September 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frank and the Squirrels Who Loved Him

That sounds like a dime-store romance doesn’t it?

In this story we have no tragic heroine, just a sad pumpkin named Frank unable to live up to his potential after a careless gardener tossed him willy-nilly on to the walkway. Poor, poor, Frank.

There are no villains either, simply opportunistic squirrels passionate about (eating) pumpkins.

After Frank went splitsville, even a hardy set of staples couldn’t keep him together for long. The elements took their toll. Frank flat-lined. It was time to remove the staples.

Frank’s demise

After counting to three, I reached down and scooped up a mass of soggy pumpkin pulp and a handful of white seeds. The rest was up to the squirrels. They came and went for two days, but I never had my camera ready. The stars finally aligned and I took a handful of photos, below.

Passionate about pumpkin

Flying squirrel

Table manners

Plenty to go around

September 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Peduncles

It’s the hallmark of poor writing: using a fancy-pants word like ‘peduncle‘ when a simpler word like ‘stem’ would do.

Honestly though, weren’t you just a little curious when you saw the title? Would you have made it to the second paragraph if I titled this post “Pumpkin Stems?”

While you ponder that question (and thanks, by the way for reading this far) I’d like to share a pumpkin peduncle, or two. When choosing pumpkins over the years, the shape of the stem seemed integral to the process. We display our pumpkins whole for a time, then carve them the day before Halloween. Part of the carving process is the ‘lid.’ Peduncles matter. They provide character to the overall effect.

Our resident pumpkin carver extraordinaire

Ladybug in a pumpkin stem

Now that we grow our own pumpkins, we’re careful to preserve as much of the stem as possible. Some are already dried at harvest time, while others remain open and soft. I recently discovered a ladybug sheltering inside one of the stems, a welcome respite from all the squash bugs currently residing out back.

Great potential until the squash bugs moved in

I present to you this years pumpkin peduncles, along with the challenge of using this word in a sentence between now and October 31st.

A neat little cap

Hershey’s Kiss peduncle

Ladybug Hideaway

The pumpkin crew

September 3, 2013 by Born To Organize

Growing Peas and Carrots

Not only did I grow up eating peas and carrots, but I liked them, too. It will be nice growing our own crop this year, assuming the crafty squirrels let them grow.

grey squirrel

Peas:

Last week I mentioned hedging my bets by starting a few seeds indoors. Once I consulted the seed packet I decided to direct-sow. I soaked half the seeds in water for 48 hours, then planted them directly outdoors. I saved the rest of the seed packet to replenish the inevitable casualties.

Looking left and right for squirrels, I surreptitiously pushed several seeds into the soil around the arbor. I planted the rest amongst the still-flowering annuals. With luck, they’ll all come up and produce lovely green vines along both sides of the sidewalk.

Carrots:

I have a lot of faith in the success of the carrots, since we planted starts instead of seeds. I say ‘we’ because this year I had help from several of Jazzy’s day care children next door. The older kids planted two each; I filled in later with the rest. Planting was fun, but the real hit: watering cans. I never met a youngster that didn’t like water.

Watering

I think they’ll get a kick out of watching the carrots grow. I’ve added a carrot countdown in the sidebar to the right so we have a general idea of harvest day. Hopefully each young gardener grows at least one or two carrots to take home.

Stay tuned!

Little hands planting carrots

Flip, tap, squeeze and release

September 2, 2013 by Born To Organize

Gardening, Labor and a Societal Ban on Wearing White

When I flipped my Old Farmer’s Almanac wall calendar to September, it greeted me with this quote:

Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job. – George Bernard Shaw

It certainly is a labor of love, at least for those of us that pursue gardening as a hobby and not a livelihood. For those who truly labored long and hard before us, Labor Day is more significant.

We can thank Labor, also known as Unions, for the following:

1. Unions Gave Us The Weekend: By 1937, these labor actions created enough political momentum to pass the Fair Labor Standards Act, which helped create a federal framework for a shorter workweek that included room for leisure time. [reference, below]

Thank you for the time to putter in my garden and extra time to spend with my family, both the two-legged and four-legged ones.

Tending the garden

2. Unions Helped End Child Labor: “National Child Labor Committee” working together in the early 20th century to ban child labor. The very first American Federation of Labor (AFL) national convention passed “a resolution calling on states to ban children under 14 from all gainful employment” in 1881, and soon after states across the country adopted similar recommendations, leading up to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act which regulated child labor on the federal level for the first time.

