Pest Control

AS it turns out my peas are actually doing rather well in the back. Thee canopy is almost closed in, but they seem to get just enough morning sun to produce their sweet little pods. The mustard greens are also doing well, except for the assault waged by cabbage worms and plenty of other pests breeding as well. My Broccoli and even my nasturtiums are getting eaten. The invasion is pretty bad, so I'm taking measures to reduce their numbers.


When I find those cabbage worms I pick them off by hand and feed their carcasses to the ants. I'm also trying to create a habitat for birds so they can snack on my garden pests. I have bird feeder and am going to work on creating a more hospitable environment for them, including a bird bath and maybe a few bird houses. I've put a few worms in the feeder to let them discover whats on the menu down below. So far so good.



I also went to a near by park where I've seen lot of lady bugs and captured a few. I gently introduced them into my garden and let them feast on my tiny foes. After a few days, they still scuttle around the area where they were placed. I've witnessed them feasting on aphids, its gruesome, but satisfying. Hopefully I can encourage more beneficial predatory insects.

April

The backyard garden, mint in the foreground, with plenty

 of greens thriving in the background.

This Spring I have had the benefit of developed soil.  I put down lots of organic material over the winter and let nature take it's course.  The beds have really rich dark humus, it's no longer that hard crusty clay that greeted me when I moved in. I also have a nice layer of dead leaves that acts as a mulch keeping in moisture, everything seems to be much doing better than last year.  So at least I've gotten that right so far.  

Learning from my failures last year I planted plenty this year in February and March. Consequently were now enjoying lots of lettuce and mustard greens and other delights that over wintered, like collards, green onions, mints and other herbs.  So far things are looking great.  That is also partly because the trees aren't fully leafed yet. In a week or so the canopy will be complete and shade will occupy the currently sun drenched parts of the garden.  We'll see what grows then.

 

Happy Spring?

The weather was just beginning to turn into something that resembled spring. We've had an unseasonably cold winter for north Texas. Temperatures were often below freezing and we had several accumulations of snow that aren't too common. It was nice to see the buds start forming on my grape vines and notice small bits of green slowly emerging from the barren ground. March 15 is our average last day of frost, and as far as I could see in the forecast things looked rather charming as far as the growing season was concerned.


Yesterday became really cold and rainy. I had already planted my pepper and tomato seedlings, so I covered them with a nice blanket of hay just in case of a frost. This morning instead of a light frost I woke up to about 5 inches of snow in my yard.


The back yard all in white with my hammock in the foreground

I then thought this would be a good time to start my record keeping for the season. I'm really bad about keeping a good journal for gardening, so my blog will have to do. Beginning again while snow coats the ground seems like a good idea. Winter melting away into Spring, and as it turns out the rest of the week is going to be in the 70s so it should be really nice weather soon.


The front yard with all my tomatoes and peppers buried under straw and snow.

My garden should be much more productive this year. The soil has had time to develop, and it's now rather rich in organic matter. The dark rich humus is nice compared to the hard clay that greeted me when we first moved into this place. I just hope I can figure out the light situation. My ongoing battle with the trees that canopy the property has proven to be an interesting situation as far as growing edibles is concerned. I've mad lots of progress though, so hopefully things will be better this year.

I hope.