Re: Butterfly Junction

countrynaturals 10/26/2019, 10:31 am

AtlantaMarie wrote:Suz, if you're along the fenceline, make sure you have some plastic or something down to prevent weeds/grass from growing between the fence & box.

I made that mistake & it's been miserable!

Thanks, Marie. That's one problem we don't have here. Our climate is so dry, nothing grows anywhere we don't add water. Since these beds will have drip irrigation, no water will ever reach the outside of the boxes, therefore no weeds. I do remember those days, however, when we had overhead sprinklers. Thanks for making me appreciate a major side benefit to gardening in our area. Cool

countrynaturals 10/26/2019, 11:11 am

8am, Oct. 26, and the sun is already coming in through the slider in the bedroom. I may finally get my dream indoor garden. Hope I can remember to check on it later, to see how long it lasts. Also, gotta do my homework to find out when the sun angle will get too high, so I don't have another disaster like last summer, when everything I planted there died from lack of sunlight. reading

countrynaturals 10/26/2019, 7:48 pm

countrynaturals wrote:8am, Oct. 26, and the sun is already coming in through the slider in the bedroom. I may finally get my dream indoor garden. Hope I can remember to check on it later, to see how long it lasts. Also, gotta do my homework to find out when the sun angle will get too high, so I don't have another disaster like last summer, when everything I planted there died from lack of sunlight.

At 3:30, the sun was still coming in, but it was gone by 4:45. I'm guessing it's getting 8 hours a day right now, but I'll check again, tomorrow. Hopefully, I can pay better attention, then. Embarassed

countrynaturals 11/1/2019, 11:17 am

countrynaturals wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:8am, Oct. 26, and the sun is already coming in through the slider in the bedroom. I may finally get my dream indoor garden. Hope I can remember to check on it later, to see how long it lasts. Also, gotta do my homework to find out when the sun angle will get too high, so I don't have another disaster like last summer, when everything I planted there died from lack of sunlight.
At 3:30, the sun was still coming in, but it was gone by 4:45. I'm guessing it's getting 8 hours a day right now, but I'll check again, tomorrow. Hopefully, I can pay better attention, then.

Looks more like 7 hours. When Daylight Savings Time goes off on Sunday, I'll add the LED lights for about 4 hours a day.

Started raking, yesterday. I lost most of the leaf crop in 2018, due to contamination from the fire. This year we've still got at least 10 days of perfect weather, so I should be able to get every bed piled high, and still have a pile left for later. happy turtle

I also have plenty of bio-char to collect and distribute, and a whole untapped source of well-aged goat manure and hay, so I should have the most fertile garden ever when spring rolls around. Very Happy

countrynaturals 11/2/2019, 11:56 am

Inside Brandywine is still lookin' good. It now has 3 branches with buds/blossoms, but still no tomatoes. It's getting about 7 hours of sun from the mbr balcony slider, but we set the clocks back tonight, so I will set up the LED lights tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if a few extra hours of light will speed things up any. geek

countrynaturals 11/2/2019, 10:06 pm

Gave all the tomato plants a liquid bone meal treatment. Raked another bunch of leaves and spread them around some more plants. Fertilized the carrots and radishes with Happy Frog (with microbes). I'm actually ahead of the game. There's only one more section to rake, then I'll have to wait for more leaves to fall. Feels good to be caught up on everything. cheers

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 2:22 pm

Today I'm working on my fall garden journal. The milkweed and Mexican Sunflowers are still blooming and we still have plenty of butterflies -- almost all Gulf Fritillaries.

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 2:29 pm

Getting more green peppers, after deer got them once and tomato horn-worms got them twice. Next year, I'll start them out in the Salad Bar and I think I'll cover them with tulle. They don't want that much sun, anyway.

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 2:39 pm

I still have more cherry toms than I know what to do with. This is a cluster of 5 5-gal containers around an oak tree in the Salad Bar.

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 2:45 pm

Still have 2 more lemon cukes (and some unknown green one).

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 2:55 pm

This kale is almost a year old. I'll probably replant in January or February.

Not shown: new starts for kohlrabi, etc. Sweet potatoes, asparagus, artichoke starts, Lima beans, asparagus beans, young zukes just starting to bloom -- may be too late, fancy radishes and carrots not looking too good -- maybe not good enough soil. Onions failed again.

**donnainzone5** 11/3/2019, 3:57 pm

Gorgeous butterfly, Suz!

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 6:20 pm

donnainzone5 wrote:Gorgeous butterfly, Suz!

