Aphids

Recently I noticed my honeysuckle was looking a bit stressed. As I looked a bit closer I saw the tell tale sign of aphids. Several leaves were yellowing and looking a bit distorted and stunted covered in a sticky substance.

Aphids are soft-bodied insects, about a tenth of an inch long. They're typically green or black, though you may also run into gray or black ones in your garden. Aphids suck the sap out of tender plant shoots and leaves. As aphids feed, they secrete a sticky substance, called honeydew, which can quickly become infested with sooty mold. This mold can spread viruses, many of which are incurable. For this reason, it’s important to take steps for controlling aphids in the garden. The good news is if caught early, they are pretty easy to combat.

Killing aphids naturally is not only better for the environment, but it is also a more effective way of killing the insect. Aphids don’t respond well to insecticides, but you can get them under control by taking advantage of their weaknesses and making a few changes in the way you manage your garden.

Aphids have a number of natural enemies. Pampering and nurturing these insects is an excellent method of organic aphid control. I have mint, fennel, dill and yarrow planted about to help attract these insects to my garden which will then feed to on those pesky aphids.

If you have a big enough property,  you can create aphid traps by growing plants that are attractive to aphids. Growing plants such as nasturtium, aster, cosmos, hollyhock, larkspur, verbena, dahlia and zinnia far from other favorite plants will lure aphids away and keep the garden aphid-free.

Another easy way to get rid of aphids is a strong spray of water from a hose which will knock many of the pests off the plant, making it pretty impossible for them to return. It also rinses off some of the honeydew. Spray the plant every day until the plant is aphid free.

A New Season ~ 2015

Happy Spring my friends!

It is always so exciting to start a new season here at Tend. It amazes me that we are going into our 5th year here in this space. Our archives are growing and full of some great ideas and inspiration so pour a cup of tea and peruse when you get a chance.

I want to take the time to say thank you to both Natalie and Melissa for their knowledge, expertise and contributions to Tend.  I learned so much from Melissa about bees and bee keeping last year. It is still a long time dream of mine to keep a roof top hive. I am determined that one day it will happen and I know who to refer to when it does.

Melissa will not be a regular contributor here at Tend but I am hoping that from time to time she will pop in to say hello and let us know what's happening in her garden.

Natalie has been a part of Tend from the very beginning and such a help in getting this space established. It was such a pleasure reading about her beautiful gardens over the years and watching as she found the farm of her dreams.

Natalie will no longer be contributing to this space but you can always visit her over at her gorgeous website and read all about her farm adventures and homestead Freckled Hen Farm.

This year, Tend will be written by just three of us- Amber (on Mondays), Annabelle (on Wednesdays) and myself (on Fridays).  

We are excited to share our gardens with you throughout the season and hope that we will be hosting a few guests this year on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So without further ado please say hello to my little Spring garden adorned with pansies, lettuces, rhubarb, asparagus, flowering cherry and crab apple, forget-me-nots, swiss chard and kales.

I have been working hard out there and am excited to share my gardening adventures with you.

See you next week!

Amy

Props in the Garden

Mother nature creates some of the most beautiful vignettes in the garden. In the wild, little scenes  can happen all on their own but sometimes it's fun to assist when it's in your own backyard. Although a garden is usually composed primarily of plants, adding "props" to your landscape can add character, height, structure, texture and originality.

Over the years I have accumulated all sorts of props. Pots, statues, baskets,  birdhouses, trellises, tree stumps, branches, tools, bamboo, stone and wood have all played a part in my garden's tale.

Many things I have acquired from the woods. Some I have bought or made. Some were gifted and some found on the side of the road in the trash.

As the garden grows and it's scene changes throughout the season, I like to help it's storyline along by moving things around here or there. Just like my home, my garden is forever in flux. I am always re-arranging.

So I urge you to play director in your garden. Walk through and listen to it's story.  Add a few props and give it a costume change now and again.  And most importantly sit back and enjoy the show!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

We are headed to the beach for the holiday weekend which I thought called for the first strawberry rhubarb crumble of the season. Our strawberries are just flowering so no berries yet but the rhubarb is ready! I bought local berries at the farmers market yesterday and harvested our first rhubarb stalks this morning.

I have made this recipe from Smitten Kitchen many times and it is always a hit. The sweet to tart ratio is perfect topped with a short-bread crumble.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Topping
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Turbinado sugar
 Zest of one lemon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

 Filling
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon 1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375°F.
Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

 Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a baking sheet (as it can bubble over), and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Eggshells in the Garden

You will always find eggshells drying on my windowsill. They are the "Jack of All Trades" in the garden. And lucky for me my hens provide a steady supply!

Next time you make an omellete set aside those nutrient rich eggshells, which have many uses and can save you money. About 95 percent of shells are made up of calcium carbonate, also present in sea shells, coral, and limestone. The other 5 percent includes proteins, calcium phosphate, and magnesium carbonate.

 Always thoroughly wash your shells and allow them to completely dry. Depending on the job egg shells can be applied in crushed or powdered form. Crush them with a mortar and pestle or in a blender or food processor.
 

