Icky Invasion

A nicer picture from bygone days...

This has been a really long week for me workwise. And with much less garden these days, I haven't spent as much time in it. Though this happened pretty much overnight, like it did before. Only 10 times worse. Or I guess, only 8 times worse? No, definitely 10 (math is not my strong suit, ha ha!) What am I talking about? The scourge of tomato growers worldwide.

Tomato worms!  Eeek!

Wednesday (after having been in the garden Tuesday in the late afternoon and all seemed fine. Or as fine as my garden gets at the moment, lol) I went out to water/check on stuff. 

Imagine my horror when poor Goldie was almost completely shorn of leaves!! And a heckuva lot of stems bitten off, too! 

Upon closer inspection I found not one, not two, but SIX (yes - *6*!!) tomato worms on *one* plant! 

Well, those things are so dang icky, I sure as heck wasn't going to touch them. Neither was I going to step on them. (Seriously - who wants bug guts on the bottom of their shoe? *shiver*). So what did I do? Probably a little "overkill" (haha!) but - I cut off the particular stem the worm was on (there were no leaves left anyway). Once the nasty bugger hit the ground, I smacked it with a stick until it was good and smashed.

ICK. YUCK. GROSS.

Feel free to add to the list of descriptive adjectives. Just disgusting all the way around.

I found one on George, two on Seymour, and another on Henrietta. They hadn't managed to do as much damage, which was something. 

Today, all tomato plants appeared worm free. Gonna get out there tomorrow and apply more diatamaceous earth, cut off any dead stems, etc. There are still tomatoes on all the plants, even poor Goldie. She has a couple of leaves and one grouping of tomatoes left. So keep your fingers crossed. 

*sigh* The trials and tribulations of being a homesteader.  ;-)

So - update tomorrow, and another postcard! And who knows what all other mayhem, hehe.

:)

It's Official...

I've been making the jokes, but it seems they weren't so far off.

Do you see this?!

Yes, the basil has sprung up, by itself, in the yard. 

Does this make it officially a weed? Even if it does, it''s a mighty tasty one... hehe.

:)

"Life moves pretty fast...

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Heck yeah I went and saw this yesterday! It was even funnier than I remembered. I don't know if that's because it really just is that funny (it's hilarious, btw, if you haven't seen it. I highly recommend it.). Or if it was funnier to me because it's something that's from another time in my life that I thought was funny then. I suspect it's a bit of both.

From the standpoint of a teacher, I suppose there's plenty in the negative I could and should say about it. But 1 - I know it's satire, and 2 - if that's the best any of those adults could do, then they kind of deserved to get hornswaggled. That's all I'll say on that matter, lol. 

Suffice it to say, I was supremely glad I went! Hard to beat such fun on a Sunday afternoon. Who can tell me something better?

Bueller?
Bueller?
Anyone?
Anyone?

hehe

:)

Running Amok

Despite all the other plants pretty much growing huge and healthy - and then dying *sigh*...

There are a couple of bright spots in among the garden contingent.

One might truly always be basil.

If you don't remember, it used to look awful - but it kept growing! ( http://hoemsteadwannabe.blogspot.com/2013/11/halloween-might-be-over.html )  My mother kindly re-potted it and it started growing. 

And growing. And growing...

Here's another escapee. 

I've heard tales of such a phenomena from other people who grow basil in South Florida, so I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth here. Just enjoy fresh basil on anything I can think it would be good on (suggestions?). And one of these days, really, I'm going to chop it up, add a little olive oil (I can't eat garlic, more's the pity) and freeze it. Just in case it stops growing... Just in case.

And that's not all! Click "Read More" to read more!

Garden Evaluation, Part I

When I started this gardening experiment as part of my Homestead Wannabe frame of mind, I set myself a few benchmarks, both to see if I could justify the expense, as well as what I put into it. I get that the idea was that it wasn't supposed to be much work, but it was some. Mostly attention, of course, but there was a little work here or there.

And what I had decided that, since South Florida has two growing seasons, I'd try both of 'em and see what I got out of it. 

