Of toads, bugs, birds, and things.....

One of the things that is so fascinating to me about market gardening is seeing how so many critters interact and play their part in the bigger picture. From the millions of soil microbes (which earthworms consume) that break down organic matter (which releases plant food as it decomposes), to the bigger critters like root maggots (which can devastate brassica crops, but are kept in check by rove beetles), it's neat to see how there is a balance in Creation. Remove all the "bad" bugs, and there is nothing for the "good" bugs to eat. One late winter, there were some aphids on one of my better half's houseplants; there also happened to be a few Asian ladybugs climbing up the upstairs windows. We got one or two, turned them loose on the plant, and watched how they would crawl up and down the stems, finding aphids, grabbing them, and sucking out the fluids, dropping the leftovers. (There is not much left over from a sucked aphid, I can assure you.) It always brightens my day to see ladybugs in the garden; my children refer to them as Daddy's friends. :) They are always careful to not step on them.

One of "Daddy's friends", cruising along. Seemed to be in a big hurry.

And there are the bigger critters, frogs and toads, which help keep pests in check. We have some big black currant bushes, and often one of the younger children (usually one of the boys) will find a big 'ol toad, and come along bearing his treasure. The chosen spot for release, after looking at it, is under the currant bush in the garden. I want them around. It can be a bit unsettling when digging, and the earth starts moving, and a big toad hops out. But once it's realized what it is, no worries. :)

Of course, we must also talk about the birds. I love seeing them flit around the gardens, scratching out their dinners. With the cold spring, we had a Blackburnian Warbler in the yard and garden this spring; apparently, with the weather messed up, in their migration they couldn't find dinner in the regular place (the woods) so were forced to find it elsewhere. 'Twas neat to see, since I hadn't seen one before. Occasionally the birds do something that annoys me, like perching on the top of the tomato stakes and leaving deposits (robins) or digging up newly planted mache seed (Slate-Colored Juncos), but by and large, they only help the gardener. They are welcome here.

There is a good reason not to use pesticides (besides not wanting to put poisons on food); one of my "book-mentors", Maine market gardener Eliot Coleman, has pointed out that by it's very nature pest control automatically selects for resistant strains of pests. The ones that are not killed by the chemical, have progeny that are more resistant to it. Makes sense to me. I think it is far better to focus on helping to nurture Creation; striving for a balance, working on soil health which grows plants that are more resistant to pests, rather than using a witches brew of poisons to try to recreate Creation into the way we think it should be, rather than the way God designed it to be. :)

And as I sit here, on this drizzly, cloudy, 46-degree late July evening, I want to add that although the warm weather crops are unhappy, and tomatoes are downright sulky, the greens are in paradise. Most of them don't mind cool weather in the least, some of them actually prefer it. (Although maybe not this cool during this time of the year. :))

Winterbor kale, looking like a flower, a couple days before the October-like weather set in.

Pictures- July 16, 2013

After the nice rain we had following a beastly hot day, I wanted to post some pictures snapped while strolling about in the evening. Enjoy!

Lettuce help you with dinner. :)

Yes, our lettuce is growing well. The greens have been doing well this season, while some summer crops have been lagging. It seems this summer is more normal, we just got spoiled with the really early springs the past couple years.

The summer crops are growing well, just a bit slower than we'd like to see.

Pretty little Yellow Crookneck squash.

Hope springs eternal- tomatoes coming along.

And Yankee Bell peppers.

 These peppers came full circle for us. We bought the original seed from Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine last year, grew some peppers, loved them, and so we grew out our own seed for use this year. One of the benefits of an open-pollinated cultivar. :)

Salt and Pepper cukes.

I found a new favorite. These cucumbers are so crispy, sweet, and appealing looking, they are hard to beat for fresh eating. Supposedly, they can be pickled. We think they are better fresh, and, anyway, so tasty it'd be hard to get them into jars. :) Look for them at our markets.

Very baby arugula, under a row cover.

No, we are not expecting frost tonight. A little frost wouldn't bother the arugula anyway. :) The row cover helps keep the little hopping flea beetles from making a mess of them. They chew tiny holes all over the leaves. Not a big problem for some plants once they get established; a really big problem for tiny plants.

Ah, the green!

And reds and yellows.

 I would be remiss if I didn't show the little nook where Janice and I grab a couple minutes of quiet time once in a while (not much rest though, this time of year)

The old park bench overlooking the irrigation pond

Reflections in the water.

And thank you, Melissa, for planting the rose starts by the pond.

Then while heading back the the house, I was treated to this scene.

What a nice way to end an almost unbearably hot day! OK, I must confess, what made it bearable was a mid-day plunge in Keweenaw Bay.