Oh God, We're Back To The Urine Again......

Its very ironic that last night when some friends and I were coming back from a birthday party, there were some cute little deer in the road and we wondered where they were eating thier dinner.

They were in Sam and Earl's yard eating our beans and tomatoes! And it was Earl's party that we coming home from. Oh the irony.....................

So on Facebook, Im being told to use Boar's urine now. I just cant deal with anymore urine, folks!

Its been plenty warm out and the plants are loving it! Even my sad little container garden is looking a bit better.

The plants up at Sam and Earl's (this is a little info about what they do - they manage the Burlington Hotel and run a sweet little cafe. Earl has bees and his honey is Magick!) are literally growing like weeds! These tomatoes are monsters and I had better start thinking about what Im going to do with all these babies!  Im pretty proud that they are actually growing and producing. My confidence was not high when starting  this project. So far, Ive not seen any signs of bugs or those hideous worms. Although, with my luck. I'll reach in and accidentally touch one. I'll realize what Ive done, scream, and wake up the dead.

I don't want to get my hopes up, but it would be nice to at least have enough to freeze for a few months. I'd also like to purchase a canner set. Unfortunately, I used to have all that stuff and it has disappeared over the years. Oh well. I have no idea exactly how many tomatoes it will take to make enough to freeze for the winter. I might not have enough, but I do have a lot of plants in various states of growth. It will be a wait and see.

By the looks of my container garden, I'll have some kind of yield  - at least enough for a few salads and sandwiches!  I'm also surprised that Ive managed to get this many. This is so much better than last year on  many levels. Onward and upward. I'm pretty happy about it. Despite the raccoons digging around in the pots.

 I don't know how people get high yields out of 5 gallon containers. I read all sorts of things online, but no matter what I do, my plants always look anemic. So for me, I need to either put them in the ground, or give them bigger containers and probably more or better  food. I can water the hell out of the ones in the ground, or leave them for every other day. They are mulched and happy. These in the bins are either too wet or too dry. There never seems to be a happy medium.

BUT - I have learned a thing or two. And now that I know I can get SOMETHING out of them, its just a matter of regulating water and food. I think the bigger container the better and as much dirt and organic material as possible.

I'm going to eat this tomato today. The first of the season!

I have never really known what to call that strip of land between the sidewalk and the curb, so I googled it.
This is what I found:
Streetside Easement
Grass Bay
Parking Strip
Parkway
Grass Plot
Tree Lawn
Neutral Ground

Whatevs...........was just curious..........
Last year, mine was a neglected, weedy, clay and rock filled strip that nobody gave a shit about. This year, I decided to do something about it and make it pretty. I pulled up all the weeds by hand and shovel. I added dirt from fill dirt in back of the vacant lot. I added mulch from under the compost pile created with all the weed pulling from the year before. And I amended what soil was in those easements with the compost I made from leaves and vegetable scraps.

Some worker guy from over at the Sugar Factory across the street called over while I was weeding and expressed curiosity as to why I was pulling weeds by hand ( as opposed to chemical weed killers, I assume) and I responded that this is how our country was built - by hand - and I'm showing you all how its done. He laughed and said point taken. Honestly, you would think one had never seen someone working with their hands. Wait.............................

I planted wild flowers and marigolds. And then accidentally,  I planted tomatoes from the seeds from the year before. I'm not sure that I want to eat them as I don't know where the dirt came from,  but this little flower garden is starting to bloom and fill out. And it makes me happy to open my door and see a splash of color. Sure, it still needs some constant weeding that I can never seem to get to, but I think the neighbors appreciate it also. The butterfly's and bees sure do!

Liver Rehab

Ive been craving Milk Thistle tea for the last few months. I think my liver has told me that Ive done enough damage and now its time for a little rehab. I don't drink much alcohol, but I did used to take a lot of over- the-counter inflammatories. Not so good for the old blood purifier that has to work overtime................ Milk Thistle has good restorative powers. My liver thanks me. This herb seed tea has a really nice, mild taste that I can drink large quantities of without any honey. It cant hurt you - only help. I even keep a couple thistle plants around my tomato plants - despite the pain inflicted on my bare legs whenever I forget they are there!

And the other jar is the first harvest of my Summer Savory. More is on the way. It is one of my favorite of the culinary herbs and I'm so happy to finally be able to grow and use it again!

Borage In The Sewing Studio

Borage is one of my favorite plants. It grows pretty wildly up at Sam and Earl's house, so he gave me some this spring when it was in its rampaging glory. I plopped it in a mason jar filled with tap water - and it lasted quite a long time! Thats a pretty wedding jacket there in the background that I'll be talking about soon on my other blog. I may be a bit of a Granny Clampett  at heart, but I do make some pretty things............and the borage sweetened up the room while I worked.

Raccoon Update

Pee does nothing. Throwing pepper out on my deck does nothing. And now they are up in my other garden taking bites out of my green tomatoes and then throwing them away. I hate them. The babies are cute. But I hate them. They climb on everything and break things. They stomp all over my plants and dig them up. Its not their fault. I dont remember it being such a problem last summer. There is a population explosion and there is nowhere else to go. Relocating often means death for them and annoyance for others. And the county wont do anything. There are just too many.

I shake cans of pennys at them and I'm getting a super soaker. Thats about all I think I can do. I cant sit outside all night with a gun and guard my vegetables. I'll try some other store bought options, but I think its just going to be one of those things that must be endured. I have to make peace with this situation. Why cant we all just get along....................