April Tarps make . . . July green beans?

 Blessings, Darlings!

I'm really pushing myself on this day off, to get stuff done in the garden. But first I have to make 'tarps' to put over the soil (to keep the weeds down) by taping black plastic garden bags (cheap, from Costco) together.

I HATE using plastic in the garden. But I've been so horribly low on spoons that every 8 X 8 area I make tarps for and get the tarps in place on is an area that some day soon, when I have spoons, I'll be able to plant fast and easily. If I can just cover the entire garden now, in April, then planting in May and June will be easy.

The problem is finding spoons in April. The plastic bags I've had forever, so they are here. The duct tape is here.

Spoons, as always, are on back order.

 

Frondly, Fern

Detailed garden update.

 Blessings Darlings!

Today ... like most days this week ... the forecast has been 'today will be much cooler than yesterday was'.  Today ... like EVERY day this week ... the forecast LIED.  It's still hot and miserable out.

My plan in the garden this year was to try to match most of what the garden produced with the amount of veggies that we eat fresh, other than my experiments with growing potatoes and dry beans.  I'm doing okay at that goal!  Yay!  Not all of the success has been because I planned well, tho'.

We haven't gotten ANY tomatoes from the plants I purposely put in yet.  We're eating the ones off one of the volunteer tomato plants.  I have no idea what its genetics are, but it's putting out about 8 oz round fruit.  Hell, one of the plants I bought and planted (pink brandywine) hasn't even set fruit yet!

I've only planted two plots of green beans this year - we had WAY too many green beans for eating last year, and I didn't want to mess with canning them this year.  I only planted the second plot late, two weeks ago, so we've not gotten any from that plot.   But since I wasn't after beans-for-canning, I planted my favorite bush beans this year - Contender beans. Last year I planted my second favorite, Tendergreen beans.  Both produce for a longer period of time than green bean varieties for selling or canning, such as Jade.  Now every few days, altho' I expect that patch to be played out, I still harvest at least a pound of beans.  ALMOST too much for us.  The second plot has half the number of plants in it (and can be protected from frost, since I did plant them a little late.)

When we get a cool day, I'll harvest the potatoes, and evaluate that harvest.  I put in 15 seed potatoes of Yukon Gold.  I'd rather have put in some russet potatoes, but this was the only option at the store at the time.  Things got SERIOUSLY sold out due to folks suddenly gardening due to Coronavirus this year!  I didn't to a great job of making sure that the potatolings were covered by straw to protect them from the sun over the season, so I'm sure that I'm going to have a problem with some of them being too green to eat (the green produces toxins), but it's still going to be interesting.

I lost the one grey squash zucchini to bacterial wilt, but got 3 squash off of it before it died.  The ONE yellow crookneck heritage squash has been producing more than we've been able to eat.  This is with using it for stir-fries, raw slices for dips, zoodles in place of pasta, and just cooking and eating it as a 'regular' veggie.  The plant is now dying off, slowly but very surely, so we won't be getting much more from it.  My husband is grateful for that.

Turnip and beets were about perfect.  Put in 12 or 15 of each of them.  Rutabagas ... I don't do well with those.  They didn't survive transplanting.  The 'volunteer' dill - I had one scrawny plant last year, so I just let it go to seed, and it gave me 1 plant this year - is doing well, but I'm letting it seed itself again.  If I get enough plants next year, and put in some Jade or other canning beans, I'll use some for dilly beans.  And maybe for dill pickles - this year I've not gotten any cucs yet but do hope I'll get a few from my late planting.  I've gotten enough basil for fresh use (barely) and to dry some for the winter, but not enough for the Spawn to make and freeze pesto.  Parsley has stayed alive, but not grown enough to harvest and use.  I've harvested lots of spearmint, oregano, thyme, and sage.  Rosemary is ... limping.  I'll be happy if it survives the winter.

The one bell pepper is doing okay, but not great.  The hot peppers are producing tons of peppers - I might skip growing them next year, and just smoke or dry these.  Next year I want more sweet peppers and maybe some shishitos, I really loved those last year.

General catching up

Blessings Darlings!

