Lessons Learned

This week started well and ended well, but I'll admit, it was quite a muddled mess in the middle. I learned one very important life lesson, and become more well versed in garden know-how. I've often heard the phrase, 'You learn something new everyday', but, as we get older and settle into a path of habit, discovery happens less and less often. In fact, I find that discoveries, big or small, can happen so infrequently that the slightest tidbit can seem like a revelation. Such was the case this week.

I'll start with my garden. Yesterday, Dad and I jetted off to Lowe's bright and early to buy mulch for my front beds. While my foliage was braving the heat well enough (plants that are drought resistant and heat tolerant) Dad was shocked to find my beds seemingly bone dry with little to no mulch. Now, I am well versed enough to know that mulch needs to be applied to every bed every year, but I was shocked to find that there was no enough mulch in my beds because they had just been dug, planted, and mulched this past April by a local contractor. Apparently, as so often happens, I had paid a large sum for careless work. So, Dad and I set out to do the job right. It took us three trips to the store and 30 bags of 50 pound mulch to properly cover the front beds. About half way through this ordeal I was cursing myself for having such large beds dug in the first place. What was I thinking?! However, I'm so glad we took the time to do it right. The beds look fabulous. 

This rather fascinating insect was watching me pull up my okra plants. He was none too thrilled, I assure you.

Today I started working on my vegetable beds first thing. It's so amazing humid here at the moment, that morning is about the only time you can stand to be outside. In Texas, we are both blessed and cursed with heat. The blessing comes when we can have two summer planting seasons, the curse is having to live and work in that heat as well. Right now it is time to pull up your current vegetable plants  and replace them with transplants for the fall harvest. While pulling and picking the last of my vegetables I became aware of a few things:

1. If powdery mildew hits your tomatoes, do not go out and buy some expensive "all organic" fungicide. Why? Because the fungicide you can buy in stores is just a preventative for conditions like powdery mildew. Get yourself some Lime-Sulfur spray or pull up the plants. Even though the plant will still bear fruit, I think it damages the quality of the fruit. You are better off pulling all the tomatoes you can to ripen them in a sunny window, or frying them.

2. Do not plant okra unless you have lots of space. While okra plants do produce a steady amount of vegetables, it took so long for me to get enough okra to be able to cut up and fry that what I had already picked and stored had gone bad. You will need a lot of these plants to produce enough vegetables for family consumption.

3. If you do plant okra, do not let the stem get as big as a broom handle. It was damned near impossible to pull those things out of the ground.

4. Watch out for stray cats in your garden. They are likely using some space as a litter box. Very smelly and not fun to clean…

5. If a tomato has torn skin, it needs to be eaten immediately, otherwise throw it away. What may look like a tiny black spot on the outside of the tomato is often a large ball of mold inside it. Better safe than sorry. 

The last of my red tomatoes for a while. They are in the oven as we speak, roasting away. They will be packed in olive oil afterward and stored in the fridge. 

Green tomatoes off to Mom's house for frying.

For my fall garden I will plant Opalka tomatoes, Zucchini (spineless), and Amish pie pumpkins. I've ordered all but the pumpkins, which I will grow from seed, online. I'm mostly excited, and very curious, about the pumpkins. This is the one thing I have never tried to grow before, and I am so excited. I don't know how many pumpkins I will get, but I'd be happy with just enough to bake a pie. Another fun thing is that both the tomatoes and pumpkins are heirloom varieties, meaning I can save the seeds and plant them again next year. Also, some people say that the non-hybrid vegetables taste a lot better than those that are. I'm anxious to test this theory.

Eye Spy

I spy with my little eye something that has eyes!

 This little guy was having a basil salad when I went to grab a handful of basil. 

 And…My resident Anarchist.

Yes, he looks devastated by his actions...

As to my life lesson, all I can say is that I am deeply embarrassed. I let the actions of others toward myself reflect in my own decisions. I am a better person than my actions showed this week, and I will always endeavor to remember that. I am profoundly sorry and humbled. I will do better.