SD'S GOING OFF TOPIC - GARDEN VENTURES & other pursuits '22

[sd]

5-26-2022

wORKED on the Kiwis today, and with LOLO's help, got 2 runs of the 42" top wire in place- Between the 3 main pipe support runs, I installed some rebar across the top of the pipe runs and secured the rebar at each end of the rows to pull the wires taught- at mid spans, I attached some galvanized wire at mid points to the pipe rail supports to assist in supporting the future weight of the Kiwis...

This is a modification of what I have seen on you tube-
Many Youtube Kiwi supports use a 5 wire system- - Commercial growers in New Zealand actually cover an entire area wikth runs of Kiwis and mesh supports overhead... and the Kiwis form an entire overhead canopy during the growing season-

Another grower keeps his Male Kiwi attached closely to a single wire and just a few feet from the female kiwis- And that is what I intend to do- I will allow the Male Kiwi to run attached to the Western top rail- reportedly, a single adult male Kiwi can pollinate 6-8 female Kiwis---But a lot depends on wind, bees etc for pollination- Some growers
actually buy Kiwi male pollen and mechanically ensure pollination of their females with a device to had spray the male pollen....


While I have had this 50' row of Kiwis for years, I now assume that I never had a Male Kiwi to cross pollinate. Unfortunately, on what should have been a better thought out investment, I bought the initial Kiwis from Lowes- and i should have resourced Kiwis from a local greenhouse . I did Buy a Male Kiwi - and also bought an Issaqi Kiwi- but thazt is a different variety alltogether- it's a smooth grape-like Kiwi also known as a "Hardy Kiwi"
This Spring i also bought from a local Atlantic Gardens a container that reportedly has both an Issai self-fertile- thbat also should have had a Male Hardy Kiwi-
That plant is set on the garden side under the 3rd rail-

My expectations are high for seeing potential Kiwis in the next 1-2 years- assuming the male Plant -now 2 years old- will be able to grow and mature enough to flower-
As impatient as I am, I would not have planted Kiwis to wait 6-8 years to get fruits- despite the potential that the vines can last for 60 years...But i did not do much research - at the time- expecting them to produce as quickly as grapes...
Hopefully, I will live long enough to see the "fruits of my labor" -

Of course, I tend to like to engage in "Projects" ....and likely tend to "over do" - and, as an optimist when it comes to growing things, I want to add a couple of Hardy Kiwi varieties and an added FUYU Persimmon----

As a young 5,6,7,8 year old child, I have memories of summer vacation at the grandparents, and riding out to the farm with my grandfather -outside of Binghamton, NY; and occaisionally also my younger brother- My grandfather helped develop different varieties of Apples along with some AG guys from Cornell...but, he was a simple gardener, worker, ,husband, and spoke 5 languages-
My grandfather was the son of immigrants- worked at the Endicott Johnson shoe factory days and at his Brother's farm ....and as a young child, I didn't have to 'work" -
I recall him trying to show me how to harvest potatoes that were hilled up- but when i skewered a few potatoes, my apprenticeship was cut short....

And, when my brother and I got the cow herd running scared back to the barn, by pretenting to be yelling cowboys, we were told we would never be allowed to do that again....So much fun though!

My grandfather would drive back to town and stop at individual houses and drop off vegetables and apples- and talk with the people in a different language.....
He also had a nursery of evergreen shrubs that he grew..
Just reminiscing a few great childhood memories of Life with Baba on the Farm....
I hope to instill something similar with our grandchildren- After all, what is the purpose if not to provide positive memories for those that follow us?

[sd]

5-27-22
On and off rains over the past 2 days, was still able to get a fair amount accomplished-
I noticed that the Male Kiwi appears to be showing signs of chlorosis- and that was quick as i had just planted it this week!
I was concerned it may be transplant shock- although it was supposed to have been hardened off at the growers site.