On top of the attention that I've been giving that latest 'list', life has been busy around here.  A lot of extra money came IN for a change, instead of going OUT, which is always nice.    I've been spending lots of time dealing with the garden - I'm being buried in yellow crookneck squash, and the beans are coming in from the first planting.  The second planting is being eaten, probably by voles, so I'm going to have to vole-treat the garden again.  Bacterial wilt has hit the grey zucchini and the volunteer spaghetti squash.  The potatoes are about ready to be harvested.  The Swiss  Chard is now at the point where it can handle all our sandwich 'lettuce' needs, and maybe an occasional salad as well.  Tomatoes are still all green, tho, and I fear that they are all determinant and will all ripen at virtually the same time. 

I need to plant the fall crops of beets, radishes, turnips, and rutabagas.  But it's really hard clearing nasty weeds when it's so hot and humid, and too much of my useful time is spent watering the other veggies. 

At dusk and near midnight (after the nightly offerings) I sit outside as much as I can, discussing things with the various Spirits/Gods/ancestors/etc.  Great stuff, but the pollen I'm exposed to then along with the pollen from the garden work has been killing my eyes.  I might be driven to allergy eye drops, but washing my eyes every few hours seems to at least make it less bad.

I'm seeing odd stuff in the skies.  One was probably just a satellite reflecting sunlight.  The more unusual was a 'fleet' ... well, 6 ... planes, not in formation, but 'in a row' over a few minutes around 11:30 pm, all flying west or west/southwest.  That's not normal, especially now with less air traffic.  It's not like I'm living on a flight path in and out of O'Hare any more.  It's not a normal thing here - and as I said, I'm out there every night watching the skies now. 

Why am I watching the sky?  Because we're in the summer meteor time.  Not peak Perseids yet, but it's time to start watching for them.

Life  in these unusual times keeps going on.  Statistics on cases and deaths from covid 19 are no longer being published by the CDC, and no one trusts where the data is now going to.  States are admitting to new highs in cases and deaths, but HHS (does it stand for the dept of Health and Human Services or Happy Horse Shit?) claims that both are not increasing.  Okay, Boomer.



Most jobs lost due to Coronavirus shut downs are not coming back.  This is the last week when unemployment is being supplemented with Coronavirus stimulus money of $600 a week.  That's been making a huge difference in my financial life, since I only get $170 a week from unemployment.  Since the Chubby Hubby is over 70, he's getting social security retirement money, but that doesn't pay all our bills.  With the 'regular' unemployment, there will be a gap between income and what we have to spend each month.  We have the savings to cover that for rather a while at this time, fortunately.  I really do NOT want to work again until it's actually safe to do so.  That isn't going to happen for ... quite a while, I fear.  I'm sure we don't have that much money saved.

There are still protests daily over the police killings.  The police have responded by calls for them to stop being abusive by increasing their abuse of citizens.  And teaming up with Federal hired hands to dole out even more toxic gasses and 'non lethal' weaponry.  It's a shit show.  Mayors who aren't reforming their police force complaining that the Feds are attacking protesters ... when the feds are doing exactly the same things that their own police have been doing. 

While all this is going on, and I'm writing e-mails and calling congresscritters, I'm still sitting in my back yard, watching the skies.  It's totally surreal.  Wars and rumors of wars, but not where I am.  Mind you, the next city over, Martinsburg WV, has had monthly protests for YEARS now, over the police shooting of a schizophrenic black man there.  So it's not FAR away from me.  Links to the story below - the courts have finally done a little (the ending of qualified immunity is BIG).  But it took over 7 years of protests to get this far.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/family-of-man-fatally-shot-by-police-reaches-35-million-settlement/2020/07/21/da918e9a-cb6c-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/u-s-appeals-court-rejects-qualified-immunity-in-police-shooting-writes-this-has-to-stop/2331918/  

I wish I felt that things would improve soon.  That a safe and effective immunization would be found fast for the pandemic.  That institutionalized racism would be dealt with.  That the police would be reformed and get the KKK out of their ranks.  That we'd get a sane and honorable president.  That people would get science savvy and not be dickheads.  I just don't see an end to this shit show.

Welp. that's it for now.

Frondly, Fern

Ecentric Energies.

Fuck, I had most of a post written, and was finishing up with some shit about the Mercury Retrograde screwing up communication, and fucking Blogger erased my entire post.  Irony is some bullshit.

Blessings Darlings!

