Ronincats continues to garden in 2016

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Ronincats continues to garden in 2016

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1ronincats
Editado: Abr 2, 2016, 8:09 pm



Got my summer plants in the main raised bed this week! Tomatoes, eggplant, kale, swiss chard, green pole beans, kale, parsley, sage, cilantro and basil.

2qebo
Abr 2, 2016, 5:24 pm

Oh yay, a separate garden thread!

3ronincats
Editado: Abr 2, 2016, 8:09 pm

But with the same pictures as on my book thread!


Secondary raised bed. Has lettuce, beets, arugula, turnips, chives, and romaine.



Extra tomato seedlings and two flower bowls.

And another sign of spring--a hummingbird is nesting outside my office window.

4qebo
Abr 2, 2016, 8:07 pm

>3 ronincats: I don't mind seeing them twice. Especially the hummingbird nest!

5ronincats
Abr 2, 2016, 8:11 pm

That one is worth looking at more than once.

6fuzzi
Abr 4, 2016, 9:13 pm

>3 ronincats: ooh! Hummingbird! Ours have not showed yet, but the feeders are clean and full...just waiting for them!

7ronincats
Abr 8, 2016, 10:49 pm

Saw the mama feeding the baby hummingbird today!

Front yard project: dig up hard pan clay, dig in copious amounts of compost, plant water-wise plants. Results:

8fuzzi
Abr 9, 2016, 6:19 am

>7 ronincats: nice!

What DID you plant?

9qebo
Abr 9, 2016, 7:29 am

>7 ronincats: That's a lotta project. And yes, what did you plant? Water-wise is not a thing in these parts.

10ronincats
Abr 9, 2016, 4:14 pm

Well, theres a dwarf bottlebrush at center back (with the fence being back) which can grow up to 5 feet across. At either end of the back are Sticks on Fire euphorbia. The red blooming plant center front is salvia "Hot Lips", which the hummingbirds have already found, and behind it is salvia Winifred Gilman, which is a blue sage. On the front row, from back to front, a Kalanchoe, an echeverria, "David's Choice" coastal sagebrush, kangaroo paws, yarrow, and a blue elf aloe. The sticks on fire can grow to 4 feet across and the salvias to 3 feet, so they will fill in over time.

11ronincats
Abr 15, 2016, 9:31 pm

I have to get out and update my shots of the plants, but here is a shot (through my office window and screen) of the hummingbird baby. It has gotten large enough now that its whole head is sticking out of the nest rather than just the beak.

12qebo
Abr 15, 2016, 10:45 pm

13Lyndatrue
Abr 15, 2016, 11:29 pm

>11 ronincats: I found myself holding my breath, just now, for fear of startling it. What a lovely picture!

14fuzzi
Abr 17, 2016, 10:09 am

>11 ronincats: oooh oooh oooh!

15ronincats
Abr 17, 2016, 11:18 am



The baby was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when humans came out onto its deck!

16fuzzi
Abr 17, 2016, 11:19 am

>15 ronincats: even better!!!!

17ronincats
Abr 23, 2016, 10:27 pm

Garden update:


These are the same as the first two pictures up in message 1. You can see that the plants in the side garden plot have filled out some (the green beans are starting to vine!). The arugula is going wild in the back plot--I let it because it self-seeds.

Final picture of the baby the day before he left the nest:

18ronincats
Editado: Maio 17, 2016, 9:27 pm

Finally had a day at home today, and a cool, overcast day made it a great day to work in the yard. I worked in the front yard today, planting two more plants in the new water-wise bed we created last month (see >7 ronincats:) and mulching it after digging out all the grass that had sprouted up in the bed in the meantime. Also grubbed out the grass around the rose bushes along the front and mulched that--quite a chore as that grass is TOUGH. Fed the tomatoes (in containers) out front, dug out two old, dead plant roots and divested the big multiflora rose bush of all the dead twigs left by my husband's pruning a few months ago. This all involved multiple ups and downs and bendings and I'm feeling it tonight. Tomorrow I will work in the back and side gardens and take pictures of everything.