I'll be adding in some photos here as i go...posting this Friday pm

The Male Kiwi showing a darkening of the veins, lightening of the leaves- generally is an inability to take up Iron -sometimes because of soil PH in some plants-
I know the soil mix is relatively high in ph and so I added peat plus a slow acting soil acidifier.
I'm also starting a dilute foliar spraying with a fertilizer with a higher phosphorous fertilizer 10-15-10...
Today I also mixed up some transplant solution that provides additional iron-
I don't want to kill the patient with too much "care" ...

I also made a sunscreen using some weedblock so that the plant will only receive direct morning sun and dilute sun in the pm.
I also see a similar shocking in some squash plants i set out also this week



PM Shade




The Winter Squash plants were vibrant and green when I put them in early this week-
But I see a similar yellowing of the newest growth that potentially is due to receiving more sun exposure a few days earlier...
Again, this may be more transplant shock & sun exposure than an issue with the soils .
The Squash are set in the edge of the Raspberry bed, as there is plenty of room for the plants to wander, althought I plan to train them up vertically onto the wire mesh ...
It could also be a nitrogen deficiency, that foliar spraying should make a recovery, as well as applying a liquid fertilizer solution-


So far, I have only seen a few June /squash bugs, and the snail/slug problem early in the season was really almost totally eliminated by the $8 box of slug prevention that is organic, safe, and really works-

As we are just getting our 1st harvest of squash and zuchinni this week, the bugs that want to destroy those plants won't be far behind-
I may try some of the bait traps- that really draw the bugs to them- even out of the neighbor's yard into yours if the wind is right- but those bag traps can be effective-
I will also use a product from Organocide that is reported to be BEE SAFE, and also has a fungicide and a natural insecticide-

We have several Hibiscus plants in a bed along the patio that have recently been decimated by something- that is devouring the leaf structure and leaves the stems-
I hadn't noticed this until just recently, and I plan to spray these with the organocide but I will also get a product made by Bayer that fertilizes the plants aND PROVIDES A SYSTEMIC INSECTICIDE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE FOR bEES- and can only be used on ornamental plants and not on vegetables that are consumed.




The 2 hibiscus plants we have have been almost decimated recently- by an unidentified insect- The leaf structure is devoured, leaving the veins of the plant-
The most recent growth shows green leaves, but the prior 2 week's growth is all but gone!
So, the present solution is to initiate a spray on the leaves, and then rely on the Bayer systemic product that we will apply tomorrow- It takes 5 -7 days for the product to be absorbed by the plant- While the Organocide product shoud be effective immediately- but can be affected by rain....




If that was a Pork Chop, I'd say it was gnawed to the Bone!



A Wild Hair Day at the Beach?
No, the Clematis post flowering




A couple of Garden harvests:More than 1 available, but this guy was hollering "Pick Me!"




Winter squash is also planted in the raspberry bed- so far only 1 raspberry survivor, but a few potential transplants are growing outside of the bed .
I thought i'd through some winter squash plants there to take advantage of the wire support and horizontal support wire-- to reduce the amount of traveling across the ground...Just an experiment...with the vertical wire .... saw some videos of melons being grown vertically with a support diaper -or basket to hold the growing melon-
We'll see what occurs as the fruits develop- and what is needed.

[sd]

Tuesday will be a day on the lake Fishing with our Carolina Skiff....


Today- worked on a few garden projects-
Found this trio growing in the mulch


Had a few extra watermelon and canteloupe plants and stuck them in near the fruit trees-
Put a few T post stakes in the ground slightly slanted, and then slid some tall 3" bamboo down over them-
Tied 2 runs of galvanized wire mesh for the vines to grow on-



Peppers are reaching through the concrete wire mesh, so I had to raise the shade covering ....

[sd]

Good Day on the Lake this Tuesday- Quiet, and the fish were cooperating- mostly small-

Got a 2FER on one cast, This catfish along with a small Crappie- on my Crappie setup -3 separate hooks with minnows....
both were released, along with the others- The catfish
We had a good day with temps in the low 90's , and the fishing was fun, but no fish large enough to bring home for dinner-

But a day spent on the Lake with LOLO is a day to be remembered, because we both get to share together things we enjoy- and LOLO usually outfishes me 2:1 !



