Those pesky garden pests

Okay, so I spoke too soon about how well Max Steed, "Security Cat," is doing with keeping the wild bunnies out of the garden!  Well, let me back up a bit.  He is apparently keeping the bunnies out, but Something is climbing into one of the container beds and snacking on my cantaloupes!  The container is too high for a rabbit to get into, I think, so it must be either a raccoon, fox, or 'possum.  I know that coyotes love watermelon, so maybe it is one of the foxes from the woods behind my back pasture. Something has also dined on one of the zucchinis this past week!

The zucchini was the first thing I noticed with some teeth marks!

Then I discovered my cantaloupe!  

So far these two "mystery melons" have escaped detection, but for how long?!

Still, I had a pretty good harvest this weekend ... lots of variety, with acorn squashes, frying peppers, okra,

lemon cucumbers, and tomatoes!

This is one of the red frying peppers.  They resemble a flattened bell pepper, and from the bottom side they look like a red shamrock!  How cool is that?!  These guys will be awesome in some stir fry dishes!

This summer I have been doing some studying on bugs in my garden. I wanted to make sure I was being kind to the good ones, and making life miserable for the bad ones.  I have discovered that the phrase, "the good, the bad, and the ugly," doesn't necessarily make sense in the insect world!

So, for you, a bit of a primer.  

GOOD BUGS

Assassin bug nymph

Young assassin bug

Full grown assassin bug.  These can look similar to stink bugs 

sometimes, but the antennae on the assassin bug is much shorter.

I used to think that assassin bugs were bad guys ...  must have been the name?!  But they are on the gardener's side, so leave them alone and let them do their work!

Lady bugs come in shades of red, yellow, orange and with varying

numbers of spots or even no spots.  You definitely want them in 
your gardens!

Praying Mantis.  He may look ominous, like a creature from outer

space, but remember that he or she is your friend!

Just look at that adorable face!  I LOVE these guys and gals!

This bug is a variety of Anchor Bug.

The Anchor Bugs are a type of stink bug, but they are a good one!  You can easily identify them by the pretty red design on its back in the shape of an anchor.  Let it be and it will be a good garden friend.  I have never seen one of these. Have you?

There are places online where you can order lady bugs, praying mantis, and other good insects.  I have never done this before, but am thinking of doing it in the future.  Also, I have read that some good local plant nurseries have them available in the spring of each year, so you might check that out also.  Here are a couple of interesting websites I have found to order online (click on the name to go to the site):  

Gardeners Supply

BugLogical

And now, I present to you:

BAD BUGS

This is a common type of Stink Bug.

I found one just like this one on one of my cucumber leaves this week.  It's body was 1-1/4" long and looked pretty ferocious!  I covered it with a piece of paper towel and smushed it.  I just hope it didn't make any babies before I took care of it!

Another common Stink Bug, often called a Shield Bug.

I am finding these shield bugs on my asparagus beans and squashes. I smush them as soon as I spot them!
They have a sickly sweet smell that lingers on your fingers, so smushing with paper towel is my preferred method.

Aphids on the stem of a plant, highly magnified.

Aphids have been really active on the asparagus beans, squash and okra, and they seem to appear overnight en masse! They are also known as "ant cows" because ants herd them on the plants and then stroke them to harvest the milky-like substance that the aphids produce from sucking the juices out of your precious plants. Ants and aphids are symbiotic.  So, if you see ants on your plants, you almost certainly have aphids. Grab your spray and go to work, Gardener!

I recommend that you use an organic way to rid yourself of these bad guys, and here is one I use with a good deal of success:

ORGANIC ALL-PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY

1 T liquid dish washing soap such as Ivory Liquid or Dawn
2 T vegetable oil
1 T cayenne pepper
1 qt lukewarm water

Stir to mix, then slowly pour into a quart-sized spray bottle.  It will make soap bubbles, so you may have to let it set for a bit in order to get it all into the spray bottle.

You can add salt, tobacco, and vinegar to the solution also.  The soap and oil make it stick to the insects and plants nicely.  After a rain, you will need to make another application in order to keep your plants protected. This is a really nice, simple, and organic pest control solution.  It can also double as a powdery mildew inhibitor.

Another recommended homemade insect spray:

2 parts rubbing alcohol
5 parts water
1 Tbsp of Dawn or Ivory Liquid dish soap

You can add salt, tobacco and/or cayenne to this one also.  I have not used this one yet, because the other one is working well for me this year.

Now, if only I could find a really good homemade organic weed killer!  Oh, I have heard and read about the one with vinegar, but then I read the fine print on several reputable sites.  Vinegar WILL kill weeds fairly effectively, BUT it will also kill your grass, your petunias, and any other plant it comes in contact with, AND once it is in your soil, you will not be able to plant anything in that spot for several years and have it live!  So, be forewarned about using vinegar as a weed killer, and use it carefully.  Also, it works best at a higher concentration than is on your grocery shelf, according to what I have recently read.  I think I will only use it on the grass and weeds coming up in cracks in my driveway and walkway.

