy like Tecnu and Ivy-Dry, while relieving some of the itching, can do nothing to get rid of urushiol.
Upon moving back to Connecticut I got a severe case of poison ivy on my ankles and legs by doing weeding in pachysandra, an ankle high shrub, in our yard. What I wasn't looking out for were the poison ivy vines that were interspersed in the pachysandra. It was still winter, so there were no leaves on the poison ivy yet, else I would have seen it. Pachysandra has leaves year round, and thus hid the vines.
A week of prednisone slowed the poison ivy, but it came back. Another week of predinose helped, but still it returned. My sister, who has lived here all her life, says mine was about the worst case she'd seen in an adult.
Sue went web surfing and found out about Zanfel. I tried it. You work it into a lotion on your hand, then scrub the affected area for three minutes. Normally this kind of scrubbing would make the itching much worse.
After one scrubbing with Zanfel, the itching was virtually gone. That's because the urushiol apparently was no longer on my skin. Now, about 15 hours after the first scrubbing (plus one more scrubbing) the rash is almost completely gone.
A 1 oz tube of Zanfel, good for 15 washings, is $42. CVS Pharmacy has a generic for $22, that's what I used.
And I'm a believer.
Posted by Bob at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 01, 2007
Bindweed
"Gee, look at the pretty flowers." When we moved in, there was a clump of this stuff flowering in one of the flower beds east of the house. We thought it was pretty-- and it was one of the few things growing here.
What we didn't know was, it's called Field Bindweed. It looks a little like morning glory, because it's in the same family, and is sometimes called "wild morning glory." But it's a different animal, so to speak. For those who survived the 70s, its seeds do not contain the hallucinagenic lysergic acid (and it's therefore safe for goats to eat), but the dissimilarity does not end there. It is a virulent, invasive weed whose extensive root system goes up to 20 feet deep, and whose seeds can sprout up to 50 years after they mature.
This year, we have bindweed on the north, east, and south of the house, and it's spreading fast. It was choking my flower garden, so I pulled huge handfuls of the stuff. The lady at the Extension Service said, "Don't even bother to pull it, it just makes it worse." I hate to use chemicals, but this morning I got out the Roundup, mixed it extra strong, and sprayed the heck out of the bindweed. Hopefully that will help reverse the infestation.
Posted by DJSueellen at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack