A Big Tomato Harvest after a Wet August

Fresh Harvest of Cherry Tomatoes

We had a lot of rain in the last 30 days. 8-10 inches in fact. My gardening friend quoted "17 inches in 16 days" so results vary. The good or the bad part of it, depending on your perspective, is most of the rain would fall overnight. There was no progress made on indoor projects. I remained outdoors mucking around wet grass and picking over-plump tomatoes.

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

Vegetables

Tomatoes were splitting with the excessive rain, but mostly edible. I harvested a nice bunch of eggplant to make my eggplant with garlic side dish. The eggplants are small, about 6 inches long, but I'm happy to have them. It looks like another group will be ready for a September harvest.

Tomato Harvest

Tomato and Eggplant Garden

Tomato Plants

The jalapeños are plentiful. My summer's first serving of jalapeno poppers were so intensely hot, however, it scared us away from one of our favorite dishes.

Pests

Hornworm Eating Green Tomato

There was an uptick in hornworm and other caterpillar activity on the tomatoes. This is a challenging game of trying to spot the very well-camouflaged worm on the plant. Clues are a stripped stem or a chewed green tomato (see photo) or waste material on leaves.

False Dragonhead Flower

Flowers in bloom

The late summer flowers are starting to bloom now. A couple of days ago, the first False Dragonhead bloomed. When several of these bloom together, the color impact of the purple is amazing.

Crape Myrtle Tree in Bloom

The flowers on the Crape Myrtle tree are a deep pink or fuchsia color. The tree has been allowed to grow tall so that the blooms are at the second story windows. Cleomes have finished blooming and I've collected seeds.

American Beautyberry

The American Beautyberry is known more for its purple berries than flowers. The green berries are starting to change to a dramatic purple.

Coming Up Everywhere

Wind and birds have reseeded several plants across the yard.  Lemon Balm, Crape Myrtle, and American Beautyberry plants are popping up everywhere.

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I hope you are having a great August! You can find rainfall totals for U.S. locations here.

The Joy of Gray Tree Frogs

Juvenile Gray Tree Frog

Top View: Gray Tree Frog

I never gave the little gray frogs clinging to the underside of our pool much thought. They were tucked into themselves trying to sleep and save energy for the coming night's insect hunt.

Tadpoles at 5 weeks

All that changed when I rescued frog eggs from rainwater collected in the pool cover. For the next 3 months, I raised tadpoles to frogs. If you're interested in my tadpole blog post it can be found here.

Newly Emerged Froglet on Lemon Balm Plant

Gray tree frogs are nocturnal. During the day, I have found them resting on a shaded water faucet, on a sunflower branch, or above the water line at the pool. At night we have seen them on a window waiting for insects attracted to the indoor light. 

New Froglet Appearing Green on Leaf

Color

Gray Tree Frogs can appear whitish gray, greenish white, green, or brown. The froglets climbing out of my tadpole habitat were dark brown. After several hours, the one frog that stayed around turned green. This camouflaged him with the leaf he rested on. The adults that rest above the water line around the pool appear white. The juvenile I found poolside was a greenish white. The frogs on the window hunting after dark are green.

Gray Tree Frog Looking Green

Gray tree frogs or H. versicolor are able to camouflage themselves with their surroundings. The dark froglet emerging from my habitat looked like a mud speck on the black plastic habitat container. The poolside frogs are white-gray and blend into the pool liner that has a white and blue design.


Tadpoles

Gray Tree Frog tadpoles living in nature with predators can develop a red tail. This bright tail helps them survive. Of course my tadpoles were safe and had normal tails.

A few of my observations on raising tadpoles were:

• They would not eat mosquito larvae.
• Some mortality was due to cannibalism.
• They preferred dried worms to fresh.

The tadpole project was long, but enjoyable. These are great little frogs! I was happy to assist the 19 tadpoles that developed into frogs.

More information on the red tails: http://mister-toad.com/photos/frog/gray-treefrog-tadpole-01.html

Spelling: Tree frog or treefrog?

