State of the Garden July 2015

Tomato Plants in July - Garden Lady

There are so many changes in the garden since my last post, here's an update. 

Black Beauty Eggplant - Garden Lady

The Black Beauty Eggplant started ripening last week and it's thrilling to give this away as well as prepare my favorite eggplant dishes. (See Eggplant with Garlic Sauce here: recipe and video)

In my last post, I was concerned about some shriveling of the leaves on the green and jalapeno pepper plants. Despite the damaged appearance, these plants are producing just fine. I came across a North Carolina Extension article on tobacco leaf shriveling due to inadequate calcium uptake. Since tobacco shares the Nightshade family, this could be the issue with the pepper plants as well. We like jalapeno poppers (click here for recipe) and sausage served with sauteed onions and peppers.

Tomato on the Vine - Garden Lady

Just this week, tomatoes have turned to a light orange and I've started to pick. If left on the vine too long, there are issues with squirrel and insect predation.

Spaghetti Squash 10 weeks from seed - Garden Lady

Spaghetti squash was planted from seeds and is now in it's 10th week. No gourds yet, but the bees are busy pollinating. The yellow and crookneck squashes are still producing although a week-long drought while I was on vacation slowed them down a bit. That is fine as I have plenty of garden produce right now. There's some powdery mildew on some of the leaves.

1st Mammoth Sunflower to Bloom - Garden Lady

The special thrill in this year's garden is the Sunflowers. I planted Burpee Hybrid Mix and it's a surprise to see the color and size when each flower blooms. The larger Mammoth variety is reaching to the sky. I will need a ladder just to photograph the flowers. The tallest is 10 feet and growing. The rest are at 8 feet. I encourage everyone to plant sunflower seeds as they have brought me so much enjoyment. As mentioned in my previous post, the deer are an issue, and these plants are inside an 8 foot electrified fence.

Row of Mammoth Sunflowers - Garden Lady

I've learned a few things this season that I'll incorporate in next year's garden. For one, I let the tomato plants get too tall, and they are falling over the tomato cages. Next year, I'll top them off. I would also like to try mulching next year. We stopped using leaf mulch because it seemed to increase the bug population. This year, we have had lots of stink and squash bugs, and use Sevin Bug Killer to keep them under control. How do you feel about leaf and grass mulch contributing to insects in the vegetable garden?

I hope my readers are enjoying their gardens and nature as much as I am. I would love to hear from other gardeners in the comment section below.

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State of the Garden June 2015

June Vegetable Garden - Garden Lady Blog

Vegetable plants were put in May 9th. The tomatoes are looking healthy and most have small fruit starting. The exciting part is that the fruit seems to double in size every day. It's interesting to just walk through the garden and see the changes. Black waste material on leaves led me to find and remove a few caterpillars. This will also alert me to the larger Tobacco Hornworm due to make an appearance soon. North Carolina is going through a period of extreme heat (90 degrees and above) which can affect the tomato harvest. When this happened last year, green tomatoes started falling off the vine. My solution was to pick the tomatoes in a green state and ripen indoors.

Eggplant - Garden Lady Blog

The eggplant plants are much larger this year. [Last year's small plants only produced small yellow fruit. It was quite a disappointment.] Flowers are blooming and new leaves are appearing daily. The leaves have some holes from insects and there is a bunny hanging around, but I feel these are minor issues.

Leaves Shriveled on Jalapeno pepper - Garden Lady Blog

Green and Jalapeno pepper plants have fruit started. Some of them are shriveled at the top, but still producing fruit.

Spaghetti Squash Plants - Garden Lady Blog

Taking my own advice, I moved Spaghetti Squash out of the garden to a little space along a wooded area. This avoids garden spaces from the previous year where insects overwinter. I was overruled, however, and we have Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck in rows inside the regular garden. It's rotated at the other end from where squash was planted last year, but every anomaly at the base of the plants reminds me of the horror of Squash Vine Borer.

Base of Squash Plant - Garden Lady Blog

Squash Flower - Garden Lady Blog

Some of the plants have fallen over from their own weight, and I've had to cover up exposed roots at the base. I've already removed Squash Bug eggs. Insect predation is a major challenge when growing squash. I'm hoping we can enjoy a lot of squash before the bugs take over. Two days ago I harvested 4 yellow squash.

