To The Surbiton Manor Born

  Infestation To my horror, I discovered an infestation of Japanese beetles on our peas last night. I'd seen one or two the night before, and for some reason decided to hope for the best instead of doing anything.  Last night, however, I took emergency measures. Kiki looked up a recipe for a homemade spray (1 tsp. liquid dish detergent, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 qt. of water). I quickly whipped this up and soaked the plants in it. Only a couple of beetles were left this morning, so I think it might actually have worked.  We've Got the Beet Four more beets were ready to pull this morning. Having read that there's time for another crop of them, I planted the cavities created in the rows with new seeds. Hopefully we'll see another batch before the first frost.

  It moves fast when you aren't looking.  Kiki and I left town on Friday morning for an overnight camping trip. We returned Saturday morning, and I just had time to shower before hopping in a friend's car for a 4.5 hour drive to Cedar Rapids Iowa to see A Flock of Seagulls .  Unfortunately the band did not show, so we got to see a local Cedar Rapids band called Surf Zombies. They played surf music. They played it well. We decided not to stay for opening band (now headliner) Naked Eyes. Hopped in the car and drove back. The reason I tell this sad tale of woe is that I didn't lay eyes on the garden for 24 hours, and it is kind of boggling the pace at which it is growing now. The sunflowers were visibly taller. I would not be surprised if they shot up six inches over that 24 hours. We've had a little rain, and things have perked up. There's some lettuce that looks like we might be able to start eating it as early as next week. The squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and pump

  If you look super closely at roughly the middle of this pretty horrible picture, you can see three green cherry tomatoes that are now about the size of a marble. I completed the chicken-wire fencing which now surrounds every one of the raised beds. I think this may be just in time, as we have more small furry creatures out there than I really like to think about. We've got the chipmunks which enjoy running around the house. We've got grey squirrels, which don't seem to be a problem. We do have a new development for our yard as well, tiny baby bunnies.  While extremely cute, I also fear their destructive possibilities.  Here is another award-winning photo - this time of a bunny Succession planting, it turns out, is a little tricky. The rocket, spinach, and kale planted in April are all done. Unfortunately, the flame lettuce I planted on 6/2 never came up. Neither did the butter crunch lettuce planted 5/15. This leaves Seed Savers lettuce variety pack planted 5/31, which, a

  This seems to be the time of year when things really take off in the garden. There's definitely a large amount of work going on. I though it would be appropriate to take an illustrated walk around the raised beds.  I've nearly finished with the fencing job. The walls are consistently chicken-wire and I've used a low cost (vs. lumber) 16 gauge wire strung between the posts to string it up. If the fences are penetrated from above, we'll supplement with bird netting. To start that walk around the garden. Above is the salad bed. The spinach and kale that are standing have both gone to seed, as did the arugula (rocket) - all planted in April - which I removed. The flame lettuce that I planted a few weeks ago as a succession crop did not come up (probably because the seeds were a year old.) I also planted a row of Seed Savers salad mix and a row of kale. Both have germinated, but it is going to be a little bit of a wait until we're eating them. Should have succession pl

  It really was amazing. These things popped out overnight. Yesterday, there were just some white blossoms (I know, because I spent about an hour installing the chicken-wire fencing around the squash bed next door to it). This morning when I did the garden walk, BAM! Peas! And lots of them. I've been thinking succession planting, and I think the thought may have been late in coming to me.  Just this past Saturday I planted some broccoli seeds in with the peas for later in the season. I'm not convinced they'll do well, as they're a cold weather plant. They join the late planted peas and the nasturtiums that I planted to replace the plants damaged by the rodentia.  I had to hide the potted peppers in the uber-bed this morning. All three pots showed signs of burrowing rodents. The cucumbers, though covered with bird netting which seems to have kept them safe, are, I deem, in danger. After work this afternoon, I will have to get out there and put chicken wire around them. 

  Sure they are cute. They are also fearless and destructive and stunningly expensive.  We've had squirrels in our soffits. The scrabbling noises in the house alerted us to them. Only way to get them out was to call professionals. It turns out that critter removal (humane live-traps) and then house sealing to keep them out runs about $2200. So much for our plan for a new range to replace the stinky and probably dangerous old gas one. That will have to wait. They also attack the garden. I walked down to the pea bed one morning last week to find that all of the cosmos I'd planted there had been bitten off at the ground line. Devastated. And they were getting into the peas. We lost a row of them along the north side of the trellis.  Walking up to the upper bed near the house, I noticed two tomato plants were cut off at the base, too. Not good news. Fortunately, the next day was Saturday, and I purchased galvanized 16 gauge wire and chicken wire and bird netting. Since then I have