For this first growing season, Autumn, I wanted to "build" the garden, plant a bunch of stuff, and see how it went, what kind of yield I could get. I told myself that if I got a decent number of tomatoes, a couple of handfuls of green beans, a few cucumbers, a few squash, some peas, I'd be happy. Along the way I picked up some lettuce and rosemary, and after several previous (failed) attempts at bell peppers, actually added them to the mix.

So - what did I get?

Tomatoes
In total, probably less than a handful. Even now, Seymour has over 24 tiny tomatoes! (He, Audrey, and Goldie are golden cherry tomatoes, so yest, they are supposed to be small. But these are *tiny* and green). Henrietta has several tomatoes, of which I got one ripe one yesterday. George has several, all green. Same with Ruby. And they just... don't seem to be getting any bigger or ripening. Every once in a while, one of Henrietta's will ripen, and one of Ruby's did a while ago. Otherwise - nada.

I am going to continue to water and fertilize them until the plants die, but so far - far short of what I said I wanted. *sigh*

Green beans
So far, I'd say I've gotten probably 3 generous handfuls of them, enough to cook for several meals. And every couple of days I'm getting another bean here or there. Again, the vines are once more filled with blossoms, but there are tiny beans all over that aren't getting any bigger. Again, I'll keep watering and feeding until the vines die, but so far, more than I expected before they started following the same pattern as everything.

Cucumbers
When the vines grew big and bushy and there were a bunch of little cucumbers all over, I got very excited! (All documented in previous posts, like the others, lol). Then the same thing - one cucumber got big enough to actually eat. One flat out got chomped. The rest never got big enough before the vines all died. First the leaves shriveled like they weren't watered (and they were! I promise you they were!), then the vines died. There's one half dead vine out there with a smallish cucumber that I'm babying, but I'm not holding my breath there.

Squash
Ditto. I planted them, got a *ton* of plants with so many blossoms I thought I'd be sticking squash in the neighbors' mailboxes to get rid of it. Then some of the leaves withered, then the plants died off. I replanted, thinned the plants, and actually got a couple of tiny squash. Only to have it all repeat. There is half of one lone plant out there that is still healthy with one small squash that actually looks like it's getting a little bigger. Again, I'm babying it, and the blossoms on that half of the plant, so... guess we'll see what we see.

Peas
Tons of vines, a few blossoms, healthy for now. But that's about all. 

So - what's the verdict at this point? Hit "Read More" to, well, read more, ha ha!

Wow, Time Flies...

Whether you're having fun or not, it seems, lol. 

It's been both busy and lazy here on the ol' faux homestead, with a few naps interspersed. But I hadn't realized how many days had passed, and I know everyone (all 4 of you, haha!) are just waiting with baited breath for what I have to say next. 

So - first up when I get home from work today is to update a bit of what's going on with the garden and such. In the meantime, have a great day!

:)

Distressed and Disheartened

I'm thinking it's time to evaluate this garden experience.

And right now, I don't know what to think. I'm already started on this odd cycle that I can't figure out. Now admittedly, I haven't done a lot of research.

But this is what happens.

First - I plant the seeds or plants (mostly seeds). They start to grow - and look *amazing*. There are all kinds of pictures of gorgeous, blossom-filled plants in other posts on this blog.

But then - it stops. The plants get little tomatoes, or cucumbers, or squash and I get all excited. And then they just... stop growing. Every one of my tomato plants right now is full of tiny little green tomatoes. And they've been there for days.

None of them are ripening.

Here are some pictures of my formerly beautiful cucumber and squash plants:

This cucumber plant is dead to the point I pulled it out of the dirt.

These squash plants were icky and I pulled them out. I have one more plant still growing, but it's already starting to do the same thing. I just hope it hangs on long enough that I get the two squash on it. Probably not, they are tiny and won't get any bigger.

I've been fertilizing, trying to fight pests, and I just don't get it.

So tomorrow, I think it's time for some evaluation of my progress. More on that tomorrow.

:)

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya..."