I guess I'll just have to start this post again.  After I drink some water, because I am also over due on that.  You get yourself some water, too.  I'll be right back.  And, no, my husband has NOT yet made me that little every-half-hour pop-up for my computer, reminding me to drink some water.  It's still my own responsibility, and I'm not doing well at it.

I've been getting lots done in the garden since my last post.  The phone has been ringing a lot. Laundry washed and hung.  The landscape plastic is down.  Replacement tomato plants in.  Many big ass weeds pulled.  Garlic harvested.  12 heads of garlic, and not huge ones at that.  Enough to last us 3 months, IF I didn't want to save some to plant this fall. I discovered that my cucs aren't sprouting because the seeds are 6 years old.  So I went out and bought a few cucumber plants.  Not ideal, but the cucs will still be better than store bought

The internets are full of people going on about new moon, and eclipse, and summer solstice.  And retrogrades.  Retrogrades aren't a thing I worry about - I use their occurrence as a cue to back up computers and check status of insurances and such.  Do the maintenance that you know you should do.  It's not a big deal. 

But, sure, there are a lot of different energies out there, and folks are aware of them.  They also think that they can control them.  Or 'harness' them.  On the whole - they can't.  And add to the not great ability to control or harness the rare assortment of cosmic energy, even I admit that with both Venus and Merc retrograde that communication is more difficult ... you're not going to be clear in your statements of intent.  Being unclear in THAT means your magic is going to be more inclined to fail to begin with.  So my magical focus this weekend is very very very ... grounded.  I'm clearing ground.  I'm putting in seeds.  I'm harvesting what I've sown.  I'm eating what I produced.  I'm sharing it with others.  I'm trying to perfect a recipe for Strawberry Lemonade.

Maybe I just don't have the spoons - or the loom - to weave with these energies.  Maybe as an old white woman it's my time to step the hell back from doing to weaving and let the next generation of weavers take it on, with my support.  Yes, of course I'm struggling, like everyone else, with depression with all the coronavirus disruption and the evidence of failure in progress that my generation produced, as well as my 'usual' depression.

For now, tho', I'm planting cucs and beans and whispering encouragement to my potatoes and beets.  While Florida has just had over 4000 new cases of coronavirus in one day.

It is what it is.

Oh, we're in Fly Season here on the cattle farm.  At this point it's the middle sized slow flies.  I smashed at least 18 of them so far today, and there is at least one more left.  We had the big horse flies two weeks ago.  In about a month, it will be the somewhat smaller but VERY much faster flies.  And there must be some big wasps nests around, too - there were 6 paper wasps eating the clothes pins on my clothes line as I tried to hang clothes today.  I wish that the swallows would do something about them ... except that the wasps eat other bugs. 

Frondly, Fern

I'm awake!

Blessings Darling!

So I slept most of yesterday.  Then I slept all night.  Today I'm back at work.  Worked in the garden. weeding and watering.  Worked cleaning house, scrubbing the shower stall.  Always loads of fun, that.  Did the exercise bike thing  Have researched 'how to bake bread in a slow cooker', but I fear that the product will mold as quickly as bread baked in a breadmaker molds.  Oh, I'll try it, but I will be looking at it carefully.

I've had almost all of my 5 servings of produce today, and it's still early.  Go me!

Basically, got a lot done, but ... it doesn't feel like I made any progress anywhere.

 Would like to be organizing monthly Pagan/witch meetings at the coffee shop in Books A Million, but that has to wait for Coronavirus to like, drop.  Which it isn't.  I don't know what I'm going to do when things open up.  I've got 3 different 'high risk' issues going - and while I'm working on the weight and high blood pressure, I can't reverse my age. 

Well, that's that for today.

Frondly, Fern

These Dreams

Blessings Darlings!

Oh, what a dream last night!  I was YOUNG again - middle school - and got my period.  But my mind and attitude were in my current settings.  I was writing revolutionary stuff on the walls of bathrooms with it.  Then segued into high school, driving with friends, and listening to CSN both for the amazing harmonies and for inspiration for continued political action.

So I give you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2PH-prm8M4 
It's not that we don't know.  It's just that we don't want to care.

Worked in garden.  My back hurts, and I'm unhappy.  Tomorrow's going to have a heat advisory, and I told my back that I should get back in the garden this evening, and it cursed me out and refused to cooperate.

Frondly, Fern

Magic for Justice.

Blessings, Darlings!


