We're Growing Again

Or at least the jalapeno peppers are! They're small by Erin's standards, but they only get about 4 hours of sun, so small jalapenos it is.

I've mentioned it before, but now that the weather has cooled considerably during the evenings, the jalapenos are blooming like crazy which makes me happy. The cucumbers look to have some leaf disease, so I'm not sure if I'll keep those in the ground or not. The peas and beans are climbing and the sweet potatoes grow vines faster than kudzu, I'm convinced. The broccoli is protesting coming up, but the cabbage is starting to get their first true leaves. Hopefully the fall garden will be productive and next summer's June will be more manageable.

I was, however, wondering when these suckers would show their ugly heads around here:
This small tomato horn worm was on my jalapeno plant. He promptly met his end in a cup of soapy water. I found another while I was picking the jalapenos above, but he was infected with the parasitic wasp eggs, so he got picked off the plant and escorted into the woods where he could die his nasty death just as happily as I pleased.

Want a gift for yourself or to give to someone else? I finished updating the Keychains for a Cause page today to include the wider, 1.25 inch cotton webbing available for the larger ribbons. I also added three **new ribbons** that haven't been introduced on the blog first and one fancy pants way of making an older ribbon stand out a bit more. Go check out the site. The first two people who leave a comment here, each stating a different ribbon that they think is a **new** one, will receive a free key fob of their choice. If you really want a wristlet instead and do a 'pretty please' happy dance I could do that instead.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Holy Mushrooms, Batman!

A routine trip to the garden yesterday turned into anything but routine. From one day to the next two monstrous mushrooms popped up out of nowhere. Take a look at this beast!
It's twin was close by, but it had obviously been descended upon by something looking for a snack, however since it seems like only one bite, I'm not so sure of its flavor rating.
It's hard to tell exactly how large these suckers are without something in there for perspective, so I placed my foot by the one that had been sampled.
That sucker could feed a small country, or at least the state of Rhode Island for a good two weeks. However, they quickly met their demise by the blades of the lawn mower shortly after the pictures were taken. As the man was mowing, he hit the jackpot and found a yellow jacket's nest and got stung three times. The welt on his arm is looking pretty bad and the entire back of his arm from his shoulder to elbow is involved. He did happen to move some old grass clippings out of the way and found some fat worms that he transplanted to the garden which was crazy-awesome.

On a Keychains for a Cause note, I just can't help myself! The suggestions keep rolling in and they're wonderful. One customer asked if the 7/8 inch ribbon could go on 1.25 inch webbing instead of the 1 inch in order to see the color of the webbing a bit more so....You've got it! The 1.25 webbing is cotton and all of the 7/8 ribbon can now either come on the 1 inch nylon or the 1.25 inch cotton. Here's one of the breast cancer ribbons on the new 1.25 inch webbing.

I also had a special order for monkeys and a few other ribbons and still have ribbon left, so I'll post those up there as available until they're gone. Below is the awesome monkey ribbon on the 1.25 cotton. I also have two monkeys sewed on pink webbing that I made as extras! Monkeys are awesome in any form, aren't they? The 1.25 inch webbing will be up on the website by tomorrow evening. Don't forget to stop by the Keychains for a Cause website and "like" and follow us on Facebook!

The morning comes early. Sweet mushroom madness dreams.

Taking One For The Team

I mentioned a few days ago about the squirrel or something of the like taking bites out of my eggplants. Honestly, I can't believe the eggplants are still producing as they stopped earlier this summer, but now that the nights are out of the 80's, they're flowering again. How they're getting energy, I have no idea. Every leaf is just as flee bitten as this one is:
Yet they keep producing and producing and it's the only plant that the beetles are attacking, so I'm leaving it and them be. The jalapenos right smack dab next to them, even touching them, are bug free and producing again as well now that the evenings have cooled.

They only get about 4 hours of sun and don't grow large and beautiful like others I've seen, but they're doing well enough for us and our needs which are minimal.

The second summer garden and the fall garden are coming along nicely. Pictures of those coming tomorrow!

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Summer 2.0 and Fall Garden Progressing

Granted, most of this fall's garden is a summer garden repeated one more time, but what is there for fall is doing well.

