All around the radar was lit, and my NOAA weather radio was signaling a severe thunderstorm warning for Hennepin county. With the threat of 60 mile per hour wind gusts and golf ball sized hail - I scurried to pull the hanging plants off their hooks, bring the lawn chairs closer to the house, cover the grill, and bring in the watering can. I texted and called family to be sure everyone was aware and ready, and we waited for the weather to reach us. In the warm breezes before the storm I found neighbors out looking at the grey overcast sky just waiting for it to turn green - which actually it just got darker and more intense.
My husband was arriving home from work when I got the final alarm on the weather radio. I sat in the livingroom across from the front window watching the news and radar on tv and he mentioned "Isn't that a bad place to sit right now?" I moved a little so I could see out the window better. He headed for the basement with my son. I just hung out. I don't know why, but somehow I have always loved storms and strange changes in the weather. I would have gone outside, normally, but with the winds beginning to pick up a bit, it felt like rain was actually coming.
When I arrived home from work this evening - many large branches from our front birch tree were already strewn across the garden on top of hostas, coral bells, hydrangea, and rose bushes. The winds earlier in the day were quite strong. Usually when small branches fall, I break them apart and leave them in the mulch. But, these were entire limbs with no leaves on them. Old, brittle pieces that were going to come off anyways. I'm concerned that the root system to this birch has been compromised, and someday it'll come toppling down on my bedroom roof or come crashing through the window in a storm. But, today just these branches.
I gathered the branches and set them in the garage so they wouldn't blow all over the place and cause damage in the storm. I set them in a bundle together and got some creative decorating ideas floating through my head. A beautiful rich dark brown, they scream of nature and simplicity. Hmmmm...wonder what they would look like as border to my bathroom downstairs? What would I need to treat them with so they can withstand the moisture and set clearly? Would I use entire branches for the wall, or just cut up pieces for a border? I'm going to have to try a few things and get back to you.
So...I waited for the storm to come. Watched reports on the news of multitudes of tornadoes around our area and across the state. And here in my little suburb...we barely got rain.Short lived hard rain and only for a few moments, it felt like it was a whole lot of nothing. And, as quickly as it came through, it was over. Hoping that the storm would bring cooler sleeping temps...unfortunately it brought steamy humidity and a chance for more storms tomorrow. One more opportunity to watch and wait for a green sky.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Building of an Apple Brand: The SweeTango
The Building of an Apple Brand: The SweeTango
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rain, rain, go away
Basic needs of a plant = sun and water. Water we got! Sun, I guess we could use a little more. Earlier this season - April actually - we had lots of warm humid weather and gentle rains. May brought amazing blooms and now June is promising to bring..... what? mushrooms? all over the yard?
Yes...toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, fairy stumps, whatever you want to call them, they are in every section of my very green grass. It's amazing how going over them with a lawn mower doesn't seem to phase them at all...they just pop right up again. Along the root lines of my river birch tree in the front yard, in the dip of the property line in the backyard, to the clover sprinkled grass outside the veggie garden. It's hard to know what to do about it.
Actually, I believe this area is just about even with the average rainfall for the year up to this point. Better than being so far behind like last year. It's definitely saving me some money that I would normally be putting into the city water, sewer and utilities bill. We've talked about getting a rain barrel, but I wonder just how much water I could capture coming out of my sump pump hose! Several gallons are coming out every day.
Tomorrow's forecast is for sunny or partly sunny skies, and we're expecting more thunderstorms and hot steamy weather for Minneapolis later this week.
Oh boy. This website tells me that the food sources for these toadstools are rotting plants and animal matter, so does it mean that my birch tree roots are rotting and it's feeding off of them? Also, all the grass mulch we've left earlier in the season is not good for this problem right about now. So...we bag the grass clippings and move them to the compost pile - which still needs walls built around it, by the way. I wonder if I could move the mushrooms to the compost pile and let them turn our pile into dirt. Hmmm....I wonder how many more we'll have after the next rain.
Photo and info about lawn mushrooms courtesy of www.lawncare-business.com.
Yes...toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, fairy stumps, whatever you want to call them, they are in every section of my very green grass. It's amazing how going over them with a lawn mower doesn't seem to phase them at all...they just pop right up again. Along the root lines of my river birch tree in the front yard, in the dip of the property line in the backyard, to the clover sprinkled grass outside the veggie garden. It's hard to know what to do about it.
Actually, I believe this area is just about even with the average rainfall for the year up to this point. Better than being so far behind like last year. It's definitely saving me some money that I would normally be putting into the city water, sewer and utilities bill. We've talked about getting a rain barrel, but I wonder just how much water I could capture coming out of my sump pump hose! Several gallons are coming out every day.Tomorrow's forecast is for sunny or partly sunny skies, and we're expecting more thunderstorms and hot steamy weather for Minneapolis later this week.
Oh boy. This website tells me that the food sources for these toadstools are rotting plants and animal matter, so does it mean that my birch tree roots are rotting and it's feeding off of them? Also, all the grass mulch we've left earlier in the season is not good for this problem right about now. So...we bag the grass clippings and move them to the compost pile - which still needs walls built around it, by the way. I wonder if I could move the mushrooms to the compost pile and let them turn our pile into dirt. Hmmm....I wonder how many more we'll have after the next rain.
Photo and info about lawn mushrooms courtesy of www.lawncare-business.com.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The veggies are in the ground
On Memorial weekend, I planted tomatoes - 9 plants - about 7 varieties - a couple plants are the same kind. I also planted two sweet pepper plants and one jalapeno plant.
This past week (June 9), in went two Ball Zucchini and two different kinds of cucumber also went into the ground with a new portion of garden soil mixed with peat to help break up the clay that lies beneath. The
rain was here on Tues, planted on Wed, and rains came again Thurs night into Friday.
