More from the garden

After we planted all weekend, my husband went over and mulched in the garden. It is kind of hard to see but our collards now look happier and we will begin watering them this afternoon. We planted over 50 collard plants and we still have a few more that we grew from seeds that are not ready yet. I don't think you can have too many collards. They are so good for you!

Above, you can see the Brussels sprouts and in the background our almost spent green beans. Believe it or not, we picked enough green beans last week for a meal over the weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if we had a few more random beans, maybe enough to add to a pot of vegetable soup. These green beans were very prolific.

On the right side of a half-row of winter squash we have a couple rows of broccoli. The round wire tower in the back if for our gourds planted all around the base. We are growing dipper gourds this year.

We do have a few more things to plant, like garlic and maybe carrots, some parsnips and a few more plants we grew from seeds but our fall garden is in the ground, for the most part. It is a chore but the fall garden doesn't need quite as much as the summer garden because you don't have to battle the weeds like you do in summer. We also need to watch for army worms. A weekly spraying of BT should do the trick there. I am so glad to have completed this part.

What a weekend!!

 I had quite a weekend this week because we had a big push to get our fall garden in before the weather turned really cool. We wanted to get the quick growth while the weather was still warm and we do have a good start already. Our kale is looking really great. I was pretty excited about the start we have gotten because kale is a big favorite of mine.

My mother is very excited about our bok choy that we are growing from seed.

Our late okra is beginning to produce. We love our okra!

Our onions and leeks are looking good.

We still have some hot peppers that are producing.

And our turnip greens are beginning to look good, too.

We planted some more winter squash and though I don't have much hope of it producing before frost, it is worth a try.

We are also leaving our zinnias which are still blooming. Our bees still have something to come to the garden for. On Saturday we had hummingbirds buzzing around them.

We had to do quite a bit of plowing because things had grown up more than usual for us. We need to do some major mulching and we may have to do some hand watering before we get rain again.

We also planted about 150 collard, broccoli and Brussels sprout plants which need mulching, too. We planted them after we took these photos--but I was just too tired and my muscles ached too much to take more photos. I just went home and took a very warm bath. Obviously, I need to get out in the garden more often.

This was a great start for our winter garden and of course we are hoping and praying for more rain.

Taking advantage of summer sales

Yes, sadly, these are my feet in flip flops--corns, bunions and all. I am not trying to be a foot model and I am neither proud or ashamed of my feet. I am proud of one thing. I bought these new flip flops I am wearing for just 75 cents at CVS.

If you are like me you plan to take advantage of all those summer bargains out there and though summer is almost over, it's hard to resist buying end of season bargains. I have a few rules for myself that I consider conservative bargain shopping rules. Even if I really like an item and it is very cheap, it must fall in these categories or I won't purchase it:

#1: Is the item cheap enough so that I can get enough use from it so that the item pays for itself? These flip flops were cheaper than a pack of gum and roughly the same amount as a small candy bar from a vending machine. Flip flops are more pricey than they used to be (isn't everything?) so I think these have already paid for themselves.

#2: Can I use this item? Certainly I can. I think I can use them for the remainder of the warm weather and for next summer. Truth is, I can use them better than the before-mentioned candy bar.

#3: Is it stylish enough to use next year? I believe they are. I bought two pairs--one, the blue ones above, and a solid black pair. If I had chosen different colors, maybe not. These items are not out there, so it is a yes for this rule.

#4: Will it go with other things in my wardrobe? Yes. Jeans, a blue sleeveless dress and plenty of casual clothes. These flip flops will go with most of my casual clothing.

#5: Is the item age-appropriate for me? Yes. Another color, maybe not. Flip flops are for everyone. I can't wear them just anywhere but I have plenty of places I can wear them. I can't work in the garden in them but I can walk to the mailbox and go to the beach or the pool and they are great at-home wear.

#6: If I get it home and don't like it, can I give it to someone? I think the answer is yes.

I will have to wait until next summer to really make good use of this purchase but right now I am pretty pleased with myself about this find--even if I don't look like a foot model.

Our summer garden: The good, bad and the ugly, plus the top 12 things we will do next year!

 At this time of year, I feel it is the time to review the successes of our garden, the good, bad and ugly and see what practices we need to continue and what we need to change for next year. Here are the winners, losers and the top 12 things we will do next year.

We grew many of our plants from seed and we will continue that practice for sure. We saved so much money. Our favorite seeds? I would have to say that the Chianti Rose tomato seeds from Renee's Gardens were wonderful. We also thought the lilacs and Italian Roasting Peppers were great but those giant, meaty red tomatoes were the best. We had an early period of drought and unfortunately some of our seeds didn't come up. If we had watered during that time, we would have had a better result but we left the seeds in the ground too long without rain. So:

Number 1: Plant more Chianti Rose tomatoes from Renee's Seeds

Number 2: Continue raising our own plants from seeds. It really does save money.

