Gardening

[pilferk]

I feel like fresh meat out there.     The mosquitos are really bad.  Do you put poison on yourself or spray it around the yard?  I was reading that mosquitos are the most deadliest animal in the world.

Mosquitoes hate:

Lavender

Peppermint

Basil

You can either use a little essential oil dab to keep them way, or just plant a crap ton of that stuff around the gardens (even if it's somewhat hidden....though I don't recommend mint because, as I'm sure you know, it will just take over).

We have Basil and Lavender everywhere (because it repels other pests, too) and it has made a huge difference!

You could also plant Marigolds.

There's not a lot of mosquito predators, unfortunately.  And most of them are aquatic (turtles, fish, etc).  If you can attract birds (which can be counterproductive to a good garden), they can help out, too.

We just try to make the environment as hostile to them as we can!  It's worked pretty well so far, and I've seen a HUGE drop in the population out there since we've really started companion planting the basil, lavender, and marigolds.

[cineater]

What I really need is a bat.  I have the box but not a good place to put it.  It's the one draw back to using leaves as mulch, they hold a lot of moisture and the bugs love it.

We've had so much rain there has been no need for the plants to send their roots deep.  We're headed for two weeks of extreme heat with no rain.  I don't waste the water on my flowers in ground or the grass.  Beautiful now but everything may look like shit in a couple of weeks.

[cineater]

How do you cook eggplant?  I guess I have to try it.  Marsha threw the plants out the back of the greenhouse because they had bugs on them.  They laid out there about a week refusing to die so I planted them.  And they grew up to produce so I guess I'm obligated.  I'm going to give them a try but I really think Marsha should have to first. 

[cineater]

A little olive oil, some garlic, pepper and sea salt, little cheese, wasn't bad.  I wouldn't say anything great and it looks a little weird but eggplant is edible.

[cineater]

Damn it, damn it, damn it!  Not that we don't need the rain but I was so enjoying myself out there this morning.  It's around the first of the month, I weed all my beds.  Something about weeding that is so relaxing.  The heavens opened up and poured on us.  Kind of funny to watch everybody scramble.  I would have stayed and worked under the eaves but it started lightening.  Hopefully it clears up this afternoon.

[pilferk]

Took about 10 lbs of tomatoes out of the garden this morning.

threw them in the smoker for a bit to roast them.

Pureed them with some garlic and some onion.

First batch of "sauce base" going into the freezer this morning.

Next up: Salsa with the Black Cherry Tomatoes and our freaking gigantic jalepenos (and onions, and garlic, and some of our rainbow peppers).

[cineater]

Those black cherry tomatoes are good.  I recently had a tomatillo tomato, tasted like a granny smith apple.  I've only had my cherry tomato producing.  Not a single tomato on my Better Boy.  It's blooming again.  Haven't checked at the garden but I don't think they are getting many tomatoes either.  I just pulled out my Tomato and Onion Soup with Rosemary recipe.  Guess I'm going to the produce stands this year.