Spotted Green Demons!

Silly me, I shooed away the big spider, and now I have...CUCUMBER BEETLES. They look like green ladybugs and they've already eaten one cucumber. Is there anyway to rid myself of these pests organically, other than flicking them off by hand???

New additions

My dear in-laws are in the midst of a big basement clean-out, and offered me an old wheelbarrow they found down there. Yea! I love hand-me-downs! I've wanted to buy one, but haven't wanted to spend the money - even the crappiest ones are too much moolah for me. Second-hand is definitely the way to go, and you can't beat free!
My second present of the afternoon from my new family was a bag full of freshly dug up mint and some wild strawberry plants. Both had spread beyond control in their back yard, so they had plenty to spare. I know that mint is invasive, so I potted it, then buried the pot halfway in the ground - the first addition to my herb garden.
Our neighbors are putting the final touches on a new wood patio - it's gorgeous, as is the rest of their professionally landscaped yard... I'm so jealous. However, they aren't growing anything edible, so I hope they will be the envious ones come harvest time... :)

A taste of things to come...

A co-worker gave me a cucumber fresh-picked from his garden yesterday…now I’m jonesin’ for more!  Hurry up, little cukes, grow!

More Tomatoe Woes

My patio tomato is starting to look very very sad...there are 3 little tomatoes on it, but the plant itself is starting to turn yellow! Does it need a bigger container? Help!

Update: I bought a larger container - actually, a self-watering container - and some organic potting soil. The container is pretty nifty - it has a reservoir in the bottom which you fill with water, so the plant drinks from the bottom... Hopefully this does the trick, 'cause the poor little guy looks pretty bad... On the other hand, the tomatoes in my garden are just thriving so all is not lost if the patio plant doesn't make it. Funny - I bought the patio tomato because the garden plants were worrisome. Must've made them jealous...

Picking peppers

I plucked the lone purple bell pepper from its stem last night.  It’s not the biggest pepper yet, but I figured either I get it now, or the rabbit beats me to it.  J  Plus, I’m guessing it will be the first of many peppers this summer…  I also have cucumbers now!  I’m rather excited about this, as I introduced my husband to the joy that is the lightly-salted cucumber slice last night.  I swear I’ve never seen him eat a veggie that wasn’t covered in a sauce or dip, so this was quite the sight.  Don’t tease him about it though – he doesn’t seem to like that. J 

I think the little pepper will be part of a stir-fry tonight…there are no small parts, only small peppers, right?

 

 

Wascally Wabbit

As I told ML this morning, my husband said the most horrible thing to me last night.  He said “Honey, is that a rabbit out there by the garden?”  I immediately raced to my veggie plot, small dog on my heels, looking for the little bugger.  It was dark out at this point, and the rabbit was dark-furred as well, so it was very hard to spot, but we clearly saw its cottony puff of a tail as it suddenly raced for the other side of the yard and dove under the fence.  Our not-so-quick dog didn’t even notice anything was happening until it was all over, and THEN he started sniffing around.  Some watchdog, huh? 

I put a wire fence around the garden to keep the dog out, but it’s certainly not rabbit-proof.  What to do now?  I need to add an additional fence or a barrier of some kind…or do I just give up and accept that rabbit encounters are part of gardening life?

 

New pics

I updated the photos to my accurately reflect the state of the garden. About to head out there now to take advantage of the cooler temps of the morning (it should get into the 90s today).