2008 August | You Grow Girl

August 8, 2008

20 Comments

First Casualty of the Season

… a ‘Black Brandywine’ tomato taken before its time was up by an unknown mammalian critter. This kind of thing is like a right-of-passage for food gardeners. Unless you’re gardening in a sterile bubble, you have probably experienced the blow of crushed anticipation when a ripening tomato, eggplant, or pepper is snatched in the night. It’s a drag but the reality is that our tasty food plants are attractive to all kinds of creatures. I’m so used to it by now, I barely flinched this time. I just shrugged my shoulders and went inside to grab my camera without missing a beat. I suppose what might be lessening the blow is the realization that I got off pretty easy this year. I don’t think I have ever made it as far as August 8 without experiencing some critter theft on the roof.

See this. And this. And this time. Oh yeah, and that other time. Sometimes I blame the wrong critter. Oops.

Now if they would just eat the whole thing instead of leaving half or more we might be able to come to some sort of cooperative arrangement that everyone can feel good about. Taking a bite and leaving the rest is just wasteful. And cruel.

Thanks jerks.

And yet I still prefer a little nibbling on my prized tomatoes (Ummmm… not a euphemism) to the kinds of stuff humans have been pulling in recent years. They still win the prize for “Most Annoying Garden Pest” and seem to be in some sort of competition to outdo each other in the category of WTF?.

Where do I begin with this years’ Festival of Weirdness? I’ll save some of that for another day but will leave you with this delightful gem: What appears to be a pile of fresh human feces was recently discovered on our doorstep. And its not the first time this summer either. At least they didn’t go in the garden? Several witnesses have “examined” the pile and all agree it has to be of human origin. What was even more surprising was the woman sitting on our doorstep enjoying a beer like there wasn’t a pile of festering, possibly human feces only inches away. I do not enjoy the taste of beer but if I did I can tell you I would prefer to savor the horrible flavor that many of you think is wonderfully refreshing amidst an ambiance more appealing then the sounds and smells associated with ripe humanure.

Enjoy your weekend!

Leave a comment

August 8, 2008

1 Comment

Panic Grass

I thought this was Panic Grass (Panicum virgatum) aka Switch Grass when I took the photo, but now I’m not so sure. The way I shot the photo doesn’t exactly help with identification.

Leave a comment

August 7, 2008

5 Comments

A Way to Stake: Wall O’ Mesh

I think this method is called, “Using Whatever’s Available.” It seems to work. I think it’s kind of interesting and matches the hodge-podge style of the space although I don’t think it would score points for curbside appeal with The Better Homes and Gardens crowd. It’s the kind of look I will miss dearly once the whole neighborhood becomes gentrified and scrubbed clean.

On a practical level I suspect that having the plants pushed so closely together like that will cause air circulation problems and possible disease at some point down the line. We’ve had a lot of rain this season causing tomato plants to grow very lush and bushy. Every local gardener I know has started pulling out leaves and branches to improve air flow.

Oddly enough this is not the first time I have seen this plastic orange mesh employed as a tomato staking method.

Here’s the full garden in case you’re interested. They have more edibles growing in the side yard.

Leave a comment

August 7, 2008

1 Comment

And…. Reeds

As mentioned the other day, you are bound to see lots of grass and reed photos here because I take a lot of them.

One of the smartest things I did was bring my rubber boots camping. I was able to wade right into shallow wetland areas and take pictures like this.

The boots also made me feel more invincible against a Massassauga Rattler bite. I didn’t see any, although I always let my presence be known when trudging on their turf. I kind of hoped to see one — they’re endangered and all — but the possibility of a bite made me a bit nervous. Ontario is known as a region with very little wildlife that can hurt or kill you. As a result, I think we’ve got a bit of a built-in wuss factor when it comes to remotely dangerous animals. Black bears are probably the scariest threat when out in the wild and I didn’t see one of those either. I mean, they eat berries and insects, both of which were in abundance out there. I reminded myself of that every time I heard a branch break in the forest. We did string up our food to be sure.

I thought I heard a rattler during a pit stop on our long canoe paddle in, but didn’t stick around long enough to find out. Our camping buddies did see one but on a large island further north of ours.

Despite the wuss factor I’m generally not afraid to go trudging out into god knows where in places that are much less safe. Although I will say that I was not able to pee in the bush at night in Florida. I just could not stop thinking about the plethora of poisonous creatures lurking around my exposed butt.

Leave a comment

August 6, 2008

2 Comments

Pale Corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens)

This is kind of a crappy shot but I have an excuse. Just wait and hear me out. I took the picture rather haphazardly while camping with the idea to use it later for identification and not to make a pretty picture. I just held the camera up to the flower and clicked. The camera very near took this picture on its own, really. I acted more as a human facilitator.

This flower was in bloom all over the place but I did not bring my wildflower identification guide, a mistake I would regret many times on our trip.

Leave a comment