Thank you for helping me keep my children safe. They have the freedom to tend school (please ignore the whining you hear from my open windows) and the freedom to be home with their family. They’re learning life skills to prepare them for future work, without sacrificing healthy lungs, potential loss of limb and a shortened lifespan.

Learning about leadership (no child harmed in the taking of this picture)

3. Unions Won Widespread Employer-Based Health Coverage: “The rise of unions in the 1930′s and 1940′s led to the first great expansion of health care” for all Americans

We’re still working on this one, but with the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act, people like my sister with a chronic, pre-existing condition known as Multiple Sclerosis, can rest a bit easier.

4. Unions Spearheaded The Fight For The Family And Medical Leave Act: Labor unions like the AFL-CIO federation led the fight for this 1993 law, which “requires state agencies and private employers with more than 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave annually for workers to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, seriously ill family member or for the worker’s own illness.”

When I gave birth to my first child in 1997, I worked for an employer with fewer than 50 employees, so this benefit didn’t apply. Still, it’s a big step forward. I had to smile when I heard that Prince William will be the first to take advantage of a similar law in the UK. When my husband returned to work a mere two weeks after the birth of our first child, it was all I could do to keep from knocking him to the ground as he left home to spend 10 hours a day elsewhere. I managed not to break the baby who is now 16 and taller than I am.

Growing up

On the sillier side of this important day, “In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable to wear white.”

With a pair of white felines and several pretty flowers still in bloom, we’ll be bending the ‘no white after labor day rule’ for some time.

Enjoying Labor Day

Anemone Flowers

White Cosmos

References:

Think Progress: Four Reasons Everyone Should Thank Unions on Labor Day
Wikipedia: Labor Day (US)

August 30, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frank’s Makeover: Too Little, Too Late

Shelley’s Makeover

Pauline, at The Contented Crafter suggested earlier this week that “Frank [the pumpkin] may feel a little left out” after seeing Shelley’s fashion makeover. She opined “Could you not knit him a scarf or maybe come up with a hat for your cooler nights?”

I knew Frank wasn’t long for this world, being a split pumpkin full of staples and all, so I did the next best thing: I put him on a pedestal (always good for improving ones sense of stature) and floated a festive Hydrangea for stylish panache.

Frank spews seeds

Then poor Frank ‘tossed his cookies’ while cousin Shelley looked on in horror.

∏ – ∏ – ∏

Today it was every critter for themselves: houseflies, pincer bugs, squash bugs, you name it. Opportunists came and went, including something with very sharp teeth. I’m glad I missed that transaction. Soon I will don some gloves and rescue a few seeds so that Frank’s legacy lives on.

Frank’s Tale

What do you suppose is beyond the dark abyss?

Oh Frank! I miss you already.

August 29, 2013 by Born To Organize

Wouldn’t You Like to Eat This Pepper, Too?

Peculiar pepper poetry in four verses

I planted peppers side by side,
in lovely soil they do reside.
From Bonnie Plants they first did grow
Now I have them in a row.

Small at first, they slowly grew,
As often happens, summer flew.
Before I knew it, the plants were leaning,
This happy gardener, smiling, preening.

Crisp green peppers now were mine.
I sliced them open, they’d be divine.
They tasted…awful, how can this be?
Did my garden peppers turn on me?

I puzzled through with careful thought.
They looked so good, but clearly not.
I found their tag in my garden plot.
It was orange peppers I had bought!

Bonnie Plants: Peppers

August 28, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Harvest, Cousin Shelley

Squash bugs

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know this is pumpkin harvest week at gardeningnirvana. The probable final count is ten, 12 if you count Frank and his cousin Shelley. I left a few late-season fruits on the vine since I’m nothing if not optimistic when it comes to pumpkins.

The squash bugs continue unabated, so I need to come up with a plan. I want to use the soon-to-be vacated planting bed for my cool season crops, but not until the bed is pest-free.

I’m soaking seeds on the kitchen counter as we speak for peas and beets. Broccoli seeds don’t require a good soak, but I need to get busy setting them out soon. The first day of autumn in our hemisphere is still a month away. The changes in the air say otherwise. I hate to miss a good planting opportunity.

In case you missed yesterday’s post, here’s another peak at Frank.

