Blog change, Garden purchases and Bugs

I will be using my other wordpress blog Garden Swan which is also listed in my Blogroll for my “Picture of the Week” using the new Monotone theme.  It works pretty neat the way it adjusts colors so I figured might as well put that blog to good use.  How it works is you add one picture per post and there are arrows to move forward to the next photo which is added when you make another post (one picture per post).  I need to work with it more, but for now I feel organized and that is Key for me….. I need to “at least feel” organized!

My newest garden purchases this week –

 I needed a lightweight pitchfork tool for turning our newest compost area (made from the old trampoline left down south) and I am pretty sure I will find other uses for this new tool!  The boots are a Must … flip flops do allow for even tanning but they are just not practical and the other shoes just get ruined.  I did get some of those garden clogs but we have some serious brush and other vegetation growing wild … and lots of ticks!  The magnifying glass is probably causing a big question mark in your mind …. it’s for the Bugs!  I will be out watching the activity in the gardens and watching for those beneficial bugs who rid the garden of the damaging bugs.  The only problem I have is … Which bug is which??  My logic always ran along the lines that a “Bug is a Bug” – not SO, in the world of Gardening!  I searched around on the internet and found this great link on Farmer Fred’s website and it took all the guesswork out of the bug mystery for me.  Actually, last year I did have a couple run ins with the tomato hornworm …

 They can be very damaging and notice the droppings on the deck – hard to see in the soil, but this tomato plant was in a container on my deck.

 At first I had no clue what this was – now I know … the beneficial wasps laid eggs on this hornworm who will eat the worm causing its death.  Best to leave this alone as the new wasps will continue the good work.

I picked this for my “Picture of the Week”

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Picture of the Week

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Picture of the Week

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Nature, drying the harvest and mulch for the garden

A couple of weeks ago I captured a picture in the backyard of The Gargoyle & Bunny and I thought that was really Neat – well, today The Gargoyle had yet another visitor … Mr. Hawk

 

 Seems like they are conversing … Spooky   LOL

I did notice the Yarrow and Echinacea purple (Coneflower) both perennials that I planted last year have resurfaced for their second year!

  Closeup

I had the dehydrator cranked up again today since cantaloupe was on sale and I bought 2 … dried one and also decided to take 2 roses and put them in the Excalibur dehydrator and see how they dried.  I have tried 3 methods of drying now – silica gel, air drying and now the dehydrator.  The major difference with the dehydrator is they retained their color much more – the redness didn’t seem to fade as much as with the other 2 methods.

Roses after a couple of hours of the Excalibur –

  Lastly, I googled peanut shells since I bought a 5 lb. bag of peanuts and thought the shells would make a great mulch…..Good thing I checked this out – totally the opposite – Do not use peanut shells as a mulch … following is a great article on Mulch!

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/veg-mulch.html

 

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The marigold … a lovely companion

Following is a previous post I made regarding Companion Gardening and the reason I am reposting is because the “Picture of the Week” this week (today) is my first marigold bloom and the marigold is praised as a great companion for quite a few other plants such as basil, cucumbers, melons, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, squash.

 

 

“I think the best way for me to do this analogy is just make random statements about what works with what as far as companions.  I did read “Great Garden Companions” & it’s a totally wonderful book.  I think though …… is that there is a ton of information & what happens for me is I get information overload & then the info is useless. So — I need to take a step backwards & look at the information that I want to use and document it. Alright, where do I start?  Ok… to explain what Companion Gardening is ……. Planting specific plants next to each other or intermingled so each individual plant grows better and flourishes “just because” the companion plant is nearby.  I support the basis of this & will definitely find out if it works – I won’t have my organized rows of plant after plant but that’s ok .. sometimes, you just have to give up on being organized.

 

The bottom line here is – What can I plant next to my tomatoes to ward off insects … like that gross Tomato Hornworm?  Well, Basil is a suggestion & Borage .. ok, I can do that. Some of the thought behind this is that the scents and textures of different plants repel insects or even animals like deer – deer don’t like fuzzy plants … borage is fuzzy, I didn’t even care for it as an edible in salads, but if it keeps the deer away… Let’s Grow It!  Now Marigolds are quite fragrant and if you think about it … is the smell even that pleasant?  Not really… but this plant scares away all those insects or confuses them. Marigold Golden Guardian ….. I planted these a couple of days ago and I think I will be quite guarded – Here’s what they say …hope it works.   Control Nematodes with flowers not chemicals.  Golden Guardian Marigold proved to be the most effective for controlling root nematodes, killing 99% over a 3 month period. Nematodes live in the soil, feeding off the roots of tomatoes & other veggies.  Ok, let’s give it a shot!    This is just the beginning ….. next step, figuring out what other companion plants I will grow ….”

Here are the Golden Guardians as of today so I am good.

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Picture of the Week

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How many babies this year?

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