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Archive for October, 2009

>New Potting Bench

Posted in Uncategorized on October 17, 2009| 3 Comments »

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As I was driving back from the farmer’s market this morning ( unfortunately, I still need some supplemental veggies) I saw a beat up desk/hutch with two big “FREE” signs on it. It looked like the perfect potting bench. My husband has volunteered to help me paint it. Here’s the before pics. There are also two additional shelves not pictured.


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>Bloom Day 10/15

Posted in bloom day on October 15, 2009| 2 Comments »

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Marigolds (in my tomato beds)

Zinnias

Zinnias w/ Purple Heart in the background

Knockout Roses – wanted to show scale

Mums – one of two that survived the summer

Knockout Rose closeup

Batface Cuphea w/ Cosmos in the background

Trailing White Lantana – just planted

Black and Blue Salvia w/ Gold Lantana in the background

Black-Foot Daisies

Thai Basil – I don’t like the flavor as much as the standard,
but the flowers are awesome

Not technically a bloom, but the color of the
“Bright Lights” Swiss Chard is worth a photo

Lamb’s Ear w/ Penta (and a cute little friend)

Horseherb – With all the talk of this ground cover lately,
I thought I’d post mine. I am a big fan.

“Fruit Cocktail” Shrimp Plant




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>Asp / Puss Caterpillar

Posted in pests on October 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

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I found this crazy guy on the knockout roses yesterday. I knew I had seen it in the “Texas Bug Book” and luckily didn’t touch him before finding out what he was. He has sharp spines hiding under the soft fluffy fur that are apparently pretty painful and full of poison.

I found another one stuck to the front door this morning.

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>Soldier Bug Update

Posted in pests, stink bug on October 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

>Today I looked closer at what I thought were “Spined Solder Bugs”, which are beneficial insects. I found three of them sucking from a tomato. Well, I was thinking that it didn’t seem like a very beneficial thing to do so I took another look at the Texas Bug Book and found that they are stink bugs. So I now have the trifecta on my cherry tomato plants, Tomato Horn Worms, Leaf-Footed Bugs and Stink Bugs. I will try and get a picture tomorrow while I am removing them.

I like the Texas Bug Book but wish it was organized a little differently. It would be nice if there was an index that was organized by the type of plant the bug was found on. I find that I usually have to look through the entire book a few times before narrowing down the culprit.

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>One of those Days

Posted in cutworm, okra, pests, recipes on October 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

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Today I got home from work early enough to spend a few minutes in the garden. I wandered around only to find two new pests. It’s one of those days where you wonder why you even bother. Why don’t I just leave it to the professionals?

Here is where the cutworm laughed at my attempts to block him. I caught him in the act, stretching as far as possible to bite just above the straws I put in yesterday. I found a second one, but destroyed them both before taking pictures.

Here are the next culprits. I don’t know what they are, but would appreciate any help. I couldn’t find them in the Texas Bug Book. These little critters eat through the stems on the tomato plants. You can see the droopy end, completely cut off from nutrients. I may have to resort to some organic pesticides on these guys.
Why do I bother? Well … I just finished eating some sauteed okra. Simple olive oil, salt, pepper and whole okra. I also mixed in some zucchini and mushrooms. Mmmm! I agree with a friend of mine that plain old sauteed okra is just as good as fried, as long as you can handle a little slime.

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