Sunday, July 25, 2010
Where There's Poop, There're Caterpillars!
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The droppings always give them away. The large leaves of the butternut squash plants - running underneath the blueberry bushes - collected these piles of caterpillar castings. One must always be on the lookout for sign of worms and bugs doing damage in the garden!
A quick glance up revealed very hungry caterpillars working overtime to defoliate the before-mentioned bushes. Using our trusty "Caterpillars of Eastern North America" book, I identified these creatures as datana drexelii, a.k.a. Drexel's Datana. They are known to feed on blueberry, and metamorph into a fairly nondescript moth.
Here's the poop from the backyard chicken coop ... keeping tabs on the girls and checking the garden to see what's for supper. Now that's LOCAL!
Garden of Eat'n
Small Flock
It all started...
... in the spring of 2006. Rouse decided to build a raised bed for the purpose of growing blueberry bushes. Well, one raised bed led to another and soon we had four raised beds. Three were filled with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and wineberries. The fourth was planted with herbs and tomatoes.
One year later...
... Andrew came home after his freshman year at UNC-Asheville and announced that he wanted to put in a vegetable garden. He said he wanted to learn how to do it "before he had to." We all liked the idea of eating more local food. You certainly can't get any more local then your own back yard!
Rouse had recently pulled out two overgrown shrubs in the bed behind the house. He had no plans to improve the area until fall, so he gave Drew the go-ahead. Andrew worked hard preparing the soil... digging it up and adding turkey manure enhanced dirt and mulch. He planted pole beans, cucumbers, a variety of hot peppers, okra, eggplant, canteloupe, zucchini and yellow squash.
Drew's garden was a huge success. We enjoyed the fresh food so much Rouse and I decided we wanted a more permanent garden. And chickens, too! In September of 2007 Rouse built four more raised beds and starting clearing space for the chicken yard. See "The HENstory" on its own page.
Rouse had recently pulled out two overgrown shrubs in the bed behind the house. He had no plans to improve the area until fall, so he gave Drew the go-ahead. Andrew worked hard preparing the soil... digging it up and adding turkey manure enhanced dirt and mulch. He planted pole beans, cucumbers, a variety of hot peppers, okra, eggplant, canteloupe, zucchini and yellow squash.
Drew's garden was a huge success. We enjoyed the fresh food so much Rouse and I decided we wanted a more permanent garden. And chickens, too! In September of 2007 Rouse built four more raised beds and starting clearing space for the chicken yard. See "The HENstory" on its own page.
We had a successful fall garden, with lots of salad and cooking greens. In the spring of 2008, we added four more raised beds. I successfully grew lettuce, arugula, spinach, chard, kale, mustard and turnip greens, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, sugar snaps, tomatoes, peppers, okra, green beans, field peas, lima beans, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, sweet potatoes, plus, lots of herbs. I had less success with beets, radishes, and carrots.
See the "Evolution of a Garden" page for pictures and more about how our garden has grown!
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- Let it Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain!
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- Where There's Poop, There're Caterpillars!
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- Fresh Fig Chutney is Heavenly!
- Layer Tomatoes to Extend Season
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