Tomorrow is a Road Trip 350+ MILES- PLANNED- WITH Our oldest Daughter and her 2 daughters...

tO EDIBLE LANDSCAPING IN Virginia-

ediblelandscaping.com/about.php

I recently had ordered a Male Kiwi from them, and was impressed with the shipping and the quality of the plant-

Had I learned decades earlier, I would have learned to invest in quality plants from a reputable local nursery- not the local Home Depot or Lowes Big Box store-
And- perhaps had a "landscape Plan" figured out - a little bit of research, a little homework- perhaps that Dwarf rootstock would have been the better choice....all things to consider when one has limited resources, or limited space ....

[sd]

Little 350 mile round trip yesterday to Edible Landscaping in Afton , VA- with our Oldest daughter and her 2 girls-
Road trip was good, and the lunch stop outside of Afton at a local brewery/restaurant was great!



I Got some Hardy KIWIS- a Meader male and 2 varieties of females-,Anna & MSU .

Mike, one of the owners, and a staff person -Isabella- were really informative and helpful-
Particularly taking the time to explain to me how they Spur Prune their Kiwis durimng the growing season to encourage spur growth by cutting back a stem, causing it to branch out - and again prune that growth back to just be 4-6 leaves- Mike said he often prunes every 3-4 weeks....
They had several Hardy Kiwi varieties, but they grow them on a single wire, in stead of an overhead trellis- and allow them to Bush out- One of the KIWIS was over 30 years old, and likely had close to a thousand + Hardy kiwis on it -

I also got another variety of Persimmon- ICHI- a dwarf- - They actually didn't have any yet potted up in gallon containers, as they were still developing in some deeper rooting containers, grafted onto the American Persimmon rootstock for better adaptability.

Temps are in the 90's, and it's now June- so as I prepare the places for the new plants, shading them from the direct sun to allow them to adjust to the new location, and include regular drip irrigation- will be 2 of the priorities. Keeping my expectations realistic, the ability for the plants to start to bear fruit under ideal conditions would be a 3 -4 year duration.... One of the plants appears to be 2-3 years old, and potentially could fruit in a couple of years...
Vines are relatively small presently

















The Mushrooms looked like this just a few days ago-


But Now, They don't look quite so prim and proper!



Resembles something you might expect to come across while scuba diving in a tropical coral reef!

Looking forward to follow it's evolution!

[sd]

6-4-2022
Decided to prep the Kiwi locations down near the grape vines- where I had some 50' of open space under the irrigation line -

Since this was near the bottom slope, and Kiwis don't like to have their roots soggy- I am using the landscape mix- soil and a lot of compost, but I also mixed in some sand
for added drainage-and peat to retain moisture- The ph Test on the landscape mix itself came in above +7.0- Alkaline, and the kiwis prefer 6.0-6.5 slightly acidic.
After mixing in my amendments, the mixture seemed to be still alkaline-I added some soil acidifier, which is slow to affect the PH, but will lower it slightly. I also mixed in some Dr. Earth's 3-4-3 organic fertilizer for Acid loving plants- it has some ingredients to acidify the soils-

I dug about a 4' diameter hole, used some of the dirt to berm the low side, and mixed in some of the landscape mix with the existing soils, and filled the remainder up with the amended landscape mix..






Because this is JUNE, and 90 degree + days will be common, I want to be cautious about setting out these greenhouse shaded plants in the direct summer sun-
I used some galvanized brick wires I had, tied them together, and bent them to make an arch.- stuck the ends in the ground on The West and East sides of each planting location about 3' apart- I used Nylon mason line to pull them in to be more vertical, and will cover with some medium duty weed block as a shade cloth.
These are secured in place by tying the arch to the wire cable that runs overhead that also carries the drip irrigation line.
The East side will allow the plants to get the morning sun, while the noon and west side will be shaded. As the plants develop, I will rollback the East side cover to allow more morning sun in the weeks ahead- Potentially full sun and the shade cloth removed once the plants are well established-
Kiwis can grow in partial shade, but I am taking these steps to protect my initial investment. The weedblock fabric allos some diffused light to come through- and I could have used shade cloth instead- but I just purchased a new 200' roll of the weedblock- so it will be used around the plants as a ground cover, and as a shade cover.