 ~Add crushed eggshells to the bottom of planting holes, particularly for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. These crops are susceptible to blossom end rot, which is caused by calcium deficiency. While this deficiency is most often caused by improper watering, a steady source of calcium is always a plus. As the eggshells break down, they'll nourish the soil, and your plants.

~Use crushed eggshells to deter slugs, snails, and cutworms. The abrasive, sharp edges of the eggshells keep snails and slugs from crossing the shells to get to the plants. I recently made rings around my precious lettuce starts.

 ~Add them to your compost to boost calcium levels in your finished pile.

 ~Rather than using commercial fertilizer, add eggshells to your indoor plants. Add powdered shells directly onto the soil around the base of the plants. Each time you water, the plants will absorb the powder into the soil. This also applies to outdoor potted plants. I plan to add shells to my window boxes this year.

 ~Keep a mason jar of eggshells covered with water for watering potted plants. Or save water from hard boiled eggs to sprinkle plants with this calcium rich tonic.

 ~Hens need plenty of calcium to lay thick-shelled eggs. The best source of calcium for a hen is her own egg shell. Add crushed or powdered egg shells to regular feed to provide a boost of nutrients.

 ~Scattered egg shells can help with cats using your garden as a litter box.

~ If you are feeding birds in your yard, crush up the eggshells and add them to a dish near the feeder. Female birds, particularly those who are getting ready to lay eggs or recently finished laying, require extra calcium.

~Egg shells are also said to keep deer away. Anyone have any luck with this?

Pop Goes the Garden!

We had a wet and rainy week receiving over 5 inches of rain! After the rains stopped and the sun returned, everything seemed to pop. Our Kwanza cherry trees finally bloomed and soon we will have pink snow everywhere (I found a few petals in my bed this morning)

I was so excited to find that the asparagus I had planted last year was up and looking healthy and happy. I am experimenting with growing it amongst other perennials even though it's said to not do well with competition. But I like to break the rules and at least give things a try. I have no choice with my little patch of land. As much as I am dying to try a taste I need to wait until next year to harvest any spears. Patience is key with asparagus. Cut too soon and you can weaken the patch.

We hung our mason bee house this week. Mason bees are incredible pollinators. Each one visits as many as 1000 blooms per day — 20 times as many as a honeybee!

The red leaf lettuce is doing well in a shady spot behind the rabbit hutch. We may be able to harvest a few leaves to add to salads this week or feed to our new little rabbit friends.

Yes, we have two new additions to the garden. Tilly and Lucy are both dwarf Norwegians and have won us over with their sweet and cuddly dispositions. The chickens have some company now!

This week I plan to plant cherry tomatoes along with some cucumbers to grow up that A frame trellis.

What will you plant this week?

Soaking wet

This morning the soil was very wet from the heavy rain we had yesterday and last night. This week we've been cleaning up the garden and planting 

some broccoli, kale, chards, and leeks.  I didn't prepare any seeds inside this year. I also just threw in some seeds for beets, nasturtium, cosmos, and zinnias. I still need to get some seeds to plant arugula.

Today is nice I was able to enjoy my lounge chair with a fresh drink enjoying the black tulips, so elegant.

I am so ready for the summer. 

Anything exciting in your gardens ?

The mint is so prolific! We planted along the neighbors wall and the brick path. It doesn't need much to grow and is very invasive so we manage to contain it and it's still a lot of mint. There is no such thing as too much mint...

I couldn't resist sharing the picture of the dogwood blooming. We planted it on the neighbors sidewalk 

( it's a vacant lot so no one minded ) and this year is the first year it's blooming. We hope it will be big enough when they start to build a house so no one will dig it up. 

The harvest of the day, some greens for my lunch with a little viola and eggs from our beautiful ladies. 

I will shortly present you our 6 chickens.

The taste of pesto in my mouth the basil will be planted very soon.

may garden highlights

I've been enjoying seeing the garden updates here over the last week, so I thought I would share some of the highlights in our gardens right now.

 

 One of the most exciting new developments for us, is the addition of a blueberry patch. We purchased 5 bushes this week. They are 3 years old and are already full of quite a lot of green berries. It was tempting to bring home even more, but we held back in order to reserve space for some diversity in varieties. This particular variety is Bluecrop.

 The tomatoes have been planted. There are still quite a lot left over, so we're working on coming up with ways to fit them in, in other places. We could never have too many tomatoes!

Flowers are blooming everywhere, with colorful new faces each day it seems. A lot of herbs are starting to flower right now, which adds such a diversity of colorful texture.

 Tiny summer squashes are forming already! At least one variety that I chose this year is resistant to powdery mildew. I am hoping they fare better than past years.

 

 It's going to be time to have some artichokes any moment now. These particular plants are now about 3 years old, and are producing so well this year. 

We are planning to build cucumber trellises rather than let them sprawl as I usually do. They will be ready to start climbing soon.

There is so much growth happening right now. Looking back on some photos I took just a week ago, I am amazed at the changes and how quickly things are filling out. With June just a short ways off, the garden will really start to change and grow rapidly.

And just for fun, a photo of the native Rhododendron. I don't think I will ever get over my amazement of these impressively large, colorful blooms. The woods are lined with them right now. Such a beautiful contrast to the lush green of the forest in May.