Old Reliable

Zinnias are about the only thing blooming in the kitchen garden right now.  I almost didn't plant any this year, but  I couldn't resist the reliability of their long-lived blooms, and neither can the butterflies.

Monster in My Garden

I found this monster in my garden yesterday morning.  He had almost completely defoliated an entire Hot Portugal pepper plant overnight.

Tomato Hornworm

I am irrationally terrified of all things wormy (yes, I do have vermicompost bins in my basement containing thousands of Red Wigglers).  So, I knocked on the door of the best neighbor in the world and told him that I had a "wildlife issue."  He came over and eliminated the problem.  He put it in a jar, and we fed it to the chickens.  The ladies flipped out over it and chased each other around the yard, competing for this prized meal.  The monster was at least four inches long.  

Later that evening, as I thumbed through the latest issue of Mother Earth News, I found a letter that referenced the tomato hornworm titled "Save the Hornworms."  In it, Marilyn Smith from San Jose writes:

 I firmly disagree with the tip in "All About Growing Tomatoes" (Crop at a Glance).   The advice to pick and eliminate hornworms gives the erroneous impression that the worms eat tomatoes.  If you can find one on or eating a tomato, go ahead and destroy it, but you won't.  The green worms are so impossible to find because they remain on, and only feed on, the leaves.  We all know a healthy tomato has leaves to spare.  Let's not encourage the destruction of harmless creatures in our garden environment.  (Hornworms morph into amazing hummingbird moths.)

Seriously?  While I agree that the hummingbird moth is a beautiful creature, I believe that is Ms. Smith who is "erroneous" in giving the impression that the worms are "harmless."  I am well aware that they do not consume the fruits of the plants on which they alight.  However, they can easily destroy the entire plant within a matter of hours by stripping it of each and every leaf.

I usually have a live and let live attitude about most garden creatures, but not in the case of the hornworm.  My message to Mr. Worm:  KEEP OUT OR DIE!

Front Porch Nest Update II

 It's hard to believe that just last week, these guys still hadn't opened their eyes yet.

They've gone from this...

to this in just a week.  And now...

They fill the nest to overflowing.  Mom is busy keeping them fed.

Front Porch Nest Update

All four baby birds in the front porch nest are doing well.  Mama stays busy, bringing home bugs all day.

Waiting for Mom.

Their fuzzy little heads make me smile every time I pass by them.

This is what they looked like just last week.

Do I Hear Something Chirping?

There are several nests around the farm that are full of tiny little miracles.  Pictured below are two of the nests that are low enough to look into.  

This bunch is living in an apple tree.  The tree is young and protected by a wire cage.  It makes a very safe home for the family.

Mama bird did not like me getting so close to her babes.  She swooped down and knocked into my rear end with such huge force that I yelped and ran away.  What a great mother!

This nest is a masterpiece made mostly of moss.  The builder also incorporated a good amount of dog hair (long, white dog hair that obviously came from Miles and Thurgood).  It sits on top of our porch light.  It is well sheltered from the elements.  The light bulb went out months ago, and we rarely use the front door, so the birdies have found themselves a very peaceful spot. 

Giant eyes, giant beaks!  Can you see the St. Bernard fur in the nest?

I wish I could identify these sweet creatures for you, but I have very little ability in that department.  I can tell you what they aren't.  Neither nest is of robin, bluebird, blue jay, cardinal, crow, or oriole.  Beyond that, I haven't a clue.  

I hope all the hatchlings survive.  I'm so excited to get to watch them grow.  I amazes me that day-old chickens can walk around and basically take care of themselves while these guys are helpless without their mothers.  

I'll try to get more photos as they grow, if the mothers let me.  I'm not sure I want another thwop on the butt! 

Black Snake Down: R.I.P. Garden Helper

There are a lot of snakes around the farm.  This is a good thing; they keep the rodent and insect populations in check, and I admire their beauty.  Most of the snakes around here are black snakes, worm snakes and garter snakes, but I know there are also some copperheads lurking about.