I liked the peat discs but my sister did not. I think after the plants reach a certain size, they contain the roots too much and might stunt plant growth.

Number 3: Either forget the peat discs or be sure to cut them off when planting.

Number 4: Continue to plant herbs throughout the garden. This year we planted cilantro, basil and lavender in the garden. Next year we will plant more and include dill for sure. The bees love the flowers on the herbs and they are great to have in the garden.

Our squash growing saga--growing organic squash where there is an infestation of squash vine borers. I didn't get so upset this year when we had vine borer's and that was a good thing. The row covers we used were a big help and helped the vines grow until mid-summer. The drought was a factor with the squash and hurt their overall health after being attacked by the dreaded worms.

We did have some success in growing squash in straw bales at another location but we had a little too much shade in that area and we eventually had squash borers there, too.

Number 5: For squash, the row covers are vital. We must use them every year to protect from vine borers.

Number 6: Also, next year we try spraying with an oil solution, a kaolin clay (Surround) solution and something like diotomaceous earth to help protect squash from vine borers.

Number 7: We will plant squash in two week intervals to hopefully keep them coming. We have two vine borer invasions in our area and we need to continue planting for a larger harvest.

Number 8: We love, love, love Ronde squash. They are wonderful and we will plant them again and also straight-neck yellow squash rather than the crookneck variety. Straight-necks have better yields.

My husband did learn a new way to cook zucchini. That was a real plus.

It was a terrible year for cucumbers. We had an awful crop. The weather was way too hot and dry for them and I guess that you just have better yields some years than others.

We also had more wild blackberries this year. I think if it hadn't been for the drought we would have had more but I still have enough in my freezer for another pie. Yum.

One of our biggest success stories this year was green beans. We had kudzu bugs on them and that was a negative but we tried planting rattlesnake beans this year and they are the best! We had tons of beans and they were so delicious.

Number 8: We WILL plant Rattlesnake beans again next year. They can't be beat. The weather conditions weren't the best yet the yields were so high and the beans were wonderful. We will be changing from Kentucky Wonders to Rattlesnake beans. We are sold on them.

 We picked them by handfuls and bugs didn't seem to go for them quite like before--maybe that was because of the tons of diotomaceous earth we used on them. We finally used Neem oil and the kudzu bugs. They are such pests. They didn't seem to cause as many problems but they would fly into your face when you picked beans. They didn't like Neem oil at all.

Number 9: We will continue using lime in the fall. I feel like it helped with our tomatoes. Not much end rot and better yields.

Number 10: Sweet cherry tomatoes. They were so sweet. We picked them and ate them off the vine. I have never enjoyed miniature tomatoes so much. We will plant them again.

Number 11: We will grow sweet potatoes next year. They were SO good.

Number 12: We will mulch even more this year. The mulch was probably one of the best things we did this year because of the drought. It kept the water in and helped us, probably more than we realized. We will continue to mulch--but even heavier next year.

A cat--the best pet for a gardener

Not too long ago, one of our garden club members--and one of the nicest people you will find anywhere--came home to find her cat had been killed by another animal. She was understandably upset. She told us that in addition to being her friendly companion as she tended her garden, her cat was a very helpful partner in her gardening endeavors. He ran off the mice, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels and other animals that were just waiting to steal her vegetables and munch on her flowers. She told us that a cat was the best pet to have if you were a gardener.

I really can't argue with my friend's gardening expertise because she is an amazing gardener. Many of you might know her as the "Straw Belle Lady," Charlotte Nelson. She grows amazing amounts of vegetables and herbs along with flowers--plus her beloved hostas--in her back yard in suburban Coweta county. In my opinion, her energy and love of nature and animals cannot be equaled in these parts.

That is why when she gives hints and tips about gardening and pets, I take them to heart. If she says it, I believe it will work because she is proof it is true. I am just sorry this tip had to come from her tragedy. My sister and I decided that we really needed to have a garden pet, a cat, to help ward off critters. The decision was made but I guess we needed the stars to align, or something to make it happen.

This past Sunday, I guess you could say they aligned. My husband and I went to lunch after church with friends and while there, a young lady (and animal lover) asked if anyone would like a cat. She just happened to have some out in her car and had an immediate need to give them away to good homes.

I have been wanting to pull the trigger on getting a cat since we found that a predator of some kind was raiding our garden at night, feasting on watermelons and our low-hanging tomatoes. (Last year it was our corn.)

