Its been hot, rainy or humid for the last few days. Keeping mostly inside.  Its been in the low 80's, but when the humidity is in the 70% range it just isn't fun to be outside. 

Of course the whole woodchuck fiasco has had me pretty miffed, but it wasn't really enough to keep me out of the garden, but combine it with weather and it will stop my chattering mood in its tracks.

I'm saying it quietly cause you know how it goes when you say something and then the opposite happens.... but it looks like Wednesday is the last day the garden got raided.
I haven't seen a woodchuck since Wednesday.
Granted, there isn't much left for a groundhog to get into as far as my brassicas go... but there is some stuff left and the Swiss chard is regrowing.
They did miss two of my brussels sprouts and the 3 purple cauliflower might make it back if they get left alone.  The groundhogs did not eat the center of the plants so the leaves could still regrow.
I have read in garden books that things like cabbages can regenerate if the original head is harvested right.  If you don't cut too close to the soil when you cut a cabbage head (leave about 2" of stalk), the plant will regrow a few miniature heads in a cluster.I just might try and see if i can use that information and try to apply it to my situation.  If i cut what is left of the heart of my cabbage plants out, it may set up a similar signal to the plant.  Only trouble is that there are few outer leaves left... but it might not matter if the roots are strong enough.
My other option is to leave alone what is left and see what it does.  If  the cabbage do not head, the loose leaves will still be edible, just not as sweet and crisp.
Luckily, there is enough time for me to start new seeds of all my brassicas to get a fall crop.
If i am fortunate, the woodchucks won't be so interested in my garden by that time of year.... but maybe it will be worse?
Winter fattening time vs. baby woodchuck feeding time....

But i  think that last woodchuck may have had an encounter with my fence in a big way.  I went out yesterday to see if there was more stuff ruined (there wasn't ptl!) and i noticed the fence in the back part of the garden (the way they exit when i scare them off) was all twisted up (candy cane twist, not knotted mess). The top two strands were wound together enough that it had stuck like that until i undid it.
Now if the woodchuck had got caught in the two strands enough to tangle them like that, it would have been getting continuous shocks for who knows how long.  And that was a rainy day, so water may have made it worse.  So if the woodchuck that charged me had gotten tangled, it sure would explain its behavior.
But i don't remember if  i did check the fence after that incident.  I wish i was sure, because if the wire got twirled for some other reason i'd like to know.

I do wonder why i haven't seen one of them since then.
There were three, all about the same small size.  Hubby had harassed them a bit with the pellet gun, hoping they'd decide it was too hostile an area to set up house, but it didn't seem to work. Maybe the combo of it all did something.  Or they got that brain roundworm disease...
I won't claim victory over this batch of groundhogs 'till midwinter when i'm sure they are hibernating (or until their skins are tacked to the back wall of my garden shed, Daniel Boone style) because my garden is full of things they will either eat to the nubs or just taste-test enough to ruin.

I did take reconnaissance photos yesterday, but didn't feel like posting them.

*************************   about 3 hours later*********************

I took some more this evening since i did see one of the groundhogs run across the back of the next yard over. If i'm lucky, they have decided to stick to the other side of my neighbors' house. I really wish they'd do something about that woodpile.  If it were stacked properly it wouldn't be so inviting to vermin.

Anyway, here are the pics from 6/23/10

Kohlrabi & Chard

Cabbage

Collards

Broccoli

Kale stands untouched and a small cabbage plant to the bottom right was missed.

Its har4d to see, but there are the small purple cauliflower plants here. They got their big round leaves nipped off, but they have their center leaves still...at least 2 of them seem to.  I need to weed this area.

And these are the Brussels sprouts, some seem to have made it, they might survive to grow if they don't get eaten again.

and Today

Looks pretty much the same to me except the chard seems to be regrowing. Its a cut-and-come-again veggie, so that is encouraging.

Kohlrabi and chard

.I haven't bothered to weed here lately, the weather has been uncomfortable for me and its too depressing to spend much time looking at the ruins.
This is the cabbage, i think it is also the same.

The collards look the same, damage not too bad on them for the most part.

The broccoli, being my favorite and most anticipated crop, of course got the worst of it.  Cabbage is my second favorite by the way, and the damage is approximately proportionate.