I had the misfortune of stumbling upon a dead black snake today, and I have her blood on my hands (not literally).  She got tangled up in the wildlife netting that keeps our kitchen garden safe from deer and rabbits.  This must have happened sometime between last night and this morning.

The flies are doing their job.

 This snake is between 3 and 4 feet long!

We used wildlife netting for fencing this year because it is cheap.  We erected the kitchen garden fence while we were in the midst of building the Hen House, and we had spent A LOT of money on building materials.  We weren't sure that the wildlife netting fence would be effective in keeping our veggies safe, but it has worked impeccably well.  This was our first tragedy.

We had planned all along to buy more substantial fencing for the kitchen garden no later than next spring.  This purchase has now become even more urgent.  I don't want to see any more critters fall victim to this lethal structure.

On the bright side, that snake didn't get the chance to hurt the chickens or dogs.  I know she's not poisonous, but I wouldn't want Thurgood or Miles to get a nasty bite while "playing" with the rubbery rope toy.

I'm too much of a wuss when it comes to dead animals, so I'll have Ben move her when he gets home from work.  "How was your day, Honey?  Wanna move a dead snake for me?"

Now for something more positive...

The fernleaf fiddleneck has bloomed!   This is one of my favorite flowers.  It's extremely aromatic.

Roses are always lovely.  Miles loves to stop and smell them (literally).

 The not-so-simple nasturtium

Sweet Potatoes and a Lizard

It has been raining almost everyday for over a week now.  The weather has severly limited any possibilities of working in the garden.  The weeds are growing ever taller, and the grass is out of control.  At least I don't have to water anything.

 My sweet potato row

I lucked out last week and was able to get the sweet potatoes planted and mulched.  I planted 200 Beauregard slips that we ordered from Johnny's.  We are addicted to sweet potatoes in this house, and they're Thurgood's favorite.  He knows from the moment I put a raw sweet potato in the oven that he'll be getting the skin later that evening.

I found this lizard under the mailbox.  He was so well-camouflaged that I almost picked him up while I was weeding.  We have a ton of five-lined skinks out here, but I haven't seen these guys before.

Chicken Feet on Grass

The high was 80 degrees yesterday, so I thought I'd give the little critters a chance to bask in the sun.  I built them a playpen of chicken wire, secured it with sod staples, and covered the top with wildlife netting.  We have a lot of resident hawks that cruise our property all day, so I also stayed outside with them the entire time.  The chicks huddled up in what I call their "mound of fear" for a while.  I guess that's to be expected - they had never felt the grass under feet before.  It took a good hour for them to adjust to the shock, but they had a good time.

The Hen House is almost ready!  I've finished putting on the primer/sealer and one coat of paint.  I just have to paint one more coat and do the detailed trim work.  Ben will finish fencing-in their yard in a week or two.  I'm working on a big "Work in Progress" post for the Hen House, so I can show each step of the way.

The Stunted Albino and Wild Boar

When growing artichokes from seed, a good amount of culling is involved.  Some seeds will produce stunted plants, while others produce albino plants.  Also, you'll want to transplant only the most vigorous of whatever remains.  The germination rate of artichoke seeds can be relatively low to begin with, so I planted about 40 in the greenhouse.  I started the first set on February 14 (gives a whole new meaning to heart day), and another set two weeks later.  The Valentine's Day artichokes have been popping up like crazy for the past few days.  They are looking healthy and happy, but the little guy on the left will have to go.

He is a stunted albino artichoke.  I'll keep him around for a bit out of pure curiousity, but he's gone as soon as room starts to run out.  So far, the rest of the plants look like the lady on the right.

In other news, we finally caught a glimpse of the elusive wild boar.  Mr. (or Ms.) Pig has been wallowing around the farm since winter began.  We had seen his tracks, his scats, and bits of hair, but we hadn't seen him in the flesh until two nights ago when we were on our way to the greenhouse to turn the heater on.  We're going to put up a wildlife camera this weekend to get a better idea of his habits.  Piggy, your days are numbered!

