It's always a joy to see fireflies -- here in the Carolinas, it's June when we see most of them. I don't know that much about fireflies -- just that the males flash to attract mates; the periodicity is meaningful; and different species flash at ground level, mid-level, and up in the canopy.We had a colleague years ago who studied them in the Smokies. He'd head off in June to lie on the forest...
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Ecosystem gardening, Florida, Ginny Stibolt, Growing edibles, native plants, Pollinators, Sustainability
Harvest-based tempura and more...
The harvest for some tempura.The harvest & recipeI had some okra, but not enough for good-sized batch of fried okra, so I supplemented it with 5 little sweet onions, some zucchini, and not shown here, about half of a garlic bulb.I don't have a deep fryer, but this method for tempura works pretty...
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and other condundrums
I've been allergic to poison ivy since childhood, so I'm very familiar with how to identify it and avoid contamination. (I'm crazed about making sure our dogs - over the years - haven't picked up the urushiol from the leaves on hikes, etc. -- and if they have, it's always been bath time!)So, it's...
Monday, 23 June 2014
Swapping peas for beans
I never imagined that I'd be pulling out sugar snap peas, beet greens, and purple-podded peas just after the first day of summer. But I did that over the weekend, and we enjoyed the harvest.It took a bit of scrambling to round up the appropriate bean seeds for their trellis replacement, too. I had some of them at the ready, and thought that I had all of my seeds here, too, but apparently some...
Saturday, 21 June 2014
Purples in the garden
fading Aquilegia petalsI've been amazed at the brilliant colors that the fading Aquilegia petals have become. They're almost neon magenta. A quite un-natural color, but it's still a true color!Aquilegia, a fern, and rocks The corner plantings look lovely, because of them, and the robust...
Friday, 20 June 2014
Results: the nematode experiment
In looking at all the broccoli & parsley roots, there was very little damage by root-knot nematodes. Yay!The problem...For the last several years, the root-knot nematodes have damaged roots of several of our crops, but we were not aware of it until they were pulled up. Most of the time the crops...
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Deer herbivory pressure
Hmm, disappearing leek tops and parsley had me suspicious about woodchucks a couple of weeks ago in the Piedmont-- really, parsley eaten from the large container on the top of the front steps?But, seeing two sets of does with fawns today -- one outside my study window, and the other near the Madren Conference Center where my SCBG colleagues and I do rotating gardening call-in shows on YourDay (we...
Sunday, 15 June 2014
More nature journaling and watercolor
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I suppose I'm already a nature journaler, but adding sketching and watercolor is something new again, and returning to my "roots" as a nature observer, many years ago.My scientist and observer skills serve me well, I've found, in trying to translate what I see in the natural world to paper, in the language...
Friday, 13 June 2014
Zucchinis, garlic, and kites: summer is here!
Oooh tiger zucchinis.Changing seasons for our ediblesThe tiger zucchinis are doing very well this year and I scramble to harvest them before they get too big. Half of one of these beauties was grated into a tuna salad, while the other half was sliced and was added last to a stir fry featuring onions,...
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
How 2's: Marigolds
Hey Kids, I've got another How To for you today. I though we would talk about Marigolds. Nothing is as beautiful as a flowing bed of marigolds. They are the flower that gives without giving up. By being drought resistant, disease tolerant, and ever flowering, this plant has become a staple in many gardens....
Monday, 9 June 2014
What is this
So check this out! I am used to seeing grubs when I am digging and planting, normally they are small maybe a half inch. While I was planting some noble giant spinach, I ran across this guy! look how big he is, almost half the size of the plant tag. probably 2.5-3 inches long! If I grew up in the Amazonian...
Fairy Garden DIY: Potted Succulent
Okay kids, I've got another fairy garden DIY for you today. This one is pretty easy (I'm getting all of the easy ones out the way frost before tackling the harder ones). Fairy Garden Succulent Planter, it's way too easy. You know if you have succulents in your yard how quickly they begin to reproduce....