Garden Menace is Back

Japanese Beetle Infestation, 2010

Rose bush devastation.

I guess we can add okra to the list of plants the Japanese beetle will devour.

This has just been in the last few days.

The okra planted in the same box as the tomatoes hasn't been eaten nearly as much.  Wonder why.

My attempts at "organic" pest control: a small container with some rubbing alcohol in the bottom, and short stick to knock the beetles into it. Very effective, except when I went back to water there were just as many covering the leaves again.

They haven't seemed to notice the beans yet.  They are bush beans, rather than pole beans--I wonder if that makes a difference.  Also, I wouldn't care if they ate the scarlet runner beans, since I just wanted the pretty flowers anyway, but they haven't seemed to notice those either. 

I haven't looked at the apple tree, but I'm sure it looks just as bad.

I need to find out their range--I'm hoping I won't have to deal with them in Washington!

Box 3: Beans, Peppers, Okra

The vigorous climbers are the scarlet runner beans.  Pretty flowers.

First round of bush beans will be ready to pick this week.

Basil we used in a dish last Sunday--the other two herbs are struggling.  Probably crowded out by the big plants all around them. Perhaps a good reason to put them in the flower bed next time.

These little heart-shaped peppers are growing well.  Gives me hope that we may actually get to harvest a couple before we move.  Looking back, these are the "Sweet Pimento" variety.  Good to know.

Pretty okra flower.

Box 2: Tomato Jungle

Whole lotta tomatoes and one lonely okra.

These were dragging low, so I tied some yarn between trellis and tomato cage to give them a little more support.

Sun Sugars going strong.

More to come.

Early Harvest

While our company was here last week, we had the kids help harvest the garden.

Quite a variety!  There were beets, cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and a few onions.

Mom H. made zucchini bread, and we cooked up the beets for Sunday dinner.  The rest were eaten fresh.

Beets, ready to boil and peel.

Mom H. told me you need to leave about an inch of stem on them, and the root tail while they boil, otherwise the color will all come out. Once they've boiled, you just run them under cold water and the skins come right off.

The greens you just rinse well, then steam like spinach leaves (they taste quite similar as well.)

Yesterday's Harvest

Smaller ones are cucumbers, bigger are zucchini.

I've got a recipe for zucchini pancakes that I want to try.

More cucumbers, last of the peas, some cherry tomatoes, and 3 okra!

I'll have to learn to cook okra, I guess. One friend suggested just cutting them up for soups and stews.  Also, I've thought about adding them to a casserole.

Boxes 1-3

Box 1

The cucumber is climbing the trellis after all...with a little encouragement!  I wrapped some of the tendrils around it and have also threaded the top growth through twice now.  It has 4 or 5 flowers on it already. 

My one zucchini plant is getting big.  Pepper plants not as big in this box for some reason.

Box 2: somehow I missed pictures of this box last week.

The 2 Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes are doing awesome!  The one on the right is already to the top of the tomato cage.  I need to tie strings between the cages and the trellis to give the others a little more support.

Okra closeup, box 2.  Pretty leaf-shape.

Only one nasturtium left in this box.  Jacob pulled up the other one while weeding.  I hastily replanted it, but it seems the shock was too much for it.

Box 3

Those beans are already starting to take over the box.  The peppers are taller in this box, maybe to keep up with the competition, who knows?  Jacob's lima bean has flowers on it, and the scarlet runner beans have started climbing the trellis.  Maybe we'll get some pretty red flowers soon.  Herbs, okra, cantaloupe, and nasturtiums hanging in there.

Garden Box Updates

Box 1

Just realized the cucumbers I planted are a bush variety, instead of a vine.  Oops.

Split up the two cantaloupe, putting one in each box.

Box 3

In the place of the 2 okra plants that got nibbled, I planted sweet basil, greek oregano, and thyme.

Beans going strong. 2 of the 4 nasturtiums up.

Box 4

Looking good!

Garden Boxes

We've had thunderstorms all week, but there was one day that was just hot and humid with no rain.  It was a Wednesday, and even though I had vowed to get all my tomato plants from the Farmer's Market this year, I didn't want to wait until Thursday or Saturday to do it. Jason was home and kiddos were taken care of, so I just went to Ace Hardware and Wickman's nursery, bought all my plants and seeds, and came home and got them in the ground.  I'm glad I did!  It has rained pretty steadily ever since.

Box 1 

 Back row, against the trellis: 2 cucumbers, my Green Zebra tomato plant, a cantaloupe.

In front is a zucchini hill, a stray potato plant growing from last year's potato patch (oops, guess I missed one!), and on the far right are 2 Golden California Wonder bell peppers.  The front right corner is planted with nasturtiums.

Box 2

I decided to put most of my tomatoes in the same box this year and minimize other plants to give them a little more room.  Back row against the trellis: Sun Sugar cherry tomato, Jubilee (yellow, low-acid) tomato, Mr Stripey (red with orange stripes, 56 days to maturity) tomato, and displaced one square up, another Sun Sugar.  The lone tomato in the front middle is a Champion variety.  Far right, in front of the tomato, is 1 okra plant, and once again, the front right corner is planted with nasturtium seeds.

Box 3

This one probably has the most variety.  Back row, left to right, against the trellis: 1 lima bean (from a PAT activity that we took Jacob to--he planted it in a cup and it actually grew "big and tall," so now it gets a chance in the garden.  I don't even like lima beans, but I digress...) In the same square, I planted a scarlet runner bean.  Next square over is a cantaloupe (officially needs 2 squares against the trellis.)  Far right square has bush beans planted.

Next row up, 2 squares of okra, 2 squares of bush beans.  Next row: 1 okra, 2 Better Bell peppers, 1 square bush beans.  Front row: nasturtiums, then 3 squares of Sweet Pimento bell peppers.

I figured the okra and peppers would be stout enough to stand up against the bush beans' attempts at garden takeover.

Spring veggies, with Becca's leg in view as well. :)

Potatoes are getting big and bushy.  Already, my onions seem bigger than they ever got last year.  The beet tops are looking healthy, and the peas have started climbing the trellis.  I planted a couple of annual flower vines, don't remember the name offhand, interspersed with the peas.  If they grow they should be pretty--orange star-shaped flowers with green centers. And I discovered that this one type of peculiar-looking weed I've been pulling up from this bed has been TOMATO plants growing from last year's crop that must have fallen in the soil!  Awesome! I had just planted all my tomatoes, and it struck me how similar these leaves looked.  So I smelled them, and sure enough, tomato.  Not sure which variety.  There's one tall one in the peas that I'm going to attempt to transplant elsewhere, I think.

Here's hoping we get to sample some of the fruits of these labors before we move.