Sunflowers - Garden Lady Blog

A new item in the garden is Sunflowers. Deer predation makes growing Sunflowers outside a fence to maturity impossible. There's a row of Mammoth which will grow 5-6 feet tall. We've added t-posts and string to support the plants. A shorter row of Hybrid Sunflowers is 3 feet tall and starting to bloom.

So life is getting exciting in the garden!

Here's a count of plants:
  38 Tomato plants
  16 Eggplant plants
  28 Green and Jalapeno plants
  25 Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck squash plants
  30 Mammoth Sunflowers
  10 Hybrid Mix Sunflowers
  15 Spaghetti Squash plants

Hybrid Mix Sunflower - Garden Lady Blog

Last summer's State of the Garden article can be found by clicking here.

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How to Trim Pampas Grass (Videos included)

Pampas Grass in the Summer

After an extremely cold winter, our Pampas grasses looked shaggy and beaten-up. Since we have about 30 of these plants, I began to search for an easy way to trim off dead leaves. Pampas leaves are sharp enough to cut skin so long sleeves and gloves are a necessity. I was interested in minimizing handling to reduce injury and save time.

A few weeks ago, I asked for suggestions on trimming Pampas Grass in the Master Gardeners LinkedIn group. The response was wonderful with a wide range of helpful suggestions.

I took the ideas and modified them to our equipment and temperament. Equipment: A neighbor had just gifted me an electric hedge trimmer. Temperament: I'm basically impatient (too much yard, too little time) and have 30 of these plants.

Pampas Grass Before Method 1

Method 1- Secure with Bungee Cord and Cut with Electric Hedge Trimmer

This method used a bungee cord to hold the leaves together at the base. An electric trimmer was used to cut below the bungee cord. It helps to have one person cutting, and another person pulling the cut stalks away from the trimmer. See video here.

Pampas Grass After Method 1

Pampas Grass Regrowth After Method 1

Pampas Grass Before Method 2

Method 2- Twist Sections and Cut with Electric Hedge Trimmer

We gathered large sections of Pampas leaves, twisted them, and cut below the twist. The twist held the cut leaves together long enough load them in a wheelbarrow. See video here.

Pampas Grass After Method 2

Pampas Grass Regrowth After Method 2

Pampas Grass Before Method 3

Method 3- Burn Dead Vegetation

We've always wanted to try the burn method. The dry leaves are caught fire and allowed to burn down to a stump. This method is the quickest since there are no cut leaves to rake up. The danger of lighting fires cannot be overstated. 

For us, it was an ideal situation to try this method. The ground was wet from a very rainy period. There was no wind. No fire bans were in effect. These Pampas Grasses were a couple of hundred feet from any structures.  See video here.

Pampas Grass Regrowth after Burning

Pampas Grass After Method 3

Pampas Grass Before Method 4

 

Method 4 - Hand Trim with Hedge Shears

In this last method, I chose a small Pampas bush to demonstrate solo trimming. Working alone, I tied the base of the grass with a bungee cord. Using hedge shears I cut below the cord until the top grass was separated from the base. I was pleased that the bungee cord held the loose cut grass together and made disposal easy. See video here.

Pampas Grass After Method 4

This summer I'll take pictures and post them below each method. We can see which trimming technique has the best results.

5/18/2015 Regrowth photos have been posted. All methods supported regrowth. The plant used for Method 2 was more exposed to winter elements than the others, and had a lot of dead vegetation. We had given it up for dead when a few sprigs appeared! Except for the burn method, there's a lot of clean up of dead vegetation required. All in all I'm very happy with the appearance of my trimmed Pampas Grass. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

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Characters at my Bird Feeder Part II (Videos)

 This is a continuation of Characters at my Bird Feeder. I offer photos and videos of birds that frequent my North Carolina bird feeder. Part 1 can be found at this link.

Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and a pair of Brown-headed Nuthatch are featured in the above video. A White-throated Sparrow also perches on the feeder. I believe White-throats prefer to feed from the ground, but snow and ice prompted this behavior.

