strawberry festival

well, it isn't exactly a festival, but the one strawberry pot has produced quite a few non-stink-bug-eaten berries this year, creating somewhat of a party- a festival of sorts-in my mouth.

lessons learned from the field

as i watched the final (sunny) sunset of this week while listening to the chatter of the kingfisher, i contemplated this past season's garden and the lessons i have learned...

1. smaller is better for me...at least when it comes to gardening...i dont have time (apparently) to deal with my city garden and a fairly large (for me) vegetable patch in a community garden: square foot gardens are the answer.
2. containers also appear to be my forte´ when it comes to edibles and i got a fair amount of food out of my pots...some died in the drought, though.


3. self watering containers are good.
4. self watering containers are good, but other contraptions didnt work that well for me. my fancy upside down tomato planters were weak...

i dumped my spring potato bag after there was nothing in it at the end ( i have since replanted for a possible fall crop)
...my weed blockers didn't work.

5. figure out the edibles you really need and grow them prolifically. work edibles into every possible nook and cranny, because fresh foods rock.

6. get vertical.

7. compost rules...bottom line: it rules!

worst planter ever

why? why would someone do this to these lovely succulents? these victorian-headed planters are nothing but ugly and tacky and will enhance zero people's decors: yuch. hideous...go get a chia pet instead.

what is eating my parsley?

what is eating my parsley? the same thing that's eating my fennel: swallow tail butterfly caterpillars! just as the fennel was coming back after the last round of butterfly babies, an unexpected second batch appeared...i counted 32 caterpillars and am not sure if they will have enough to eat considering the most i have seen previously was six! i put up a little protection from my little wrens because i would love to have a flock of butterflies!

container gardening

this year i tried something different in the garden: i planted every seed i owned! yeah: i am a hoarder of seeds because i buy a pack of 1000 seeds and plant six..then i have leftovers...lots of leftover seeds. so this year i decided to plant everything: every last seed. i now have (50) feet each of 12 types of pumpkins sprouting...9 varieties of winter squash ready to plant... italian parsley, sweet basil, swiss chard, arugula, radishes, chives, leeks, mixed greens, sweet, snap and snow peas , zucchini, fennel and dill in the square foot garden: all erect...eggplants (what?), multiple sweet, hot and decorative peppers growing rampantly...seven varieties of heirloom tomatoes including yellow pear minis...and sweet potatoes. speaking of potatoes: in the potato bags i have russet and fingerlings ready to bear babies, plus random blues and yukon golds ready to go. the strawberry and blueberry pots are doing their thing...and, oh: the onions...i have lots of spring onions. it truly is better to have a successful small garden than an unsuccessful large garden. no need for salad  greens for months...if not years, if i get it together. i just hope i can maintain this fantastic supply chain!!! note to self: buy deep freezer asap.

strawberry pot

the mister snagged these huge concrete pots from a demo site he was working on right before the backhoe dumped them into the trash: nice job! with my huge oak gone (r.i.p.), the berries are flourishing and taste delicious. i just hope i can pick a few before the birds eat them all: cant believe i cant find my critter cover! i must add a note to my master gardener app: clean the shed.

plum peonies

I love the idea of peonies: big gorgeous fluffy heads bursting with color! in reality, mine had always fallen over and became infested with ants, so even if I wanted to bring them indoors I couldn't. but then I ran across these plum peonies this morning: standing erect despite the rain and looking gorgeous! I might have to rethink peonies...

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cactus collection

i collect cacti and succulents: i have one cactus that was found in the yard of my parents new (to them) house in 1968...another plant, a rosary bead succulent baby, was my grandmother's: my dad remembers it being around over 60 years ago. i also have prickly pears in the yard, euphorbias, a variety of hens and chicks and many many different types of sedums. if you dont collect cacti because you dont like needles or refuse to house succulents because you forget they need water occasionally, try these great candles from the candle factory. they will fill a space with ambient light but are not poke-y at all.

ambiente planters

ambiente 2010, the largest international fair of consumer goods was held in frankfurt the week before last- i just forgot about it because i was buried in snow. i picked some of my favorites from the slide show on contemporist, and not surprisingly, they all have to do with gardening and plants!

how to make a cocoon

ask designer mans salomonsen who created one to store fruits and vegetables and grow herbs.

via contemporist.

California Carnivores

Sonoma County-based nursery,
California Carnivores cultivates plants that thrive on creepy crawlers. they have a large selection of  Venus flytraps, bladderworts, sundews, and butterworts: the selection can be overwhelming, but the mini windowsill collection is a good place to start. plants arrive in a heavy-duty pot in a mixture of soil, sand, and moss, and are guaranteed alive upon delivery. each comes with a growing and cultivation tip sheet...just add dead bugs.

what to do with extra produce

extra fruits and vegetables are always a problem: you can eat, cook, freeze, store and give an abundance away, yet there always seems to be too many that rot before you can do something with them...an option i had NOT thought of was...instruments: fruit and vegetable musical instruments! invite your friends over...pull out some power tools...and make sweet music! why not?

vertical planting: not!

i saw this vertical planter on the comtemporist: i really dont like it...maybe if it wasnt shown in such hideous colors.

horticopia

last night while perusing etsy, i found the great shop horticopia, seller of serious succulents and such! not only do they have this amazing spiral aloe, they have a great selection of hens and chicks.

the fennel is back!

after my baby black swallowtail butterflies stripped every bit of green from my fennel, i thought it was a goner for sure, but just as miraculously as metamorphosis, it has come back: yes!

butterflies galore!

i forgot to post an update on my black swallowtail butterfly babies: they hatched! after a driving rain for much of the week, only two chrysalis remained, but on labor day, they miraculously opened ! it was really cool and i feel so privileged to have witnessed something of such exquisite beauty and grace!

chrysalis

woke up this morning and the first thing i did was check on my butterfly babies. the eleven caterpillars ate every bit of green from my fennel plant, stripping it down to a white carcass. today, the beasts were gone, but in the place of four of them were these awesome chrysalis! wow! metamorphosis rocks!

butterfly babies?

in one of my large containers i am growing fennel: its modern; its sculptural; its delicious! this week i noticed some lumps on it that were moving: black swallow-tail butterfly caterpillars!

mini cactus planter

i saw this crazy cactus planter earlier today in the giddyspinster's shop on etsy and i thought "what a great way to recycle your old ho shoes!".
the stiletto shoe has since sold but the giddyspinster has other surprises in her cute shop of upcycled treasures.

today's menu includes stuff from the garden!

with all of this year's personal gardening disasters, there has been some success! the square foot garden i planted ten days ago is doing quite well (?). im not sure why: its august, 96° and we haven't had rain in a while, but i'm just going with it! i thinned the arugula and used the micro-greens along side tomatoes grown in sandy loam from my coastal virginia farmer o'bier to top off today's tuna-fish sandwich: super yummy! not sure if i can do anything with the beet greens i also thinned: i will let you know!