Today, in a FB group:  "Does anyone know any spells for justice?"
Responses: 1 - "Justice Candle" - that includes a burnable item of the target.
2 - Binding and banishment spells could also work
3 - Be swift, be just, thou who rules our lust. For time is with us, and with time all shall be dust.
4 - And then I took it, possibly places the OP didn't mean it to go ... AND added a focus on multiple layers of magic:
 "For all big workings like this - you're going to need a multilayered approach.
For the first spell, the MacroSpell, Put it under a God or Intelligence or Angel or other spirit that relates. Jupiter and Hecate are always good for this, but Themis or other spirit that relates is also good. Give offerings, tell them what you're after. REPEAT AT LEAST MONTHLY.

Then micro working for every 'little' action. Involve spirits/energies for stopping qualified immunity for police. Ending the school to jail pipeline. For ending the militarization of police. For promoting civilian oversight of police. For the various aspects of justice in the criminal court system. And in the jail system. Do workings to get good media coverage of your events aimed at systemic change. Do sweet jars on local officials whose help you want. Hot foot and use war water on the offices of candidates that are problematic.

And be prepared to do daily work - both spell work and mundane work - for decades. It's going to be a marathon." 

Oh, I later added "Oh, if you mean for a single person going to court - keep the first part. Then do sweetening spell on the judge, on investigators, get dirt from outside the courthouse to use in a spell on the entire building. Do a confusion spell on the prosecutor if you're the one on trial. Do a clarity spell on your lawyer if that's the defense lawyer.   Reverse those aims if you're not the defendant.  Do a glamour on yourself so you look particularly innocent or victimized or believable." 

Meanwhile, around the country - Corona virus still spreads.  Some areas hospitals are full up, or even at 125% of ICU capacity.  We're still self quarantining, and wearing masks in public.

Meanwhile, in my back yard - planted green beans.  It's hot and humid.  Dealing with car repairs.  Water pump on Prius is going, and the dealer didn't do a previous repair right on something else.   Need to get off my ass and exercise.  Which I hate to do even more than my usual hate to do when it's hot and humid.

It's one of those days in my household where we particularly wish ... that everything was better.  That the Spawn and I had jobs.  That everyone had justice.  That poverty and other lacks were being addressed. That ... we were young and fit and had most of our lives ahead of us, rather than going full tilt into inevitable and relatively rapid decline.  As a result - we're having a meal that's too fatty and high carb as  'comfort food'.  Oh, I did exercise.  No one else did. I don't even know if I'll get the guys to take a walk with me tomorrow.  But Fettuccini Alfredo they are willing to eat as a family.

Tuesday, Sunny and Cool.

Blessings Darlings!

We haven't quite gotten this 'shop only once a week' thing down yet.  Between the store pick up/delivery stuff being dicey and ... well, me being unable to estimate how much half and half we use in a week right now, we're at shopping every 6 days rather than every 7 or more days.  The Spawn is out shopping today, with a long list and vowing to hit several stores.  I'd sort of rather that he'd hit just one and get what he can there, but he's a grown man and able to make his own decisions. 

Even if he disagrees with me.

The storms of yesterday have moved out, it's sunny but WAY cooler today.  I need to get the hills for the potatoes set up and then plant the potatoes in them.  I started more seeds yesterday - more basil since what I planted before didn't sprout, and I've little hope in these seeds either, new seeds/new packets of sweet bell peppers and cayenne peppers.

Today I finished making hills for my potatoes, and planted the seed potatoes in them.  For once - I had the exact amount of seed potatoes that I needed.  It's a miracle!   I'd like to make the hills taller and wider, but at least they are started.  These are white potatoes.  It's a month too early to plant the sweet potato slips, unless I do them in pots and take them in on cold night.  And the next week or so is going to have COLD nights, so ... nope.

Next in the garden I'll probably direct seed spinach, and transplant the radishes.

Spawn shopped - Aldi's had everything on the list except flour.  And I don't have a DESPERATE need for that yet.  So we're good for another 5 or 6 days, depending on when we run out of milk.

Yesterday I spend 5 minutes on my exercise bike.  Knees weren't happy, so I stopped.  Knees weren't thrilled all last night.  Knees are downright pissy today.  Well, I got a data point, didn't I?   

w00t!  First fight with my husband during quarantine!  Will the good times NEVER end?

