A Yellow Butterfly
A tomato turning red.
A Black-Eyed Suzan.
I hope you have found a few things that made you smile today too.
My exploits as a country-turned city-returned to country girl.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Happy Things
A Yellow Butterfly
A tomato turning red.
A Black-Eyed Suzan.
I hope you have found a few things that made you smile today too.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saving Space - Growing Watermelon Vertically
I'm not really sure where this idea came from. Perhaps it's the size of my garden. Or perhaps it's my refusal to give up precious space in my garden for a plant to sprawl at it's leisure. Either way when my watermelon (and cucumber) plants got to the stage of sending out runner vines I stuck a tomato cage around it and wound the runners through the bars. Seemed simple and perfect at the time.
The vines just keep climbing up the cages. When the fruit gets large enough I pull it to the outside of the cage for easy picking later.
But I didn't anticipate one thing; the vines can't support the hanging weight of the fruit. See?
I didn't want to break more vines and let the fruit sit on the ground though. So I came upon another idea: Stockings. My Grandmother told me once to always have a clean pair of stockings in your drawer.
I don't think this was her intended purpose but hey, I don't wear them so I might as well use them.
Hopefully these will continue to support the watermelon while allowing the fruit to continue to grow.
The vines just keep climbing up the cages. When the fruit gets large enough I pull it to the outside of the cage for easy picking later.
But I didn't anticipate one thing; the vines can't support the hanging weight of the fruit. See?
I didn't want to break more vines and let the fruit sit on the ground though. So I came upon another idea: Stockings. My Grandmother told me once to always have a clean pair of stockings in your drawer.
I don't think this was her intended purpose but hey, I don't wear them so I might as well use them.
Hopefully these will continue to support the watermelon while allowing the fruit to continue to grow.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Weapons of Mass Distruction
There is an unpleasant aspect to gardening. And I admit, I didn't pay it much attention when the signs first started showing.
The holes in the leaves;
the slightly yellowed leaves; 
The completely eaten leaves;
All the signs that my garden had dinner guests. It couldn't get that bad, right? I wanted and still strive for an organic garden. But what other choice was I facing? My beloved plants were dying.
I tried an organic insecticidal soap: reduced the bugs a bit. I tried Dawn dish soap: made soap bubbles on the ground, very effective (sarcasm). I tried spraying water at a high rate of speed: broken leaves and stems. I was starting to pull my hair out.
Until I decided on two things. Chickens and a more personal approach; woman to bug. Face to buggy little face.
I have chosen two weapons, so far, in my war against the bugs. The Bucket of Death and The Stick of Fire.
The Bucket of Death is the only method of ridding myself of Tomato Hornworms. I'll get into those later.
The Stick of Fire is my newest revelation and I am excited about it's effectiveness. It works best on the smaller bugs. The young Squash Beetles are my current target. I'm genuinely surprised at the effectiveness of this weapon. Beyond the antennae burning like eyebrows in an experiment gone wrong, the little buggers sizzle. There is something disturbingly pleasing in that sound. Maybe it's the sound of hope. Hope that by frying these beasts I just might save my squash.
We will see...
The holes in the leaves;
the slightly yellowed leaves; 
The completely eaten leaves;
All the signs that my garden had dinner guests. It couldn't get that bad, right? I wanted and still strive for an organic garden. But what other choice was I facing? My beloved plants were dying.
I tried an organic insecticidal soap: reduced the bugs a bit. I tried Dawn dish soap: made soap bubbles on the ground, very effective (sarcasm). I tried spraying water at a high rate of speed: broken leaves and stems. I was starting to pull my hair out.
Until I decided on two things. Chickens and a more personal approach; woman to bug. Face to buggy little face.
I have chosen two weapons, so far, in my war against the bugs. The Bucket of Death and The Stick of Fire.
The Bucket of Death is the only method of ridding myself of Tomato Hornworms. I'll get into those later.
The Stick of Fire is my newest revelation and I am excited about it's effectiveness. It works best on the smaller bugs. The young Squash Beetles are my current target. I'm genuinely surprised at the effectiveness of this weapon. Beyond the antennae burning like eyebrows in an experiment gone wrong, the little buggers sizzle. There is something disturbingly pleasing in that sound. Maybe it's the sound of hope. Hope that by frying these beasts I just might save my squash.
We will see...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Gone to the Birds
I remember the day we moved into the house here in Kansas. Besides all the running around, shuffling of boxes and the endless "hey where did you put _____". I got buzzed by a hummingbird! Oh sure there are hummingbirds in Vegas. They just didn't like my house.
Not so in Kansas! I hung two feeders off the front deck in front of the windows. A hummingbird feeder which attracted the first bird in under an hour and has attracted 4 separate birds so far. 2 hens and 2 males. They are so fun to watch. Each gender chases each other. Hens on hens, males on males. If I sit still outside long enough they cease being as frightened of me and I can hear the buzzing of their wings and their angry chirping at each other as they chase around the house. It's a nice way to spend a quiet naptime.
The other feeder is filled with regular bird food. Seeds and nuts. It took almost 2 weeks for the yellow finches to find this feeder which was really a surprise. I can hear all the birds in the trees out here all the time but they were really slow finding this feeder.
Now I just keep the feeders full and listen to my cat Amelia chatter at them in frustrated fascination.
Not so in Kansas! I hung two feeders off the front deck in front of the windows. A hummingbird feeder which attracted the first bird in under an hour and has attracted 4 separate birds so far. 2 hens and 2 males. They are so fun to watch. Each gender chases each other. Hens on hens, males on males. If I sit still outside long enough they cease being as frightened of me and I can hear the buzzing of their wings and their angry chirping at each other as they chase around the house. It's a nice way to spend a quiet naptime.
The other feeder is filled with regular bird food. Seeds and nuts. It took almost 2 weeks for the yellow finches to find this feeder which was really a surprise. I can hear all the birds in the trees out here all the time but they were really slow finding this feeder.
Now I just keep the feeders full and listen to my cat Amelia chatter at them in frustrated fascination.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The #2 Reason I moved to Kansas
GARDENING!Despite all my efforts in Vegas the only thing I was able to do with a plant was kill it. Pre-potted, started from seeds, given to me by friends, it didn't matter. If it sat in dirt, drank water, and grew in the sun, which remarkably sounds like my kids, I could kill it. My kids are all alive, my plants are not.
Fast forward to Kansas. As you can see from the pictures, things GROW in Kansas. With very little effort and alot of weeding, I have a garden. A genuine garden. With veggies I can eat.
Intro to me.
I grew up in the WI countryside. Navarino WI on an 80 acre farm to be exact. Great times. I've been a city girl since 2001. Went to college. Got a degree. More great times. Moved to Las Vegas. Got married. Had babies. 10 years I've been in the city. Paying someone to spray for the bugs I never saw in the first place. Living 2 blocks from the grocery store and every other convenience a big city has to offer.
If you ever plot Hoyt Kansas on a map you will notice one BIG thing about it. The distance to anything else. Any trip from the house is planned for maximum effectiveness. There's no such thing as a "quick trip". Or QuickTrip for that matter.
So this blog is about my return to the country. The bugs, the animals, the distance from civilization. Love it or hate it, here we go...
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