Fall Garden Plans

forgive my lazyness on not scanning, but its so cumbersome to set up. bed measures 110" x 55" (don't ask) grid lines are set at 3" increments

5 dark dots on left are broccoli, surrounded by carrots in the first column and radish in the second column.
Petunia will be planted on either side of second column
a column of Nasturtium (alaskan or not i haven't decided) to the right of that
middle column is garlic up top, spinach in middle and beets at bottom in accordance with nitrogen needs
a column of some flower, larkspur possibly (since no parsnips are planted)
finally snap peas on the far most right.

pretty sure this is gonna be it for the fall setup. i was all anticipatory and whatnot and went to see if they had any seed out yet at the big box stores but no :(

I've been making myself sore pulling up all the giant ragweed in the backyard. I refuse to have such a failure as i did with last seasons crop. Just miserable. Pests are going to be the death of me.

Dismal day... I think I'm just going to wind up pulling up all my tomato plants b/c with all that the bugs have done to them they are just too small and unappealing to actually eat. I've never thought I would be so utterly defeated by bugs. Just sad.

For next time I have to clean out ALL the brush that's growing in my backyard. I'm not sure what it is that's growing back there, but it's extremely tall and multiplies like little plant bunnies. I see the stinkbugs in the thick of them and am pretty sure that's where they're mostly living and breeding. I've never had them this bad and the brush back there has never been this out of control so I'm thinking it's a fitting cause and effect correlation. So weak...

BUT, we've pulled off about a dozen squash already. Countless stir frys have been made :) My red bougainvillea have "bloomed" so to speak and I've gotten some of the angel trumpets to sprout. I'll be very happy to have those back again, as they are just so elegant and pretty. Always gotta look for the silver lining.

The stinkbugs are continuing to run rampant. They are out in droves and I kill at least 15 everyday, and that's NO exaggeration...
All the bugs are really getting to me this year. They reduced my verbena to tatters, ate the lavatera to nothing, are hitting my Okra, stunted my broccoli, giving my tomatoes cloudy spot among countless other things. I can't takes no more!

In other, happier news, my squash plants are totally kicking. They are so rewarding b/c they grow like champs and have given me no problems so far. Fingers crossed.

And my Hibiscus finally bloomed. These things are always sooooo late. Drive around and see them in full bloom all over the place when mine look dormant. They could be a little retarded is all i'm saying. Plus the pink one I have didn't even bloom all last season!

Maybe I should change the soil in the pots and add some fertilizer, and that'll get it going. Its worth a try.

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Ok, re-potted all three of them together in a huge clay pot. The roots looked terrible. I felt bad about myself when I saw them like that. I've been potting things up wrong for a while tho, so they're been growing horrible. Was putting off studying b/c Victory Garden was on PBS and according to them, here is how to plant properly in a large container:

* put a crock over the bottom drainage hole (it bows up and makes sure soil does not clog the hole to ensure drainage)
* fill about 1/2 of the pot with some course material (I used thick chunked mulch) to ensure drainage
* fill most of the way up with POTTING MIX. I've been using composted soil and garden soil and apparently you can't do this b/c it just compacts too much in the pot and will stifle growth.
* add some slow release fertilizer (i used some Osmote (sp?) stuff with the happy pink lid) to the potting mix layer
* add your plants
* mulch (b/c mulching = caring)

stinkbugs on tomato, moments before their demise

Outside watering this morning, everything was cool. Then I had this moment, you know the one. The moment where you see something but your mind does not comprehend it because it just doesn't seem real or you have some denial defense mechanism kicking in to save your mind from shattering into a million pieces. But then I processed it - stinkbugs (leaf footed bugs) en masse all over one of my Roma tomatoes. Once I picked my jaw up off the floor I ran inside and picked up my camera and the pest spray I made (diluted dishwashing liquid and veggie oil) and went to work eradicating the bastards. Let me tell you this, they DID NOT like my spray :) I had to rinse off all the dead bug carcasses off my tomato, haha. The are quite considerate to all bulk together to make them an easy kill though...

Tomatoes are growing like a boss. Don't ask me what variety these are, b/c I have no clue. This bush was one that started to sprout in my compost so I just saved it. Here's to hoping they're tasty. I didn't plant Borage around it like last time but I'll see if there is a noticeable difference when I munch into one.

There is another compost sprout I saved that is growing just as well and I'm fairly certain it's a Roma variety.

The last of the 3 tomato bushes is a Sweet 100 that I actually bought and it is lagging behind these other 2.
Niki 1, Commercial growers 0  :)

I went into the bushes today and thinned out some of the dense leaves. 1) the main reason, so that the plant gets better air circulation (so its less prone to problems) and 2) less surface area for me to have to look for caterpillars! It's a war I tell you and I will offer them the least amount of refuge possible.

convolvulus (full sun)

convolvulus(part sun)

Something to note... The spouts on the left and right sides are THE SAME plant (Convolvulus) , planted at the same time, in the same soil.

So what's the difference? The one on the right was subjected to full sun like around the clock. The one on the left is in a semi-shady spot. It's listed as a Full Sun plant. Interesting.