The peas don't seem to be minding the heat too much, but some of the squares haven't sprouted and I think we may see some stress if they start flowering before the heat goes away.
Below are the new cucumbers, but oddly, although planted in all of the back half squares, hardly any sprouted.

I've been eyeing an empty bed for about a week now and when I went to plant something there yesterday saw this below and a few sprouts that look oddly like carrots....looks like I may have planted some beans and carrots there while I was eyeballing the empty space last week and forgot to write it down. My memory really needs some help.

The beans I KNOW I planted behind the flea-bitten eggplant and nice jalapenos are starting to climb the trellis. Actually, a few are trying to climb the eggplants, so we'll have to fix that soon.

The cabbage and only a few broccoli have put up their starter leaves, but it's progress none the less. It's good to see green out there again and I can't wait to start that thing called harvesting once more. I don't think I'm going to do radishes this fall as they didn't do well last year, but I'm going to plant out some lettuce next weekend in the half shaded beds of the far yard. Those poor beds....I really don't know what to do with them as they only get good sun in June and July. the peppers, carrots and squash did not like it out there at all this year. The YPear tomatoes did okay, but not great. June and July sun is not really enough to do much of anything, but I've got 50 sqft out there that will go to waste if I can't think of anything....maybe I'll try bush beans next year or something.

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The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

An Enemy Among Us

I got a very brief moment this afternoon to peruse the garden when we got home and I let the dog out right before I had to go upstairs to the incessant "MOMMY!!!"s screamed in a desperate and exasperated measure only to realize someone has encroached upon someone else's couch. Seriously? I SO could have watered and come to deal with that later. I'm seriously considering changing my name to Susan. I wonder if having the kids call or whine "Susan" incessantly would be as grating on the nerves....yet I know one day I'll be missing it all. Alas, I digress.

So I had this 30 maybe 45 seconds to myself in the garden and noticed that one of my baby eggplants had a CHUNK taken out of it. Not a hole, not a nibble, a chunk larger than my thumb. I noticed that a few of the newest leaves and stems had also been shorn off so I went looking for a worm or something, but realized nothing could have taken out a chunk like that except for a squirrel or the like. I didn't get a picture; remember the "MOMMY!!!!" being shrieked like someone was trapped on top of the ceiling fan?

Regardless, I know you, Mr. Squirrel. You're most likely the one that scaled the beams, crawled across the screened porch and lighted on the deck to eat my potted chard last year (oohh... reminds me. Must plant chard). We'll have a talk, you and I. One day. It will most likely be punctuated by a pellet gun.

The jalapenos right next to the flee beetle, squirrel feasted eggplants are sitting pretty. Not one bug, not one bite, not one misstep all year. They're only producing small peppers, but they're chugging along like champs.....and I just messed it all up by praising them, didn't I?

The morning comes early...really early now, and the under eye concealer is getting thicker by the day. Sweet gardening dreams.

Completely OT, but Totally Noteworthy.

For years now...actually since the late 90's, my husband has had to weather intermittent storms of my neurosis screaming for Jell-O pudding pops. Nothing, not ice cream, bon-bons, or imitation chocolate covered ice cream dreams...even Klondike bars could satisfy the decadence encompassing that frozen pudding goodness surrounded in a frosty cocoon, lying in wait for our tongues to relieve it from its icy sheath.

I'm not an ice cream fan, my friends. Yes, I do like the occasional bowl of frosty goodness, but then it has to be slathered in another late 80's necessity, Magic Shell. The milk chocolate variety, if you will. Alas, the Jell-O pudding pop was something only dreams were made of. It made a humble lunch time snack the envy of broccoli and brussel sprout eaters everywhere for we knew if we banded together and ate "just one more big-girl bite" that the Jell-O Pudding Pop could be ours. Ours! And Bill Cosby would be there all the while cheering us on.

Ah, the elusive pudding pop. I've heard rumors that they're on the market, licenced by other companies, but are they really the same? Could they ever hope to masquerade as the manna they were from our childhoods? Sadly, most likely not....even if I could find them in the stores and if I could I would be all over them like 'stank' on rotten meat, but since I can't find them, it's a mute point.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you that I've made a most important discovery. A discovery that only took 15 (insert explicative here) years to discover....they sell Jell-O pudding in the stores and those freeze pretty darn good themselves and then you've got your delectable frosty treat without the hassle of harassing and cursing out the pimply faced teen at the grocery who never even heard of Jell-O Pudding Pops in his natural born life and who is OBVIOUSLY is good for nothing since he's never experienced the nectar of the gods before, and he calls himself a "frozen foods specialist". Hah! As if.