Frank aka a pumpkin casualty

Frank wears his scars proudly, forgiving the gentle gardener for her blunder. Shelley on the other hand has piercing eyes and a lopsided grin, courtesy of an unknown pest. Since everyone loves a good ‘before and after’ shot, without further ado, here’s Shelley:

2013, 08-27

August 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Harvest and a Squash Named Frank

You don’t have to hit me over the head: dying vines and abundant squash bugs spell harvest day. I plucked my ‘prize’ pumpkin a week ago, fearing the worst, then made the worst come true. My garden lovely rolled out of my arms and with an unmistakable thud, landed hard and cracked down the middle. It was a sad pumpkin day. Since the squash bugs continue to nibble unabated, I figured it was a matter of time before they moved on to the rest of the patch. Three once-viable pumpkins have since turned to mush. Generally speaking, I would have left them to grow a bit oranger, but I didn’t want to take the risk. So…here they are.

Pumpkins

I have two late-season arrivals, all shiny and yellow that I’ll leave in place for now. It’s still August, so they may be viable. One of the two is sitting out in the open, practically inviting trouble but the second one is hiding under the vine. Shhhhh.

You can’t see me!

Little yellow pumpkin, hiding under the vine

Oh and before I forget, I’d like you to meet Frank. He’s quite the character, but the way he’s been ‘running on’ I don’t expect him to hang around for very long.

Frank

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to meet Frank’s cousin Shelley.

August 26, 2013 by Born To Organize

Curb Garden

Much is made of ‘curb appeal’ when you sell a house. I often notice that a pretty garden appears, followed shortly by a realtor’s sign. It seems a shame that the homeowners wont’ be staying long enough to appreciate it. Personally, I like the idea of a beautiful curb *all* the time, hence my new and improved curb garden.

The curb garden (take two) is almost ‘done’ or as done as a garden can be. (You can read about my first attempt here). Jazzy’s day care kids are planting carrot ‘starts’ on Wednesday. A few of the sweat peas are direct sow, but I’m planting some back-ups in my kitchen window ‘just in case.’ You can’t trust those birds and squirrels. If I have enough extras, I’ll plant them in the raised beds where the pumpkins are dying back.

The snapdragons were bowing their heads on Sunday, but after a long drink they’ve returned to their perky selves.

Snapdragons

I replanted a few of the original herbs including mint and lemon thyme. They’re looking as tired as I feel, but hopefully they’ll perk up now that they have nice soil wrapped around their roots and room to grow.

The Curb Garden includes:

1 Achillea millefolium aka yarrow ‘Pink Island‘

3 Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet‘

3 Eriogonum Grande Rubescens ‘Red Buckwheat‘

3 Penstemon ‘Midnight‘

4 Lysimachia ‘Goldii‘ trailing golden plant

4 Cilantro

18 Snapdragons in assorted colors

I bought all of these plants at our local Almaden Valley Nursery. My friend Doug recommended the yarrow for repelling some insect pests while attracting beneficial ones. Yarrow attracts predatory wasps, which drink the nectar and then use insect pests as food for their larvae. It also attracts ladybugs and hoverflies.

The Mighty Yarrow

I learned further that yarrow:

is also planted for improving soil quality. Its leaves are thought to be good fertilizer, and a beneficial additive for compost.

It is also considered directly beneficial to other plants, improving the health of sick plants when grown near them. Source, Wikipedia.

What an amazing plant.

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the novelty of several new varieties. The snapdragons are the only ‘garden tried-and-true.’

Further good news: so far no one has asked if we’re moving.

Carrot Starts

Lysimachia ‘Goldii’

Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet’

August 24, 2013 by Born To Organize

Gardening vs Blogging

Newly replanted sidewalk strip

Today was one of those days: I could garden or I could blog about gardening, but I couldn’t do both.

Gardening won! With great joy, I replanted the sidewalk strip with a bounty of perennials. I’ve reserved a spot along the sidewalk and away from the street for carrots. I have several cell packs in reserve for next week, when my neighbor’s day care kids will get to ‘plant a row.’ The children love playing on my ramp and deck, and last year helped me plant a few bulbs. I know they’ll have fun planting the carrots and watching them grow. I also bought a packet of sweet peas, and *bonus* a sweet little climbing trellis. It creates a nice focal point in the center of the garden.

Darkness fell by the time I finished planting, watering and putting away my tools. I promise a better set of pictures by daylight soon.

And with that, this happy gardener is taking her aching back to bed. Sweet peas…I mean dreams.