A Plague of Rabbits

There was once a hawk that lived close to the garden. He ate all of the rabbits and the slow birds and squirrels. When the supply ran down, he left. Now that it is safe a mama rabbit moved back in and started procreating. That was 6 months ago and now we are awash in rabbits. Where is the hawk when he’s needed?

The good news is that except for some cabbage that was still in the pots hardening off, they have not eaten much from the garden. Something…it could be a deer is eating the hostas and nibbling on the cherry trees. The rabbits don’t climb trees so that definitely fall to Bambi. It is hard to be sure about the hostas. When I see them in the yard, they are usually munching clover or grass.

The depredation from insects in the garden has been pretty limited, but I have seen a stink bug and a spotted cucumber beetle. The BT doesn’t bother them because it is the adult beetle that does the damage. The BT works against the larvae only. Spraying anything more serious may hurt the bees.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

On the Quality of Tomatoes

That 1st homegrown tomato is usually the best thing on earth. This year’s tomatoes so far have been a little disappointing. The very 1st was one that had been damaged by a bird. Only half of it was ripe. That half was delicious. The next two tomatoes were either Marglobe or Rutgers and they were great. The last couple of tomatoes have been German Johnson. They were huge tomatoes, but mealy. It is nice to take a single slice to make a sandwich, but only if it is a delicious tomato.

On the other side of the garden the new potatoes this year have been prolific and delicious. The sugar peas are also delicious even though, by mistake, dwarf grey sugar was planted instead of sugar snap. With the sugar snap the whole pod can be eaten even if the pea is mature. The dwarf grey sugar pods are tough when they are filled out.

There are still no cucumbers and the squash have not been productive. The ones we have gotten have been delicious. There are blossoms on the egg plants, but no fruit. Maybe, soon.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Hail Yeah

Yesterday afternoon’s garden & yard ventures were shortened by a heavy rain storm. I turned out that we got .7”. Shortly after the rain started there was a shower of hail. Expecting that the garden would be smashed down and the leaves shredded, an early morning inspection foray was conducted at 1st light. There was no damage and the leaves that had looked sad and wilted yesterday were standing up tall and proud.

The spaghetti squash is doing the best ever so far this year. (knock on wood). There is one odd looking specimen laying in the garden path beside the spaghetti bed. Instead of the white or light yellow of most of the squash this one is green and spotted. It will be fun to see what it is.

Supper last night was a salad made from lettuce and tomato from the garden. It was quite good. Now if there were only a cucumber. Among my friends, my garden is the only one producing tomatoes. Some of them have cucumbers though.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

To Spray or not to Spray

Poisons are not used in our yard or garden so that is not the issue. Rain is the issue. BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) and Sulfur are the main sprays used. They both wash off in a moderate to heavy rain and have to be re-applied. The alternative is to let the crops get eaten up by bugs or killed with powdery mildew. This year seems to have brought a bumper crop of chameleons, so there are not as many bugs as normal. I can’t help but wonder if the diseased caterpillars spoil dinner for the little amphibians.

Powdery mildew is a more serious problem because it has no natural enemies. It is extremely bad in the high humidity caused by Sun and rain. An emulsion of either sulfur or baking soda will pretty much wipe it out. Experience has shown that baking soda kills the leaves on which it is sprayed. Sulfur does not.

The BT was sprayed yesterday on the garden. It still needs to be sprayed on the cherry and blueberry plants. The sulfur was used up last year, so more will have to be purchased.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Sunshine & Rain are a Powerful Combination

The last 5 days, while being uncomfortable for gardeners, have been great for gardens. The spaghetti squash has 12 fruits that can be seen without touching the leaves. In very humid or rainy weather touching leaves should be avoided as much as possible to prevent the spread of powdery mildew and other fungus. The rest of the garden is kicking butt too.

Sugar peas have yielded enough for three meals in the last 4 days and there are plenty to pick today. Kale has been cut 4 times. Once to eat and 3 times to give away. It will be cut again today. 4 tomatoes and 4 zucchini have also been harvested as well as a patty-pan squash and lots of lettuce and onions. New potatoes have been grappled 4 times.

The problem with the constant rain is that it is pointless to spray BT for insects or sulfur for powdery mildew. They would just wash off. This weekend crowder peas and cantaloupe were planted. They were not part of the original plan, but there was room for them, where the radishes and spinach came off.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Wonder Weeds

Saturday morning every single weed was pulled from the garden beds. Saturday afternoon they needed weeding again. They didn’t get it. Why is it so easy to grow grass in the garden and so hard to grow it in the lawn? Perhaps the whole lawn should be dug up and planted to vegetables. Once the grass took over it could just be mowed.

The leaves in the spaghetti squash, lettuce, mustard and kale are covering the ground well enough that there is no need to weed. Weeds are pulled only when they grow up through the vegetable leaves. The only consolation is that the weeds help fill the compost pile. Some people say that weeds should not be placed in the compost pile. That would be a terrible waste of biological material.

So far this year the BT has only been sprayed once. The stinky stuff to repel the deer has been sprayed about 5 times, but I forgot and the deer have apparently ruined 2 cherry trees. Not much point in spraying now but they were sprayed with BT.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/