I decided to seize the opportunity and now my sister and I are the proud owners of a garden cat--actually he is a little kitty and we are expecting him to grow into a cat to keep us company in our garden and to act as our garden guardian.

He is mostly black and there is a touch of white on his nose and a small amount of white under his neck and on his front paws. Our friend said he looked almost like he was wearing a tuxedo. His back paws have a little more white. He is very sweet.

We were a bit worried about what my sister's dogs would think of him but her "alpha dog," Tia, seems to be enthralled with him. I would never have guessed that!

Finding a name for him didn't take long. We decided to choose a "garden" name and after running through a list of garden vegetables, we decided to name him Basil. I think that is a perfect name for a garden cat. It is kind of an old-fashioned and elegant, British name for a little kitty dressed in a tuxedo.

It will be quite a while before he can be expected to help us out in the garden, but we think that next year is plenty of time for him to become a valuable partner as our garden watcher.

Just a footnote, Charlotte Nelson will be the guest speaker on September 11, at the Backyard Association meeting sponsored by the Coweta Master Gardeners, located on Pine Road. Her topic will be Straw Bale Gardening and I guarantee you that her presentation will be good.

Love those black-eyed Susans

Almost everyday I go to downtown Newnan, Georgia for my day job. I really enjoy coming to the revitalized downtown area that folks here are so proud of--and for good reason. They do a very good job keeping things running and looking good, even in a slow economy.

One of the things I like best about the downtown area are the plants on every street corner. This year they really hit a home run with their choice of plants that sometimes flow over the planting area and just into the streets.

This year's choices were simple and striking. In the center there is Rudbeckia, also known as black-eyed Susans or cone flowers and all around, sweet potato vines. I love the contrasting colors and the vibrant black-eyed Susans are beautiful. They move in the wind and add a bright spot to each corner that speaks of vibrancy. I am sure it is the underlying message they would like to convey. I don't know if they realize how well the choices give that message. It also speaks of economy because these flowers have withstood quite a long hot summer season and though some of them are dying, they have lasted all summer and are still lovely.

The other day I had a moral dilemma. I was thinking about these flowers and how perfect they would be if I had something similar in my yard next year. I also spotted some flowers that were dried up and dead and I asked some of the people in our front office if they thought I was a bad person if I just dead-headed some of the flowers that were no longer lovely and vibrant. That way I could help the city and myself by cutting off the dead flowers and giving me seeds for planting in the spring.

Her reply was to hand me a pair of scissors.

I laughed, took the scissors and cut off a few of the seed heads to save, put them in a small box and labeled them and I will admit that I feel I had something of value. I also felt a little uncomfortable about it. I would rather have asked someone who planted them for a few seed heads.

I do know that this was the way people used to do things. Rather than go to the store as we do today, people shared their seeds--and their stories about where the plants came from.
I don't know if I was right or wrong to cut off a few dying flower heads but I do know that if I may have some beautiful black-eyed Susans of my own and I will be able to tell my little tale about how beautiful the flowers were in Newnan and how I just couldn't see them going to waste so I just snipped off a few to start my own that will hopefully come back each year.

I don't think I will be snipping of heads of flowers everywhere I go, but I know I will be taking plants and seeds from friends, neighbors and sometimes even strangers. Southern Living calls this practice, "pass-a-long" plants. I think my grandmother who always gave away plants to visitors and neighbors would love that I am doing this with so many of my plants now. I am not sure she would approved of my "Rudbekia theft," but I know she would agree with the economy of the venture.

Stylish recycling

Several weeks ago when we visited Murphy, Tenn. Murphy is a bustling small town with plenty of quaint shops and restaurants just over the Georgia/North Carolina border and just south of Andrews, North Carolina where we were visiting with family.

We saw plenty of antiques, fine art displays and handcrafts but I was amazed when I saw a new way to recycle old clothing items no longer in style. It is one of the best ideas I have seen of late and something that made me say, "I think I could do that!"

The craft is fashioning old men's ties into woven ladder back chair seats. My favorite was the blue-hued one above.

I also loved this one done in browns.

And this colorful one reminds me of a crazy quilt.

I don't really don't know exactly how they achieved this method. I am guessing that the ties are cut into strips and sewn, then strips are placed on the seat top and fastened to the wood underneath the seat. Then strips are woven across the other way and fastened tightly to the wood. I would think that a wooden lathing could be used to hold the strips more securely. It would obviously have to be strong enough to hold without coming loose when someone sat on the chair seat. A quick search gave me more than one way to do this. I am sure this would make a wonderful replacement for an old worn out chair. It would also make a wonderful seat for a child's room.

I am saving my husbands old ties and looking for yard sale ties. An ugly tie might be just be the perfect color for this craft.