Initially, I have all 3 holes in alignment- The Middle hole is for the Male plant, and the 2 end holes are about 25' apart for the 2 females.
Presently, I only have a single 6' HIGH OVERHEAD GALVANIZED WIRE cable in place running between 2 -10' long galvanized 3" diameter steel pipe posts that have been in place for 20 years or so-(Leftover surplus Electrical conduits from a 1994 construction project) I will need to rework the posts and embed deeper in the ground to support the eventual overhead Trellis system- that I will use for the vines in the years ahead.

The Trellis system will use a 7' wide T bar, with galvanized fence wire- - Initially 3 cables will be used- a center and an East cable and a West cable- the vines will initially come up to the center cable, then the female vines will be trained and turned to run on the single Eastmost wire- The Male plant will be trained to run on the parallel West wire- 7' away. The prevailing wind comes from West to East, so that should benefit wind blown pollination- and the proximity of the male and female vines will be beneficial as well for insect pollination-
As the vines develop and follow the wires, they will also set out sideways lateral shoots-
The male vine will not be allowed to develop long lateral shoots- will be pruned to keep shoots within 12" of the wire.
The female vine lateral shoots will be the basis for the fruiting spurs that will be developed in the years ahead.
They will require additional wires to support the laterals- I will add some intermediate T Post supports between the vines, and use the 42" galvanized silt fence wire- to become the support trellis- Silt fence wire comes in 300' long wire, the outer runs are heavier cable wile the intermediate squares are slightly smaller gauge.
5 Individual cable wires overhead could be used at about a 1' spacing - to construct the trellis- but need to be quite tight- .
This Trellis system will provide good air flow around the plants branches, and easy fruit picking versus trying to run the branches on a cordon wire system. Tthe vines are so vigorous once established, they become a mass of entaglement if not kept in check and summer pruned as the year proceeds.

The overhead Trellis system now in place at the Fuzzy Kiwis: The vines were severely pruned back last year, so will be developed this year to provide potential fruiting spurs next year.

[sd]

Fun day with Family in their garden yesterday!
Today Completed the shade covers for the 3 Kiwis - and also tied in the drip irrigation loops for each plant-
It looks a bit on the overboard side perhaps, but it's protecting an investment- These plants were kept in the greenhouse, and had relatively sheltered conditions-and will need time to adjust to our climate- Since Kiwis can also grow in partial shade, the diffused light that comes through the weedblock may be adequate-



I soaked the plants for a few hours in a solution designed to reduce transplant shock and to promote root growth- Ideally they will be set in place tomorrow, and will make a smooth transition....

Just starting to see new growth developing in the Male Fuzzay Kiwi planted weeks ago- It also is partially shaded and protected from the afternoon sun.
The new growth look healthy, with some tip growth developing along with some new shoots forming on the older growth- If lucky, it will climb the 3' to reach the top outer rail, and then-after pinching- I will allow 2 shoots to travel down the rail on either side of the main stem. I only recently fertilized with some organic fertilizer this past week to try to promote some healthy and gradual growth- This new growth is most likely the result of the plant extending it's root system a bit, adjusting to it's new environment,
and not a reaction to the recent fertilization.



The side growth from last year's stem on the lower leaf junction -is also occurring in numerous places: New growth is a positive!



The existing female Fuzzy Kiwi vines are growing vigorously! Some i am air layering the bottom of the stem in con tainers, allowing the plant to stay attached to the original plant- The green ribbons in the photos generally are wrapped around the vines (bines) helping them to grrow relatively straight while being angled from the container . The goal is to develop shoots that will branch out a 6' stem, then develop side laterals into fruiting arms...