You killed my father. Prepare to die."

This is one of the greatest movies ever. I think I can quote 99% of it. And one of the local theaters showed it today!  :D

It's part of a series of classic movies that started last week. And this movie, aside from just being awesome, has some of the best quotes.

"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."  (Inigo again.)

"Have fun storming the castle!" (Miracle Max)

I could go on, but if you know the movie, you probably have many of your own you could add here, hehe.

The first time I saw this movie was in the theater. Yes, if you haven't seen already, I am absolutely dating myself, because this movie came out in 1987. I was with a friend (who eventually became my first boyfriend, ha ha!). And when that Bishop or Cardinal or whatever he was popped out with "Mawage", I thought he was going to pee his pants for laughing so hard. 

Heck yeah, this is a great movie! Soooo glad I went.

And guess what's playing in two weeks?

Anyone? 

Anyone?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Hehe - guess where I'll be in two weeks  

:D

And Another New Topic!

One of my students gave me the coolest gift ever. EVER! Take a look:

For those who don't know this, I collect postcards. It started years ago, when a friend sent me one when I was a kid (back in the day when there were no computers and phone calls were super expensive and... well, you get the point, lol).

Then someone else sent me one. It was so cool to get them in the mail, anytime I heard of anyone going anywhere, I asked them to send me a postcard from there. Now, two (or maybe three - yikes!) decades later, and I have over 200 postcards. A bunch are all in a nice photo album / book thing, the rest are tucked in the back and waiting for me to organize them and put them in their own book.

So back to today. Apparently one of my students found a smallish album at a flea market - and in it were postcards.

Not just any postcards! These are *old* postcards! As in, every one of them is older than I am! They are from all different places to a bunch of different people. The oldest I've found is 1906, the "newest" is 1963, I think. 

Anyway - it's Awesome, with a capital A! 

So from time to time, I'm going to share my treasure trove. This is the front of today's:

Clearly, it's from around 1946, and I think from Norway (see the stamps). 


The person who wrote it talks about how this was the first such card (a Christmas card) they've been able to send since the occupation. Such things weren't allowed "when the Germans had all the say". 

That's history right there, it is. How awesome is that! A little card with a picture and a short message from nearly 70 years ago!

Anyway - to say I'm jazzed would be an understatement. So from time to time, I will share some other pictures from different places. I hope you enjoy them even half as much as I already am!

:)

Downton Diss

This is probably illegal to put this here. If it is, let me know and I'll take it down  :)

(Warning: Spoiler Alert for Downton Abbey, if you haven't seen it, especially the premiere of Season 4 that was on this past Sunday.)

First off, let me say that I have loved the show since I started watching it last year. People told me I would like it, and so I started watching the first season (that I got on DVD from Costco). That led to the purchase of Seasons 2 and 3, and I watched them all. Sure, it's got a ton of totally cliched storylines, but there's still something compelling about it.

I was really looking forward to the new season, see what they did about Matthew's death (I was totally pissed that they killed him off, btw, until I read that he had chosen not to stay on the show.) along with some other stuff.

Now. There are some annoying things about the show. Cora's willful ignorance about the workings of her own household are an insult to women's intelligence, and I just want to slap her half the time. Rose, as an obvious Sybil replacement, has neither the charm, nor the wit (or the brains!) that Sybil did, and to me is a completely pointless, useless character. 

Still, there's plenty to love about it. The house where it's filmed is beyond amazing. The scenery, costumes, cars, you name it - soooo gorgeous. Anna and Bates, for as sickly sweet as they are, are just too adorable. Carson has some depth to him, Mrs. Hughes is awesome, Tom is great, I could go on here, too, lol. 

But I will tell you the one thing that might put me off watching this show anymore:

Click "Read More" to see it!

More Help!

Help! I need it again!

Or rather, what I actually need are - suggestions.

Got this awesomeness for Christmas.

It's too cool to just boil and eat with butter on it or something mundane like that. I need some suggestions about what to eat on it, with it, etc. It really is in little shapes of moons, Saturn, rockets, and spacemen! As well as being colorful. 

