butterflies

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had a lot of different butterflies in the yard.  It was a beautiful day last Sunday, so I decided to put down the iphone and try to remember how to use the "real" camera.  This Gulf Fritillary was hanging out on the Turk's Cap for most of the day.

We had several of these small butterflies (Bordered Patch) in the garden all day on the Cosmos flowers. 

The Orange Sulfur tended to prefer the Turk's Cap as the "flower de jour".

Finally, toward the end of the day, a Monarch showed up.  Overall, a really cool Sunday in the yard.

Temps in STX today are 68/51.

finally fall

Got started a little late with the fall garden posts this season, but here are some pics from the garden.

Purple Hull Pea Flower

The Purple Hull Peas

My first fall harvest!!

Not quite enough for a meal yet.....hopefully, more to come this week.

Some onions, swiss chard, tomatos (better boys), and bok choy (new experiment)

Other notes: I have an assortment of other things planted to see what we get.  Lots of tomato plants, with mainly leftover seeds from the spring - Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and Box Car Willie.  Also, some Super Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes and two Better Boys from transplant.  No tomatoes yet, but the plants are starting to perk up with the cooler weather - fingers crossed.  I have a couple of other random things like patty pan squash and one straightneck squash from transplant, a cilantro plant, and one big Jim pepper.  They are all looking a little peaked, hopefully, they will liven up as the weather becomes more mild.  I have some broccoli and brussels sprouts from transplant, looking good, but still small.  Finally, I planted some lettuce mix and radishes from seed.  Had good luck with the lettuce mix last year (mesclun); but the radishes are a first. Lots to still catch up on in the garden.  I think the fall theme is randomness!!

Temps today in STX are 83/70.

summer soltice

A couple of pics for the longest day of the year.  I found this caterpillar in the garden this week.  According to Google, it is a type of sphinx moth.  Definitely, disguised well on the tomato plant!

 The summer solstice harvest from yesterday.  A few random tomatoes left, with the exception of the sungold's.  The second to last cuke on the vine and some okra and eggplant.  The okra is looking great, but unfortunately, the spider mites have found the eggplant.   

Time to start thinking about what to plant this fall.....

Temps today in STX are 95/79.

summer

Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks.  Summer is here and some of the vegetables are slowing down.   The cinnamon basil is doing well and has a nice purple flower.  The sweet basil is also going strong at this point.  The tomatoes are pretty much done setting, with the exception of the Sungold cherry, that is still setting a few, but not many.  Also, the Better Boy from Fall 2012 has set a couple of tomatoes in late spring, after a heavy crop in early spring.  I cut it down almost to the ground and it has come back.  The squash may also be finishing up, only male flowers for the past few weeks.  Eggplant still producing, but has been hit by the spider mites, so treating with insecticidal soap.  Cucumbers has a couple of cukes on the vine, but not getting many new flowers.

The okra is really starting to take off.  I have a total of about 10 plants spread across the three beds.  I love the okra flower.

A bit blurry, but found this monarch on Gregg's mistflower in the yard.  

Temps today in STX are 89/79.

memorial day

Thankful today and everyday for those who served to make our lives better.  Here are a few pictures from the garden this weekend.  This is my first plumeria that has ever bloomed!!  I have had it for about 3 years and I always thought it had a yellow flower, but it is actually a beautiful pink and yellow color.  It is still in a pot at this point, but will be in the ground soon, I should of planted it two years ago!!

The first black beauty eggplant is ready to eat.  The two eggplant's (black beauty and ichiban) have done really well to date.

My second cucumber, which is two more than I got last year!!  I am not sure on the variety of this one, it was a freebie from work.  

The sungold's are still going strong, despite fighting blight.  Still setting a few tomatoes, not a lot, temps are getting warm fast.

Hello Summer - the first okra of the season!! Lee variety.

Tatume (calabacita) squash that was a dollar at the nursery two weeks ago - I couldn't resist.

Rambling red stripe tomato that was free at the nursery, it does have a few flowers, hopefully, the temps will cooperate, so it will set a few tomatoes.  I am such a sucker for different varieties of tomato plants.

Temps today in STX are 86/76.

adios spring

Although, summer doesn't technically start until June 21st - I am fairly certain it is summer here and I am sure in about 15 days, our electricity bill will confirm it.  So here is the spring 2013 recap.

Feb. 2, 2013.  Potatoes on the left, squash on the right, and new tomatoes in the back of the large bed.  Alyssum flowers on the edges.  Fall crops (tomatoes and brussel sprouts in the other two beds).

 Mar. 10, 13.  Eggplant and cucumbers added to the middle (and we got a new fence!!).

Mar. 27, 13.  

Apr. 18, 13. 

May 19, 13.  We have harvested all the potatoes.  Area replaced with a couple of okra plants. Nasturtium flowers are also still visible.  Squash, looking leggy and bare, after battling powdery mildew and the wind, but has new growth on the ends - I am hopeful, for another round of patty pans.