ETA the two plants I added to the low water bed were a Lobelia Laxiflora and a Buchanan Sage, one on each side of the bottlebrush between it and the sticks-on-fire.

19ronincats
Maio 18, 2016, 4:19 pm

Compare this to the picture in the first message at the top of the thread!

20fuzzi
Maio 19, 2016, 8:00 pm

21qebo
Maio 19, 2016, 8:48 pm

Things are growing more there than here.

22SqueakyChu
Maio 29, 2016, 9:25 am

>3 ronincats: A hummingbird nest! What a cute series of pictures!

23ronincats
Maio 31, 2016, 12:58 am

So, I took this picture last week, but today there were three of these traversing my back yard when I went out this afternoon, about 4 inches long. I tentatively identify them as the Garden Tiger Moth.


I don't know if this is the mature version of the 1.5 inch caterpillars I saw nearly 2 weeks ago in my garden (the ones above have all been in the back yard, not the side yard where the garden is), but it doesn't seem that likely unless there is a great change in the coloration with maturity.



And a butterfly story. Three days ago I saw my first Monarch in my back yard ever! It's been about 13-14 months since the caterpillars I got when I bought my milkweed emerged and flew away, but this has to be one of them. It was hovering over where the milkweed is planted in the herb bed. I rushed in and got the camera. Came back out and it was dipping lower, lower, touched down on the milkweed leaf, I was zooming in the camera lens...and the dog walks over and sticks her nose at the butterfly, which of course immediately decamps and I haven't seen it since. Frustrated!!!!

24qebo
Maio 31, 2016, 11:21 am

>23 ronincats: IIRC the tiger moth caterpillars do get darker as they mature, but CassieBash'll know more..
The question about the monarch is, was it laying eggs?

25charl08
Maio 31, 2016, 5:12 pm

Wow those are some spectacular caterpillars. Shame about those butterfly pics though.

26ronincats
Maio 31, 2016, 8:10 pm

Here is one of the pairs of doves that hang out around the water bowl.


Katherine, I went out to see if I could find any eggs. If they are pearlescent blobs on the underside of the leaves, I found 3. But in the process, I also found this, about an inch long.



Didn't see any of the wooly bears today, but another of these was still chomping on the Swiss chard.


And finally, I can't find my marker and I don't remember (planted it last year, would think an herb), can anyone tell me what this plant is?

27qebo
Maio 31, 2016, 8:32 pm

>26 ronincats: eggs
They're white and shaped like a football flattened on one end. In general, if the butterfly is more interested in leaves than flowers, then it's laying eggs.
about an inch long
Awww.

28ronincats
Maio 31, 2016, 8:37 pm

>27 qebo: Yup, those were eggs then!

29fuzzi
Editado: Jun 2, 2016, 8:08 pm

>23 ronincats: my dog has ruined shots, too. Sigh.

But at least you saw a Monarch!

>26 ronincats: looks like a Rudbeckia. Maybe a yellow Coneflower?

30NorthernStar
Jun 3, 2016, 4:47 pm

>23 ronincats: - love the story about the dog and the butterfly. I wish we had monarchs here.

One day when my dog was younger and we were out walking in the forest I stopped to take pictures of a calypso orchid (my favourite wild flower: 4 inches of tiny perfection). Just as I got it in focus, Hamish's nose came in view and the flower was gone - he ate it!

31fuzzi
Jun 3, 2016, 6:26 pm

32ronincats
Jun 10, 2016, 11:44 pm

>30 NorthernStar: Ah, then you know exactly how I felt!

>31 fuzzi: Hi, Fuzzi.

Okay, so you remember up in >7 ronincats: where we spent several days digging up an 11X5 foot bed in our clay packed front yard and dug in compost and planted drought-tolerant plants. Yesterday we went whole hog on the front yard. Learning from experience, we rented a heavy-duty roto-tiller and tilled up the rest of the front yard. It went from this
to this

and now we are working on this. We had to stop on the second one when we ran out of construction adhesive, but will finish it tomorrow.

