August 12, 2005
I Give Up!
For all the effort that has gone into our garden one would think that I’m still as excited about it as I was at day one. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Between the heat, humidity, and a plague of insects I’ve lost all desire to tend my dying plants. Our garden is as organic as they come—watering is kept to a minimum and fertilizer is as foreign as pesticides, organic or otherwise. The insects have free range.
When did this happen, you might ask. Why the abrupt surrender? It’s really been more of a slow decline, beginning when Nate and I returned from California in early June. The tomato plants had tripled in size while we were gone and need to be staked. Again. Over an hour after beginning the task I emerged sweating, filthy, and with no less than a dozen mosquito bites, to which I am allergic. I also noticed that all but the cherry tomatoes were rotting on the vine. It’s a condition I’ve since learned is called blossom end rot, due to a calcium deficiency- most often caused by poor watering. Oops. So I made an irrigation system and eggshell tea for my suffering plants. Then it was time for California trip number two.
When we came back the fruits were doing okay but the rest of the plants were in tough shape. Completely infested with three types of hideous creature: giant grasshoppers the likes of which I’ve never seen before. They’re as big as my finger; light brown with big eyes the same color as the rest of them (the one in the image above isn’t as creepy as those in my yard). The second bug is commonly known as a brown stinkbug—and yes, they stink when you kill them. The final bug is commonly known as a blister beetle because their blood causes blisters on the skin. Lovely right? Blister beetles don’t have a reputation as great havoc wreakers, but not so in my back yard. I’ve also spotted the occasional cutworm—another nasty, though there aren’t as many of these as the others.
Also take into consideration the Midwest weather. It’s not that I’m unaccustomed to heat. We had plenty of that in California. It’s the stifling humidity that gets me. I would never go outside at all except for my raging addiction to nicotine. I get lightheaded just thinking about what it would take to fight back the infestation in my garden. Repeated treatments of insecticidal soap, applied with great attention to detail (you have to coat every part of the plant) in oppressive heat/humidity amidst swarms of mosquitoes. No thank you. And for what? We already have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. I can only imagine the situation if the plants were thriving.
So there it is. From now on I’ll stick to container gardening, at least until I’m living in a more hospitable clime. Missouri weather and creepy-crawlies have gotten the best of me. I know this post begs for actual pictures of my plants to illustrate my point, but Nate has the camera and frankly the sight is just depressing. While I readily admit defeat it isn’t a happy fact. Now I am going to brave the outdoors for a cigarette. Wish me luck.
Posted by April at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2005
The Flowers are Blooming!
Not a lot to say- just that there are some flowers blooming in the garden and I thought it waoud be nice to post some pictures. Above is an amaryllis. So pretty!
That's it for the close-ups, a California poppy. Oh, California!
These are in the font yard, and you can see the amaryllis in the background.
And, just for fun, a picture of the garden beds- see how they've grown!
And, finally--because I couldn't resist, a picture of Hermano that Nate took:
Posted by April at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2005
Dare to Keep Your Veggies Off Drugs
A few days ago I began my new job as a plant watering maven at Lowes. In addition to sunburn, freaky tan lines, and dirt that will never come out from beneath my fingernails, I’ve acquired a new appreciation for organically grown, non GMO food.
I was watering the vegetable section and couldn’t help but compare my tomato plants (the left-hand photo above) with the ones available at Lowes (which are represented by the slightly exaggerated photo on the right). Then it occurred to me that every vegetable or herb for sale at Lowes, provided by Bonnie Plant Farms, comes with a tag advertising Miracle-Gro, Osmocote, or products manufactured by Bayer. That’s right—Bayer, the aspirin people. It’s no wonder that these-over fertilized, and (probably) genetically engineered plants are doing “better” than my own. It’s like the corporate plants are on steroids—and I’m not the first person to make this comparison:
“When pesticide-based agriculture was first developed, they hybridized what they called the Green Revolution. It seemed like a miracle, because we were suddenly doubling the crop yield. It’s actually similar to injecting some amphetamine into a human being. They are going to suddenly feel a tremendous rush of energy. If they don’t have some sanity and common sense they may think, “Oh this is incredible! I’ll just plug into the energy of the universe.” But a drug induced addiction is not stable and it’s not sustainable, and it’s not healthy. In agriculture we have become addicted to chemicals in the form of chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides.” John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, as quoted on Marion Owen’s website, Plantea.com.
I poked around a bit online and found out that while Miracle-Gro, like many other synthetic fertilizers, may increase crop yields it actually diminishes food’s nutritional value and causes long-term soil damage. (You can get more detailed info on that here.)
I don’t want to go into a litany about the benefits of organic gardening, as there are so many sources already available that are more informed on the subject than me. The same goes for GMOs—genetically modified organisms. I will go over a couple basics: genetically engineered (GE) foods threaten biodiversity; they generally require greater use of pesticides- a terrible environmental and health hazard; once GE crops spread there is no containing or controlling them.
So- while my plants don’t appear as mighty as those available at Lowes, I can be confident that they’re better for me, and even better still, better for the earth.
Resources:
Victory Seeds. A small farm in Oregon that produces heirloom seeds the old fashioned way. Their website is full of wonderful gardening and activism resources. All the seeds I purchased this season from Victory Seeds are doing very well and I highly recommend them.
Organic Consumers Association. A website devoted to informing consumers who care about issues surrounding organic and GMO/GE food production. They have lots of news on the subject as well as ways you can help, including signing this petition.
Posted by April at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
Garden Update- I Have Pictures!!!
Here are some from the front yard:
This is the planter to the left of our front door. There are many more roses now.
This is the other planter. Behind the spiky bush are lots of wildflower sprouts.
Canna Lillies. They were already here when we moved in. I hope they grow really tall to improve the way the house looks from the street.
and now for some views of the back...
Raised veggie bed #1 The raised beds now have marigolds planted along the borders...I’ll tell you later. The lone plant not in a mini greenhouse is Nate’s cherry tomato.
The herb garden.
Geraniums. I got them at the local farmers market.
Sweet peas.
Trellis for the sweet peas. They’re taking their time growing up it. I will post more pictures as they do.
Posted by April at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
Garden To Date
The garden is finally on its way, though there is still a lot to do. At least the beds are built and the first round of veggies has been planted. We have two kinds of tomatoes- Pink Brandywine and Green Zebra, jalapenos, and lettuce (so far only the head lettuce is in, the spring mix will be soon). I just remembered that we have a third kind of tomato- a cherry tomato. Nate neglected to tell me when we were ordering seeds that he only like cherry tomatoes. So I got a starter plant, which is why I don’t really consider it the same was as those I started from seed.
We also have herbs: chives, parsley, tarragon, thyme, oregano, and sage. I only started the chives and parsley from seed, the rest of the herb garden is from starters. I don’t seem to have much luck getting herbs to grow from seed, as evidenced by the condition my parsley is currently in.
Not much in the flower department, which is a shame because those are always the most rewarding things to grow for me. The sweet peas are off to a good start and we bought marigolds to plant in the holes in our cinder-block vegetable beds. This weekend Nate will be creating one last bed for flowers and I have one of those wildflower mixes slated for the location, but I think it might be too late in the season to be planting seeds. And I’d rather have more control over what to plant.
Sorry there are no pictures yet—I took some yesterday but have to wait to get them on the computer.
Posted by April at 11:29 AM | Comments (2)