Garden Journal Entry May 15 2015

It has been a while since I have posted about my gardening around here.  It is because I was anticipating on re-purposing a large 33 gallon trashcan that we re-purposed for a rain barrel and it got a split in it and could no longer hold the water that came from the roof.  I am a recycler of things around my house, if I can do it I will, other than that I will add it to my recycled items for my husband to take to the recycling center in town.

Before I tell you how I re-purposed and how I made it I want to show you all my gardens.  There are lots of new developments and plants and ideas that I got, implemented and observed concerning the things that I have done so far.

The first thing that I was wanting to do for a while was make a new name sign for my small address garden.  It has been a few years that I have really need to get sown and find another board, trace a heart on it and cut it out.  The old sign feel apart in my hands when I picked it up.  I did have it hanging on some hooks under the bar, but every time the wind would pick up the sign would fall off.  I finally just laid it on the ground until I could find the time and the wood to make a new one.  It was toast as we say around her for things that un-usable anymore.  No re-purposing for that one.  Here is a picture of the new sign and one of the old one.  I screwed the new one on the bar this time and it surprised me that it looks better than hanging.

BEFORE

AFTER

I went to my local farm supply store, Boltz Hardware, Garden Center and General Store and asked them about how every year that I have tried to grow squash I get a flower on it and then the next day the plant is dead.  I have asked the same question of the Extension Office when they were at the last 4-H club County Fair and they did not even know.  Isn't that strange?  I thought that it was.  Anyway he told me that it was a Squash Bug that will come out of the ground...any soil.  The larvae will burrough it's way up the stem and eat it as it goes along.  That is why it is so sudden.  He gave me something that will kill that bug and a lot more bugs along with it.  I also got me a bag of Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle on my roses and any other vegetables and flowers that all the new caterpillars will devour in a single night.

HERE IS THE STUFF THAT I USED TO POUR AROUND THE PLANT

 AND ALSO THE BAG OF DE.  

It is hard for me to pronounce the full name correctly so I just say DE.

I used the liquid on all of my plants, not just the squash.  I almost used the whole bottle.  I don't think that store person understood that I have a large assortment of gardens.  Wow is all I can say after I used this stuff on my plants.





I have a holly bush, really small and had not grown at all in the last four years that we planted it in one of our gardens.  After I put this stuff on it and around it, It actually has new growth on it.  That was about in a week's time and not months or years!  I am very happy about that as I think the Holly is too.

We have a creep crawly that loves to eat roots and I dropped a drop of this stuff on it and it killed it instantly.  Since we live in the woods we have all kinds of things that live under the ground that will eat and steal roots, bulbs and the like.  It sure did the trick with this plant!

We have these gardens growing like weeds!  Hahaha!  That is what I called the new one that we put in next to the driveway.  I had to divide and move some Daffodils to a new place and then I had orders many Fall blooming bulbs from Brecks Bulbs another favorite place of mine and spending lots of money there.

HERE IS THAT GARDEN

VEGETABLES

I purchased more tomatoes, Peppers and Squash and Zuccini and they are doing really good after I also put that liquid bug, creep crawly stuff on them after planting them.  I am excited that I have flower buds on some of my Yellow Tomatoes today.  I am on my way to really having a garden that will produce for me.  It is good to know that I fixed the bug problem that I never realized that I had.  Thank Goodness for that!

DEER CHASERS

This is one of the many Deer Deterrent that I use.  It is very inexpensive and has worked for 2 years now and my Hostas are really growing now.  You can purchase these at any store that has children's toys and it will be in the toy section.  I have a variety of colors of them and have them in various gardens.  They are the pinwheels and I get the plastic one show here.  The wind catches them and spins it around, night and day and the metallic of the plastic shines bright all over the place.  The deer and other critters do not like the noise, the sound and the sparkles.  Good for me and bad for those who like to dine on my flowers.  Win-Win all around!