 At least the kale looks great.  I have never grown it before, based on the level of enjoyment by the groundhogs of my other favorites i have a strange feeling that kale will not be to my liking either.
Lets hope! It might be the only crop those nasty things leave for me.

 They still haven't noticed my little cabbage in the lower right corner.

I figured while i was out there to take more pics of what is doing well.
Tomatoes and corn....  need weeding, can't tell the corn from the weeds and i do have basil to the left of the tomatoes and i have marigolds to the right.

Carrots, beets, rutabagas, beans and behind them are the brussels and cauliflower

Squash always cheer me up,  they can make anyone feel like a successful gardener.

Topsy-Turvey tomato is doing well.  Its more than doubled in size.

The gift cuttings i got last week are mixed. Some are still putting on a game face and some are obviously not going to root.
There is at least one out of each group that has shriveled or balckened,  i think i only have 2 pieces of the kiwi that are still hanging on. Hardy kiwi are a cantankerous  little creatures anyway. lol
Though many leaves have dropped from the cuttings, there do seem to be tiny green buds remaining in the leaf scar area.  They might develop if roots start to grow.  Its just a matter of time to see how it goes.

I planted the chitted Autumn Olive seed but it hasn't emerged from the soil surface yet.

If i am going to replace the ruined cole crops with new seedlings i'll need to start seed this coming week.  It might be a good opportunity to test the year-end value of the row covers, if the season cuts me short on the brassicas, the row covers may make the difference.

I read in one of my garden books, i think it was Joy of Gardening, that i can grow my own onion sets easily. The time to start that would be about now. Just plant the seeds directly in the garden and they will grow just enough to be set-sized by late fall. They can be lifted from the garden, cured like big onions and stored cool and dark in a fridge or root cellar for the winter and then set out as early as possible in the spring.
Worth a shot.

Oh and lastly...

The Mighty Hunter

That's my Caper...  with his first mouse (that i know of) He's been 100% indoor kitty since we found him when he was about 5 weeks old.  I have no idea how we got a mouse in here, i have never seen evidence of one before, maybe the weather and the pouring rain drove it in. I'm glad the cat found it though!
He left it right at the doorway to the living room just where he knew i'd see it.  He usually leaves his Rosie Rats there for me instead, so i almost didn't notice it at first.

So you know i'm very proud of him cause in order to brag about his catch, i have to admit that i had a mouse in my home and i had to show my hated pink carpet!  The carpet came with the house and we want bamboo floors, but until we can afford wal-to-wall bamboo, i am stuck with the color i dislike the most.
Oh well.
Hubby teases Caper and calls him useless cause he sleeps all day and 'capers' through the house all night...  but i told hubbs that he can't call the cat useless anymore. :o)

Long weekend

We were away too much to do anything gardenwise, but i did get to look things over and take a few pictures. The Roma tomatoes don't look like they ever endured a frost.
 The weeds are starting to really ramp up too.

The brassica row has grown noticeably.

Its been dry though. We have been watering and i'm sure the covers are helping too.  I think the Parsnips are sprouting, the radishes are almost 6 inches tall now.

This coming week is supposed to be warm and it is almost 100% certain to rain tomorrow and the rest of the week looks like half the days are going to be rainy. We could use it so i won't complain.

I planted the Zsa Zsa peppers today, they acclimated to full sun over the weekend and did well, i also planted the Graffiti Claulflower and the Bubbles Brussels sprouts. The cauli and the brussels had just begun to sprout last week , but they were  drying out too fast in the flats so i put them in the rows before i lost them entirely.

The Salsify are looking good, no seciond leaves yet, but they are giant seed leaves.

While i was gone, hubby said the cover over the cukes and melons kept blowing off. They did get some flea beetle damage where they were exposed the most, but it does not look too bad at all.  The bush beans also sprouted, i think the rutabagas and beets are too, but i had to get back inside before i could check closer  to be sure.

Oh, and i put in the Siberia and Empire tomato plants, got the clothes bar rack things in there too...  i don't think they will work great, but they will be better than nothing.

The rest of the seedlings will go to my parents' garden, if they have time to come get them and then plant them. I don't know if they have had time to get their garden ready much past tilling it.