Treefrog can be spelled as one word or split up: tree frog. While searching the internet for information, I concluded that about half the websites spell it tree frog and half the other way.

Lots of Green Tomatoes in my July Garden

Cherry Tomatoes on Patio Plant

 Vegetable Garden

Since I planted tomatoes and peppers late this year, July presents itself with lots of green tomatoes. I have bunches of cherry tomatoes growing in containers on the deck. Massive caged tomato plants are along the back of the house. Small eggplants have started in this area also. I hope to get good eggplant produce, but recent years have been plagued with the opposite. In the past, aphids have overrun the eggplant so I aggressively treated these with a soap solution this year.

Cherry Tomato Plants Thrive on Deck

Tomato Plants off the Deck

Across the yard in the traditional vegetable garden, the yellow and zucchini squash are battling with the insects. Jalapeno peppers are producing great, but the green pepper plants are off to a slow start. Several of these plants died after bugs ate most of the leaves..

It is interesting that my zucchini, which has always been a stalwart of the garden, has not produced a single fruit. I photographed the beginnings of one, but haven't seen anything since. The squash bugs have been around for a couple months and I haven't had the heart to use a pesticide. The store-bought yellow squash plants are producing in small numbers.

We're making plans to rest this garden area next year. Because of back problems, I'm to avoid bending, and weeds and grasses have taken over.

Japanese Beetles on Eggplant Leaves

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly on Butterfly Bush Flower

Flowers in Bloom

The Butterfly Bushes are smelling great and attracting many skippers and swallowtail butterflies. The Hibiscus is blooming and attracting bumble bees. Stargazer lilies continue to bloom.

Hibiscus in Bloom

Pests

Japanese Beetles are numerous this year. In the past, they have destroyed Hibiscus blooms and Azalea leaves with their relentless appetites. This year, my gardener neighbors and I have noticed the diversity of plants being attacked by this pest. Butterfly Bush blooms, Crape Myrtle leaves, Strawberry leaves, Cleome blooms, and Asparagus ferns are now on the menu. I collect the clumsy beetles in jars of soap water. It's a chore that can go on all day. It seems I will have to treat the yard in the spring to curb the beetle infestation.

Sedum Showing Leaf Damage

The mystery pest of the month has attacked the sedum growing in the front yard. The leaves have been partially removed down the stem in "corn cob" fashion. Is it insect or is it animal?

Thanks for reading my blog post! I hope your gardening is going well. All the best, Pam

Mother of Tadpoles

While we were out of town in May, some rainwater accumulated on the pool cover and frogs laid eggs. Before draining the cover, I scooped up the eggs in a couple of large plastic cups.

The next day I had two cups of tadpoles! This began my job as "Mother of Tadpoles."

Tree Frog

Frogs and toads throughout the world are fighting a deadly chytrid fungus. Anytime I have the opportunity to save a frog or two I pitch in. Because my family had seen tree frogs around the pool, our guess was that these were Gray Tree Frog tadpoles.

I set up a habitat in a rectangular plastic bin and placed it under a deck canopy for shade. A couple of large rocks and floated grasses provided cover. I had 100 tadpoles.

Tadpole Habitat

Research of tadpole diet listed flies, mosquitoes, worms, and grubs. I thought feeding would be easy because after a few days it became apparent that I was also "Mother of Mosquitoes." Yes, large numbers of mosquito larvae were also in the habitat. They swam right in front of the tadpoles without fear. For good reason. My tadpoles had no interest in eating mosquito larvae.

This latest discovery was upsetting since many diseases are carried by mosquitoes: West Nile Virus and Zika to name a few. Bug bites were common enough without me adding to the mosquito population.

I cut a piece of screen and covered the habitat. In this way, I could prevent more mosquito eggs from being laid in the habitat. It would also keep the mature mosquitoes from escaping. If I was lucky, the tadpoles would have an appetite for mature mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the screen obscured the view and enjoyment of the tadpole habitat.