33labwriter
Editado: Jun 11, 2016, 8:53 am

Very nice raised beds. Can't wait to see what you plant.

34fuzzi
Jun 11, 2016, 12:50 pm

>32 ronincats: Lincoln Logs! Love it. What are you using, pressure-treated lumber or something like Redwood?

35qebo
Jun 11, 2016, 4:46 pm

>32 ronincats: Oh nice!
>34 fuzzi: Lincoln Logs!
Exactly my reaction. :-)

36fuzzi
Jun 12, 2016, 8:04 am

>35 qebo: showing our age, are we??? ;)

37ronincats
Jun 13, 2016, 4:54 pm

>33 labwriter: Vegies and herbs!
>34 fuzzi:, >35 qebo:, >36 fuzzi: We all are. Loved my Lincoln Log set as a kid.

We are making progress!


And I had a big surprise on the deck this morning when I went out back.


And the green beans in the side garden are FINALLY blooming. And we picked our first ripe full size tomato yesterday.

38tardis
Jun 13, 2016, 5:08 pm

Looks fantastic! Can't wait to see it all overflowing with veg and herbs!

39qebo
Jun 13, 2016, 5:09 pm

>37 ronincats: Not sure you've ever given us a view of the house before. Very attractive! And the raised beds enhance it.

surprise
Awwww, a J!

40fuzzi
Jun 13, 2016, 6:50 pm

I love those raised beds!

What kind of wood are you using?

41ronincats
Editado: Jun 13, 2016, 11:49 pm

>38 tardis: I will give the bed a day or two rest after filling it before planting, but I picked up a batch of plants yesterday. Armstrong Garden Center had a 4 day sale that ended yesterday that was 30% off all vegetables and herbs. The hubby picked up more tomatoes, but I got cucumbers, a zucchini, beets, dill, fennel, rosemary, marigolds, and a silky gold milkweed. Soon!

>39 qebo: Katherine, the caterpillar had disappeared the next day when I looked for it and I could find no sign of any others. I feared the black phoebe had eaten it and didn't want to confess my poor stewardship, so this was quite a shock! A very pleasant shock. I also saw, for the first time, a small monarch out front when we were working the other day. I also saw, for the first time ever, a black butterfly with a yellow rim on the outside edges. Haven't found out what it is yet.

>40 fuzzi: Fuzzi, these are the landscape timbers that Home Depot had on sale for $1.99 two weeks ago. I can't tell you more than that.

ETA maybe a Mourning Cloak butterfly?

42qebo
Jun 14, 2016, 11:21 am

>41 ronincats: poor stewardship
The survival rate is quite low in nature, just getting from egg to butterfly, I've read variously 1%-10%. Sez nothing bad about you if they disappear. It's a dangerous world.

43Lyndatrue
Jun 14, 2016, 12:11 pm

Gah. I just closed the whole browser, and lost my wonderfully informing comment.

Okay, not wonderful, but I did want to point out something, before I forget.

>42 qebo: You missed the part where she said A very pleasant shock. The caterpillar turned into the J you see above, in >37 ronincats: (beautiful shot, btw).

I love all you folks that take such trouble with caterpillars and butterflies.

44qebo
Jun 14, 2016, 12:32 pm

45fuzzi
Jun 14, 2016, 7:07 pm

>41 ronincats: I would have made raised beds with those timbers, also, at that price!

46ronincats
Editado: Jun 14, 2016, 9:01 pm

>42 qebo: Mostly I was kicking myself for not transferring the caterpillar to the potted milkweed on the deck where the birds would be unlikely to bother it and where I successfully raised my monarchs last year. All's well that ends well, at least, and it's a chrysalis today.

>43 Lyndatrue: I have had loads of Gulf Fritalleries, thanks to my passion flower vine, and cabbage whites (unfortunately for my Kale) but these other varieties are new ventures for me.

>>45 fuzzi: Yes, it was such a bargain and so much cheaper than any lumber raised bed could be.

So, the beds are full of topsoil from the local nursery, 1-1/2 yards which is one and a half pickup loads! Tomorrow, we paint the trellises and install in the bed closest to the front door for the cucumbers and then do some planting.