[sd]

Today I continued to work separating the /fuzzy Kiwi vines, and cutting/pruning lateral growth that was more than 6" off a branch- (cordon)
Instead of running all of the vines along a center rail/line, I turned some out onto the Trellis system - I simply have the Female Kiwis planted too close together- Should have been 20' apart- and trained down a single wire or top rail- For this year, I am thinning out a lot of the vines, and air layering or tip layering some branches that will need to be abandoned in future years- or used for propogating new vines-

Some of my attempts to air layer in plastic containers as early as 4-20 - almost 6 weeks ago- I see a few shallow roots in one , and pulled one container that is barely showing some initial roots may be starting- ... I had expected better root development- but - as I recall- did not use any rooting hormone - In one tip layered branch, with the branch scarified and covered with a rooting medium in a pot, some roots are just starting to develop-

So, I had scarified some branch stem shoots that were vigorous growers several weeks ago, and allowed the plants to scar over- Today, I applied Clonex rooting liquid to the stems, and potted a few of them and also installed drip irrigation emitters in 6 of the pots- Will comlete the remainder tomorrow with the irrigation.

The Male Fuzzy Kiwi is showing some tip and a lower lateral growth, and looks healthy- but growing slowly -still is partially shaded.

I also took the ICHI KEI KI Persimmon that was in it's grafting pot , and transplanted it into a larger gallon pot container- and placed it in the shaded area of one of the Hardy Kiwis and installed a single 1 gph/hr drip emitter to the plant-I plan to keep it somewhat shielded until Sewptember/October when it will be planted about 15' from the FUYU Persimmon-

It's somewhat exciting to have the expectations in a few years to be sampling home grown Fuzzy Kiwi, Hardy Kiwi, and Persimmon. (If things grow well!)- And let me add MULLBERRY_ I also bought a dwarf mulberry this year- still in a pot-


Air layering a branch keeps the growing stem attached to the parent root system .

The desired branch to bec ome a new plant is typically wounded by scraping some of the bark down to the white wood- This causes the plant to send repair hormones to "fix" the wound- and int the correct conditions, the repair hormones turn into roots coming from the stem.

on some of the stems, I wounded it a week ago- by scraping one side of the bark with a knife down to the white wood, but leaving part of the bark attached to feed the plant through the cambium layer. Today I applied Clonex rooting hormone to the stem, added a plastic container around the plant, filled with rooting soils with good aeration/drainage, mulched, and added a 1 GPH drip emitter to each container-

[sd]

Almost a week has passed since the earlier post!
Busy days, weather is getting hot - Hit 100 today for a bit!
Bugs are getting active!
Stinkbugs on the squash , laying Eggs on the underside of the leaves-
I could remove by rubbing them out, but experimented with spraying the eggs with Organocide.
I'm also removing the oldest leaves on the squash/zucchini plants as they show signs of age and deterioration/yellowing

They have no shame either- freely coupling in public:


Japanese beetles are rolling into town, and they are really hitting my KIWI vines-
I've given an initial spray with the organocide to see how effective it may be against the beetles.
While organocide is reportedly safe for BEES- and I've ordered a gallon of the concentrate.... I could spray the kiwis with a different insecticide since the time for flowering and attracting bees is long past. The beetles just recently arrived in the past week- and also like grape vines as well-



Spectracide has a bug trap that also uses a scent attractant to draw the beetles to fly to the trap, and drop into the capture bag. It has several dozen beetles in 4 days, and also comes with a replacement bag- Claims that the scent lure is effective for 30 days before needing to be replaced- I've added a 2nd bag and will likely also add a 3rd-


My Peppers have a bacterial disease Leaf Spot- that starts in the lowest leafs and then progresses higher-
extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/plant-disease/fruit-vegetable-diseases/bacterial-leaf-spot-of-pepper#:~:text=Bacterial%20leaf%20spot%2C%20caused%20by,to%20another%20(Frank%20et%20al.



It is certainly affecting the health and growth of my peppers- I did not recognize it as a serious problem until just recently. But the plants have been slow to flower, and setr any peppers.
I removed all infected leaves from my peppers,and disposed of them in the burn pile, and have sprayed the peppers with both Organocide and a fungal copper spray, hoping to
intercept this disease in time to save the crop- Disease and insect control is something I am now on the watch for-


Powdery mildew is affecting the Crepe Myrtles- and possibly starting on some of the cucumber/cantelope and squash-
Similarly, since the japanese bettles arrived, I think they may be bringing some fungal diseases with them as well- as I see some signs of dying leaves on some parts of the Kiwis.