Screen obscures view of habitat but keeps mosquitoes out

Early on I learned that the tadpoles would eat pill bugs and earthworms. They preferred this "food" to decompose for a couple of days before eating.

Process of Straining Out Mosquito Larvae

Close Up of Tadpoles

After 3 weeks, I strained out the tadpoles to remove the mosquito larvae. This reduced the mosquito larvae by 75%. The latest count was about 50 tadpoles.

As the weeks slowly passed ( it could take 4-8 weeks for the frogs to develop), I maintained a schedule of feeding every other day. I added the food in the corner by unclipping the screen to avoid the escape of any mature mosquitoes.  In week 4, I was down to 25 tadpoles. My numbers were down, there were no dead tadpoles floating around so read between the lines. The 25 tadpoles swimming around were getting big and healthy. Yes, they had to be eating other tadpoles. Sad. It was disappointing that they would eat their brothers and sisters, but let mosquito larvae dance right before their eyes.

Tadpoles Week 5

Week 6 - I counted about 20 tadpoles in the habitat without legs.

Week 7 - Tadpoles are pencil eraser size. I am going away for a week. In preparation, I remove the screen and place a log and stick in the habitat. If the tadpoles complete their transition to frogs, they will be able to leave the habitat.

Tadpoles Week 8

Week 8 - I return from vacation and count 10-15 blueberry-sized tadpoles. One tadpole has legs and a long tail. The others are legless but very plump. I am happy that I will see them leave as frogs. The habitat contains mosquito larvae. The growth of these tadpoles is at the 2 month mark. This has been a longer project than I anticipated. I feed the tadpoles earthworms, and replace the screen to keep the mosquitoes in check.

First Frog to Leave Habitat

Exciting news! The afternoon of the day I wrote the Week 8 update above, one of the tadpoles completed its transformation to a frog. It was so small it resembled a dab of mud on the lip of the habitat container. It is very delicate and petite when compared to the tadpoles. I removed the screen for the frog to make its way out of the habitat. It stayed on a log for several hours. Later it moved to a spot on the habitat lip protected by a potted plant. The next morning it was gone. There are around 17 tadpoles left. 2 appear to have legs. The first frog was one day short of 2 months old - two months since it hatched from an egg in a plastic cup!

Cleaning Day

Week 9 - I began the 9th week with a cleaning of the habitat. I used a toy insect net purchased from the Dollar Tree. Each tadpole was carefully scooped up, separated from mosquito larvae, and placed in a temporary holding container. I was happy to discover the population count to be 20 tadpoles with one-third having legs. The next morning a small froglet with a stubby tail had moved out of the water. It seems they will be maturing into frogs very quickly now.

Froglet Resting on Side of Habitat

Tadpole Habitat July 2018

Week 10 - The tadpole count this week was 12. Since tree frogs are nocturnal, it seems that some frogs have been leaving the habitat unobserved. This morning I photographed a very agile froglet scrambling onto a branch. He still has a tail stub, but looks ready to leave. I had to replace the screen cover to discourage mosquitoes. One side of the screen is open to allow frog migration.

Froglet Week 10

After two months of this project, I realize the maturing of my tadpoles will be gradual and might  continue for another two weeks.

Froglet on Lemon Balm Plant Week 11

Week 11 - I checked the habitat each morning and frequently found froglets along the container sides. Since the habitat screen was open to some potted plants on one corner, the frogs could mature to "land" life in the backyard. As before, mosquitoes took the opportunity to lay eggs in the habitat. I spent some time transferring the tadpoles to a clean container and dumping the mosquito larvae. This will probably be the last "big" cleaning I'll need to do. I have 9 tadpoles left and all but 3 of them have legs.

Froglet on Plant Pot

Week 12 - In just a few days, this tadpole project will be 3 months in duration. Over the last two weeks, 1-2 froglets liberated themselves from the tadpole habitat each morning. Only one stayed on a potted plant long enough for photographs. Being Gray Tree Frogs, their instinct is to head for the trees.

