They’re Back!

Posted on June 18, 2013 by

My nemesis.

The bain of my existence.

The scourge of the garden.

Squash bugs.

squash-bug

from internet

Squash bugs are the devil.

They lurk around the stem of your beautiful plants making all kinds of trouble.

They mate right in front of you and then lay the eggs in a nice, tidy cluster usually underneath the leaf.

squash bug eggs

As I’ve mentioned, I planted marigolds and radishes to help with pest control. I also go out every night and pick off the little suckers and feed them to the chickens.

I also realized I needed to get this under control before we leave and decided to sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the stems of all the squash.

Tomorrow the cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons get a dose.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) actually comes from rock that easily crumbles into a fine powder. It acts like glass shards and cuts the outer layer of the bugs and will dehydrate and kill them. If you do use DE, use a mask while applying it and only apply if the wind is calm. It is an organic method of bug control, but is also a fine powder and could easily be inhaled and cause lung issues. I found DE at our local Farmer’s Co-op.

I also bought an organic spray at the Co-op called Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew. It has spinosad which is a “naturally occurring soil dwelling bacterium that was collected on a Caribbean island from an abandoned rum distillery in 1982.” “Apply when bugs are present”

Ok.

I’m always reluctant to use any type of spray or powder on my garden. Not only will it kill the bad bugs, it also kills the good bugs. Spinosad will kill bees if they land on the sprayed area within 3 hours of spraying. I will be very mindful of this. I need the bees to pollinate the squash. I will apply this around the base of the plant late in the afternoon after the bee activity has stopped for the day. We have to keep the bees alive!

I’m sure the minute we leave our house for vacation, the squash bugs will send out their bug signal for “let’s have a party”. I’ve already seen what they can do when I’m there, Lord knows what they will do when I’m gone.

But that’s the chance we all take when dealing with gardens and nature.

zucchini

Keep Calm and Garden On!

Brenda

Posted in Arkansas, Bugs, Garden, Vegetables | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

What’s Happening in the Garden?

Posted on June 16, 2013 by

I have no idea.

We’ve been extremely busy with other events going on in our lives and my garden has been put at the bottom of the list.

My 50th birthday was in March, and my family celebrated with me by doing the zipline on the Buffalo River (more on that later.)

Buffalo River Canopy Tour, zip line

My husband and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary a week ago.

Who are those youngsters?

We’ve been enjoying our six-month old grandson and have introduced him to the pool (although he wasn’t too impressed.)

luke 6 mo

Watching my nephew play T-ball has been very enjoyable.

ty t-ball

rounding third

ty t-ball

and when stealing home, one must ALWAYS slide

ty

How many five-year olds does it take to stop a ball?

ty

As many as you can pile on!

They are just too stinkin’ cute.

We are leaving for a much needed vacation very soon.  (6 days, 5 hours, 36 minutes and 27.36987 seconds but who’s counting)  Getting the garden in order should be higher on the list of last minute things to do, but it’s not.  I am going to leave it in the capable hands of our house sitter/chicken sitter/cat sitter/garden sitter Michelle.

We celebrated Father’s Day at my house today.  I’m blessed to have great father figures in my life.

Preston, Mo 1963 sized 4x6 landscape

Mom, Dad and Me

At 76, my Dad is still going strong.  This also would have been he and my mom’s 51st wedding anniversary.  Very bittersweet day.

He is not a huggy, kissy kind of Dad, but he did teach me how to work hard, drive a standard truck at a very young age (so I could help haul hay), and gave me a love for the outdoors that has never gone away.

He also shared one bathroom with three teenage girls so that alone should make him a hero.

My father-in-law has also been like a dad to me.  After we became engaged, he took me by the hand at the local skating rink and skated around with me trying to tell me what I was getting into when I married his son. He has been married to my mother-in-law for almost 52 years and has also been very involved with my boys and their lives.  Another great role model.

He was also my zipline buddy!  He’s also what we lovingly call “a mess”.

zip line

My husband has also been a great role model for my boys.

motorcycle, natural dam

He coached them in baseball from T-ball to Senior Babe Ruth and Kid’s Day football until the sixth grade.  He was involved in every aspect of their lives.  He taught them to work hard and play harder.  How lucky I am to have him as a father for our kids.  I know both boys (now dad’s themselves) have a lot of him in them and they will also be great dads.

I hope everyone had a happy Father’s Day!

Brenda

Posted in Arkansas, Family, Garden, Home | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Garden Happenings

Posted on June 7, 2013 by

Despite the cooler weather, the garden is beginning to grow.