Frondly, Fern

Cool, damp summer

Blessings Darlings!

While we DID have a dry month early this summer, on the whole this summer has been coolish and dry.  There have been less days over 90 degrees than usual, and rain levels have been more than usual since the early hot dry spell.

So now I have issues from those factors in my garden!  I've only lost a couple of zucchinis to end rot from the rain, but on top of those losses some of the zukes haven't been well pollenated - they grow right the first few inches then sudden narrow and don't develop the rest of the way down the fruit.  Others, while properly pollenated have seemed to started to hibernate instead of finishing growing.  And my tomatoes are not just waiting for a few hot days to suddenly have hundreds of them suddenly ripen all at once - the indetermanent ones that ARE coming ripe one at a time all have big cracks at the stem end, the standard sign of too much water. 

I'm concerned I won't get any of the sweet potatoes, as they need rather a lot of days over 90 degrees to move from forming vines to forming tubers.

By the way, the DE didn't do squat for any of the bugs on the beans.  I don't think I'll be getting even enough beans for a dinner side dish, let alone freeze or can any.  The leaves of the beans look like delicate lace.  And the daily rain means that anything I use on the plants gets promptly washed off.

To paraphrase the folk saying:  humanity proposes, nature disposes.

Frondly, Fern

 

It's Zucchini Time!

Blessings Darlings!

So ... Zucchini.

I gave 3 to Suz today (and then we went out and picked blueberries, so I have 9 pounds of those to process).  And I had half a cooked zuc left, and one whole fresh one in the fridge, and then harvested one more.  So my lunch was pasta with the cooked zuc added.

The Chubby Hubby likes to have something hot with his lunches. Often that means leftovers, but as much as possible I steer him to soup.  So I made zucchini soup.  Well, a vegetable soup that featured a lot of zuc.  Three cups water, 4 boullion cubes, one cubed carrot, most a zuc (cubed), and a large handful of dry egg noodles.  He was happy.  He ate some zuc, so I was happy.  There is soup left for tomorrow, so we can be happy again tomorrow.

I may try Suz's recipe of battering sliced zuc, drizzling it with olive oil, and baking it next, because clearly I have to keep coming up with recipes.

Frondly, Fern

Hard Won Gifts

Blessings Darlings!

As I noted a few days ago, we have a bit of a heat wave here.  Today will be another hot humid day, and we MAY have air pollution warnings - DC has warnings, but I don't know about the Blue Ridge.  But I digress ...

As a result of the heat wave, I was out working in the garden very early today, while the temperature was in the lower 70's.  Oh my goodness, it was sweet outside then.  The birds were chirping, no tractors were running yet (either mowing lawns of my neighbors or cutting hay), the breeze was NOT from the cattle barns, etc. 

I, of course, was sweating exactly the way a pig doesn't.  This is because to be more intimate with my immediate land base I work my garden by hand.  I worked the bean bed again today, with the days work being taking a spade (and not a shovel) and turning what would be topsoil (if I was still in Illinois).  Here in my little corner of Appalachia it is NOT topsoil - it is clay.  Heavy red clay.  I need to do another round with that now broken bed, and work compost into it so it is ready for the seeds.

Heavy Red Clay.  I looked at those first spadefuls, and a soft voice said, "You know those runes you want to make? They can be made of clay."  I went back to the garage and got a bucket.  And a lid.  By the time I had the bed turned I had 4 gallons of great red clay, 13 pieces of quartz .... and a blister.

Because the real gifts of the Gods are their quiet voices.  Not in them doing the work for us.

Frondly, Fern

Too Windy to be Green

Blessings Darlings!

The wind is killing me today.  I'm one of those traditional types who prefers to do laundry on Mondays ... and dry it on the line.  But in winter/early spring, I can only get one load dry on the line on a GOOD day.  So I end up doing laundry pretty much every available day of the week!

So I hung today's laundry - linens.  Big top and bottom sheets, which catch the wind.  And boy is there wind today!  I had to come in to the house to put gloves on, because the wind chill while handling wet laundry was killing me.  In the 2 hours since I hung the laundry I've been out there twice to recapture what has blown off the line (and I put a LOT of clothes pins on each piece) and re-hang them.

And the wind hasn't just been screwing around with me on that.  The newspapers and cardboard I used last week to help smother grass in the area I plan to garden in have had their protective heavy mulch blown off - I've been chasing after them in my 3 acre yard (and I think I see some in my neighbor's yard as well). 