For 3 days, I have had only one tadpole left. He was noticeably smaller than the others.  He has not started growing legs, but has a good appetite and is now a normal "pre-froglet" size. I anticipate his metamorphosis will take another 5-7 days.

Treefrog Just After Metamorphosis

Week 13 - The last tadpole didn't make it. He died quietly in the habitat. This has been an interesting project. 3 months passed from the time I collected the tadpole eggs. Out of 100 small tadpoles, 19 made it to the frog stage. I can only guess that mortality in the wild is even higher. It's clear that anytime we have a chance to help a frog survive, we should lend a helping hand. These guys have a tough life as tadpoles with drought and predators.

Juvenile Tree Frog

To read more about Gray Tree Frogs click here.

June is Flower Time!

Stargazer Lillies

Flowers in Bloom

Early June brings daily blooms of all varieties. Perennials flourish from a 20 year history in this patch of cultivation. The succulent garden has spectacular yellow prickly pear blooms and orange daylilies - these are the same daylilies that grow on the roadsides in North Carolina.

Prickly Pear Cactus Blooms

Succulent Garden

Stargazer Lily Flower

What we call the "Mother's Day" lilies are some exotics like the Stargazer Lily gifted to me over the years. Sometimes they make a May appearance, but this year they started in early June.

Gardenia Flower

The gardenia bush with a lovely sweet fragrance has more flowers every year. It starts slow with 2 blooms and then, like popcorn, busts out in white blossoms. I can see 20 blossoms from my kitchen window. This bush is a testimony to patience and rooting your own plants. A girlfriend and I were walking through downtown Wake Forest when we admired a blooming gardenia. She picked a flower, and I put it in a water glass where it grew roots. Now it's a bush with a 3 foot diameter! ( 15 years or so have passed)

Cleome Flower Blooming

Cleomes are the only annuals I grow every year. They drop enough seeds to insure plants sprout the next season.

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly on Butterfly Bush Bloom

My blooming flower report would not be complete without mention of the butterfly bushes. The one by the mailbox has started to bloom (purple). It gets the most direct sun. This year seedlings are sprouting everywhere seeds were dropped. Cracks along the brick steps, pots on the deck started with lemon balm, and the vegetable garden. Starting out small, these plants turn into mighty purple butterfly-attracting bushes!

Zucchini Squash is Blooming

Last Year's Overgrown Zucchini Squash

Vegetable Garden

The right combination of weather factors caused all the zucchini squash to bloom together seemingly overnight. Even the purchased yellow squash flowered.

Zucchini is tricky to raise because the green fruit blends in and under the large leaves. They are often discovered as gigantic fruits- 12 inches plus!

The bush bean plants are blooming, but my yield will be small. A whole row was lost to squirrel predation of the seeds. A couple of the "bush beans' are actually vines - not sure where they will go.

Cherry Tomato Plants on Deck

Mulched Tomato Plants

Late in May we purchased eggplant and tomato plants. Because of last year's fungus, we have started these plants in new gardens around the house. Cherry tomato plants are in pots on the deck. I had fun mulching these new vegetable gardens with decayed leaves. Hopefully this will hold back the Bermuda grass that is so persistent in these areas.

My enthusiasm over the strawberry plants has waned as the squirrels help themselves and leave half eaten fruit to clean up.

Moss Disturbed by Raccoons

Pests and Problems

There are lots of mossy areas on the property and raccoons have "rolled up" the moss in their nocturnal searches for food.The disturbed ground looks terrible, but I'm unaware of any solutions.

Every year as my hibiscus leafs out, small caterpillars skeletonize the leaves. I've played it both ways. One year I let the leaf massacre proceed, the plant bloomed as usual. Last year, I dusted lightly to stop the carnage. Because the plants are at the entranceway to the house, I'm leaning towards treating the leaves.

If you have made it to the end of this article, you realize there's a lot going on with the June gardens in North Carolina. I'm sure with warmer weather your garden activities have picked up as well. I would love to hear about it. Please leave your comments below. Have fun in your garden and all the best!