So whereas I did not have the most delectable of frozen treats tonight for dessert, I did have the next best thing.....next time, however, I'll make sure to read the packaging more carefully. This sugar-free stuff is for the birds.

The morning comes early. Sweet, sweet oh sweet Jell-O Pudding Pops dreams.

Whether you dreams include Cosby or not is your decision.

Sports Themed Keychains for a Cause - Perfect Coach gifts

We've added some more designs this week with a sports theme. We now have baketball, football, soccer and baseball designs for our key chains. The soccer one is pictured as a finished key fob. The others will of course will come sewn down as well for the final product, but to keep prices down, we make the keychains when they're ordered.

These sports keychains are perfect for team moms and dads, coaches and even for high school or recreational league players! Don't forget, for each 4 you order, you get a free key fob.

Click on the link above (or here) to order these snazzy designs as well as the others.

Oh! I Remember....There's a Garden Out Back....

Like many other places, the heat got so bad here in July and early August that nothing much produced and the things that could have produced, died off to one bug or another. For some reason, things are growing again. Even though the days are still brutally hot with highs in the lower to mid 90's, the lows must have gotten back to where the eggplant and jalapenos feel they can flower again which is nice.

The newly planted peas, pole beans and cucumbers are ready to start climbing so I hooked up the trellis this morning. The cucumbers didn't germinate as I would have liked, but it's so hard to grow cucumbers in the fall here anyway because of the worms that it may be good not to have so many to search over for eggs.

I took out the remaining cucumbers on the side that never produced and the last yellow pear tomato which was looking rather sad. We've had three days of rain and every tomato was cracked, so out it came. I planted some bush beans in their stead. The place gets a good amount of sun, so I'm hopeful they'll mature before the first frost. My beans in the corner yard always seem so woppy and not nice and straight like others'. I'm wondering if they just need more sun.

The sweet potatoes are protesting against the haircut they got earlier this week and have grown twice as many shoots, twice as fast to compensate. It's nice to see them be so vigorous. I'm itching to get in there and dig some up!! I may be so impatient as to dig one pot and half the SFG out in September and leave the other until October....decisions, decisions.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

My Pots Runneth Over

Last year was my first year growing sweet potatoes. Okay, so it was my first year growing much of anything, but who's keeping track. I read so much about growing sweet potatoes that I was making myself nuts. Some said to trim the vines and others said not to because the vines rooted themselves and then you'd get more potatoes. It seemed very similar to the "do you trim your suckers debate of the tomato world."

Last year I decided not to trim the vines of the sweet potatoes growing in the SFG and the vines grew very well, took over almost the entire 9x3 bed and were very thick and healthy. I got two nice sized sweet potatoes and a lot of finger width scrawny ones. Blech. This year I made the decision to try them in pots and they're doing great! I bought the largest pots I could find and planted them a little hesitantly because sweet potatoes grow mostly at the surface unlike other potatoes that grow along the buried stem of the plant. I made a vow to trim the vines regularly, but completely forgot how fast they grow. It's almost like kudzu!!
Above are how the containered potato plants looked last night after they had been trimmed. The vines of the closest ones had spread from the concrete all of the way through the pine straw bed and onto the grass. The far plant wasn't lagging behind much. I know there are some good sized tubers in there already and I want the energy to go there, so I chopped off the runners and went out there today to find others that had grown since last night. It's almost a competition.

The ones in the SFG have overtaken their bed and the two beds around them. I trimmed what roots and vines I could easily remove and left the others.

I did manage to harvest something, which is great considering the heat has killed most everything out there. Two of these eggplants are too bug scarred to do anything with, but I brought them in the house, so they got photographed. I gave the jalapenos to my team teacher.
Here's the last ribbon for the Keychains for a Cause campaign. I wasn't too thrilled with only the small Autism Awareness Ribbon I had earlier, so I found this one instead. It's bolder and makes more of a statement. As the others, it will come sewn down and in either wristlet or key fob sized.

