Tuesday was unseasonably cool, and when I was out gathering some Basil for dinner, I found slugs all over it, and the peppers. So, having solved the mystery of what was eating my plants, I started researching how to get rid of the slimy little things.
Ortho's Bug-Geta was recommended in several places, and since we had some on hand I'm trying that. Also on the list of things to try: coffee grounds, salt, cleaning up any debris on the soil, trimming any leaves that are on the ground. And if all that doesn't help I'll find something else to try.
Yesterday I put out the Bug-Geta and applied Sevin as I read that it can also help deter slugs (and whatever else might want to munch on my peppers).
This morning was hot, humid and sticky, just the sort of weather slugs enjoy. So I took a metal can from the recycling bin, put some salt in the bottom, and started picking slugs. Ugh. I went out again this evening and found some more. In case you're wondering why the salt, slugs are mostly made of water and the salt dehydrates and kills them.
I finally got around to making my pesto - it was delicious, but time consuming to make. It would help if we owned a food processor, but I made do without. I also burned the walnuts the first time I toasted them...anyway, I put it on some chicken, put it under the broiler for a few minutes, and Viola! A meal everyone likes.
My flower bed is surviving, but not thriving. I get a few seeds now and then, but not as many as I'd hoped for. I noticed that the Calendula mix that I gave my Mom is growing much better than my Flashback Calendula. Probably due to a slightly shadier location.
The Pennyroyal is still alive, and seems to be adjusting well. It rained today, so maybe the ground will be soft enough to dig a hole for the Horehound - it's still pretty droopy.
I finally got all my pictures organized, so now I can start going through and decide which ones look good enough to put on the internet. Which reminds me, it's about time for another photo shoot of the gardens...which means I'll probably have another hundred or so pictures to sort through and label by the end of the week.
It seems I won't be running out of things to do for a good long while...maybe I'll get caught up on everything in time to start planning next years garden.
Keeping Busy~
Sarah
8.20.2007
Revenge of the Chippies
The chippies had their revenge while I was on vacation. The garden was dug up in numerous places. If they don't stop soon, I may have to take more drastic action, so chippies, beware!
In spite of the chipmunks, everything is growing well. The tomatoes are nearly as tall as I am, and starting to ripen. The beans are pretty much done, as is the zucchini. The lettuce, scallions and radishes are growing slowly, possibly from all the shade the tomato plants provide. The peppers are very large with multiple fruits on each plant (my family's never grown peppers very successfully before) so I'm excited about that. Several of the peppers have been bored into; the peppers seem ok though, so I'm going to leave them and see what happens. The Spicy Basil plant keeps growing and I've got enough to make pesto again; this time I'm going to try a slightly different recipe - it calls for zucchini. Should be an interesting culinary adventure.
My perennial garden died while I was gone. I'm not sure if it was from a lack of water or if the soil is just to rocky there. I planted some Coleus there last week, and it seems to be ok so far.
The flower bed is doing well, although not as well as I'd hoped. It rained today so maybe that will perk things up a little. I've been able to save a few seeds, but the plants are not growing very fast. I finally got around to planting my Pennyroyal - it wasn't doing very well in the container. The Horehound isn't doing very well either. Since it's part of the mint family I don't want to plant it in the garden and then spend all spring pulling it out. I found an old (clean) paint can and am going to put some holes in the bottom for drainage, plant the Horehound in it, and then 'plant' the paint can.
That's pretty much all the news. I spent today working on my plant files. I keep an index card for every plant I grow, and some of the ones my Mom and sister grow. At last count I had nearly 45 cards. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have gotten around to organizing my pictures and I can get them up on the internet.
Farewell for now ~
Sarah
In spite of the chipmunks, everything is growing well. The tomatoes are nearly as tall as I am, and starting to ripen. The beans are pretty much done, as is the zucchini. The lettuce, scallions and radishes are growing slowly, possibly from all the shade the tomato plants provide. The peppers are very large with multiple fruits on each plant (my family's never grown peppers very successfully before) so I'm excited about that. Several of the peppers have been bored into; the peppers seem ok though, so I'm going to leave them and see what happens. The Spicy Basil plant keeps growing and I've got enough to make pesto again; this time I'm going to try a slightly different recipe - it calls for zucchini. Should be an interesting culinary adventure.
My perennial garden died while I was gone. I'm not sure if it was from a lack of water or if the soil is just to rocky there. I planted some Coleus there last week, and it seems to be ok so far.
The flower bed is doing well, although not as well as I'd hoped. It rained today so maybe that will perk things up a little. I've been able to save a few seeds, but the plants are not growing very fast. I finally got around to planting my Pennyroyal - it wasn't doing very well in the container. The Horehound isn't doing very well either. Since it's part of the mint family I don't want to plant it in the garden and then spend all spring pulling it out. I found an old (clean) paint can and am going to put some holes in the bottom for drainage, plant the Horehound in it, and then 'plant' the paint can.
That's pretty much all the news. I spent today working on my plant files. I keep an index card for every plant I grow, and some of the ones my Mom and sister grow. At last count I had nearly 45 cards. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have gotten around to organizing my pictures and I can get them up on the internet.
Farewell for now ~
Sarah
8.08.2007
Mini Update (I'm On Vacation Again)
My vegetable garden is huge! Everything is growing well. I'm on vacation again, but before I left I'd been harvesting beans, zucchini, radishes, lettuce, parsley, and basil. There are lots of baby tomatoes that will probably ripen while I'm gone and a few tiny peppers.
Mom and I started a herb container with fennel, pineapple sage, lovage, creeping winter thyme and creeping rosemary. I have lots of pictures and will work on posting them after I get back from vacation next week.
Farewell~
Sarah
Mom and I started a herb container with fennel, pineapple sage, lovage, creeping winter thyme and creeping rosemary. I have lots of pictures and will work on posting them after I get back from vacation next week.
Farewell~
Sarah
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