It's pasta, so it will last a while, of course. But it needs something epic to do with it. Suggestions?

Anyone? 
Anyone?
Bueller?

:)

I Suppose Anything is Possible...

I guess this is an actual Flower Bed? No veggies here.

One of my major deal breakers when I started this gardening business was - NO DIGGING!

Nope, not digging. In fact, if I couldn't do this easily, I wasn't going to do it at all. I feel permanently scarred from forced gardening as a youngster, lol. As much as I understand it now, I didn't then, and I HATED it. Totally and completely. Which is what led me to declare for years that I'd rather stick a hot poker in my eye than garden. (I still feel that way about yard work, btw. Thank goodness for lawn services, hehe).

I also only figured it would be worth it for the veggie return. I should eat healthier, and the hope is that, in the long run, I'll get enough from my garden for it to pay for itself. At the moment, I'm on track with that.

However, I might have, sort of, moved some dirt with my hands. No shovels were involved, I swear!

But see - Mom and I bought these clearance flowers to put on top of the 'mater plants (if you recall - see the post here:  http://hoemsteadwannabe.blogspot.com/2013/12/mater-makeover.html  )

There were some flowers left over that I've been watering. But they were still in their little plastic planter thingy. And then when I went to Lowe's the other day (to get the trellis for the peas), they had a whole shopping cart full of plants they were throwing away!

Just - throwing away! Most of them were still alive, though I will admit they didn't look all that good. I couldn't stand it though, and asked if I could have some. The girl wasn't really comfortable just giving them to me, so she sold me some. 

Click Read More to see the rest!

So Far, So Good

This, the second day of 2014, was an okay day for me. Considering I had just gotten used to it being 2013 around about mid-October, this still doesn't quite feel real to me. Oh well, what can we do, right?

So the garden check today revealed that there is still a lot of diatomaceous earth out there on those plants, which I'm assuming is a good thing. The bad news? One of the tiny cukes was chomped. Good news? There are still five cucumbers out there of various sizes that are fine. Plus - Loads and loads of tomatoes on every plant but Seymour! And he's got loads of buds. So there's the possibility of a decent tomato crop still!

Otherwise, nothing much to report. I've had a few of those thoughts you're supposed to have this time of year, about life, improving it, letting go of the past and all. Thing is - that stuff is true every single day. Every time the sun actually lights up the Earth is another chance to change what you want or need to change. 

So January 1st is a fine date to start stuff. But so is February 11th, and June 13th, and September 27th. That's just something to keep in mind, regardless of what you're doing today or tomorrow. 

Like maybe planting some carrots... hehe.

:)

Happy New Year!

Expanded the garden yet again! Peas with trellis on the left. And Lily eating dirt, as usual...

What else was I going to put in the title? Ha ha

But catching up on is what this is more or less about today. Some nifty stuff is going on around the ol' faux homestead.

For example - in the spirit of this new adventure, I got some excellent garden-themed gifts for Christmas. Such as this handy sprayer:

If you notice, the top of the box is opened. I did that when I opened the present itself. In our family, you never know if whats *on* the box is actually *in* the box, ha ha! In this case, it was  :D  (Though I did receive a gift card wrapped in a marker box. I had to give back the marker box, lol).

I'm going to use this for my sister's super bug repellent recipe of hot pepper water mixed with dish soap and possibly some hot sauce. It worked before, but my spray bottle got clogged. This can be rinsed out, she said, if it does get clogged. Awesome!

And also got - diatomaceous earth! This should help with more of those creepy-crawlies trying to eat my plants! (For those who don't know what this is, it's more or less an organic pesticide, I think. Here's the Wikipedia page about it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth )



Yesterday I decided to go with the diatomaceous earth. The directions say to use a "hand duster, power duster, or spray bottle" to apply it. Here is my handy-dandy "hand duster", ha ha!


(Sometime I will devote a blog post to the most awesomely useful thing ever - the Garibaldi's cup!)


Hit "Read More" to find out what happened, haha!