right now

right now

May 18, 2015

Slow Growth and Bug Guts

Things are moving very slowly in the garden.  Or it seems like it when compared to my garden plot neighbors.  Everyone else out there buys their plants whereas I plant seeds.  I'm not talking about tomatoes and peppers, but these people are buying beans and lettuce and cucumber plants!  They sprout in like 2 days, they can't wait 2 days?  And lettuce!  Lettuce sprouts in like 2 hours!  For my money and budget, I'll stick with seeds, even if it takes longer.

   Tick, tock...


At least starting from seed means the plants are used to this poor soil and actively chose to sprout and grow there.  No transplant shock here in the dried out riverbed!  Seriously though… bean starter plants?

Speaking of beans, this year considering the wildlife circumstances, I started my bean seeds under these hoops.  I'm hoping to get them past that sprout stage when the birds swoop in and take them all out in one shot.  Once they have a few leaves on them I plan on moving the hoops over the lettuces to give them some shade and help thwart bunny attacks!


My tomato & pepper bed is coming along.  All survived the transplant well and although small, they are putting out nice new foliage at a rapid rate.


My Tokyo White Cross turnips are up!  Along with a lone ladybug doing her job.  She needs to recruit all her beneficial buddies to get here asap because…




… because of these little b@$t@rds!  Yep, you will hear a lot of that language in the Flightline Garden!  It's okay, it's a Navy base, so cussing like a sailor is expected and encouraged.  :)



Colorado Potato Beetles!  My plants aren't even 8 inches tall!

Funny story though…  so I'm on my little toy wagon/scooter thing I stole  liberated from my neighbors in Virginia (anyone remember the Mt. Everest of crap on the curb when my neighbors were evicted?) - and I'm scooting down the row of potatoes handpicking and squishing these little buggers when one of my plot neighbors comes over for advice.  This nice gal and new gardener wanted to ask about her plants and seeds and plot in general.  I feel the need to show her the infidels currently infiltrating the plots since they were probably headed her way at the other end of the garden.  I show her the beetle, show her the eggs, then tell her that most sprays don't work on them, tell her about handpicking them into a bucket of soapy water,  then fill her in on the Dr. Bronner's soap spray, blah blah….  yeah, then proceed to tell her that it's awesome to just squeeze them with your bare hands and wait for the crunch.  As if that wasn't enough I pick one up and say "like this!"  - and squeeze a beetle that was absolutely packed with eggs that squirted everywhere.  Seriously - I think I had orange beetle eggs on my face.  What has become of me?  Doesn't matter if I love the insect or hate it, I have to touch them all, and I have forgotten that most people aren't that into it.  Being a gardener sure puts you at one with all the living things around you, and not just plants!  I hope I didn't freak her out, but I'm pretty sure she now refers to me as "The Crazy Chick at Plot 59".  


In the kitchen, I've managed to add another dish to the crock pot/freezer repertoire… 

Chicken Tikka Masala!




The kids even liked curry!  Paired with rice in the rice cooker and it's an easy dinner.  I dumbed down the curry for the kids but since they liked it I will keep raising the curry/spice level until I hit their ceiling of what they will tolerate.  Yep, that's the kind of mom I am - we'll stop just short of fire.

My new "Maryland" wild yeast starter was looking great after just 3 weeks, all bubbly and puffy n'stuff… honestly better than my years-old Virginia starter ever looked, so I decided to try baking the first loaf of sourdough this morning...


Yeah, this just happened.  Unbelievable.  

Best loaf of sourdough I've ever made!



Maryland wild yeast strains are a hit here :)

10 comments:

  1. I admit, after years of trying to hand pick bugs off with gloves ON, I gave up and have since realized what a thrill it is to feel crunch of the bugs' exoskeleton and the subsequent ooze of their lifeforce leaving their vegetable destroying bodies between my bare fingertips. And I LOVE the sound / feel of crunching squash bug eggs between my fingernails. I triumphantly say "die you bastards, DIE!" after each and every egg I have obliterated from the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ewwwww! I'm all for killing pests in your garden but squishing them in your bare hands is um...a bit too much for me. I'd much rather cut them in half with my hand spade and grind their bodies into the soil hoping it makes good mulch.
    That bread looks fabulous! I'll be right over for a warm piece with some butter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sparkless that would work if I only had a few but they are everywhere! No time for spades haha

      Delete
  3. Ok-put me in the wimp category. I carry a mini-pail filled with soapy water and just put them in there to die a slow, gruesome, agonizing death. I'm not a squisher. I'll pick up anything, but that's as far as I go.
    I hope you didn't lose ALL respect for me on that. Some of those tomato hornworms are HUGE by the time I find them.. I just couldn't.............................
    As for bean seedlings---yea. I've wondered about those AND the CORN SEEDLINGS???????
    I think I've seen everything now!
    Have a great week, Erin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Sue - you got me on the Hornworms… I definitely don't do those monsters! Gross, gross, double gross! I fling them with a stick on the ground in the open and see if the birds take them :) I think the finger pinching came about one day when I had no bucket, and I tried to smash them with a piece of mulch and it just pushed them right back into the soil intact and I couldn't find them again. Now I KNOW they are dead!

      Delete
  4. Your garden plot neighbor may be squeamish now, but just wait until the buggers attack her plants! The gloves will come off! I am with you and Sue on Hornworms. The grossest bug imaginable. Your bread almost made me cry, it is so beautiful! And good for you on the curry - chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite things to eat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I honestly have tried with those hornworms but I just…. can't! It's that element of surprise I can't take at all… you never see them until they are RIGHT. THERE. yuck!

      Delete
  5. I was just thinking how your potato beetle looks like what we call a June bug or beetle. Do they kind of hiss when you pick them up? The June bugs we have make a kind of squeak/hiss sound when you bother them and they are pretty big. they have the same stripes on them like your potato beetles do. I could not squish one of our June beetles cause they are too big plus they make that hissing sound that kind of creeps me out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, we have June Bugs especially up North. Tons in Minnesota, not as many down south. Those are way bigger and fly LOL but not very well, they look kind of stupid when they do :)

      Delete