47fuzzi
Editado: Jun 15, 2016, 12:20 pm

>46 ronincats: very nice!!!

What is that huge aloe-type plant next to your porch?

And the gray trailing-type of plant next to it?

The third plant looks like a begonia.

48ronincats
Jun 15, 2016, 5:55 pm

All done! With this side of the yard, at least, and the other half won't be so labor intensive.

Yes, there's still room for plantings, such as carrot seeds and greens. But what is in the nearest includes tomatoes, cucumbers and beets.

>47 fuzzi: Since you ask, here's another view that shows those plants better, as does the picture in >37 ronincats:

The plant with the red is a poinsettia, the fuzzy plant is a type of kalanchoe, and the huge plant is a bird of paradise. Then there is a geranium on the stoop with red flowers as well.

49fuzzi
Jun 15, 2016, 7:36 pm

>48 ronincats: and you've got red trim on your house, too!

I like.

50ronincats
Editado: Jun 15, 2016, 7:45 pm

>49 fuzzi: Yup. There was method behind our madness.

51ronincats
Jun 24, 2016, 12:02 am

So, today we had the first crop from those pole beans you saw in >37 ronincats:--a double handfull! Our heat must have stimulated fast growth.

52fuzzi
Jun 24, 2016, 7:18 am

>51 ronincats: yummy! My mother used to grow great pole beans, Kentucky Wonder.

53Lyndatrue
Jun 24, 2016, 12:14 pm

>52 fuzzi: Hey! I've got those (Kentucky Wonder) in my garden right now. I've grown them before; they're tasty and productive.

54fuzzi
Jun 24, 2016, 7:18 pm

>53 Lyndatrue: that's what I recall. We used to help with the freezing process (pick/wash/tip/slice), though my mother did the blanching herself.

55ronincats
Editado: Jul 2, 2016, 9:33 pm

I do believe these are Kentucky Wonder beans. I'll pick our fourth harvest tomorrow.

So, the last few days have been busy digging out, lining, and filling the path on the other side of the front yard. Tomorrow we dig compost into the soil on the other side of the path to extend the bed we did 6 weeks ago out to the walk, and do some planting there.


The other side is coming along nicely.

56Lyndatrue
Jul 2, 2016, 10:43 pm

All of this is lovely. Your path is marvelous.

57qebo
Jul 4, 2016, 9:50 pm

>55 ronincats: Very attractive!

58ronincats
Editado: Jul 4, 2016, 10:09 pm

So, the butterflies were feeling like posing today! This is a new one this year. It's black with yellow edging on the outside.

but here it is when it opens its wings.

Anyone able to do a quick id for me??
And here is a Gulf Fritillary hovering near the passionflower vine, where it will lay eggs.

I have seen monarchs near the milkweeds in the front and back yards--very nice since they hadn't ever been in my yard before. And there are lots of white cabbage and a big orange cloud butterfly frequenting the salvia in the front yard.

Here is the current state of the north front yard. Ran out of compost/mulch and went to Home Depot to pick up some more to dig in tomorrow, but planted a Mexican sage and another salvia .

And my herbs in the raised bed are doing well.


And finally, look what I found in my apricot tree today. 10 feet up rather than the 5 feet up of the previous nest, momma is setting on the egg, I think. If papa weren't so noisy, I wouldn't have seen it.

59ronincats
Jul 4, 2016, 10:11 pm

Thanks, Lynda and Katherine. Now we just need to select the ground cover for the section on the left of the past.

60CassieBash
Jul 5, 2016, 8:26 am

Hey, just found this thread! For some crazy reason, my computer is being finicky about loading pictures from this site right now; will try again to see the pictures. I really want to see the hummingbird ones!

61qebo
Jul 5, 2016, 8:34 am

>58 ronincats: The butterfly is a mourning cloak.

62CassieBash
Jul 5, 2016, 1:10 pm

OK, it's loading pictures now--I got to see the hummers! Such a cute little baby!

