Eggplant just contiues to be the garden hero

Eggplant is clearly the star of our summer gardening. It just doesn't seem to quit producing. I just picked these again this morning and have more than this to pick in another day or two and they are delicious. While other vegetables struggled with some of the soil, heat and lack of water - there was simply no adverse effect to our Eggplant. I would recommend it for any garden!

Earth Box growth - update

Please review my earlier Blog regarding the use and start up of earth boxes. Well, a few weeks later and look at the growth of these pepper plants. They are producing and just continue to thrive. It made a believer out of me!! Thanks to a friend in Florida who recommended to us.

Okra Galore

Okra plants just keep producing. Look at the plants from May and they continue to harvest and harvest.
I just picked these fresh this morning and we have a ton more coming. If you are an Okra fan, plant your own, so much cheaper than buying at a store and they are simply delicious when fresh off the vine. There are also endless possibilities for different recipes with Okra.

Notice the crop from today and these grew like wildfire again in two days when they wee not even quite ready. So, when is Okra ready? It is best at 2-3 inches in length. Anymore than that and they can be difficult to work with when baking. Keeping them at 2-3 inch length at harvest keeps them from getting woody. They are young and tender at this length. Notice the Okra on the left, just too long and went unnoticed versus the one to its right. You will notice when you put a knife through them.

Just enjoying our own Okra in the South!!

What are these critters??

Found these on our parsley just having a picnic. Does any one know what these critters are? Very strange looking. Thanks.

Found this to be Great for dying roses

I found this Tree and Shrub Protect & Feed to be great for the rose shown above that was on its way out. Apparently this liquid goes into the root system and kills bugs once they start to eat on the rose plant. So far, so good, thought I would share it with you.

Baby Frog - where did it come from up here??

Look at this little creature, a baby (really tiny) frog in the corner of a leaf from an Okra plant towards the top of the tree. A great camera shot but I don't understand how it got so far up the plant. Guessing it was born right there. Notice the little eyes opened. It was sleeping when I took the first shot. Can't find mama anywhere in sight. But oh what a find!

Our Friend - the Preying Mantis

Here is a great shot of our garden friend. After so many garden enemies, it's nice to see a friendly face on occasion. Look CLOSELY, hard to see it.

Bug bites again

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Not so Persistent Gardener - Bugs bite again!!

Another bug bite in the garden and it was once again - poor judgement on my part. WEAR SOCKS!!!!!!!!!
LOOK  AT THESE BLISTERS JUST SINCE YESTERDAY - IT IS DISGUSTING AND ITCHY AS CAN BE. I may be visiting the doctor again by Monday.
See my blog below "titled" Safety First  - that took 6-8 weeks to heal that thumb for not waring GLOVES.

ANYWAY, BE SMART, BE SAFE - IF YOU ARE GOING TO GARDEN - PROTECT YOURSELF.
I've used a dermatology solution and Peroxide so far, took some Benedryl and still no results. I see another Doctor visit coming soon!
UPDATE> Found out that these are ant bites - darn. I was in the garden trying to get rid of a large ant hill so this does explain it. Ant bites get itchy then swell like a pimple with a white head. I used Calamine lotion with bendedryl solution and that started to dry it up and stopped the itching.

The not so consistent "Persistent Gardner"

What a season of learning. It is true, the coastal areas of the south are quite different from other regions in the country. Hot, dry, bugs, diseases - you name it. I visited my local nursery today and even the owner admitted to me that after several years, he is still learning.
Takes time along the Carolina coast. Just keep experimenting, eventually it comes around albeit may be costly the first few years. Eventually, I have learned that you know what to plant and harvest and what to buy at your local markets.
Going forward now, into fall crops. Hoping these will be a better experience. Will keep you posted.
Best of luck with your winter crop!

Planting in the South - what I've learned

Wow, what a summer of planting and harvesting crops - especially veggies.
There is a MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH.

July and August are brutal to crops in the South. Of all the veggies we have planted, the
Egg Plant, Sweet Peppers and some Squash were the best. Carrots were ok as were the
radishes but TOMATOES were HORRIBLE.  THOSE WERE A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY.

The heat and wilt disease is just too much to deal with. I am a firm believer in the Earth box but I think it is too late for those as well. Go to earthbox.com to learn more and you can actually make your own earth
box for either the winter or next spring growing season.

It was fun, however, but when you quantify the money spent on Tomatoes and other certain veggies, plus the usage of watering - it is simply cheaper to buy at the local grocer or markets.

Best of luck in the coming growing seasons but believe me, I have studied and tried everything and the SOUTH is simply a different animal for certain veggies!!!

Saving zinnia plant seeds for next year

After having gorgeous flowers all summer from our zinnia seeds (see pictures) we decided to cut a few of these beautiful creatures and got an abundance of seeds for next year. What a cheap way to maintain a beautiful bed of flowers year after year without costing you a penny. We will show you the results when we replant these seeds again next growing season and we do expect a tremendous array of zinnias.