The Last May Morning

We may be another 21 days off from the official first day of summer, but here in Raleigh, NC it will be a balmy 98 degrees today, which tells me that summer is already upon us! Were the air not thick enough to cut with a butter knife, we'd make it a day to fill up the kiddie pool, but all I can handle is a couple snapshots this morning. It was so humid, I had to wipe condensation off my camera at least three times until the camera warmed up. Not even a shady garden house can abate that clammy torture.

Maybe some of my readers can help me out on this dilemma: me bean vines are covered in large holes, which seems to be slowing their growth. I'm assuming aphids are to blame, but could it be something else? While I have a canister of Sevin in the garage, I haven't used any pesticides because the Baby likes to crawl around pulling off leaves and tasting them, and no, the holes are not from him. I was happy to see this ladybug on a sunflower this morning because ladybugs help with aphid control, but she sure does have a lot of work to do!

While tomatoes are my favorite garden crop to consume, sunflowers are my favorite to watch grow and photograph. The go through such an amazing transformation! The first summer I went to Romania, I rode on a train from Bucureşti to Braşov that pass through field after field of sunflowers. That summer shaped me in so many ways from my world view, to the foods I enjoy to what I like to grow in the garden.

It's funny how certain seasons and even certain plants can bring on a flood of memories from the past. What plant takes you back somewhere special?

Teacher Gifts from the Garden

Last year was the Man-child's first year at Mom's Morning Out, and I completely failed to do something for his teachers. This year, though it was a different set of teachers, I was determined to make up for last years' negligence. Afterall, these ladies love my boy well! The only problem is he has nearly six to eight teachers between the two days he goes, the teacher that comes just for story time and the awesome director that comes in to play with the kids just because she likes to. At Christmas I took in tasty treats for the class and brought in small pieces of homemade pottery that I had in storage from my last sale, which didn't cost me anything out of pocket.

Today I went to Logan's and found super cute 4" jewel-tone glazed pots with attached water dishes for only $2.69 a piece. Earlier this spring I started a succulent garden at my door step, so instead of purchasing plants, I dug up a variety of succulents and transplanted a starter Jade so they had a variety to choose from. I managed to find a handfull of plant markers that the Baby had pulled out of the garden and the sun had faded, which saved the delimma of not having cards.

If my hobbies pay off, even if they are just used for gifts, then I'm not going to feel guilty about the time and money they take to get started and keep going. As soon as I'm able get back into pottery, I want to dabble in small planters and sell them with succulents and herbs propagated from my garden.

Starting your own Sweet Potato Slips

Finding sweet potato plants in nurseries can be hit or miss. My local nursery Logan's gets a shipment of them each spring, but they go very fast. Not knowing if I would find plants, I decided to start my own.

I picked out a potato, stuck one bumpy end in a small jar and filled it with water. In a couple days, sprouts were forming.

After a week, I added wooden skewers to the potato to separate it from the rim of the jar because the many sprouts were getting stuck against the glass. One month later, I had a handful of slips ready to be planted. The slips were easy to snap off the potato, which looked like I could stick it back in water to start more slips with.

While in Lynchburg, Va, I found a hardware store that sold sweet potato plants and picked up eight. It's a good thing I did, because the slips took longer than I expected. I probably should have started them back in March instead of April so they would be ready for the traditional planting date around here, Good Friday.

Feeders, Houses, and Lily-philes

Earlier this week, both boys were sick and I got very stir crazy - half of it was waiting to see if I came down with what either of them had. A girl can only spend so much time in and around her own house while tending to too very whiney children without taking a gander to Amazon. After interrupting a humming bird at my red Asiatic Lilies, I figured now was the perfect time to hang a feeder. The two previous summers, there have been no visitors to my old feeder on the deck, and due to rusting and general nastiness, that feeder found its was to the trash. It was time to buy a new one. After reading reviews, I settled purchased this one. Low and behold, the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird came back for a visit while I was walking up the hill with my camera!