Now, here is a great book on the subject of companion planting, just as the name suggests!  I have downloaded quite a number of books to my Kindle trying to find some comprehensive information on this subject.  I have gotten all them as a "free book of the day,' so I haven't wasted any thing but time with the others.  I was disappointed in them all until I found this one, which I highly recommend to you, and it is available from Amazon.com.  Don't let the use of the word "crop" in the title fool you into thinking it is for huge gardens only!

I am fascinated with the idea of planting certain plants next to each other for the benefit of one or both. Some plants are good for putting certain nutrition into the soil, and some attract bugs away from other plants, and some actually repel the bad bugs from surrounding plants.  This book gives an extensive list of what goes with what, and for what reason. It also tells what should not be planted next to each other, and why.  I always like to know why!

Last weekend, my fig trees were ready for harvesting to begin!  This is the best year I have had so far for my two fig trees.  I think that the cool June temps along with the abundant rains at the same time made them very happy to produce!  They are about 10 years old, I think.  I have done little to really cultivate them, and yet they have always given me something to enjoy despite my neglect.

The first day's harvest yielded almost a bushel of the sweet things.  I LOVE the various shades of browns, yellows, greens, purples and reds!

I found this little cutie on one of the fig tree branches.  It is a walking stick (female, I think, from the size of

its abdomen), and it really is not so little!  But it is cute, if you ask me ...  I put it back right where I found

her/him.  They are a Good Bug!

I traded some of my figs to Judy for some purple hull peas!

Found this little guy all worn out from trying to get out of a rain bucket.

I lifted him out and placed him on solid ground. Soon he was on his way to doing whatever toads do.

I hope it is eating flies and bugs for me!

In my back yard, near the gate that goes out to the vegetable garden, is an old

arbor of crepe myrtles.  I love how the bark peels back on the old trunks, 

creating designs in gray-green and brown.

And look what I found on one of the lower branches!  Another cicada shell!

Oh! I have recently added to MY HAIKU page to help me make some sort of sense of things after the dog attack.


Well, that's about if for now from HeartSong Farm.  Hope you are staying cool!

Vacation, Birthday and Gardening, oh my!

This month, I turned 65 while visiting in the New Orleans area with my dear friend, Debbie, whom I have known since 1977 when her husband, Richard, was a young architect who came to work at the same firm where I was working.  In the last few years, we had both gotten caught up in our own daily dilemmas and lost touch, yet kept thoughts of each other in our hearts and minds.  Recently, we "found" each other again, and it was wonderful!

Things seem have calmed down a bit for the most part in both our lives, and it was decided that I would make a road trip to her home for a much-needed visit of catching up with each other, and of revisiting a part of the country that I had been away from for far too long. The drive over the Atchafalaya Swamp just south of Lafayette brought back so many good memories of fishing, crawfishing, and camping, as well as collecting snakes and frogs for my husband's college herpetology class at Southwestern Louisiana in the first half of the 1970's.  

I didn't take photos on my visit because we were just way too busy talking and sharing the entire time for me to remember to pick up my camera.  But, we did have a typical Fourth of July barbecue, N'Awlins style, with her family and friends down in the Garden District, and we drove down into the Lower Ninth Ward one day so that I could see for myself the aftermath of the destruction left by Katrina, and the rebuilding that is now going on there through private organizations like the Make It Right Foundation.  There are still so many empty lots with concrete pads overgrown with grass, indicating places where families used to live and work and play, but there is also a large measure of Hope there, too.

Having spent the '70's and part of the '80's as an architectural drafts person, I was very interested in seeing for myself the innovative designs of the houses being constructed there.  Most were modern takes on the old shotgun style of houses that had dominated the area prior to Katrina, but not all. And there was a riot of paint color everywhere!  Bright yellows, oranges, pinks and blues. New Orleans is known for its colorful homes, and the new construction in the Lower Ninth Ward did not disappoint! 

There were lots of porches on houses built up off the ground, with parking underneath.  Solar panels and geothermal HVAC units to save energy, porous concrete to allow rainwater to soak into the ground instead of building up and causing flooding, and water collection systems for cooling and landscaping, as well as many unseen "green" building innovations within in the homes themselves.  Most of the houses were single units of about 1400 square feet, built so that former residents could safely and affordably return to where most had spent the majority of their lives before Katrina.

Debbie and Richard got me this book as a souvenir.  Cool, huh?!

If you are interested in learning more about what is happening in the Lower Ninth Ward, and about the great work of the Make It Right Foundation, I highly recommend this book, which available on Amazon, both new and used.

I took off 6 days plus one holiday plus two weekends from work, all in a row.  I spent part of the time at Debbie's home and the rest pretending I was already retired!  One day I went to my friend Judy's home and we had a Sewing Day, which we do every now and again.  This time, she worked on getting two quilts ready to go to the quilter, and I used my new sewing machine for the first time to make little aromatic cedar bags out of some discarded quilt blocks to put in closets, drawers and in my ever-expanding fiber and yarn stashes in hopes of keeping pesky moths away.  After sandwiches for lunch, we finished up our sewing projects, played with her puppies, and then went shopping at a local quilt shop and Tuesday Morning where I found a jar of Thai Green Curry and a wire colander for my kitchen.  Judy is lots of fun to go shopping with and I don't do it often enough. 