The weather folks promise that the wind will die tonight ... if I make it that long.  And if we get the promised snow storm on Wednesday, that will help settle the garden, but with rain starting on Tuesday and the storm on Wednesday, those are at least two more days I can't hang laundry. 

I'm going to get a nice HOT cup of tea now.

Frondly, Fern

The First Aches of Spring

Blessings Darlings!

I started working in the garden today.  I have to move fast so I can get early spring crops in, well, in early spring.  I didn't finished putting mulch down to smother the grass last fall, so I have to do it now.  Also, at least part of the garden should be covered in plastic so the earth can warm faster to be ready for the spring crops.

Seeds are on sale, for 50 cents a package, at Aldi this week.  I'll also see if they are available at a dollar store type place around here for less. 

What I started doing today was covering more of the garden with a layer of news paper topped with dead grass today.  The grass doesn't blow away in our wind, while the news papers DO blow away if not covered.  I used up one full 'book box (1.5 cubic feet) of news paper.  I used the grass that had grown up at the fence line last year, and had died back over winter - thus saving me having to use the little bit of pricey straw/hay that I still have. 

With what I got done today, about 2/3 of the garden is covered.  The remaining 1/3, of course, is where the grass is tallest and it takes more news papers and heavier amounts of dead grass/hay/straw to cover it.  The 2/3 done also needs some spots dealt with where grasses have managed to push thru' the news papers.

Where does a cheapie like me get news papers?  Most of mine are free - I got a free subscription to the Wall Street Journal!  We also do subscribe to one news paper, for local food ads and coupons.

I didn't work in the garden ALL that long, since I only used up that one box of news papers.  But, holy cow, am I every achy!  My legs say I was doing a lot of stooping, my shoulders and arms are talking about me 'harvesting' the dead grasses by hand.

But it has to be done - it's about 2 weeks 'till potatoes can be planted, and spinach and turnips and beets and such should be going in soon as well.

Good eats!

Frondly, Fern

Autumn

Blessings Darlings!

Fall is an insanely busy time around here.  The Chubby Hubby has caught up on work after the summer conference he teaches at and is involved in new projects, for one thing.  For another, the weather has finally cooled off so I'm doing more things.  Meanwhile, the garden hasn't really slowed down yet. 

The first thing I did with the cooler weather was do the sewing I'd put off all summer.  In late spring I'd taken all the clothes that needed patches and other repairs and gotten them ready to be worked on.  Mostly that meant that I'd ironed or fabric-glued patches in place, intending to sew the the patches on more securely.  Since the clothes were all long-sleeved shirts and long pants, they didn't need to be done immediately.  But I discovered that during the 100 degree days of summer I was .... disinclined .... to sit with material covering me, doing the sewing in my lap (knee and elbow patches have to be sewn by hand here, I don't have a sewing machine with an long narrow plate to slip them over). So suddenly it was 'patch or die!'  or at least "patch or everyone will have to wear their GOOD STUFF around the house, leading to them wearing out into no longer being the good stuff".

It took a few weeks, but the winter stuff is now caught up on.  Which means I'm identifying summer stuff that needs work.  Why do the underarms get holes in them?  I understand the holes in the front of the shirts - we have cats. Cats have claws. Cats poke holes in things.  Those holes I'm going to do some embroidery over.  I'm thinking of doing protective runes.

I've also started the fall round of carpet shampooing, and all the rest of the fall cleaning.  It's a constant battle against cobwebs here! 

And I'm working on harvesting every wild herb that I can.  I'm sure that this is embarrassing the Spawn, who is often with me when I suddenly stop and grab, say, a nice mullein plant, or cut some grape vines, or dig up some chickory roots.    And then I have to clean them, dry them, store them. 

And, as I type this, tomorrow in October 1.  Which means Samhain is coming.  With my 9-day personal prep for that (see this post), and coven ritual, and maybe Audience with the Ancestors with the larger tradition .... busy.

What's on your plate for Autumn? Are you preparing for the Cold Times, for Samhain? Clearing the way for introspection or study?

Frondly, Fern

Today's Haul

Blessings Darlings!