>23 ronincats: and >26 ronincats: I think you're right that the first one is a garden tiger, but the other two may be Virginia tiger moths; Virginia tigers have individual long hairs that stick out like that, while the garden tigers have a more uniform "coat" of fur. My younger sister and I used to call garden tigers "racers" because they were the ones that hot-footed (often literally, I think) across the roads in the fall.

63ronincats
Jul 5, 2016, 1:12 pm

Cassie, these caterpillars were certainly racing across my yard! Welcome to the thread.

Katherine, thank you. I use the butterfly id site, but there are still so many choices.

64ronincats
Jul 5, 2016, 9:07 pm



So we finished the path today with another load of rock, and finished digging in the compost and planting the water-wise plant bed on the right. Plants include narrow leaf milkweed, a showy penstemon, california fuchsia, and Hearst's Ceanothus, all California natives. I'll put mulch on the new area tomorrow. Then we just need to fix the area on the left. I want a drought-tolerant ground cover that can tolerate some foot traffic that isn't succulents. I need to dig in the compost in that area tomorrow as well so it will be ready.

65qebo
Jul 5, 2016, 9:28 pm

>64 ronincats: Looking good!

66fuzzi
Jul 5, 2016, 11:32 pm

>58 ronincats: nice flutterby pics, and hummingbird.

Good to see your progress, too.

67ronincats
Jul 7, 2016, 6:58 pm

Thanks, Katherine and fuzzi. So, yesterday I did absolutely nothing. Oh, except sit on the deck and read Alliance of Equals. So this morning I was up, not bright and early since I'd been awake from 3:30 to 5:30, but before the sun hit the front yard, to finish. Put mulch on the new plantings, mulch on the other side of the path, trimmed the shade cloth at the far end of the path where it met the concrete sidewalk, tied up the cucumber vines to the lattice, and thinned the beets. So, here is the final version of the north front yard.

I'll worry about ground cover later if needed.
And here is a full frontal picture. Remember, bare dirt with tufty weeks was the "before" state.

Yeah, got to move that cooler.
And the cucumbers...

68ronincats
Jul 7, 2016, 7:32 pm

And then, a few hours later, my husband calls me out onto the front porch--"hurry! Are those monarchs?" And here are two monarchs twirling around over the milkweed--perhaps mating behavior? Got one good picture:

Can you tell if it is a female, Katherine? Also, the milkweed is developing pods. Should I remove them or let them ripen naturally?

69qebo
Jul 7, 2016, 8:48 pm

>68 ronincats: Female laying eggs.

>67 ronincats: Wow, that's quick progress!

70ronincats
Jul 7, 2016, 8:54 pm

>69 qebo: Yes, that's obvious now that I pay close attention to the photo, isn't it? Doh!

What about the milkweed pods?

71qebo
Jul 7, 2016, 9:11 pm

>70 ronincats: I've always let the milkweed do its thing. I like the pods, and I like the bugs that like the pods. Apparently if the flowers are cut off before pods form, more flowers will be produced. I don't know what this does to the duration of the plant or its attractiveness to monarchs. Here, flowers are on their way out when the monarchs arrive.

72ronincats
Jul 7, 2016, 9:14 pm

Okay. The tropical milkweed I have in the back yard just seems to bloom and bloom and not set pods, so I wasn't sure if it was good to force more blooming or not. Btw, I noticed the plant on the deck had an aphid infestation at the tips today. Sigh.

73qebo
Jul 7, 2016, 10:27 pm

>72 ronincats: Oleander aphids, orange-yellow? I let them be too, but some people wipe them off.

74ronincats
Jul 7, 2016, 10:33 pm

>73 qebo: Yep, that's them. I wiped them off. Not much of a predator population around here, and I don't like to let them build up in any numbers. Also, the ants here are voracious, keeping them down essential, and so anything that supports them is something I don't want to do.

