Some more pics from the pollinator garden: It’s almost ridiculous how happy I am with this so far. Theres that little worry about, “What if the perennials don’t come up?” but I don’t think that’ll be the case. I’m already eyeballing areas to expand next year, including a section of our yard we don’t use for anything. Also thinking of what other species to plant, such as bee balm.
Bee balm is great. I highly recommend partridge pea if you don't have any. It's a native annual that reseeds freely and the bees love it.
My vegetable garden just looks sad this year. I tried some things that didn’t work out, and I crowded my tomatoes too close together, so now I have alot of empty space and tomatoes that seem way behind everyone else’s. I may plant some flowers to brighten it up, and I’m already planning for next year. Things didn’t work out as planned so far this year, but I’m still really enjoying it.
Don't feel bad. Mine is totally overgrown and neglected. There are tomatoes set and I get greens and herbs whenever I need them, so that's good. If I hadn't put irrigation on everything a couple years ago it would all be dead.
My pumpkins have been yellow and looking scraggly this year. Reading online, it could be over watering ( that definitely ain’t it ) or nitrogen deficiency. So I threw some 5-5-5 I have laying around in the beds. I figure they can’t get much worse and if it kills them, one less thing to water. My enthusiasm wanes as summer goes on and the flies start biting more.
A while back I promised to post of picture of my dad's backyard. He got rid of 90% of the grass and planted all native species, which has attracted a ton of birds, butterflies and other animals. Very much a suburban oasis.
Very cool! I'm in the process of trying to figure out something similar. It's a PITA right now, because I have trees that have grown huge and now block sunlight, and a crazy dog, so the grass that used to be in the back yard is now a big mud pit. So far the best solution for part of it has been mulching it to provide some watersports entertainment for the dog... and that's done a pretty good job of keeping the mud down and out of the house. Still not sure what to do with the other part of the back yard that has shitty grass trying to grow in it.
A while back a neighbor who lives a couple miles away ( we’ve actually never met ) referred to our wildflower garden as our “floral fiefdom.” Today he sent me this pic from the side of his own considerably sized Mason Bee house: Our son said it’d be funny to have a sign made and put up, something like, “Walt’s Floral Fiefdom.” I think that’s a hysterical idea, and just may. Then I’ll send this guy a pic.
From a week ago. I’m going to be over loaded with these I think. My broccoli is getting munched on by Caterpillars. Tried spraying them with thuracide but the leaves are hydrophobic and it beaded right off. Have to figure out how to apply it to them.
So I have a new muncher killing my poor broccoli. Moles. Had one plant go limp and die and I figured it was heat and water related stress. Come back and find a second one limp and when I stepped next to it felt the tunnel collapse under my foot. No mounds close to the beds but we have always had them in the big yard. Being a country place battling them wasn’t a priority but the dogs always loved digging them up. Not sure how I should proceed. Don’t hear great things about the sonic stakes and poison doesn’t seem good this close to vegetables. Anyone else deal with them before?
There’s a repellent that you sprinkle on the ground and it seeps down in and does the job. The problem is I don’t remember what it’s called or if it’d be safe to use in a garden.
Any of you idiots know what these are? I've googled until my vision was blurry but I could only find things called "oak galls" or "oak apples" but it isn't that. These are very small, about 3-5mm across, waxy feeling and there are THOUSANDS of them stuck to the leaves of my neighbors oak tree. Edit - Found it. And it is a type of gall, but nothing like the gall pics people were showing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feron_kingi