Now, granted they don't have the same, exact watering conditions since they are on opposite sides of the yard, but I wouldn't think that would be a huge contributor as to why the ones on the right have reddish outlines on them.

But now that I think about it, they ARE just little sprouts and I shouldn't have put them in harsh sun before they had a set of true leaves, even if it is a full sun plant. I'm going to leave it where it is and see how it pans out anyway.

Fireants on Peacelilly... why?

One last thing:

Why are these retarded fireants way up at the top of my Peace Lilly plant? Made absolutely no sense to me...

Gardenia

The gardenia houseplant I started from seed a year or 2 ago has finally bloomed. I squealed like a little girl when i saw the first bloom from my kitchen window. It was ridiculous.

Oddly shaped strawberries

I had some strawberries in my garden, right in the ground, no special treatment and some of them look lumpy and odd. I think it had something to do with poor pollination or weather conditions, not sure which. I went ahead and uprooted them and placed them into hanging pots with about a 1:1 mix of sand and garden soil (which is pretty much all composted stuffs). They like sandy, acidic conditions and nice drainage so I think the hanging pots will work great. Also, when the berries grow they won't be sitting on wet soil so they should fair better. I'm sure they would have been just fine to eat, but i pulled them anyway.

I also deadheaded my Moondance rosebush today and figured since I took such a huge chunk of stem off I would try to root the cuttings. I've gotten it to work before so why not try again. Its in a mix of 2:1 vermiculite to seed starting mix and the stems were cut at an angle just below a node and dusted with hormone rooting powder. I'm hoping that will do the trick.

They're going to sit on my north facing windowsill along with some Coleus i took cuttings of and some Larkspur, Bird of Paradise and Orange Jasmine seeds I put in little paper pots.

Both the Orange Jasmine and Bird of Paradise were soaked in water for like a day and a half. I nicked (well, filed) the Paradise seed too like is recommended. I did not however put in the fridge for a week b/c i was just too impatient. If it won't germinate I'll add that step in there next time. :) Orange Jasmine seeds floated at first but after soaking so long they sank. Read that a floating seed doesn't necessarily mean it's not viable but only time will tell.

cicada

Random Cicada exoskeleton spotting. Disgusting looking yet interesting.

citrus leafminer damage

My citrus leaves are curling and have these squiggly lines all over them. I seem to have a case of a citrus leafminer. The little larvae hatch and eat their way through the leaves leaving the squiggle lines apparently.

momma leafminer

I wanna try not to use pesticides, so I'm going to pick off all the infected leaves so i make sure to get all the babies actually eating the leaves and then spray some organic deterrent on them: 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon liquid detergent diluted with water at a 40:1 ratio. Not gonna lie, I'll probably make mine a little stronger than that. for a nice description of the citrus leafminer, see here for a pdf by Cali university UCDavis.

I was pruning today and even caught a glimpse of the thing. He looks a bit like an insect frog, its strange.

And as a sidenote: "Citrus leafminer moths are attracted to new flush of citrus trees. Avoid pruning live branches more than once a year, so that the cycles of flushing are uniform and short. Once the leaves harden, the pest will not be able to mine the leaves. Do not prune off leaves damaged by citrus leafminer because undamaged areas of the leaves continue to produce food for the tree. Do not apply nitrogen fertilizer at times of the year when leafminer populations are high and flush growth will be severely damaged" citation

yellow striped armyworm

On an upside, I found one of the caterpillars munching on my plants. The broccoli, onion and tomato have been hit on, so unless this guy was having a veggie buffet, he's got more friends around. I couldn't find him b/c i was looking in the wrong place before: tomatoes instead of onions. Left him out an open location and hopefully the birds find him. Ah, the circle of life.

He is black with a yellow stripe down the side and completely hairless. His name, the dreaded armyworm. Aptly named b/c we are totally at war right now.

Nymphalinae?

Went and found a nifty caterpillar today though that i think is some sort of butterfly. He was munching on a weed. Better than my plants though! I wanna say its Family Nymphalidae, Subfamily: Nymphalinae 


he's kinda awesome looking though.

verbena

And the pests rear their ugly little heads. They hit the verbena a few days ago and I just let it go b/c it was only a few leaves. My advice, don't be as lazy as i was. You can see the repercussions of my lack of action in the picture. They will strip a plant to the stem in no time. The verbena took serious leaf damage. I moved the pot to a table so hopefully they will have to go find it again and it'll be safe for a little while.
The tomatoes got hit too. The very first tomato as a matter of fact. I searched all 3 of the tomato plants i had twice today and didn't see the crawly little jerk. Looked for droppings, but didn't see any pronounced ones so maybe it's still a tiny little crawlie... that or I really suck at Where's Waldo. Either way, the birds are totally slacking on their jobs. Yeah, blame it on the birds.

On a more positive note tho, the Convolvulus and Cosmos I planted came up already. what's it been, only a few days? super. I don't know how their going to fair in a container and I always plant them way too close but it'll be a learning experience. The nasturtium do look wonderful in hanging baskets though. I don't think I would ever plant them in the ground after seeing them in a basket.

