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August 27, 2007
I was wrong...
... the strawberries are ripening!
Posted by Tracy at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 15, 2007
Produce
I have a tiny potted apple tree which I inherited from my grandparents. For years it's done nothing. Then suddenly this year there are actually full sized apples developing.
Unfortunately the lack of any sun in Britain this year has meant that the strawberries that have previously thrived under the tree have only just flowered. Summer ends in approximately two weeks. There's no chance my tiny just-starting-out strawberries will ripen.
Posted by Tracy at 04:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 14, 2007
Sweet Peas
This year my wall covering flowers are thriving.
Posted by Tracy at 12:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2007
Tomato Problem
Please help! I planted this Celebrity tomato in a pot because we ran out of garden space. It's been doing very well until recently: then the lower leaves started turning brown. I pruned them, but now the next level is turning brown. I water it every two days, and it always seems dry when I do.
Photos on the web suggest this may be verticulum wilt, but this variety of tomato is supposed to be resistant.
Also, when I first planted them, the soil began to grow small, white larvae which the County Extension Service bug specialist ID'd as click beetle larvae. I treated with Bug B Gone (permethryn) and they seemed to go away after the second treatment. That was weeks ago.
I sprayed heavily today with a neem-based cure-all (fungicide, insecticide, miticide) hoping it will make a difference. But I'm open to suggestion. At the rate it's going, this plant won't last more than another few days.
Posted by DJSueellen at 01:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2007
Brambles Playing Possum
Last year, we planted three rasberry bushes in this box. After the frigid winter, it looked like they were all dead, so I planted gooseberries and peapods in the same box this year-- plus alpine strawberries, which it turns out are only good for ground cover.
Surprise, surprise: the rasberries came back to life, and in a big way. Now this box looks a lot like a jungle. I won't plant peapods here next year, and I'm going to dig out the strawberries and try to transplant to somewhere where we need ground cover. As for the rasberries and gooseberries, they're just going to have to fight it out.
Posted by DJSueellen at 06:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Broccoli
Our broccoli is starting to look like it might amount to something. Lots of little broccolis coming in. We've never gotten more than a mouthful before, so this is encouraging-- and welcome, since it wasn't a great year for cabbage.
Posted by DJSueellen at 06:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Squash
We're getting our first summer squash. What a treat! I don't even bother with store-bought squash anymore-- homegrown is only in season a few weeks a year, but it's worth the wait.
Posted by DJSueellen at 06:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park garden (4)
Posted by Bob at 12:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 08, 2007
Elizabeth Park garden (3)
Posted by Bob at 02:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park garden (2)
Posted by Bob at 12:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 07, 2007
Elizabeth Park garden
Posted by Bob at 12:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 06, 2007
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (7)
Posted by Bob at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park Dahlia. (6)
Posted by Bob at 10:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 05, 2007
Complimentary Planting
Our best experiment this year has been with complimentary planting-- plants that help each other, and can therefore be planted very close together. In this 4 x 4 raised bed, we have four mounds of corn, each surrounded by pole beans, with squash in the spaces between. Oh, and onions to help keep the bugs out. (Fortunately chinch bugs don't like any of these crops.)
It looks a bit like a jungle, or at least a big mess, but everything is doing well. The squash and beans are blooming, and our corn has even tassled out-- we may get actual edible corn for the first time this year!
Posted by DJSueellen at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Praying Mantis
Looking much like a dead leaf, this praying mantis hangs upside down in our peapods. I didn't realize at first that it was an insect, until it moved!
The praying mantis is carnivorous, primarily eating insects that happen by, though they have been known to eat small rodents, reptiles, and birds. No risk to our chickens, though-- probably the other way around.
I'd never seen a mantis here before. It;s good to know there are some friendly (i.e. beneficial) creatures. Maybe he'll eat a vole or two!
Posted by DJSueellen at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (5)
Posted by Bob at 07:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2007
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (4)
Posted by Bob at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2007
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (3)
Posted by Bob at 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park garden (3)
Posted by Bob at 12:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 02, 2007
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (2)
Posted by Bob at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Elizabeth Park. Dahlia. (1)
Posted by Bob at 08:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2007
Elizabeth Park. Rose Garden. (2)
Posted by Bob at 07:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack