You Cannot Resist The Fish

Guess who i found yesterday??

I watched her meander across the driveway and under the shoppe where she likes to hang out now.

The past week, i have been on a mission to win her over.

It isn't going to be easy...or cheap.

I'm bribing her with tuna.

And have you seen the price of tuna in a can lately?  Sheesh!

Me thinks it's going to take a case or two....



because as cute as she is....



something still tells me that she'd like nothing better than the chance to scratch

my eyes out while i sleep.



"You do not fool me, o furless one!  I know your type, you rube!"

In other news: i found her first kill this morning in the driveway!  A little field mouse. 

Cats 1, Critters 0

An Army of Aphid Exterminatours

As soon as we started using the heat in the greenhouse to keep it above 50 degrees F at night, we developed an aphid infestation the size of Manhattan!

So we called in the troops.

A container of ladybugs has yielded positive results.

I released them over the course of three evenings (whether you are releasing them indoors or outdoors, this is the recommendation to imprint their new home on them), keeping the remainder of the beetles in the refrigerator in a state of hibernation.

When you release these guys, you'll want to provide a little saucer of water for them.

I am barely covering the lid from a yoghurt container with water for them each day.

Watering your plants before works too.  They'll find their way to the water droplets on the leaves.

One thing to note for next year is to clear the cobwebs from under the tables before releasing this beetles.  A few have gotten tangled up in the webs, poor things.

As for the aphids...they seem to be dimenishing in quantity.

When i find new ones on my seedlings, i move the beetles around and then devour those little aphid nuggets quick as lightening.

Ok, So I Didn't Kill Them All...

Last week, what was left of the tomato seedlings started sprouting their first set of true leaves.

In case you are new to seed starting, when you plant a tomato seed, the first leaf-like structures that emerge from the seed are known as cotyledons.  Tomato seedlings prefer that you wait for the true leaves before you transplant them.

These Ones Are For You, Pop

 I am experimenting with a potting soil from our natural food market.  It comes from a farm south of here in Yelm, WA.  It consists of peat, perlite, and worm castings.  I am hoping the worm castings will behave like a fish emulsion that propagation books recommend at this stage in the game.

Count so far:  8 Saucy Pastes, 23 Purple Cherokees, 21 Black Princes, and 19 Italian Heirlooms, 16 Isis Candy.

More to come....

Ain't Nothing Like Spring

Coming home from errands with an arm-load of tulips and a growler of locally made apple cider while the sun is shining.

Can't beat it! 

RIP Tomatoes

Dear Tomato Seedlings,

I am not worth of the dirt under my fingernails.  I have failed to understand your exact needs, and now because of my black greenhouse thumb, half of you will never reach your God given potential. 

I vow to learn from the mistakes i made that cost you your life. 

1. Do not leave tomato flats on a heat mat after they have sprouted.  Especially in a heated greenhouse.  Especially when the outside temps reach 60 degrees F.
2. When planting in a greenhouse, experiment with heater and vent/fan timers BEFORE you sow anything.  These devices are quirky little buggers!
3. Check moisture levels twice a day!
4. Have ladybugs on hand to deal with aphid infestations.  Grrrr!

Hoping that you can find it in your poor, shriveled hearts to forgive such a rookie like me.

I promise to do better next year!

Fondly,
Whit

Success in the Greenhouse

Just arrived home from a trip to visit my folks and look what greeted me

A Virtual Tomato Forest

 I planted these babies just before i left on my trip, and trusted Moose with their care, after a quick and dirty Seed Watering 101.  I couldn't believe it when he mentioned 2 days after i left that they were sprouting already!  By my estimates, these seeds (sourced from Irish Eyes, Uprising Seeds, and Renee's Garden) sprouted 3 - 5 days after sowing!

I planted two seeds per spot, so once the first true leaves develop, i will need to get busy repotting these 140 seedlings.  There was empty space, i planted some pepper plants.  You know me and my "learn by doing" attitude.  Later, i read that it is better to plant tomatoes and peppers separately, because the pepper take longer to sprout, increasing your chances of tomatoes getting too hot.  I'll learn better next time, i will. :)  Wondering what happens when i tomato gets "too hot"?

Cal-300 Pepper Seeds from Ed Hume

 I swore i wouldn't buy anymore Ed Hume Seeds.  Even though he is a local, he doesn't have a bustling organic seed selection.  However, for my purposes this year, i purchased his bell pepper seed to see if i could successfully grow peppers.  And i did....so now...who knows what we will be eating, but i can't bare to sacrifice these little plants!

These first starts are chugging right along too. 

However, this morning i found large quanitities of aphids growing on a volunteer gerainium

in the greenhouse.  Arrgh!  My first test.  I found a few of them attempting to colonise the broccoli starts today, so i am off to find ladybugs this weekend.

Today i started more lettuce (my first attempt was an epic failure--due to old seed, me thinks), spinach, and swiss chard.  This little space will be filling up fast!



My Place and Yours :: The Neighbourhood

Cookie and I took a walk last week for the MP&Y challenge.  We've been so busy, that i am just getting around to it now.  Need to start marking my calendar, i tell ya. :)

On either side of our road are drainage ditches where we can

see lots of native wetland plants.

Skunk Cabbage

Cat tails

Walking the road is wonderful.  Most people from town will give a wide berth, and a friendly wave, to walkers on the country roads in our area. 

Toward the end of our street is Pussyfoot Creek.

Most of our neighbours are just plain cute!

They've been having babies like crazy this past month.

The Indian Plum is flowering...

It was so much fun taking our first walk around the 'hood, especially because our human neighbours are so kind.  They don't think twice about stopping and talking when they see you.  You learn so much about the area--one of our neighbour's is a photographer that specialises in photographing show horses for breeding documents.  Who knew a job like that existed?!?

 

Cookie thinks these cat tails look like marshmellows