Might I add that the free shipping through Amazon Mom has been very dangerous for me! I've restrained myself fairly well, limiting it to diapers, a book for the Spring Fling Giveaway, gloves for the community garden and the new feeder. Free shipping is enticing, but not everything is cheapest on Amazon. I used it to research blue bird houses and then find a nearly identical knock-off at K-mart for less than half the price. Blue birds, I'm waiting for you.



If you were following my garden on Pocket Smiles last summer, you saw how my plant woes morphed into an interest in photographing insects. They were, after all, thriving while my garden was not. This small bee was drinking water off the same lilies that the hummingbird had taken an interest in. I'm pretty sure I took a picture of him washing his face in that second shot.

Discovery: Happy Little Plants

Sunflower

Hen and chicks

Daylilly

Blackberry

Magnolia Petal

Titmouse in front of the Elm Tree

Garden Update

I've been so slack about posting on my multitude of blogs lately. That's because I've been spending most of my time outside when it's not raining. When it is raining, I've been grading my students' homework and finals or playing with the boys (or fishing out the stuff the baby puts in the commode).

Yesterday the Man commented that the garden was really growing up! It's true, the potato plants are up to my knees, the pole beans are just starting to search for something to climb on, and one of my tomato bushes has tiny little tomatoes on it. Corn, sunflowers, squash and okra are all looking stronger. I dumped out the rest of my herb seeds in small pockets of open area in the gardens, and the basil is starting to grow true leaves. The lettuce looks gorgeous but is downright bitter. I read that refrigeration for a couple days can take the edge off, but I'm not counting on it.

I had plans of sharing all these clever little projects with you, but as it turns out, the boys are quite content to make up their own adventures. The Man-child is always on, in, or pulling something with wheels. The Baby is usually holding shovels or dropping them in the catch-bucket under the spigot. My trick to keeping them entertained is to not entertain them and not have too many rules.

The Neighbor has been asking the Man-child to help him drive the "tractor" for over a full year now, but despite his adoration of tractors, the Man-child has always chickened out just as I'm handing him off. Yesterday he saw the Neighbor mowing the lawn and panicked, "Wait for me!" So he finally drove and got to steer. He had so much fun that he shouted across our yard about 27 times to our neighbor, "The tractor was fun, wasn't it!?" He has been invited to assist again next weekend.

Discovery: Asparagus in the Morning Dew

Breaking Ground on a Community Garden

As I jumped into Love Sown a couple months ago, my interest in merely reporting on our family's garden quickly expanded to wanting to share project ideas, inspire people to get a little dirty and encourage even the brownest thumbs to try their hands at growing food. Then, this opportunity to start a community garden at a school in our neighborhood came along. In my mind, this is exactly what urban farming should be about - sharing knowledge and resources and reconnecting communities with the land and fresh produce.

A small group of volunteers from our church broke ground yesterday afternoon. We still have more work to do before the veggies and seeds donated by Logan's and their Plant a Row for the Hungry program can be planted. The Man tilled and the rest of us cleared out the rocks, hoed rows, spread compost and took turns entertaining the Man-child and the Baby.

The school has planted gardens on the property in the past, so this isn't anything new to them, but I have never done a project like this before. The students won't have time to get involved much before summer break, but we are hoping the surrounding neighborhood will jump in and make it their own. I'm looking forward to seeing this develop!

Discovery: The Successes Not Our Own

Sometimes the biggest successes in our yards are not our own - such as those things we have left behind in the grass (and weeds) that take root ...

Oregano volunteers in the lawn

... or those which we dug up from our parents' homes planted in a pot, watched die and planted in the ground thinking all hope was lost...

Purple shamrock blossoms

... or those gifted from our friends' parents' homes (which may or may not have come baring a nest of fire ants) and we tucked away in the shade.

Miniature red rose

Some of my plants have become like old friends that great me as the soil warms. They bring cherished predictability amidst the sporadic nature of vegetable gardening. Who are your old friends? Post a link to a blog post or pictures so we can all visit them!