I really want to tell you about my favorite "tool" in my garden. I found them last year and didn't buy enough. This year I went back for more, and realized I needed one more to get to 9. So...this investment in my future tomato plants is what I'm hoping will pay off.
It's called the Ultomato - ultimate tomato cage. They are not cheap ($6-10 each) but because they are adjustable and plastic, I believe they are an amazing product. I love them. They held up very well last year - they will hopefully hold up the tomatoes with grace again this year. I bought mine at Home Depot...but I hear you can find them in pretty much any garden store in the spring.
This past week (June 9), in went two Ball Zucchini and two different kinds of cucumber also went into the ground with a new portion of garden soil mixed with peat to help break up the clay that lies beneath. The
rain was here on Tues, planted on Wed, and rains came again Thurs night into Friday.
I really want to tell you about my favorite "tool" in my garden. I found them last year and didn't buy enough. This year I went back for more, and realized I needed one more to get to 9. So...this investment in my future tomato plants is what I'm hoping will pay off.
It's called the Ultomato - ultimate tomato cage. They are not cheap ($6-10 each) but because they are adjustable and plastic, I believe they are an amazing product. I love them. They held up very well last year - they will hopefully hold up the tomatoes with grace again this year. I bought mine at Home Depot...but I hear you can find them in pretty much any garden store in the spring.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
What a bargain!
I bought some hanging plants and a gift card to Lynde's nursery from a boyscout fundraiser this spring. I bought my tomatoes and peppers and still had a bit left on the card to go back again.
Today in the rain, my mom and I stopped by Lynde's for a peek to see if we could find zucchini and cucumber. I lost out on the cucumber - I'll have to check elsewhere. But, the Ball's Zucchini looked so nice, I bought 2 pint sized plants for $1.89. I actually made it out of the store with only that.
Had the rain not been coming down so steadily, I would have checked out more perennials or flowers - and I was so tempted to bring home some Coleus for the porch...but resisted. Of course...I still have a little left on the gift card, so I'll go back when it's sunny out, and see what else I can find.
Gardening is fun, but I think shopping at the nursery/garden stores is just as much fun - especially seeing the beauty, the fragrances, the variety. Who would have thought - not me - that I would love gardening and growing things. Life is so funny. I just never know where it's going to take me.
Today in the rain, my mom and I stopped by Lynde's for a peek to see if we could find zucchini and cucumber. I lost out on the cucumber - I'll have to check elsewhere. But, the Ball's Zucchini looked so nice, I bought 2 pint sized plants for $1.89. I actually made it out of the store with only that.
Had the rain not been coming down so steadily, I would have checked out more perennials or flowers - and I was so tempted to bring home some Coleus for the porch...but resisted. Of course...I still have a little left on the gift card, so I'll go back when it's sunny out, and see what else I can find.
Gardening is fun, but I think shopping at the nursery/garden stores is just as much fun - especially seeing the beauty, the fragrances, the variety. Who would have thought - not me - that I would love gardening and growing things. Life is so funny. I just never know where it's going to take me.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The ants go marching 2-by-2...
hurrah - hurrah.
Now that I've got that song in your head for the rest of the day - or longer - let me tell you about the little critters in our yard.
We have recurring, regenerating, reanimated, reawakened, reconstructed, reestablishing, renewing, renovated, and often reproduced ant structures around our home, garden and lawn.
As much as I hate chemical pesticides, for fear of them leaching into our drinking water supply - I just have to use them or we'll be infested again and again! Thank goodness most of our issues are outside the home - but once a year in the spring we get a few culprits scouting for goodies from our kitchen window.
I've sprayed Ortho Home Defense around the perimeter of the outside of the home two years in a row, and it's working wonders! A little of the same inside around the kitchen window, and that's all it's taken.
But...outside is an entirely different matter. There appear to be two main types of ants, but there could be a variety of them.
I've now put down some liquid ant bait by Terro near the front pine tree where there appears to be a very large (about a foot in diameter) colony of them...and in the veggie garden where the ants were ready to bite me as I was preparing the ground for planting. Earlier in the spring there was another large mound in our front yard, right in the middle of the grass.
This morning going out to the car, the cracks inside the garage floor are now covered in ant hills. I set another bait just outside the garage, hoping they'll take it back with them to the main nest.
Oh...hurrah...hurrah...
Does anyone have any organic methods for getting rid of ants and other insects?
Now that I've got that song in your head for the rest of the day - or longer - let me tell you about the little critters in our yard.
We have recurring, regenerating, reanimated, reawakened, reconstructed, reestablishing, renewing, renovated, and often reproduced ant structures around our home, garden and lawn.
As much as I hate chemical pesticides, for fear of them leaching into our drinking water supply - I just have to use them or we'll be infested again and again! Thank goodness most of our issues are outside the home - but once a year in the spring we get a few culprits scouting for goodies from our kitchen window.
I've sprayed Ortho Home Defense around the perimeter of the outside of the home two years in a row, and it's working wonders! A little of the same inside around the kitchen window, and that's all it's taken.
But...outside is an entirely different matter. There appear to be two main types of ants, but there could be a variety of them.
I've now put down some liquid ant bait by Terro near the front pine tree where there appears to be a very large (about a foot in diameter) colony of them...and in the veggie garden where the ants were ready to bite me as I was preparing the ground for planting. Earlier in the spring there was another large mound in our front yard, right in the middle of the grass.
This morning going out to the car, the cracks inside the garage floor are now covered in ant hills. I set another bait just outside the garage, hoping they'll take it back with them to the main nest.
Oh...hurrah...hurrah...
Does anyone have any organic methods for getting rid of ants and other insects?
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