75CassieBash
Jul 8, 2016, 7:56 am

>68 ronincats: & >69 qebo: Yes, that's a female, and as noted, it's laying eggs. The curled abdomen is a pretty good indicator of egg-laying in any Lep species. But for future reference, this is a neat guide showing the differences between male and female monarchs as well as viceroys, the famous monarch look-alike butterfly. Once you know which markings you're looking for, identification is a breeze!

76fuzzi
Jul 14, 2016, 7:50 am

>68 ronincats: ooh! Lovely. Is the shade cloth you mention the fine cloth across the front fence? I've not seen that before.

Are those two mailboxes you have mounted on the fence?

Congratulations on the Monarchs! I'm a wee bit jealous. And that's a nice picture, too.

77ronincats
Jul 14, 2016, 11:32 pm

>75 CassieBash: Thanks for the reference, Cassie. I've bookmarked it for future use.

>76 fuzzi: No, I mean landscape cloth that goes under the rocks to keep grass and weeds from growing through. The "fine cloth" is actually metal screening that keeps dogs from coming in or out of the yard.
Yes, two mailboxes. We have a small rental house behind us on the alley. And the monarchs are exciting to me because I've never had them around before. I bought tropical milkweed plants at the farmers market two years ago this spring, which came complete with multiple caterpillars who then underwent successful metamorphoses and flew away. Last year was a bust, but this year I've been seeing them a lot.

78CassieBash
Jul 15, 2016, 2:51 pm

>77 ronincats: Monarchs. *sigh* Still not seeing them much here, and no caterpillars or even eggs yet. I'm just now beginning to see the milkweed tussock moth caterpillars (those fuzzy black, orange, and white ones that hang out in large groups when they're small), which is a bit of a surprise since I did quite well this spring with hatching them out. Maybe it's been too hot and dry--the eggs may be dehydrating? That might explain the overall low numbers of caterpillars in general that I've got compared to last year's cooler and wetter season. Until I find some, I'm going to have to live my monarch life vicariously through all the rest of you. Keep the pictures and news coming, please!

79fuzzi
Jul 16, 2016, 9:14 pm

>78 CassieBash: I saw either a Monarch or a Viceroy in western NC this week...

>77 ronincats: gotcha. I've used landscape cloth at times, but prefer corrugated cardboard. :)

80qebo
Jul 16, 2016, 9:21 pm

I saw a monarch flying across a parking lot along a commercial strip a couple days ago, the first I've seen this year. Nothing at the community garden yet. Or in my yard, but I don't know what to expect there.

81ronincats
Jul 23, 2016, 5:02 pm

So, compare this to the picture in >55 ronincats:. Ain't nature wonderful?

Of course, we are having difficulty keeping up with her.

The pole beans are just this morning's harvest.

82qebo
Jul 23, 2016, 9:52 pm

83Lyndatrue
Jul 23, 2016, 10:16 pm

>81 ronincats: You may recall speculating on the pole beans, and whether they were Kentucky Wonders. They are, or they're a good copy. I do love the green beans. Yours look lovely. In season, before they make enough to can, I end up eating them about every other night for dinner.

In answer to your rhetorical question above, yes, nature is indeed wonderful. :-}

84CassieBash
Jul 25, 2016, 12:27 pm

85ronincats
Jul 30, 2016, 2:24 pm

Here is this morning's harvest from the front yard--the new beds!

Those are not our first cucumbers but the two previous were eaten by the hubby before I could get a picture. This is our first multiple cucumber harvest, though, and our first squash.

86fuzzi
Jul 31, 2016, 12:42 pm

Nice job, love what you've done with your front area.

87CassieBash
Ago 1, 2016, 7:56 am

Your harvest is lookin' good!

88ronincats
Ago 3, 2016, 11:03 pm

Time for an update and some comparison pictures!

The zucchini is taking over, but not the bed where I planned, rather the pathway between the two beds.



Look at how the basil and cucumbers have grown since July 7.


Since the carrot seeds didn't sprout next to the zucchini, today we went by one of our independent nurseries and picked up some peppers and Walla Walla onions to go into that space. Compare June 15 with today.


Finally, the Armenian cucumbers are reaching harvest size, and they are quite dry and my husband doesn't like them. These are in the left-hand bed--the ones pictures above are Japanese cucumbers in the right-hand bed.

