The body of this entry is directed to agricultural efforts/failures… but I did want you to know I survived Black Sheep Gathering without buying ALL the wool there… and that I DO INDEED have in my Drafts file the instrux for a Shetland-type shawl, be right with you on that, it’s a fun one!!– AND my Webmistress troubleshot this site so as now I can probably even get fotos up!!
So here goes about the garden:
Gardener GirlFriend!!
I got up REALLY EARLY this morning for a garden tour and only got one slug!! On a marigold, of course, their favorite food… I also look under piles of weeds gathered but not composted yet– cool and damp, usually a favorite habitat. Nobody home this morning.
Best slug solution so far is: BRUTALITY!!!  Snicking in half with clippers dedicated to that task, they get kinda GUMMY… disgusting but FINAL. I sprinkle a product called ‘Sluggo’ around, gingerly, as each slug has only to eat ONE of these tiny iron phosphate pellets to die of excessive belly ache… I’m amazed to see 10# sacks for sale!! Somebody out there must have a serious problem, I feel so much better now, taking 3 years to use up a pint shaker can! Besides the stuff is not toxic, yay, I’m still organic out here.
So, on to the whining and handwringing… well, my peas made it well over the top of their designated support!! only to get cut off at the bottom by who knows who… a third of the plants are ALL WILTY, with their flowers all saggy, totally disconnected from their roots. A suspicious HOLE lurks nearby… who moved in???
And the strawberries– after years of plants that produced major runner systems I am finally down to several that actually BEAR FRUIT… Richard spotted that the 3 pairs of robins spending the spring here are helping themselves to the forming berries, well before ripening!!! So what am I spozed to do, stage a war on ROBINS?? I wouldn’t mind if they ate them but they leave berry halves scattered all over, flagrant WASTE…
And the CORN. It doesn’t germinate, sez the back of the pkg, until soil temp’s above 60 degrees… so I tricked it into coming up by putting its flat in the bathtub overnight… worked great… until I transplanted… then it STOPPED DEAD for a couple weeks; now the plants are looking bushy but still short. Our nights in this hollow are CHILLY!! I planted a lot with our midJuly Family Gathering in mind… hum now. I may be inundated with a whole lotta corn about midAugust, as things are working out this year… be alert for notice of a CORN party!! I’ll need some help dealing with any sort of harvest, the robins and their offspring’ll be long gone by then!
The roses have started blooming, when they finish I’ll try rooting several. Old varieties– Jackson & Perkins roses are too refined for my acid forest soil and kick off immediately– I’ll let you know if they take, they’ll be for sharing. Beautiful smelly peach, pink and magenta!
Now I’m gonna be good and get into produxion. With any luck, there’ll be time to get back outside and transplant everything on the porch before yoga, maybe even get the dill and carrots going… All I need is an extra week to pop onto my calendar, then all will be totally in hand over here!!