Other than sweet corn...  my planting is done.  I will do  that this week.

Well, maybe a few lettuce seeds will go in.

Weeding is next.

They're off...

Alibi cucumber and the Salsify have already sprouted. Other than that, not much else going on. I was surprised they came up so quickly so i figured i ought to make a note of it.

Rain in the area but it looks like we are going to miss getting it. Things are getting a bit dry. I did some weeding in the flowerbed and saw a snail shell but no live snails or slugs. I don't know if it is the dryness or the snail bait i put down, but either way i am grateful,  The sevin dust and the diatomaceous earth mixture i used on the lilies seems to have knocked down those horrible red beetles that ate my plants last year and left gooey black frass on what was left.

I pulled a lot of what i was told was a type of goldenrod out of the garden. I have had it in there for a couple years now, each year trying to remember if it was a weed or a desirable plant and then forgetting what it looked like in the spring when it needed to be dealt with. This is why i blog now.

I bought a copy of "The Countryman's Year" by David Grayson. Found it at Amazon for just under $3, but of course the shipping was still $3.99 , grrrr...  But i wanted it and it sounds like something i would enjoy.

I planted the rest of the  Graffiti cauliflower last night, in peat pellets. I will keep them inside and see if anything grows. I am now out of them.  If they don't grow i won't be getting them again.  I thought i'd go easy on myself and buy a type that didn't need to be blanched but maybe it wasn't the best type to get?

Things i need to get going before too long:
Teasel...ornamental
Germander...herbal tea
Roma tomato- i found one last seed hiding in the corner of the seed packet
Rose orach...a salad 'green', red in this case
Cabbage- found a seed packet that should be used up

that's not all, but being climbed like a tree by a cranky 15-month-old is not conducive to list typing and remembering things *sigh*

Some pictures

Makeshift coldframe of sorts... or maybe a frost chamber...where the wintersown sprouts go to wait out the frost, but it allows them to get full or partial sun during the day and shelter at night.

Broccoli (gypsy) in the front, buttercrunch lettuce next, then cauliflower (graffiti) in the back.
Its a Rubbermaid or Sterilite semi-transparent tote with a scrap of 2x4 and a recycled, frosted, plastic shower curtain folded over it.

Rhubarb.
I think this is the first garden item we planted when we moved in. It does well every year, but i never had the chance to make much of it, but i could have.  Anyway, when its up you know the ground is thawing out for sure!

Hoop test.
One of the 1/2'' PVC pieces, bent to a 4' wde base, steadied by a makeshift footing of cinder blocks. This way i know how high the hoops will be at the center....about 48".  I wanted to see what the minimum straddle i could get, 4 feet will be perfect since i am thinking i might try a hybrid Square Foot technique.  The hoops placed 4' apart and spaced 4' wide will mark my plots nicely...convenient. :-)

Lilac buds are swelling.
My camera can't take macros to save its existence.

Daffodill.
Trying to open, maybe by the time this area gets full sun today, it will.

Houseplants.

Goldfish plant. 

It finally bloomed. I grew this plant from a clipping i took from the waiting room of my Dr's office when i had my test to confirm my pregnancy that resulted in my second daughter. She turned one last month. :) It is quite lush and full now for starting from so tiny a piece.  I wish i had done something like that for my first daughter.

 

Bay Laurel.

 This foolish thing has been little more than a stick for over 8 years.  I have had this plant for a long time. I have used a few of its leaves. I think three years ago it finally developed a second branch- that forked bit at the top,  the shoot from the bottom developed around December of last year.  It has got to be the ugliest plant i own, but i keep it cause it is legitimately a useful plant.

I need to find a way to make it branch out more. I'd snip the tips, but since there are only 3 and they contain all the leaves i don't want to murder the thing.   I have been told to pot it in bigger pots, and in smaller pots... i fertilize it carefully.  It just drives me nuts for being ugly.

This is the plant shelf i made to hang above the sink, under the light.

I overwintered my 6 Hoyas and two of my 3 remaining Passiflora there. Darned spider mites took out my other Passiflora plants.  The window gets nice and bright and there is the tube light up there that comes on in the evenings.