89Lyndatrue
Ago 4, 2016, 1:18 am

>88 ronincats: Lovely pictures, as usual. :-} Your comment on the zucchini made me laugh, since I usually plant them with a nice cage to protect them, which they completely ignore. They may be sentient...I'm not sure. They're so delicious, though, that we forgive them for being headstrong, right?

90qebo
Ago 4, 2016, 8:08 am

Things sure do grow there.

91fuzzi
Ago 7, 2016, 10:08 am

>88 ronincats: I agree, love the photos.

>90 qebo: it's a good place to grow, year-round as I understand. But then, the insects don't die, either.

92ronincats
Ago 12, 2016, 12:20 am

Lynda, I think the zucchini has completely taken over now!

Katherine, the front garden has been exploding.

Fuzzi, it is fun to grow year-round, although we can't grow the warm-weather lovers during the winter, much as my husband would like to. Yes, insects year round but because we are essentially in a desert, the insects aren't too bad except for the fleas.

This has been a quiet week in the garden, just watering and harvesting. As mentioned above, the zucchini is reaching Little Shop of Horrors proportions. The beets are swelling, cucumbers are growing, and the new peppers and onions are settling in. Conversely, the old bed at the side of the house seems to have peaked. The green beans are getting bugs and slowed in production to practically nothing, and the tomatoes aren't setting on. I think next week I'll tear them all out, leaving the swiss chard and kale that have been shaded out, and consider a fall crop of something or other.

93fuzzi
Ago 12, 2016, 6:40 pm

>92 ronincats: brussel sprouts...

94ronincats
Editado: Ago 14, 2016, 12:09 pm

No, no brussel sprouts. Not that I don't like them, because I do, but because anything in that family attracts pests like crazy here, wooly bugs.

So, today was the day that the side garden came out (for the most part). We went from this


to this.


The tomatoes had browned out except for the ends and weren't setting anything, and the beans has slowed production majorly and had black bugs on the leaves AND, as I found out when I pulled them, what looks like an infestation of mealy worm at the roots. What is left is the cone flower, sage and parsley, 2 eggplants, some weak swiss chard (which may pick up now that it's not completely shaded out), and the sweet potatoes.

95fuzzi
Ago 14, 2016, 7:59 am

Good job.

Not sure what your root pests were, but planting Marigolds "here and there" in any garden helps deter nematodes.

96qebo
Ago 14, 2016, 10:39 am

>94 ronincats: to this
But only temporarily. I look forward to the next round.

97ronincats
Ago 21, 2016, 4:32 pm

So, today I harvested the first crop of beets from the 15"x15" planting of them--we'll have them for dinner. Probably will get two more harvests from that patch.


And this is the current state of harvests from the garden for tomatoes. Of the last bunch, I pureed most of the smallish ones. Probably nearing the end of the harvest cycle for these as well.

98fuzzi
Ago 21, 2016, 4:40 pm

>97 ronincats: I love beets!

99ronincats
Ago 21, 2016, 5:27 pm

>98 fuzzi: Me, too. And note the beet greens, waiting to be sauteed--most delicious greens ever!

100fuzzi
Ago 22, 2016, 12:30 pm

Yummy beet greens!!!

I have some Swiss Chard still alive underneath my Milkweed, may go harvest it and have some tonight. :)

101ronincats
Out 6, 2016, 12:44 pm

Hi, everyone. I'm back after being gone on a trip to see family for most of September. I waited to finish off the summer garden and prep for the winter garden until we got back and that indeed is what I've been doing this week. Sunday was hitting the nurseries for winter garden supplies--plants, replacement soil, fertilizer. Catching the sales for the cool weather vegetable packs and fertilizer while I was at it. Sunday, as I said above, was getting garden supplies and tearing out the zucchini and cucumber plants, which had pretty much died while we were gone due to the extreme heat. We had to replace a rosemary plant and another in our drought-resistant bed, and I got strawberry plants, swiss chard, peas, and kale, and seeds for arugula, lettuce mix, snow peas, sugar snap peas and sweet peas for the garden, plus I need to re-sow carrot seeds--only one sole plant germinated and survived from earlier plantings!

