Yup, I grow Herbs too

So I have been focusing a lot on my garden here but wanted to share the success I am having with my basil plants. Originally I planned on growing them in the garden but it seemed cramped at the time so I chose not to. What a great choice - because now everything is growing out of control (and that is SUCH a good thing) I am glad I planted them in containers on my porch. I have two types growing - sweet basil and purple basil. Both shown here


I have only picked the sweet basil so far and made a great tomato, basil, mozzarella salad (unfortunately not my tomatoes yet - but still organically grown).
Not too much labor intensive news to report - just the typical weeding and watering. But I do have to say that I now have four tomatoes on the small plant and only two on the large one and many, many flowers so I am hoping for a "bumper crop".
The cucumbers have started to grow the vines and are attaching nicely to the lattice in the back - and a little to the tomato plant so I had to unwind it and guide it back to the lattice - hopefully it stays there. I have also gotten cuke flowers already. They seem a little to small to be forming flowers at this point, but if it is ready then so am I!
The buds have formed on all the red pepper plants and on one or two of the green pepper plants. The green ones just aren't taking as well as the red so I have given them a little extra "Veggies Alive" fertilizer to help them along.
I just harvested my first crop of buttercrunch tonight. We are having a family cookout this weekend so I wanted time to rinse cut and mix it all before then. Not too mention they were getting huge and I was afraid it would be too bitter if I waited any longer. And for the fact that it has been 90 degrees the past three days I didn't want them to bolt to fast.
I still need to show my watermelon experiment to you - but the pictures keep coming out so crappy you can't really see the results that well. Stay tuned for more.....

The sweet smell of Gardenia!

OK, so this particular post isn't related to my garden, or organic growing at all but I had to share the great news that my gardenia has sprouted another bloom! The first bloom was back in February I think - kinda weird time to bloom, but I won't argue. I originally had five buds - one bloomed, three fell off, and this is the final one. I also have a second plant that is much smaller and very sad looking but it is still technically alive and I just don't have the heart to throw it away. That one too has a bud forming! I keep these as house plants during the fall and winter seeing as New England is not a native environment for these beauties! I feed them acidic fertilizer to help them along during the not so great winter months and have had them for about three years now (maybe more). Right now the two pots are out on the front porch south facing and get the late-ish afternoon sun - which is where they sit indoors as well. Just a bit of beauty - can't you almost smell it - to make your day. I know it made mine!!!!

GOTCHA!!!!

I think I hear TAPs playing...do you? Thank to my now good friends at Arbico Organics (www.arbico-organics.com) I have much less Aphids nibbling at my flowers and I think they will stay away from the veggies too! This is the Sticky Aphid Whitefly Trap that I bought and this particular one is hanging near the "once was infected" rose bush. Although it was too late to save the bush I at least got rid of those pesky buggers.
I also have two in my garden - one in between the two zukes - which I cannot show you because those two things are monsters right now. The second is hanging from the tomato cage because under inspection there looked to be an infestation - this is that trap.

I still have the crop guard that I bought from Arbico but it needs to be sprayed when there will be 12 hours of no rain - Friday it downpoured and Saturday the gray clouds were rolling in but nothing came of them. And well today I was just too darn lazy. A girl needs one day to relax - I am a full time working schmuck too!
And rest assured the trap in non-poisonous - it is also extremely easy to use and lasts all season - even through the rain! I haven't seen any "good" bugs caught to it, well except one spider that, I think, was going after easy prey - I tried to take him off w/o tearing anything but am not sure how successful I was - I release it back into the ground and hoped for the best.
I have an experiment running out back with my sugar bush watermelons so stay tuned for that!

Spreading the Organic Word

I am expanding my organic reach and posting this blog to a number of different sites so that everyone can see with a little hard word and dedication we can all live the organic way!

And Here it Is

All the talk and now everyone can see the results of my hard labor!