Trimming the old leaves on the squash- less stress on the plant, training it to go vertical to a wire support- Easier to find fruits-and insects!


KIWIS-
The Kiwis under the shade covers protecting them from the afternoon sun are growing well. They all also have daily drip irrigation.
As I pruned some of the Kiwis, some of the wood was cut with a piece of last year's wood attached- (a Heel)- I saved a variety of the cuttings- portions of which were somewhat growth hardened from the start of this year, and portions were taken from more newer growth made in the past month or so.
I sterilized my pruners, and I also dipped the cuttings into a solution of Hydrogen peroxide and water to sterilize.

Starting with a new rooting medium in a plastic container: This mixture is comprised of Peat Moss, Perlite, and Sand- leaving out the compost/soil - It appears to be a moisture holding, but fast draining medium- and shopuld be relatively sterile.
Starting with a platic tote, I added water + some starter/transplant fertilizer solution-


Coated the cuttings with some Clonex rooting gel- Note that when the cuttings were taken, I removed all leaves except for 1, and cut the leaf in half-
I also used some wood glue to seal the top of each cut stem to prevent moisture loss-
it was late in the afternoon when the cuttings were taken- not an ideal time to do so- and I placed the base of the cuttings in a tub of water with the root transplant solution- Did the placement into the grow medium the next day-
Ideally cuttings would be taken in the early morning, seal the top cut with the wood glue- and placed in an already prepared rooting container with some rooting hormone applied to the stem & wounding /scarifying part of the stem.


Built a wire framework to provide support for the rooting container.


Covered the assembly with opaque poly and positioned in a shady location out of direct sunlight.
I also sprayed the cuttings and rooting medium with the organicide solution to minimize fungal/mold growth+ prior to covering with the poly.

[sd]

3 weeks ago the winter squash were starting to grow at the raspberry bed- (few raspberries had come up from the root sections I placced in the bed)
so I decided to try the squash there with some room to spread.


6-14- plants are running and climbing up on the wire trellis-



the wire trellis works well for all the climbers- and keeps them mostly vertical with a bit of guidance for the runners.
Cucumbers, melons, cantelope on the wire concrete mesh- 6" x 6" squares- The wire mesh is not galvanized, and is a bit rusty, and over 10 years old-
It was a heavier gauge mesh- than the stuff for sidewalks- Ideally , if one can afford the galvanized cattle panels....go for it!




The watermelons and cantelopes on a lower trellis -
3 T bars were driven in the ground at a slight angle , and some long sections of bamboo were slid down over the T posts-
Galvanized silt fence wire was stretched between the bamboo uprights- to 7'- I may have to add another higher run overhead of the wire.
As the fruits develop, and are just hanging unsupported except by the stems, I am taking some plastic shopping bags to make a support diaper under the fruit and tying the plastic handles to the wire mesh- with a drainage hole in the bottom of the bag to prevent water accumulation.

[sd]

Yesterday, I took 3 plastic pots and decided I would pot/air layer 3 branches along a horizontal stem .
The pots were filled with a rooting medium that included peat, perlite,sand, and some compost- The peat used to provide moisture holding, and the compost to add some moisture holding capacity and nutrient value- Mike Kincaid on Youtube advocated a sand mix for cuttings- but for air/pot layering- adding compost to the mix makes sense to me- to allow for a looser mix and better root formation.
The 3 kiwi branches are 3-4' long, and semi hard wood- coming off a year old main branch- I previously had scarified the main stem and the branch at their juncture- freshened up the scrape a bit, applied Clonex rooting gel, split the sides of the plastic pots to fit the stem to entirely go through the pot as well as a slit for the growing branch.



To support the weight of the plant, I drilled 3 holes through the sides and tied some nylon mzson line (use braided line- not twisted)to the pot and to the overhead support trellis.











