Time to start preaching about poison ivy again.  This is the big oak tree on the corner of Stonebriar just below George and Priscilla's house.

 

I'm showing it to you now to remind you how to identify poison ivy in the winter.  Of course it drops its leaves in autumn, so you can't use the three leaflets for identification.  But it is easy to identify because it has these hairy roots on the vine that cling tightly to its support tree.  

 

And this matters because all parts of poison ivy are covered with Urushiol, a volatile oil that can cause skin irritation.  So be careful when you're in the woods, that you or your four-legged friends don't brush against it.  More importantly, if you are a leaf burner, make sure you don't have any poison ivy in your burn pile.  Smoke from burning poison ivy can do serious lung damage.  

 

I know I've written about poison ivy lots of times.   But this is one plant identification lesson I don't want you to learn the hard way.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It is time to start picking apples.  We have a few!!!  

 

I didn't save the identification tag when we bought this tree, but I seem to recall that the apples are Rome.  Whatever their name, they are tart and sweet and crisp.  Good qualities in apples, I think.  We eat them with our salads, bake them into pies, and make apple sauce like Momma did.  Oh yeah, and there is Ruby Whitman Apple Cake too.  That recipe is in the recipe section.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Check out our Butternut squashes.  You can see that the one in the foreground is still not ripe, but the one behind it is almost ready.  It's getting pink.

 

This picture also tells another good squash story:  See the yellow squash blossom?  Well, squash blossoms are edible.  They are really good stuffed with rice, and sautéed.  Well, when I first heard that they are edible, I thought, why would I eat the blossom when I can wait a while and get a whole squash?  Well, here's the thing:  there are male blossoms and female blossoms.  Jon said, how can you tell?  The male blossoms have long stems, and the female blossoms have tiny squashes just below the flower.  So, to answer my own question:  You eat the male blossoms and leave the female ones to grow into squashes.  That way you get BOTH!!!

 

I really love planting squashes on the north side of the tomato cages.  That way they can grow up and be off the ground, without shading the tomatoes.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

As soon as I cut the first squash from the vine, this second one started growing immediately.  We could see it increasing daily.  I think it is up to about 10 pounds.  

 

I wish the deer hadn't eaten the third one;  it would have been fun to watch that process again.  Oh well...Next year I'll be sure to plant another Cushaw squash.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here are some other marigolds we grew this year.  I collected the seeds from Rosalie's beautiful flower bed, last summer.

 

I am downhill, looking up at these marigolds.  But they are still nearly 5 feet tall!!!  I put several in the vegetable garden, and more in our terraced beds.  As you can see:  along with my rogue zucchinis.  I love seeing their bright, cheerful flowers.

 

They make me smile every time I walk by, or look out the kitchen window.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

No, really.  These are my favorites, today.    

 

I love Marigolds.  I plant hundreds of them every year.  I don't even know when I last bought seeds.  I just keep saving the seeds and planting them over and over.

 

Marigolds produce thousands of seeds.  Each flower has about 50 seeds.  And of course I collect them, and store them in a dry place until time to plant again.  I sow the seeds when I sow tomatoes and peppers and eggplants.  They like warm soil.  Then as they grow, I transplant them into cell packs.  I can spend hours doing this part.  And when they are big enough to put out, I plant them everywhere!!!   I love the whole process.  It feels like I am participating in some kind of magic.  

 

This row of Marigolds is in the first row in the garden.  It's what we see when we drive up the road.  

 

When I go out to the garden to pick cucumbers and tomatoes, I also bring in Marigolds and put them in little vases all over the house.  They make me happy.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Check out these tomatillos.  They look like little lanterns.  

 

When they first set, (you can see one all the way to the right)  they are empty.  If you squeeze them, they feel like little balloons.  As they grow they fill up the lantern with a little tomato-like berry.  Then the skin splits, and you know they are ready to pick.

 

One year we had a huge harvest, and we made salsa verde.  We also like to skewer them, and cook them for a few minutes on the grill.  They are so sweet and delicious!!!  I ordered new seeds for next year:  Yellow ones.  I'm excited.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is what the deer did to my beautiful Hostas.  

 

Last year, all we did was protect the flowers with a barrier.  That worked fine.  But this year they have eaten the flowers and the leaves.  

 

Not too pretty.  Oh well.  We have barricaded everything else.  Next year we will guard the Hostas too.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look how pretty!!!  This Genovese basil is about two feet tall, and half as wide.  There are about ten plants just like this one.  Did I tell you that I grew them from seed?  Of course I did.  ;)

 

We use it fresh on pizza, in flower arrangements, and on just about everything green:  salad, green beans, eggs, and so on.  The berries (the seeds before the get dry and hard) get tossed into fruit salads, you know, like melons and grapes and blueberries.

 

When the frost comes, I will pull them up, hang them upside down in the basement, and in a couple months we'll have dried basil for the winter and spring.  

 

For now, though, I really love to brush my hands along this row, and breath deeply:  That's called 'aromatherapy.'

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Every time we walk down the trail, we look for Tedd.  And he's always in the same spot.  I guess he likes it there.

 

Thought you'd like to see Tedd and Jon.  We tickle ourselves.

 

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!