The lettuce and broccoli are loving the cooler temps,

lettuce and broccoli lettuce

but the tomatoes and peppers are wishing for more heat.

peppers

I’ve been trying to use companion plants to keep bugs at bay and help with increased yields and flavors.

Borage planted with tomatoes is said to enhance the flavor of tomatoes.  Basil is said to increase the yields,

Borage in the foreground, marigolds in the back

Borage in the foreground, marigolds in the back

and marigolds are said to repel the tomato hornworm.  My tomatoes are surrounded by all three.

I’m one of those people who say, “if one works well, three should work great!”

I also planted marigolds around my squash, cucumbers, watermelons and cantaloupe.  This should help with squash bugs.

Squash bugs are mean.

zucchini

I’ve also planted radishes with the squash and above foods listed.  They also help repel pesky bad bugs.  I’ll let you know how it works.  I really, really, really want squash this year.  (see what I mean?  One ‘really’ would suffice the conversation, but three ‘really’s’ say I mean business)

I’m tough that way.

My husband’s potato bed is looking good despite a few Colorado beetles.

potatoes

I planted nasturtiums around the bed to help attract predatory bugs that eat the bad bugs.

nasturiums

I have also been very diligent about picking the bugs off so I’m not sure which is helping the most.  I have to confess, I have this weird fascination/obsession about picking the beetles and feeding them to the chickens.  I just sit and watch the chickens devour those bad boys and feel good about it.

Sick, I know.

chickens

They love their bug treats!

The onions are looking strangely like a Chihuly glass sculpture.

onion onion

This is my sweet corn.

corn

I swear every year I am not going to grow corn, but every year I do.  Usually the raccoons eat every ear but this year I have surrounded the corn with cucumbers and squash.  Supposedly, raccoons won’t walk on the fuzzy, prickly leaves to get to the corn.

Hahahahahahahahaha

We’ll see.

Brenda

Posted in Arkansas, Bugs, Chickens, Garden, Home, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

There are Good Guys..

Posted on June 2, 2013 by

and there are Bad Guys in the garden.

These Guys have been spotted on the potatoes.
potato beetle

They are potato beetles
potato beetle

They are the Bad Guys.  They can devour a crop of potatoes very quickly if left unchecked.

These have also been spotted in the garden.
lady bug

They are Lady Bugs.

They are Good Guys.  They devour the Bad Guys (larvae of potato beetles along with aphids, spider mites, and white flies) that attack our gardens.

potatoe bettle larvae

Bad Guys!
potato beetle eggs

Chickens LOVE potato beetles.  Which makes them Super Good Guys (or Gals in this case)in my book.

Good Guys!

Good Guys!

I also have another Good Guy on my side.

Magnum P.I.
magnum

Always on the case.
magnum

Always on alert
magnum

Such an attitude
magnum

Such an attitude in fact, that after watching the season finale of Duck Dynasty, he would rather be called Magnum P. Si.

….sigh….

Here’s hoping you have more Good Guys than Bad Guys in you garden!

Brenda

Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Bugs, Chickens, Garden, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Secret to Growing Flowers and Vegetables

Posted on May 30, 2013 by

I have to admit, I wasn’t going to be totally honest with you about my secret for growing flowers and vegetables.  Truth of the matter is, not everyone will be able to apply this secret to their own gardens.  For this I am sorry.   I do feel, however,  I shouldn’t keep secrets from my friends so, here goes…

I’m very picky about my soil.  I use compost on a regular basis thus cutting down on my need for fertilizers.  I also have been known to clean out my neighbor’s barn for rotted cow manure.

broccoli

broccoli

lettuce

lettuce

I’m a little fussy about varieties that I plant.  Native plants are proving year after year to be the better plants.  Most are fuss-free and not bothered by pests.  They handle the humid, dry summers easily while adding color and nectar to the garden.

Salvia 'Rose Queen'

Salvia ‘Rose Queen’

In fact, I study plant varieties like my life depended on it.

Painted Daisy

Painted Daisy
Glebionis carinatum

You could say I spend an enormous amount of time with my bloomin’ friends.  I can never just walk about my garden.  I’m constantly dead-heading or pulling weeds and grass from the beds.

roses

But that’s not the secret.

All plants need water.  Some more than others.  I am slowing transitioning to more drought tolerant varieties, but even they need water to get established.

So, without further delay, here is my secret.

First, you need this.

princess watering can

Princess watering can

Fill with water and give to a real Princess

hallie

and voilá!

hallie age 3

Beautiful flowers!

How lucky am I?

Posted in Arkansas, Family, Flowers, Garden | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Would the Person that Took the Month of May Please Bring it Back?