Male Northern Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal

Cardinal

The perches on my Droll Yankee birdfeeder seem awkward for the larger Cardinals. Years past with other feeders, I had more Cardinal activity. However, there is a pair that can be counted on for a quick daily visit.

8 House Finch Below & 2 Perched on Feeder

House Finch

Prolific breeders. Families as large as 7 descend on the feeder and clean it out. They discourage the other birds by sitting on the feeder and pecking away newcomers.

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco

These birds herald the coming of winter with a regular October arrival. They are not feeder birds, but will pick up dropped seeds. They feed in groups and exhibit a stunning variety of gray, charcoal, and black coloring.

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Light cocoa-colored caps on these birds enchanted me from first sight. They make very quick visits to the feeder just grabbing a seed and eating out of sight. The video below shows one of these speedy trips. A Cardinal, Chickadee, and Tufted Titmouse are also in the video.

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Characters at my Bird Feeder Part I (Videos)

Kitty watches Activity at the Bird Feeder

The kitchen sink window has a good view of my bird feeder. Over the years I've become quite familiar with the bird visitors.

Each season brings the same birds and we've become a family - tolerant of each others' habits. Let me tell you about these characters.

Brown Thrasher

Thrasher

Watching this guy under the bird feeder, explains the name. He swings his long beak side-to-side like a pendulum as it plows up the ground. This unearths dropped seeds and sprouts. He's the largest bird visiting my feeder, but gracious - not a bully. His long beak is scary, and he keeps the squirrels from taking over.

We have other Thrashers around, but this one shows up in the fall and maintains a solitary presence at the bird feeder all winter. I'm grateful to have him recycle dropped seed.

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Wasteful. All the safflower seed in my feeder is the same, but this bird throws down 10 seeds for every 1 he keeps. Drives me nuts - this stuff is $20 a bag. I can't watch this waste, and have to leave the room. (In his defense, the Wren eats off the ground and may pick up some of his discarded seed.)

Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse

The pretty Titmice are regulars at the birdfeeder. Chirpy and sociable. I can count on them to hang around and entertain me while they eat.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

These beautiful little black and white birds seem to be dressed in tiny tuxedos. They socialize in groups with the Titmice, and happily chirp.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Peaceful and quiet. Mourning Doves silently arrive in pairs and small groups to clear the ground around the bird feeder. They are terribly skittish though, and fly off with a squawk when I come near.

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Like the Juncos, White-throated Sparrows arrive for winter and have a charming presence in my backyard. They eat off the ground around the feeder and seem to enjoy the company of other birds. By hopping and scratching with their feet, they unearth small bugs and seeds.

I recently learned that these sparrows' heads can be marked with either tan or white stripes. Males prefer white-striped females and females prefer tan-striped males. Either way, they have beautiful brown, tan, and white markings with the distinctive white throat.

I'll continue writing about my bird feeder visitors in Part 2. Characters at my Bird Feeder Part 2 is available here.


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Squirrels at the Birdfeeder

The Droll Yankee Flipper could be a solution to squirrels in your birdfeeder.

Deer Visits Birdfeeder

House Finch enjoy the Birdfeeder

Most bird lovers who maintain birdfeeders struggle with a squirrel problem. Squirrels love the easy food source that birdfeeders provide. Sometimes a simple baffle can prevent squirrels access to a bird feeder. In my situation, I have far too many trees that allow the squirrel to jump over the baffle. The Droll Yankee Flipper keeps squirrels out of my birdfeeder.

Many people are familiar with the flipper birdfeeder because of YouTube videos featuring spinning squirrels (video below).  Excessive weight triggers spinning of the ring-shaped perch. I've had my Flipper birdfeeder for 3 years and haven't seen any spinning squirrels in over a year. The squirrels in my yard quickly figured out the spinner and avoid it. The spinner rarely runs so I only need to recharge the battery twice a year.

There's plenty of seed below the birdfeeder

The first few months I had the Droll Yankee Flipper, young squirrels  would jump on the spinner long enough to spill seed out of the feeder onto the ground.

Bottom line, the Droll Yankee Flipper keeps the squirrels off the birdfeeder. They still get fed because my birds drop massive amounts of seed on the ground.