As you can see the zukes are in the back right corner completely covering one red pepper plant and about to consume another! The tomato plant on the right was the one that got a tomato already that unfortunately had blossom end rot so I picked it and threw it away. And ever since I make sure I water the heck out of it! the romaine is on the left - looking a little short while the buttercrunch on the left is taking off. I think next year requires a few more feet of planting space!

UGH - APHIDS!!!!

I have been so focused on my garden I have forgotten to show TLC to other plants in the yard!!! The leaves on the rose bush out back are covered in brown spots - a sure sign of fungus AND they are COVERED in aphids. It is only time before they head over to my prized garden. My only saving grace, at least I am hoping, is that the garden is on the complete opposite side of the yard. I have been thinking of buying some lady bugs to help out with the problem, but I am not sure if I want to release 1500 lady bugs into my backyard - beneficial or not!
The poor peonies didn't get one bloom and they too have a white powdery mildew on several leaves (as do my neighbors). Alas, maybe I am not the gardener that I thought I was : (
I also planned out the garden a little weird - for some reason I thought I could "train" zucchini to grow up - NOT. Those little buggers are growing like mad and are about to mow over a few red pepper plants. I am hoping to cage them this weekend to spare the lives of my precious peppers. There are already flowers (male and female) on the zukes, so I don't want to shock them too much. What's a girl to do?!?
The buttercrunch lettuce looks ready to pick, but it has only been 1 month. The "instructions" say 60 days to maturity. maybe I am "super gardener" for some things and "not so hot" with others. The tomatoes look good and so far I still have all my flower buds, which means the squirrels and birds haven't located them yet. I am keeping them distracted with the safflower and sunflower seeds.
The garlic spray went down and oh god what a smell. I can see why the squirrels stay away!! Not a bad smell but holy garlic batman! I have read on google that a garlic/soap spray can also keep away the dreaded aphids, so that is next on the agenda. Right after I put out those sticky traps for them. I will leave no stone unturned when it comes to making these veggies grow to their full potential!

More to report....

so, I some how forgot to mention that I installed a rain barrel over Memorial Day weekend too! (Purchased through New England Rain Barrel at www.nerainbarrel.com - and with a discount because I pre-ordered and it was my first one!) Well, I wasn't 100% sure if I did it correctly but low and behold I did! After all the rain that we had earlier this week my barrel is now 99% full! I love it - using what nature gives me to help conserve water not to mention save money! The flow coming out is V-E-R-Y slow, but heck, I can take some time out to fill a watering can mulitiple times and water all the container flowers and plants.

The garden is looking HOT!!! My zukes are growing like weeds - much like the weeds that are growing in the garden but that is another post all together. Holy cow - I already have the flower buds growing and I can totally see the males from the females so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the pesky squirrels keep their grubby mouths off of them and allow me to enjoy the veggies of my labor. The peppers...not so hot. I think that is because the weather has been so erratic. I am just waiting for one whole week where the weather stay solid and I expect those babies to shoot out like from a cannon. The buttercrunch lettuce looks absolutely fantastic - at least the cold, erratic weather is helping along some of my plants.

I have been saying this for awhile now, but truly THIS is the weekend where I will spray that all natural squirrel repellant. Now that there are flowers coming up on the zukes and the tomatoes I have got to keep them away. Fingers crossed that it will work. I am thinking of spraying it EVERYWHERE. THose little buggers are digging up the moss roses out front, trampling all over my moonflowers and they have stolen at least 4 that I can see of my morning glories. They are really starting to piss me off - this is war!

I planted the sugar baby watermelons last weekend - and of course the weather dipped because these plants like it HOT But as an added precaution from the weather as well as the damn beetles that infect them I used a floating row cover - purchased from my new favorite web site - gardensalive.com. I am not so sure how well they will do - they need a lot of room, heat and tender loving care. I really only have one of the three to offer so I am hoping the tender love will save them and provide me with some great watermelons for the season.