Thanks, Donna. I've already made a note to plant more Mexican sunflowers for them next year. geek

**sanderson** 11/4/2019, 3:00 pm

Suz, sounds like you are on your game in the garden.

countrynaturals 11/4/2019, 3:35 pm

sanderson wrote:Suz, sounds like you are on your game in the garden.

Yup, this is the best I've ever felt about my gardens -- inside, outside, in beds and containers. And the frosting on the cake is the weather -- gonna hold for at least another 10 days. LIFE IS GOOD! (I even placed a small seed order last night from Baker Creek). alrighta

countrynaturals 11/6/2019, 2:40 pm

A few weeks ago, we had a cold snap. It seemed like fall was here. The Armenian cukes gave up and the fig trees turned yellow, then brown and quit producing.

This morning I discovered that the last few warm weeks convinced the fig trees that it's spring again. The bottom halves of the trees are yellow and brown, but the top parts are all new growth AND LOADED WITH FIGS! We have more than a week of warm weather left, so . . . fingers crossed . . . I can always use more figs! happy dance

countrynaturals 11/16/2019, 1:27 pm

Carrots and radishes are up inside. Hopefully, I'll get the lettuce in, today. Ordered a grab bag of seeds from the all-new Sustainable Seeds. Can't wait to see what they send. happy turtle

countrynaturals 11/18/2019, 12:25 pm

When will I ever learn that everything always takes at least twice as long as it says on the seeds packets (probably due to our hot summers and cold nights)? Here is my first Serrano Pepper, planted from seed on July 7. It's about 1 1/2" long. Nights are getting down to the upper 30s. Fingers crossed this little guy makes it to maturity.

I also need to keep better records. I planted banana peppers at the same time. I've never grown either one before, so, if banana peppers start out green, this could be that, instead. Embarassed

countrynaturals 11/20/2019, 12:21 pm

My summer/fall garden has 6 more days to live. Then the rain and freezing nights take over. I plan to bring inside one tomato plant and the serrano pepper. Rolling Eyes

**donnainzone5** 11/20/2019, 12:40 pm

The jet stream is preparing for an extreme southward dip, all right.

www.wxmaps.org/pix/temp1

I suspect that our snow season is about to begin.

countrynaturals 11/22/2019, 3:18 pm

Exciting news! golly gee whiz

Katie has a sweet, animal-loving friend, who helps clean our houses once a month. She just inherited 2 horses (one pregnant), but she doesn't own horse property. We have horse property, but no horses, and more work than we can handle around here. See where this is going? happy banana

She's bringing the horses here after Thanksgiving, and swapping out work projects for pasture/barn rent. WIN! WIN! WIN! good job!

She came today and I got 2 garden projects done that I didn't think would ever happen. First, she spread bio-char over 2 beds, then she moved rocks to build up the butterfly host garden, so I could spread a layer of leaves on it for the winter. Now she's over helping Katie clean out the barn and one of the sheds -- and this is just the beginning. WE ARE ALL A BUNCH OF HAPPY CAMPERS! rahrah

**AtlantaMarie** 11/23/2019, 7:38 am

That's wonderful!

countrynaturals 11/23/2019, 2:52 pm

AtlantaMarie wrote:That's wonderful!

Thanks, Marie. After all these years, it really seems to be coming together. good job!

countrynaturals 11/23/2019, 2:57 pm

That volunteer cuke on the balcony has given us one final gift for 2019. It hid this one under a chair.

We also picked the last 2 lemon cukes from the Salad Bar. Tomorrow we'll pick the last of the peppers and Monday we'll grab the rest of the tomatoes. 2019 has been a glorious year in the garden. I love you

countrynaturals 11/25/2019, 5:29 pm

Today is the last day of summer. Rolling Eyes

Tomorrow we get wind, rain, possible snow and maybe freezing temps. I picked everything that's ripe and brought in whatever I could. The cool weather crops should do just fine where they are.

I also got my last seed order, including a 40-packet grab bag for next spring. sunny

Worked some more on my indoor garden. I now have 2 power strips plugged in, so I can add some more lights. Everything has been happy so far, but the days have been sunny. Now it's time to see how they all do when the days are dark and gloomy. idk

Top shelf: starts of lettuce, kohlrabi, & peas, plus a mystery plant. 2nd shelf down: carrots and radishes. Bottom shelf: serrano pepper & purple basil. Standing pots: super sweet 100 and brandywine tomatoes.

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