Discussing growing KIWIS on a arch made of a 16' cattle panel with my oldest daughter- a male plant on one side, female on the other -
I'm of the opinion that the vine could easily get out of control after a few years if not pruned to develop the fruiting spurs.
The female cordons could be trained to the outer edges of the arch, allowing the fruiting spurs and branches to be pulled down to the arch as they grow.
Once the fruits are harvested, each fruiting branch gets cut back to the spur -within about 6" of the cordon at the edge-
Alternate spours could be allowed - and those spurs that would crowd the plant if allowed to develop full branches could be kept pruned short and close to the cordon for that season- potentially alternate spurs?

[sd]

One of the winter squash plants looked very stressed this am, well before it reached it's afternoon heat index of 105- and temp of 97.
Several of these plants were showing splitting in the stems before planting- and this was the 1st one to fail despite haveing adequate water irrigation.
I pulled the plant out, and removed it from the group.




Japanese beetles are Out and About! These garden pests can devour the leafs, leaving just the veins-
I have sprayed my Kiwis with Organocide to see how it holds up- and it reportedly is bee safe-
I also walked through the Kiwis and grape vines with a small bucket with soapy water, and would hold the bucket below the leaf the beetle was on, and knock the leaf, causing the beetle to drop into the soapy water before it could get it's wings moving -
The Spectracide japanese beetle bag trap with chemical attractant does a decent job of luring the bugs towards it.
Once they drop into the bag, they cannot fly back out - Unfortunately, the 2 bugs on the trap managed to fly away, possibly because I had come too close.


2 months earlier I assisted a woman at the farmers market by carrying a few larger plants she had purchased to her car-
Her trunk was full of roots from plants she had uprooted and was moving and going to plant @ her new house- She offered several to me, and when I asked she didn't know what they were but had had them for years-she said they got large leaves & 3-4' tall- Nice foliage comes with a flower!


We have some peaches that did not get nipped by the late frost!


And an ornamental peach with bright foliage


and the developing melons on the vertical mesh get nicely supported by a plastic shopping bag:


Pomegranate is developing fruits:


Lolo attends to watering, with her row of sunflowers growing well along the fence line:


It's not a cloudy xray, just a wierd Cloud formation before the T storm gets here:


The Figs are doing well- Harvested my 1st Okidata fig this evening- Nice for dessert!




Tomatoes should be ripening in another week or so:


Indeterminate in the back on a single stem; Bush and Roma in the front- will give a bit more room next year!



The squash and cucumbers are still producing - even into the high 90's -
Cucumbers are so easy on a trellis to find the fruits!




i.imgur.com/q3tzs7k.jpeg



Dill reaching for the sky in the A frame planter


Strawberries growing in the A frame drop their runners- to be planted in a few weeks


Blackberry bushes are growing well, but be patient when picking the fruits too early!



Carrots flowering


Bees like the Bee Balm


Brief, but notable if you can just take the time.....to take notice ...

[sd]

6-19-2022

FATHERS DAY - could not have been better with both of our daughters able to come by for some chicken wings and Pasta salad and Corn on the cob off the grill- And -Angelfood cake with strawberries and whipped cream!
Got a 1st lesson in drone flying! Might have to get one of those someday for those Aerial shots.
The youngest member of our Clan -Hazel- was excited enough about her 1st foray into a pool to try to give the LOLO a black eye!

Now that we Clearly understand each other, I'll allow you to lower me into the Pool!


The Drone instruction required the youngest engineer to give her input , while her senior sister provided encouragement!


The simple pleasures of time spent together-


Time on the patio- Thank you! Tired and pregnant, you made the trip anyways!

[sd]

While being retired and spending our time in the garden and sometimes fishing is somewhat idyllic (?)
last week we were awakened in the middle of the night - 3:30 am- with a motion detector- intruder alarm going off.
That experience pointed out how unprepared we are for an unlikely- but possible home intrusion- and the need for personal defense tactics and training-

[sd]

6-26-22

Some garden visitors removed earlier this week from the tomato plants (4 found)

The tell-tale signs they have arrived:


Found 2 more this evening
I missed the one in this picture that was hanging upside down and to the right of my ring finger-slightly above the green tomato!


It's been a busy weekend with some of my most favorite girls hanging out and camping out overnight together!