Remember to search for us on facebook and send the link to anyone you feel may be interested. You can also go directly to our website. We, as a school, are very excited about the amount we have the potential to raise for The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

Thank you for your help getting the word out!

Sparkle Princesses and Bus Driver Appreciation

I know this is the second post for the evening, but I've got to keep myself away from the window and trying to catch that rotten cat.

I've put two more ribbon designs up on the Keychains for a Cause page. One is for either elementary school teachers or bus drivers. Don't forget your bus driver this holiday season!

The other is for princesses. The girls at school asked for pink ribbon with a bit of sparkle and I thought this ribbon fit that bill perfectly.

Don't forget that the proceeds from each keychain go to support my school's Relay for Life team!

The Minister's Cat is a Dead Cat

A few weeks ago I threatened a feral cat with its life if it pooped on my front walk one more time.
I suppose he thinks he's shown me who's boss by pooping in my cucumbers. I'm scrappy and have more experience....and a Great Dane as big as a small country and children who are itching to bang tambourines. It's on now.

Ah, The Difference Rain Can Make....And Lower Temps, Too

I took these pictures this weekend and in just a few days they look tiny in comparison to what's out there now. We've had a touch of rain for the last two days and lower temps in the high 80's to low 90's. I think I've mentioned the eggplant and jalapenos are flowering again and the peas, cucumbers and beans are almost ready to start climbing. Looks like I need to go get some more trellising quick-like.

Here is the pea picture I took this weekend. I went for more of the scatter method than the methodical SFG method with these as the boy was screaming from the deck that he needed me to come see the newest Lego house he built.
They look small here, but now they're ready to start climbing. The cabbage has also broken ground as have the pickling cucumbers, but no sign yet of the broccoli. I'm still holding my breath.

For all of the veggies I grow, I've never grown herbs. I have that rosemary bush, but that's it. My girlfriend in NC was pretty taken aback by this and gave me a cutting of her basil plant that she rooted for me. I'd never really liked basil, but she used some in a recipe while we were visiting this summer and I saw the light and transferred to the basil-dark-side. Lynn-Lady, here is your basil plant now....

I've kept it alive and actually have used leaves from it several times and you've inspired me to grow an oregano plant which we're also using. You've added flavor to our meals and we thank you.

On a Keychains for a Cause note, today I got in some bus driver ribbon. Those bus drivers are so under paid and have to deal with so much that would make a normal person drown themselves in the nearest water fountain. And, listening to a suggestion from my students at school, I picked up some "Princess" ribbon with silver sparkles. I'll put both of these up later today or tomorrow. That's probably it on the design front for me unless anyone has other suggestions. I'm all ears.

Don't forget you can find us on facebook. We'd appreciate all of the support and links we can get.

The morning comes early...at least for another 172 days. Sweet gardening dreams.

Summer Take Two

The second summer plantings are coming along well. Here are the third round of cucumber seedlings just coming up.

The second planting of cucumbers was put in the ground in June and are giving me some cucumbers, but sadly, the worms are getting them first. Every time you see a cucumber, you see a clustered egg sac like below.

Then, if you look closely at the cucumber itself, it's riddled with holes and sure enough, not in the hole right above my thumb, but the one above that, you can see the little speckled worm trying to run for his life back into his hole.

Not sure how I'm going to stop them with this newest planting of cucumbers. I don't remember those worms coming out so early last year. Maybe I'll see about putting pantyhose or something around them to deter them from boring in, but maybe I'm just making that up. We'll see how it goes.

Speaking of worms....I've got two more keychain designs up on the keychains website. Both of these are perfect for teacher gifts.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

I [Heart] Vampires!

Well, maybe not in the garden, but Keychains for a Cause certainly does! Here's the newest ribbon perfect for Twilight fans or vampire lovers everywhere. Half size fobs in these will be slightly larger than others to accomodate one full "I Love Vampires" on each side.

If you look closely, you can see the heart is really an apple with a bite taken out of it. I suppose it is garden oriented. Garden of Eden, more like. You can order yours, along with any of the other designs from our new website or by clicking on the picture of the breast cancer keychain above to go to the original site.

