Tomatoes!

I started Juliet (above) and Stupice (not shown) tomatoes indoors. The Juliet are resilient, and I'm harvesting every other day. The Stupice have struggled in the extreme heat and drought. But I'm making meals out of the Juliet grape tomatoes. I have grown a lot of paste tomatoes in the past, but they get ripe all at once. I like the cherry and grape tomatoes because I can collect some for a meal, and then wait a few days for the next meal. Less pressure to keep up!

Above is Chocolate Sprinkles, which was one friend's favorite. Below is Pink Gal, a pink tomato. How cool is that!

I wasn't sure if I was going to get any tomatoes after I dropped the seedlings this spring indoors, and then the cutworms ate some soon after planting, and one plant just completely disappeared (bird? squirrel? alien?). I'm glad I bought a few plants, which were big enough that the cutworms left them alone. Even though it's a little more prone to disease, the Golden Boy is a prolific slicer that is absolutely delicious on a sandwich.

Late lettuce planting

I'm behind on blogging, but I have photos from when I planted lettuce. The above picture is after I've planted tiny seedlings and covered them with wire to prevent bird and squirrel damage and cabbage butterfly damage on the kale.

Here's what happened when I planted seeds directly into the ground...nothing! I see lots of little ants nearby, and I suspect that they feasted for dinner. However, I planted seeds in little containers in the shade outside, and they sprouted and quickly filled the containers with their roots. I planted those in the garden, and I'll keep them evenly watered until they're a little more established. I also planted some pea seeds (no photo yet), also covered with wire to prevent damage. I'll keep you updated. 

Not Much Rain in July

My rain barrels are empty. I'm using water from the dehumidifier, and it's not enough. Whatever I want to survive, I use the hose to water.

The grass is dormant, hopefully not dead. Most of the neighborhood yards are filled with dry grass or sprinklers. (It feels like a waste to water grass when it naturally wants to go dormant to survive the heat.) The empty looking garden bed was filled with lettuce and greens, which haven't survived the heat and humidity. I'm regretting raised beds because I need to water the veggies every day if I want them to survive. And I do. Occasionally I'm watering flowers and more recently shrubs. They need a break from from the extreme heat. And so do the critters. And the humans. Including this human! Rain is forecasted for Thursday, and I'm hopeful. 

Nasturtium Sleight of Hand

Nasturtiums are a really cool plant. PubMed states that they are a sources of  "trace elements and bioactive compounds which can be easily absorbed by the human body." I planted "Moonlight," starting the seeds indoors until the plant was a couple of inches. I had problems with getting them started from seed in the past, perhaps because we have a lot of squirrels. 

I read online (not from a scientific source but I was getting desperate) that planting nasturtiums with squash confuses squash vine borers. I'm happy to report that I've been getting a steady supply of  zucchini. I have one pollinated pumpkin (so far). These photos are just before our extreme heat wave. But you can see how the flowers are similar in color. I don't know if the confusion works or if it's because I have a lot of plants. That was the extension educator's advice--plant more. Hope is an intravenous solution, flowing through me, keeping me motivated to garden another day. 

Goodbye, viburnum. Hello, dogwood!

Above is a photo of a nice, healthy dogwood shrub.

And this is a dying shrub. The cranberry bush viburnum have been spectacular bushes. And the wood boring beetle larva thought so, too. I snapped this branch off at the base. Below you might be able to see the sawdust they left behind.

Below you can see how much dead wood there is. The plants are really struggling.

And no wonder! The bark is chewed all the way through, all the way around. 

After we cut out the dead stuff, the photo below shows what was left. Not much. And we were able to dig it out pretty easily. I was pretty sad because I loved these bushes--flowers in spring, red fall leaves, and red berries in winter. But I decided to think of this as an opportunity. Time for something new...

My choice is Neon Burst dogwood, a hybrid. The chartreuse leaves will be a nice background to my native plants, and the leaves' color is supposed to be red, purple, and orange in the fall. I will protect them this winter so rabbits don't get to them as they establish themselves. 

Fruit for Humans

I've planted fruit for humans: cherries, juneberries, and strawberries. But wildlife is eating quite a bit. The cherries are devoured the very moment they turn ripe (see below). The cherries have a smaller seed to fruit ratio compared to those from the store. I've picked a few underripe ones to try them. I didn't cover them with netting this year because there aren't that many. Also, the trees look like they're covered in jewels!

The serviceberries or juneberries (below) are also getting eaten quickly. I saw a bunny reaching up to eat berries from the lower branches. They're mild like blueberries with more seeds. I'm flirting with the idea of making muffins, but they get eaten by wildlife pretty quickly.

This has been a good year for strawberries...and pea pods. How do I get that many berries?

Netting! Even with netting, the clever animals will get some berries. I've seen birds land on top of it, which is why I use rounded bamboo stakes to keep the netting off the ground in the middle. Small critters find any tiny gap. Even ants have joined the berry party. I'm not too worried because I get the majority of them.  At the farmer's market yesterday, they were being sold for $8 a container. I understand why. There's nothing like fresh garden strawberries. 

With all this food for wildlife, the population is pretty healthy. I have mixed feelings because they eat so much of my garden. (bunny nest below) But, dang, are they cute!

Happy First Day of Summer!

Here are some garden pictures to celebrate the first day of summer. Above mock orange. Below peony

Strawberries are ripe!

The pea pods are ready, and the beans are growing well.