Yesterday, I got my plants and seedlings in the ground and put my pea and sweet pea seeds in hot water to soak prior to planting. I put the upright rosemary "Blue Spires" in the drought-tolerant bed this time, instead of in the vegetable/herb bed (actually I had wanted to do this the first time, but space considerations ruled. Now the bottlebrush which my husband had bought for the low-water bed has given up the ghost and I can put it there!) Also put a pink fairy duster (calliandra enphylla) in the front corner--third plant I've had there so I hope this one takes.


I haven't grown strawberries for a long time--they didn't do well in my side garden bed because, I think, not enough winter sun, so we'll see what being in the sunny new front raised bed does. I have Seascape, Quinalt, and Alpine varieties.


I planted the seedling peas in one of the big pots, now that the tomatoes are out of them. These are sugar pod peas. The seeds I have soaking are Sugar Snap, Oregon Sugar Pod II (snow peas), and Royal Blend Sweet Pea (for the flowers).


And that picture shows you a glimpse of my table project, to go with the old wicker chair. It's painted in the house colors.


The kale and chard were planted where the zucchini plant had been in the other raised bed. You can see the basil and fennel still there, along with onions. The pea seeds will go along the back on both beds, where the cucumbers were.

102charl08
Out 6, 2016, 2:38 pm

Wow, your tomato plants have done so well. Mine have pretty much only produced little ones - but I have had fun putting them into as many dishes as possible. Going to pull them out this weekend as the temperature has dropped and I think they're done.

Good luck with the new plants - hope that they have as much success.

103CassieBash
Out 7, 2016, 8:25 am

>101 ronincats: Winter gardening for me means watering the potted plants we bring in and put on the heated (but poorly insulated) enclosed porch. Gerbera daisies do quite well in particular. "Outside" gardening is always put on hold until it's time to prune the fruit trees and grape vines--and even then we usually run late due to extreme cold and snow. February in northwest Indiana usually isn't pleasant. Keep posting pictures for those of us who miss our gardens during the snowy months (even if we say we're a little jealous!).

104ronincats
Nov 17, 2016, 4:43 pm

So today was the first day I've really done much gardening since the post early in October (post >101 ronincats:). The kale and chard transplants are flourishing and I've been harvesting side leaves, and the kale from seed has grown. The arugula and carrot seeds have sprouted but are still quite small. Peas are up and about 8 inches tall. I've lost two of the strawberry plants, perhaps because the feral kitten family staying on the roof next door have been using the planter as a litter box. Today now that all the tomato plants are out, I planted beets, radishes, leaf lettuce, spinach, and bok choi in that southern bed to join the strawberries, kale, carrots and peas already there. Then I sprinkled coffee grounds all over it in an attempt to keep the cats out of it. There are still some empty spots to allow for succession plantings later. In the north bed, the fennel has gone to seed and I keep cropping the basil but haven't made any pesto yet. Sweet peas are up in the side garden and some green bean volunteers out of season. I have to plan to use the eggplants on my plant so that I can harvest them and pull that plant out. Also going to take out the bed in the back yard--it's too shallow and has too much shade anymore to produce well. I've just been letting the chives and catnip linger on there. I need to move the chives to one of the other beds. I'll post pictures when the seedlings germinate and there's more to see than bare dirt.

105ronincats
Nov 17, 2016, 9:25 pm

Forgot to mention, picked my first 9 peas out front today.

106qebo
Nov 17, 2016, 9:29 pm

>104 ronincats: Gardening vicariously here. :-)

107ronincats
Nov 17, 2016, 9:40 pm

What is ironic, Katherine, is that I was taking advantage of a cool-down into the low 70s to do my outside work, here in the middle of November!

108fuzzi
Nov 24, 2016, 8:28 am

109ronincats
Jan 6, 2017, 7:11 pm

Did some gardening today so started a new thread here for 2017:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/245956#

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