Come find us on Facebook...although it will be painfully obvious I don't know how to keep or maintain a facebook page.

Pictured Chimneys on the Ground

I thought I had busted up all of those chimneys I was talking about yesterday, but apparently I hadn't, so I grabbed a clod and took these pictures:

Any idea what they could be? EG...I promise they're not crawdad holes or no self respecting crawdad I've ever come across. ;)

The morning comes early and "it's cruel! It's cruel" as stated by the girl when her light was switched on. Sweet gardening dreams.

Chimneys on the Ground

When I went out the other day to plant the broccoli and cabbage I noticed a whole slew of chimney-like clusters all over the bed where my zucchini were. Oddly, they were clustered around where the stems of the zucchini were leading into the ground. Could it be part of the life cycle of the SVB moth? I'm thinking possibly. We are just dog gone lucky enough to have two life cycle seasons of the blasted moth each year, so I'm thinking that may be part of it's life cycle being that they weren't in any either bed.

I was stupid enough to beat each to a bloody pulp before I took a picture and can't find any on the Internet. I'm hopeful I got them all, that's for sure. I'll go out there and look again this weekend to make sure they were obliterated because if their not from the SVB moth, I'm relatively certain they were from something nefarious.

The morning comes early. Especially when your 3 yr old girl wakes up at 3:30 singing "Scooby-Dooby-Do where are you?". Sweet gardening dreams.

That Zucchini Relish

Back at the end of June, I was so inundated with zucchini that I had no idea what to do with it, so I decided to make some zucchini relish. I never really tried it as it smelled like lighter fluid, but I put it in the cabinet just because.

Tonight I made some spatzle with some sauteed onions, garlic, kielbasa and then layered with cheese and baked and when it was done, I mixed in some of the zucchini relish. It was so, so good! The smokey, meaty taste of the sausage and blandness of the spatzle was completely complimented by the sweet relish. I was a happy girl and it was very filling. Of course, there are no pictures because we ate it all before I could think to take any.

What I did get pictures of was this cucumber I picked today which I apparently missed yesterday.

How I missed it, I can't tell you. Sucker came off wanting a cheeseburger it was so large. I think it ate the yippy dog across the street.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

And so it Begins.....

Another school year is under way. Yes, Northerners, scoff as you will about how early we start school, but then again, we are out before Memorial Day so it's a trade off. Yesterday, on the first day, we had a teacher email out "You know you're a teacher when...." His answer was "You forget your fork for lunch, are too busy to go to the cafeteria to get one, and wind up using two #2 pencils as chopsticks." He's right!

The morning is once again coming early, at 5:10, but it's not so bad, although this morning my 3 yr old said, "You're cruel! You're cruel!" when I turned on her lights and my 6 yr old said, "We only have to do this 178 more days, right?"

Yesterday I planted carrots and broccoli and some pickling cucumbers, and as usual, I didn't mark where I planted them, so I suppose I'll have to wait to see if anything sprouts before I work up what else I'm going to stick in the ground.

Saw that the peas are starting to sprout!
This is the year for peas for me, I just know it. It has to be! It's the third time I'll try. It just has to work....doesn't it?

On a keychains note, I've started the keychains on their own blog, but will keep up the ordering page linked to this blog as well. I've also put them on Facebook which is a whole new world for me.

Again, listening to a suggestion (send me your suggestions! email thecorneryard@ymail.com), here are some Halloween or otherwise "teen angst-edgy" ribbons to go on the keychains. The stitching will be black on these and either black or white on the black ribbon.

I just love the one on the green. It's just obnoxious enough to be so cool! Think of teens or bikers or whomever and get those stocking stuffers ordered before your checkbook is tapped out come December, and remember, every keychain helps support Relay for Life and you get a free keychain with an order of four or more. You can't beat that. And.....My vampire and teacher appreciation ribbon just came in. Look for those soon! Thank you to everyone who has supported us. We're very grateful and want you to know we're not sketchy dudes. You place your order and it will be mailed out the next day the mail runs. I promise!

The morning comes early. Woe is me. Sweet gardening dreams.

Things Are Looking Up!!