Three of My Favorite Things

As I was poking around in the greenhouse this morning looking for signs of new life, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the hops is coming up.  We put in three varieties last year, and all of them did very well in the greenhouse.  Hopefully, they'll start producing this year.  It would be so awesome to use our own hops in an IPA.  I couldn't get a good photo of the little guys this morning, but I've included a pic of two varieties as they were last year.

Willamette and Nugget Hops

We ordered most our seeds from Seed Savers Exchange this year.  Previously, we had gone with Johnny's Seeds and Seeds of Change, but we really liked SSE's varieties and prices.  I think we made the right choice.  So far, all of the seeds I've used look extremely healthy.  Actually, I've never seen such robust-looking seed before.  They're very clean and have an all-around fresh look.  We ordered our garlic from SSE last fall, and it's doing really well.  We chose Georgian Fire and Elephant garlic for a contrast of flavors.  Garlic seed is pretty expensive, so we won't be eating any of it this year.  We'll plant everything we harvest.

Georgian Fire or Elephant garlic.  I can't remember which we planted where.

In other news, I got to see a Big Brown bat this morning.  I love bats.  My neighbor was cleaning out his basement when he found the guy.  We know it was a Big Brown bat because my neighbor is a member of the Bat Conservation Association.  I wish I had taken a photo, but I missed my chance.  The bat was still in hibernation mode when he was discovered, but he came to his senses and fluttered away into the forest in a matter of minutes.  One point for the Bat Conservation Association.

Dog, Toad, Chicken

Weekend Recap

We worked hard, and we played hard last weekend.  Two of our good friends came down from the mountain for a visit Saturday.  We fired up the mud oven that I built last summer (she still needs a name), had a pizza feast, and went on a little adventure on the Kubota.  On Sunday Ben worked on the hen house while I prepared some vegetable beds.

 

Today in the Kitchen Garden

We have a personal kitchen garden in the backyard between the dog's yard and the woods.  It is my new favorite place.  Ben and I moved into this house last June, so we put in all the beds last fall, and this our first time planting a kitchen garden at this house on Memory Lane.  We used to grow miscellaneous vegetables in the asparagus field, but there won't be enough room there this year.  It will also be a lot easier to manage the garden now that it's in our backyard.  I had so much fun today.  I planted Amish Snap peas, Mokum and Scarlet Nantes carrots, and Detroit Dark Red beets along the fence.

Thurgood Morsel kept me company.

 

It Happens Every Spring

My heart skipped a beat as I flipped up my shovel at the very end of the last bed I sowed today.  Up with the scoop of dirt came a huge toad.  He was at least eight inches long from toe to toe.  Too bad he only escaped with three feet intact.  I didn't think he would make it at first, but I'm too squeamish to perform a mercy killing, so I abandoned that particular piece of earth to allow Mr. Toad to gather his bearings.  A few moments later, he crawled out of his hole with great determination.  I hope he survives, but if not, he'll make a great meal for some other farm or forest friend.

I try to make light of the situation, but maiming an animal or taking a life is not something that I can just brush off.  I still remember the toad I stabbed with a pitch fork last spring.  I was mulching blueberry bushes and the poor guy wasn't as lucky as this year's spring toad.  Instead of destroying a limb, I forked him in the heart.

See the lower right foot?  No you don't.  Toad, I apologize.

We Have THE Best Neighbors

Our next door neighbor used to keep Rhode Island Reds.  His coop is now vacant, and he has passed the torch to us.  We are now the CEOs of the Memory Lane Egg Production Association.  Too cool.  He gave us our first coop accutrement.

I briefly mentioned our intentions to can a lot of food this summer, and the same neighbor gave me these jars this morning.  Eleven of the twelve have never even been used.  Thank you!