Fusarium Wilt...

Something isn't right in the tomato patch. All of my tomato plants are doing very well except for the Yellow Pear Tomato. I think it has Fusarium Wilt, caused by a fungus in the soil. So, out it must come. I just hope that it doesn't spread to the other plants. But, now that it is in the soil, it'll be there for several years.



And I thought this would be the year that I had a great vegetable garden. The first cucumbers tasted wonderful. The first peppers were delicious. The squash plants are looking nice. There are lots of green tomatoes. But now there is Fusariam Wilt. I guess that is a reality of gardening.



This is a brownish-sort-of post. The pods of the 'Captain of the Blues' Sweet Peas are ripening. Today I picked them to be able to collect the seeds. Some of them had already twisted open, so I missed those seeds.




But I will still be able to have some to save for next year. I really enjoyed these Sweet Peas, so I am looking forward to growing them again. Even though the plants haven't been that attractive for the past few weeks, I have left them on the trellises so I could harvest the seeds.



And one more brown thing. Look what I discovered as I was examining the Sweet Pea pods. Usually the Praying Mantises are green, but I think that when they are living on something brown, they turn brown. He/she camouflages very well. I like having these guys around. They are fun to watch.


Have a beautiful day!

Sweet Marketmore Cucumbers...

My Sweet Marketmore Cucumber plants are doing very well. I think they are going to outgrow their trellis soon. And today I discovered a cucumber ready to pick! Of course, there are plenty more blooms so I hope to have lots of cucumbers this year.


Even though the chicken house was finished a couple of months ago, I finally got the chicken door put on hinges just today. I have been stacking stones in front of it to hold it closed, but that was getting rather tedious. The chickens loved having me in their house. They just hung around me and watched everything I did. They pecked at the screws and hinges and even the cordless drill didn't seem to bother them. They stayed with me the whole time I was putting up their door.




As I was squatted down working on the project, one of them jumped up on my knee to get a better look. I thought that was very sweet! She stayed there for a minute or two before she jumped off and then another one jumped up!




That one stayed on my knee for even longer and then, as I bent over to tighten the lower screws on the hinges, she climbed up on my back! She was perfectly content to stay there for awhile, but I eventually did have to straighten up. I think my chicken girls are so much fun. They are very soft and pretty and friendly. I never dreamed I would like them as much as I do!


Have a beautiful day!

Vegetable garden..

So, here's what's going on today in my vegetable garden. Twisty slim peppers are forming on this hot pepper. It is a Slim Red Cayenne. Uh, the red is the plant tag, not a pepper. A little to early for ripe ones. You can click on the picture for a larger view.





Sweet peppers are just starting to form, too. This one is Purple Beauty. I think I have grown this variety before, but I had the soil too rich, so it didn't do so well. I am hoping for lots of peppers this year.




My cucumber plants look lovely. I started these from seed and they are doing great. I do need to thin them out, though. They are Sweet Marketmore cucumbers.




And, very exciting, one of my tomato plants has little green tomatoes! This is a Marglobe tomato plant and this is the first time I have grown this variety, so I'll have to see how it does for me. So far it looks super!


Have a beautiful day!

Vege garden...

I finally finished preparing my vegetable garden "soil" yesterday, so today I was able to plant some, well, yes, vegetable plants. That includes tomatoes. Lovely tomatoes. Julie says the picture doesn't do them justice and she is right.



I just love the way tomato plants smell. A couple of them already have blooms, so even though I didn't get them in the ground as early as I would have liked, maybe I can still have tomatoes in a reasonable time and redeem myself.





Along the row of tomatoes, I planted seedlings of my purple basil. There is a story behind my purple basil plants which I'll have to tell you sometime.




Some of the sweet peppers I planted also have buds on them. I hope I get LOTS of peppers this year. I planted Sweet Basil and Thai Basil with them.




As I was looking at the pictures I had downloaded from the camera today, I found this one that Kirstin had taken of Luca. Luca loves to sleep in boxes! And you can see some more of my plants.


Have a beautiful day!

Ashes...

So, what thrilling, action-packed, mile-a-minute, exciting adventure did I have in my garden today? I sifted ashes. Yep. That's right. I sifted ashes. A couple of months ago, I built a huge bon-fire to get rid of some old (smaller) structures, rotten lumber, etc., so I had a lovely pile of wood ashes. Which can be really good for the garden. Except, these ashes were full of the nails and other hardware from the stuff I burned. So today I sifted the ashes. Now I can spread them and dig them, along with some other organic amendments, into my exquisite red clay to make a nice bed for my vegetables.




And if you were hoping to see something pretty on my blog today, I won't disappoint you. This rose is blooming right next to my vegetable garden. I don't know the name of it, as it was given to me by a neighbor, who also didn't know its name, but it grows very well and I enjoy it. I hope you will, too.



Have a beautiful day!

Tomato seedlings...

Well, I was going to start my tomatoes from seed this year, like I usually do. However, somehow it just didn't work out that way. I wanted to plant in January, but that was a little too early. I did buy some seeds, to add to the ones I already had. About the time I should have started them, life didn't slow down for me to get my tomato seeds started. (Can you imagine that?) Still, I thought, I have some time. Somehow it slipped away. And there comes a time when you just have to move on. Thankfully, New Garden Nursery had a very nice selection of locally grown tomato seedlings. Now, to get them in the ground...


Have a beautiful day!