Things are looking up in the garden and I'm not complaining in the least! The temperatures have been in the low to mid 90's this past week and for some reason, whatever is left in the garden is treating that as a miracle. The eggplant and jalapenos have started putting out flowers again!
I'm going to try to get another round of cucumbers in before the frost and these guys have just broken the surface.
I'll most likely have to pollinate them all by hand and find some way to keep the worms from boring into them. Seems like that's always my biggest fall cucumber problem. I'm wondering if I wrap them in pantyhose if that would keep the worms out.

I went out today to plant some more beans and it looks like I already did and forgot to write it down! Very cool.

So, over all, I'm not as down and out about my garden any more. I'm very lucky that we live in an area where I can get two rounds of summer crops in, although I most likely should have put these in at the end of July instead of just last week. When it cools down tonight, I'm going to stick in the broccoli and cauliflower. Maybe some carrots as well if I get crazy.

The Keychains for a Cause effort is going very well! I mailed out six more keychains and fobs yesterday, bringing our total sold almost to 30 which makes us excited. I'm working on making them their own page as well as a facebook page to help publicize them, but for now, I've added two more ribbon styles:

Black with white polka dots (the stitching will most likely be white) and white with black polka dots
I've also bought some Halloween style ribbon that I'll put up in the coming days. Hey, if the stores can decorate for Christmas in September, I can hock Halloween in August! I've also ordered ribbon good for Twilight fans, teachers, book lovers, and bus drivers, the last three being perfect holiday teacher and bus driver gifts!

The morning comes early. Sweet second summer gardening dreams.

A Veritably Empty Garden

There are no pictures today as there's hardly anything in the garden picture worthy. I'm having vegetable withdrawal. The only things I have left in the ground now are sweet potatoes, a few cucumbers and the yellow pear tomato plant. That little yellow pear plant is the zucchini of tomatoes. It just keeps producing and producing which is fantastic, but it's the only thing producing. The cucumbers just don't seem to be getting pollinated anymore. The heat is intollerable still and things just can't keep up.

I've planted some more beans, cucumbers and peas. The broccoli and cabbage will go in this weekend. Hopefully we'll see some new green sprouts soon.

School started back for me on Wednesday and the kids go back this coming Monday. I'm excited to go back. The summer teaches me how much I love my job. Yes, the day to day headaches are tiring and frustrating, but when it comes down to it, I love my job. I've always said that if you teach, you'd better need to teach, or you'll burn out. I need to teach. It's a parasite with a sometimes symbiotic relationship. It sucks the life out of you for 9 months of the year, but you can't exist as a whole person without it. I do love my job.

The morning is once again coming early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Planting Time and a Key Chains for a Cause Update!

No harvesting for me this Monday, but I've got harvests to come. It was relatively nice out all day today, cloudy and overcast, but it kept a lot of the heat down, so it was a good time to be outside working on preparing the garden for fall planting. Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to put in the second planting of beans and cucumbers. I haven't seen any bees since the zucchini came out, so a lot of the cucumbers may have to be pollinated by hand, but it will be okay.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Keychains for a Cause! In a few short weeks, we've sold 27 keychains and raised over $100 for my school's American Cancer Society Relay for Life Team.

This is the latest ribbon design we have to offer. It fills the keychain like the other white one, but the pink breast cancer awareness ribbons are much larger.
These guys are making great gifts with a purpose and are a way to show your support for cancer research as well. In case you haven't made it over to the Keychains for a Cause page, here's a quick look at the designs we have to offer. All come in full sized wristlets or half sized key fobs like the pictured purple one.

Head on over if you haven't already. Thanks for supporting our Relay for Life team!

There's Hope Yet For the Summer

At least there's hope yet for some of the summer garden. I tried to do sweet potatoes this year in a huge container. It wasn't the best of ideas since the potatoes grow near the surface and not along the stem like other potatoes, but it was worth a shot. The sweet potato plants were looking rough...very, very rough when I came back from vacation, but they were trying to sprout some new leaves from the base, so I was hopeful.

Yesterday I dumped a bucket of water on them and look what was exposed!

Sweet potatoes are growing and getting fatter by the day. Looks like if I trim off some of the runners and give these guys a few more months, I'll have excellent, fat, sweet potatoes in September or October. For now, I covered this guy back up with soil to keep him from greening and I'm grinning like a fool.