Just in from the garden and tabulating today's frugal harvest:

2 cucs, 9 oz total
1 zuc, 12 oz
green beans, 12 oz

Tomatoes are still totally green. Vines from the purple sweet potatoes still trying to take over the garden, but I have no clue if the sweet potatoes are growing under the earth.  No sprouts yet from the lettuce and spinach.

We ARE falling behind in eating the beans and cucs, so Suz is going to get some as gifts.  If we can work out our schedules!

Frondly, Fern

Summer Scarcity

Blessings Darlings!

The Chubby Hubby is home from his business trip and visiting his mother (at this time she's NOT going into a nursing home).  My barely-there garden is peaking, at 2 pounds of beans and 4 cucumbers a week.  The weather has cooled down to merely summer from the incredible heat and humidity of this last July.

As is always the case after CH's summer trip, we're broke. We'll have to take money out of his IRA to pay bills, and the Spawn will probably be buying all our groceries.  Luckily, they are understaffed at work so he's getting more hours than usual.  Unfortunately, since he was at work for 15 hours last Friday, he's been hit by a summer cold and been out sick today and half of yesterday.  I have the cold, too.  My sinuses are like Dr. Who's Tardis - they may SEEM normal, but I assure you that they are far far bigger and more swollen than you can see from looking at them from the outside.  They have swolled to house size on the inside.

Did you know that there is a Chinese dish that uses cucumbers as the vegetable?  Well, there are probably several, but I'm referring to Bon Bon Chicken Salad.  I'm making that for dinner Friday night.  Because that's the veggie I have the most of.  Tomorrow will be .... probably a pork or tofu stir fry with bean sprouts and cabbage and a carrot for color.  I sprouted the bean sprouts myself, of course, and grew the cabbage.  I did not grow the carrot.

I'm trying to figure out a way to afford high-quality 'facial tissue' to get us thru' the cold.  I just don't think it's ethical to head to the store that has it on sale, use the coupon that requires we buy two packages of 3 packs each, and then return one of the 3 packs.  That way we'd end up with only the one 3 pack we need, and use the entire coupon on it.

If I don't spend any of the house money on food, or pay the credit cards, then I can afford car insurance.  I'm very glad the garden is peaking now!

Sorry about all the whining.  I'll be more uplifting and discuss puff pastry based treats sometime soon.

Frondly, Fern

Squash Plant Pests

Blessings Darlings!

Lately lots of folks have been blogging about their plans for their upcoming gardens, and sighing about he bug-based problems they encountered last year.  I know that my neighbors and I had LOTS of problems with our squash from bugs, both from them simply sucking the life out of the leaves and from them turning the vines to mush.

Now, unlike my  neighbors, I DID get a really good crop before the bugs toasted the squash plants.  But my squash season ended earlier than it had to.  I don't want a repeat of that.

This year I plan on dealing with the insect problems better than I did last year.  Which is why I've been researching the problems and solutions NOW.

VINES TURNED TO MUSH

The biggest problem, which killed the plants totally, was that the vine turned mushy not far from the roots.  So mushy that the vine literally detached from the roots!

Cause:
I knew that this was a result of squash vine borers in the stem mucking about first, and now know that the mucking about allowed the vine to get infected and turn to goo.

This year's approach:
First, I'm going to plant the vines farther apart - I had them too close last year so I had a hard time finding and treating ANY problems, as well as a hard time harvesting!  

The vine borers like the first foot or so of the vine, I will check it often for signs of rot.  If there IS rot I'm going to cut into the vine and squish the borers, then work on re-rooting the vine farther along it's length.  Like about a foot farther down it's length.  To do this I'll anoint the vine with rooting hormone and mound earth over that part of the vine, topped with some compost or plastic to help keep it moist.  Once new roots form I'll cut off the vine on the 'old root' side of the new roots, to try to keep the rot away.

University of Illinois - where I was an agriculture major - says that the ONLY pesticide that squash borers are not immune to is carbaryl (I have NO clue what that is), and to try applying it once a week.  I'm not trying that myself.

SUCKING BUGS ATTACKING LEAVES

We had a really nasty infestation of these, but while they reduced harvest they didn't kill the entire plant.

Cause:
 We had two different insects at work here in the Mid Atlantic:  regular old squash bugs as well as stink bugs.  They act the same, they are treated the same, they even look pretty much the same - both 'shield bugs' type.  They have different colored eggs, but they are the same size, both lay 'em under leaves, and both lay them in the same pattern.