Posted on May 24, 2013 by

How can May be almost over?  I still have so much to do before the summer heat arrives…..

First, I would like to join in on the blog of miss c and post the view from my back porch.

back proch view

The sun rises over this mountain and thankfully I’m an early riser so I don’t miss it.

I’m watching my grandson today so while he’s napping

precious baby

precious baby

let me show you what’s happening in the gardens.

Allium ‘Globemaster’ is one of my favorite bulbs in the flower beds.  It stands about three feet tall, has no leaves but has a very sturdy stalk.  I like to plant it with daylilies or behind other plants to cover the stalk.

Allium 'Globemaster'

Allium ‘Globemaster’

People stop me all the time and ask what type of flower this is.  When the flower has finished its show, it still adds dimension with the dried flowers lasting until fall.  This is a perennial in zones 5-8 and likes full sun and dry weather.  And another plus–deer don’t like them!

Allium 'Globemaster'

Allium ‘Globemaster’

My grandmother’s peonies are blooming now.  These peonies are believed to be around seventy to eighty years old.

peony

These were given to me by my grandmother

peony

and my grandmother got them from her mother.

peony

Pass-a-long plants are very special to me.  It is a special reminder of a person I loved and I think of her even more when these bloom.

The ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ rose always blooms on Mother’s Day.  This is a climbing rose but I keep it in check by cutting back in late winter.  It is very fragrant, tolerates some shade is it’s not prone to black spot.

zephrin droughn

'Zéphirine Drouhin'

‘Zéphirine Drouhin’

A new coleus I’m growing this year is called Chocolate Covered Cherry.

Coleus 'Chocoate Covered Cherry'

Coleus ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’

Coleus is very easy to start from seed and I started these around the middle of January in the greenhouse.  I have these in the same bed as my hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ and some white caladiums.  Can’t wait to see everything filled out and together.

Another underused shrub that many people don’t know about it Amsonia hubrichtii or Arkansas Blue Star.

Amsonia hubrichtii

Amsonia hubrichtii

This shrub gets about 2-3 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide.  The blue flowers appear in the spring and the foliage is thread-like

Amsonia hubrichtii

Amsonia hubrichtii

and turns golden in the fall.

It loves hot, dry weather and deer don’t bother it at all.  Last year when we had the grasshopper invasion, this shrub was untouched which moved it to the top of my favorites list.

Another native plant I have is Baptisia australis or False Indigo.

Baptisia australis

Baptisia australis

This is a smaller shrub (?)/ plant that blooms in the spring,

Baptisia australis

has unique leaves, and produces a seed “rattle” in the fall.

Baptisia australis seed

Baptisia seed pods.

When the wind blows, these seed pods sound like a baby rattle

Baptisia australis seed pod

Baptisia seeds

These are also easy to start from seed but grow slowly.

Oh!  I almost forgot to show you the living roof on the chicken coop.  I finished it a couple of weeks ago and so far the plants have stayed in place even after the massive rains we’ve had from the recent storms.  I also painted the ugly white door red.  Let me know what you think.  I plan on painting something else on it just don’t know what yet.  I’m not an artist so any ideas are welcome.

chicken coop living roof chicken coop

My little sweetie is up so time to get playing

luke 5 mo

Have a great day and weekend!

Brenda

Posted in Arkansas, Garden, Home | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Mother’s Day thoughts

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

I wasn’t going to post anything about Mother’s Day.  Not because I don’t like the holiday, but because it’s the first one without my Mom.

The last year and a half have been a little difficult to say the least.  My parents home burned in January of 2012.  Thankfully,  they were able to get out quickly– literally with  the clothes on their backs.

A fire is a sickening and devastating ordeal and I pray you never have to experience it.

The restoration company came and took items to clean and repair.  Being in shock, we did not have a clue what was salvageable enough to even take.

Nine months after the fire, my mom was in a car accident.  With a broken hip and a crushed leg, the doctors told us these injuries were fixable and non-life threatening.  But, within twenty-four hours after the surgery, she had a massive stroke.

She died six weeks later.

Fast forward to this week.  My dad is almost finished rebuilding the house.  The restoration company delivered several cleaned and restored furniture pieces along with several boxes.  This sounds crazy but we had no idea what could be in those boxes.

The first box I opened contained this cross stitched piece I did for my mom in 1984.

mother cross stitch sampler

Is it a coincidence that it’s Mother’s Day weekend and our first without our mom?

Makes me wonder….

Brenda
p.s. go hug your Mama’s right now.

Posted in Arkansas, Family, Garden, Home | Tagged , , | 15 Comments