Other notes: Okra in the ground in all three beds in available space (~ 10 plants total).  Variety: Okra Lee from seed (Park Seeds).  Supposed to be compact variety reaching about 3 ft.   Late season additions - This is what happens when you go to the nursery at the very end of the spring season and most vegetables are half off or free.  Tatume (Calabacita) squash - supposed to do well in this climate, from Mexico - was on sale for a dollar, so I had to give it a try.  It has a small amount of PM, hopefully, it can be treated.  Rambling Red Stripe tomato (cherry) - very late in the season to try and start a tomato, but I couldn't pass up "free."  Supposed to be smaller, determinate, hybrid.  Photos next time.

Temps today in STX are 88/77 with WIND.

tuesday....

new zucchini

I can never complain when I have a little time in the garden on a weekday evening - even if it does mostly consist of trying to outsmart the powdery mildew (pm).  Yesterday's attack on the pm was a milk solution.  I guess the good news overall is it has only really affected the patty pan squash at this point (I found it on the tomatillo, but it seems to be faring better overall).  The pm has not gotten to the zucchini plants, that have just started to show some fruit.....there is a whole story behind these zuch's -long story short - they are supposed to more resistant to pm - we'll see.  

Harvested some more tomatoes and the first eggplant.  I usually have to pull the tomatoes when they are a pink or light yellow for the sungold's and let them fully ripen up inside; otherwise, our resident sparrow population treats themselves to some homegrown maters.  I should say I think it is the sparrows at this point, we have a pretty good urban suburban bird population residing in our hood - so there are quite a few suspects.   

The best part of yesterday, was dinner - all the veggies and herbs were from the garden except for the onion - store bought.  I have onion at the top of the fall planting list!!  

dinner!!

Temps in STX today are 82 / 73 with RAIN.  

eggplant + more maters

Happy Mother's Day!!  It has been a nice weekend of catching up in the garden.  We have been battling powdery mildew on the squash (and lots of other plants in the yard) and at this point, I think the pm is winning.  But, on a positive note, we have eggplant!!  I can't ever remember eating it, but my mom informed me I used to eat it, a la casserole - so I guess I did.  It seems to be doing well in the garden, so eggplant and I are going to get reacquainted.

Back on the tomato front, the spring crop is starting to turn.  I picked the first batch of heirlooms:  Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.

We have had one and it was very, very tasty.  This from a person who did not proclaim to like tomatoes until well into adult hood.  

We had a really good initial setting of tomatoes; however, except the Sungold (cherry), nothing else is setting at this point.  Below is the list, as of today:

BHN 602 (Hybrid) - Initial heavy set, large fruit.  No new settings, fighting blight.

Black Krim (BK), Box Car Willie (BCW), Cherokee Purple, JD's Special C-Tex - All good first set, no new settings.  BCW some blight.  BK - Lower limbs turning grey and dying.

Sungold - Cherry - some blight, but still setting, with lots of tomatoes.

Better Boy (from fall 2012 planting) - cut back to base, new growth with a few new flowers, no setting.

Temps in STX today are 77/67.

maters

So......after the below mentioned "soaker hose event" it rained over 4 inches in about 5 days, very thankful, it has been really, really dry.  On the tomato front, we have gotten a great early harvest from the Tycoons and Better Boy - thanks to no freezing temps this winter.  They were really starting to look like they had run their course (blight?), so I went ahead and pulled everything out - except the Better Boy.  He had some nice new growth on the bottom, so we will see if it can set another crop.  Above are the last of the spoils, plus some from the spring planted Sun Gold, which is quickly becoming a favorite as well.  Most of the green ones pictured, have a hint of red, so they should turn as well.  This spring has been awesome so far, we are eating a lot of tomatoes and giving away as many as we can.  Below documents the end of the Tycoons and the Better Boy -  with a little life left.

Temps in STX for today are 75 / 50.

water garden

Does multitasking work? ......well, not if you forget you turned on a soaker hose in your raised bed garden.  Eleven hours later, I discovered my mistake.  Hopefully, not too much damage done, with the exception of me single-handedly trying to deplete our region's water supply during a drought. I felt really bad about the whole thing.  One of the tomato's (Cherokee Purple) fell completely over and almost out of the bed, but appears to be a good as new with a few stakes to hold up the cage.  Also, I have been fighting powdery mildew on the squash and this probably did not help my cause on that front.  The best part to this story is 24 hours later it actually rained.  

On a side note - my mom gave me the good idea to post the high / low temps at the bottom of each entry - so here we go:  71 / 66. 

weekend

A nice evening harvest to end the work week yesterday.  The first potatoes - thanks to KT for the starter taters.  They might be one of the new favorites in the garden - low maintenance. The tomatoes are from last fall's planting - Tycoon's and Better Boy's.  The plants have definitely run their course, so we will probably have to pull them, once we harvest all the tomatoes, but we got fruit off of them all winter.  Will probably plant both of these varieties again in the future.  Below is what's left of the Better Boy - still with a few tomatoes.

great morning for squash

white patty pan squash.....with bees!!

the test blog

Testing Testing 123....I am trying to gauge if I am smart and dedicated enough to type out a blog.  Basically, because I want an easy digital way to record garden information at this point.  I had hoped to keep a journal, but have failed miserably.  So here is the great garden experiment of 2013, tucked away in the burbs of South Texas.  This is how it looked yesterday 04-14-13.