I bought myself a new sewing machine last year for Christmas, but am just now using it for the first time.  I love it!

While I was down in South Louisiana, the East Texas Heat finally turned on Big Time, and although Ben had watered as instructed, I came home to some devastation in the garden ....  mainly the summer squashes. It seems that Spring and the entire month of June 2014 were too cool and wet to set much fruit, and then suddenly the rain stopped and the temps soared into high gear.  I think I may need to replant and hope for a nice fall crop.  I was so looking forward to yellow squash roasted in my oven with some spices and olive oil drizzled over the top.

The poor squashes!  I moved them into an area where they got full sun for only half the day from now on.

They seem to be doing better.

The eggplants continue to drop their blooms without setting fruit, too, but the tomatoes are doing very well. The peppers are growing and are almost ready to turn color, and I picked the first handful of okra on Sunday morning.  The cotton, too, is blooming and starting to make some bolls.

I decided to move the pots of eggplant onto the back porch where they had about 6 hours of sun each day.  This is where, two years ago, I had great success with them.  They are feeling much better now!

As you can see, the regular cukes, on the left, have won the challenge to get to 

the top of the arch first!

Bees LOVE the cucumber flowers!

My idea that the cukes would hang down from the arch for easy picking seems

to have worked!  They are easier to see grown this way, too.

Look closely and you will see three of the lemon cucumbers hiding in the leaves.

The regular cucumbers are doing well enough, but these new types are really impressing me ... the lemon cucumbers! The instructions said to pick them when they were yellow and about the size of a tennis ball. Well, none have turned yellow so far, but I have picked several that were the size indicated or larger, and I am here to tell you that they are delicious! They are crisp with tiny seeds, and the flavor has more depth with just a hint of sweetness.  I am really thinking of planting only these in my future gardens.

Okra and lemon cucumbers

The inside of the lemon cucumber is very similar to the inside of a honeydew or cantaloupe!

A recent harvest

These little beauties are "Matt's Wild Cherry" tomatoes, but they are really only as big as small grapes.

They are very sweet and prolific! Easy to just wash and toss into a salad.

They grow in clusters just like grapes.

 

They are a bit delicate.  You have to be careful when picking them as they tend to

split open easily.  Usually, when that happens, I just pop them in my mouth right 

then and there.  It is okay because I have grown them chemical free.

Four of the five types of tomatoes I have in my garden this year.  Left to right:  Marglobe VF, Ozark Pink VF, and Celebrity, with Matt's Wild Cherry in the front.

Recently, I caught Max Steed, "Security Cat", keeping watch over my garden. This may explain why I have had no damage from any of the cottontails that live in the brier patches out front and in the woods beyond the back pasture.  I have seen the wild bunnies out and about, but so far they have not dined on any of my precious veggies.  I must remember to put a bit of something extra in Max's food bowl for a job well done!

Good boy, Max!  You are a good Watch Kitty!

There have been three definite failures in my garden this year:  the Moon & Stars watermelon (of which only one sprouted but it never made it's second set of leaves even after hanging on for a month after emergence), the Malabar Spinach (which never, ever sprouted though I replanted a second time, but the seeds had come from a friend who wasn't real confident about them in the first place), and the icicle radishes (which was totally my fault because I planted them too late and did not direct sow as directed!).  I don't count the yellow squash as a failure, just a huge disappointment.

Did you know that watermelons have both male and female flowers?!  That was news to me, too, until I read a short book on growing fruit recently.  The book also said you really can grow full size pineapples from planting the tops of those you buy in the produce aisle of the grocery store.  It may take 24 months to accomplish, but it can be done!  May give it a go when I get my greenhouse.

One of several cicada shells I have found this summer.

Have you noticed how loud the cicadas are this summer?  What's up with that?  Did more than one batch hatch?  Do you love to discover the empty cicada shells on tree trunks and such?  I do!  Along with catching fireflies and walking barefoot in thick St. Augustine grass, cicadas were an integral part of my childhood, and will always reside in a special corner of my heart!  What brings back memories of summertime's past to you?

Last but not least, the pit bulls were seen in the neighbor's backyard late Sunday morning as I went out to do some yard work along my driveway.  As usual, they barked and growled at me the entire time, but I was prepared with my pepper spray just in case they got out from under their fence!  It reminded me, however, that a month has gone by and I still have my medical bills, my scars, and my dead llama, and the neighbor's still have their dogs.  There has been no response to the demand letter from my attorney. "The System" says that it is really my fault because I did not shoot them the second time they got into my yard in April.  No one ever said Life was fair, but a bit of Justice now and then would be nice, I think.

Right now, it is very hot and dry here on HeartSong Farm!