Oh, and the okra has started to come up like the little champs they are. If you live in the South, okra will never let you down. I'll snap a pic when they get a little bigger.

strawberry leaves in morning

marigold

Speaking of the pretties... I can't help posting pictures of things when they flower.

freesia again

The morning dew looked so pretty on the leaf b/c it all rolled to the edges. It was neat to see in the morning. :)




And while I went to go take pictures today kept running into our natural wildlife... Bob is the one that loves to sleep in my flower beds. But you can't hate him when he looks at you like that

Bob

Bailey on the roof

What do I do when I should be studying for a test in the spring? I run around planting stuff to procrastinate, that's what.

Planted the yellow and blue ones in a few pots together. They're cosmos and convolvulus, neither of which i've grown before. They've been sitting in my seed box for a while now and they're complimentary colors so i'm hoping they go well together and flower around the same time.

The top one i planted around my birdbath, in situ. Its a relative of the hibiscus family and is called abelmochus moschatus, according the lady who gave them to me. They are said to flower from May to November, if planted at the right time and should survive our mild winters.

Also planted some butterfly weed (currassavica) and some 4-o'clocks around a tree from seed in situ as well. Its semi-shady so I donno how well that's gonna work out...roots of butterfly weed are long taproots so i dont really wanna have to try to dig um up if they're unsuccessful, but i have a ton more seed so its no loss really.

Orange Jasmine (murraya paniculata) and Bird of Paradise seed (strelitzia reginae) will be next but the seeds are huge so i'm gonna start them in little pots. Except for all my school exams, I love spring.

Went to my local big box store and they have a pallet full of "busted bags" of garden soils and mulch. Bought a small pallet of stuff for 10 bucks that would normally run me $44.60, oh yeah, i did the math. I only paid 22% of what it was listed at. Nice. Got garden soil, potting mix and 6 bags of mulch too.

Bought some sweet 100 tomatoes and strawberries too. All/most of the Bonnie brand veggies and herbs are half off till April 1st at Home Depot. Finally, advertisements I hear on Pandora were good for something!

Planted some more Okra (Ferry Morse Emerald variety) today too. 6 holes with 3 seeds each. I did 3 seeds per hole not only for fail-safes in case i have some that don't germinate but also b/c I like to braid them together for added support and it looks pretty :) Oh there will be some jars of Okra some summer. Planted the Clemenson Spineless last time and they came out yummy but I happened to be in a store where they had this variety so i'm like what the heck. From what i remember Ferry Morse was non GMO but they are linked to a French company that participates in biotech, so I donno they might be... sigh.
non gmos and some more

Been so MIA, but I have done a bit of things:
Just look at that adorable little carrot. Aw... they still have a ways to go but they look good. I must admit, I ate him as cute as he was and he was pretty tasty :)

incognito

Grew lettuce earlier too. Still waiting on onions, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes to be ready. The onions may have to come up prematurely so i can make way for okra and another tomato bush. I'm still debating...
Found some caterpillar droppings all over my snow peas and i finally found him, i donno how b/c he's soooo hard to see since he's identical to the leaf color. stupid natural camo.

Lots of things have bloomed for me recently: grew the Freesia in a pot with daffodils and hyacinths (blue jacket). Hyacinths were pretty and smelled lovely, but didn't last long enough for me so i probably won't grow them next time unless the bulbs come back on their own.

Freesia (smell so pretty)

nasturtium

aster

 

 Still waiting on some stuff to bloom. Verbena and my little gardenia tree are doing well but the Lavatera and hollyhocks had some upsets that were totally my fault. hopefully they pull through.

verbena

gardenia jasm. bud

Planted catnip around Dec 19th (super easy to grow btw) and its got lots of true leaves on them yet the new rat killer we got has no interest in it at all. He's a bit of a spaz as it is so maybe that's a good thing.


Sidenote: found out why he had no interest.

If you set it, the cats will eat it. If you sow it, the cats don't know it.
-Philip Miller, The Gardener's Dictionary

I tore a few leaves and he could smell it, as could I. He was on it like a nutball after that...

I planted a bunch of other seeds in these shoebox containers i picked up from Home Depot for around a buck a piece that are clear and come with lids and all that goodness. They seem to be working well so far inside under a grow light with foil to reflect the light. My coleus and aster have sprouted very well in them. I have a layer of small pebbles about an inch or so thick on the bottom and then starting mix on top. For some reason the Dianthus i planted was having a real hard time of things, and i've only gotten a sprout or 2 out of the entire box. I'll try again when the weather warms up a bit i suppose since the seeds are so cheap.


Planted many more things but i'll wait till i have some decent pictures to talk about them (provided they're successful that is!). List includes: zinnia, daffodils, hyacinth, freesia, columbine, nasturtium, alyssum, and others. Nothing too out of the ordinary. want to plant some Larkspur tho. I got my hands on 5 huge containers so i'll have room to plant them anywhere i want. Oh threw some lettuce in the garden too, need to plant the carrots as well.

Received some other seeds that i'm waiting on spring for to plant out: bird of paradise, orange jasmine, more angel trumpet seed and several others. Should make for a fun season. :)