This year's approach:
First, since I've already determined to have the plants farther apart, I'll be able to check the leaves for egg masses better.  Once found, I'll squish those egg masses!  I may put boards down for the bugs to gather under and squish them there, too.  Yes, both types of insects CAN smell bad when squished.

I might also try diatomaceous earth on these buggers and see if that helps.    Pyrethrins are my back-up plan, if needed. 

BACTERIAL WILT

This wilt can kill a plant in 6 weeks, sometimes even before it fruits at all.  It's not a problem I've had ... yet.  But I'm preparing.

Cause:  
 A bacteria - but it's carried/spread by cucumber beetles.  Smalllish, striped beetles.  If you don't have the beetles you won't have the problem.

This year's approach:
Keeping alert for the beetles will be the first thing.  If I see them I'll probably do the diatomaceous earth, or if needed go for rotenone.  

 These are the main threats to your garden's squash supply.  With out them, two hills of zucchini will feed a small army.  With them, you may not get any zucs, let alone any more nutritious hard squashes. 

Frondly, Fern.

Garden Time!

Blessings Darlings!

Now that it's February it's time to start your garden.

Yes really.

Time to map out what you want to plant, and where, in your garden.  And in what order: if you plan on planting some spreading vine type plants (squash, sweet potatoes) you can put early harvested crops (spinach, lettuce, radishes, turnips) in the path of those vines.  You'll have eaten and/or stored the food by the time the vines reach that part of the garden.  

Order a few seed catalogs to look over vegetable varieties and get an idea of what area they take up by the time they're harvested.

It's also time to start seeds.  I've started herbs and onions so far - not that they are starting well.  Being low on money I'm using OLD seeds, and only the thyme is doing really well,  Still, one parsley seed is up, a bit of oregano, one red onion.  There's still time for them .... and it's not like my house is kept at 70 degrees as they'd like!

I'll be starting more seeds today, Gods willing and if the creek don't rise.

I don't use grow lights or any fancy set up.  I'm using a sunny room, south and west exposures.  I'm starting the seeds in potting soil and using egg cartons instead of pots.  They are set in old baking pans. I'm REALLY low tech here (oh, the irony!).

In a month or so they'll be day tripping on the deck on warm days to start hardening off.

Considering all the challenges my gardening faced last year (clearing sod, wet spring, drought in summer) I had GREAT crops.  I'm hoping to do as well this year .... AND have better deer protection!

The garden is a fundamental part of everything in both the preparedness / prepper / survival / survivalist line AND in the broke / cheap / cheap eats / broke line as well.  Start now.  You won't regret it.

Frondly, Fern

Purple Sweet Potatoes

Blessings, Darlings!

I removed all the sweet potato vines from my garden.  They go into compost unlike the tomato vines which, due to risk of blight, don't get composted.  While removing the vines I found yet MORE potatoes.  Bringing my harvest up to about 18 pounds.  I'm VERY happy with those numbers, given I had NO idea what I was doing and planted only 3 slips 'lasagna' style over solid clay soil.  These are, after all, a crop that loves SANDY soil, the opposite of what I have!

So, I hear you asking, how are they for eating?  Remember - I've grown these in the wrong soil and in a drought/heat wave, so YMMV.  Not as sweet as most orange sweet potatoes to me, and while the skin on most of them is thin ... just under the skin is a fair amount of fiber which can be nasty.  But I'm sure that I'll learn how to deal with that better soon.

I expect that the leaves are edible, too, but haven't tried them yet.  The deer LOVE them.  I let the deer in at the end of the season, so they could help remove the vines.  Working WITH nature rocks!

So, again - nice flavor, GREAT color, GREAT yield.

Frondly, Fern

Rain.

Blessings, Darlings!

Rain and thunder are happening as I type this.  Which is  typical for this spring.  Which means my garden is FAR FAR FAR from in.

The soil here, being clay, really is sticky and heavy when wet.  And rock hard when dry.  We're trying to turn it, then add compost, but it's been really slow going.  The guy who the landlord hired to mow the lawn is willing to till it, but his tiller needs welding so that hasn't happened yet, either.

So my seedlings wait, rather root bound and impatient.  And I never got the greens and turnips and such in.  I'll try for a fall crop of those. 

How does your garden grow?