Slaughter in the Garden

Now I understand how Mike felt.  Years ago when I was part of the vineyard crew charged with thinning clusters from the pinot noir vines so the remaining grapes would have more intense flavor, Mike refused to go anywhere near the vineyards during the carnage or when freshly cut clusters littered the ground.  We kind of laughed at him, although with some sympathy.  They were his babies.  He'd planted and nurtured them and they produced fabulous fruit, so even though he knew it had to be done and told us to do it, he couldn't watch.

Blueberries in the compost pail. Alas.

I just stripped all the blueberries off the three bushes, after a conversation with their grower confirming that it really would be best, this first year, to let the plant's energy go into developing a root system, rather than fruit.  I'd read that online, but since nothing had been said in their instructions, have been playing ostrich.  I already figured the birds were more likely to enjoy the ripe berries than I would, because I have no defense against them.  The bushes seem too small to support even a fine bird net, even if I had one.  Next year.

I'm plotting and planning more fruit trees for the yard, to be planted in the fall.  I know what I want, but if I get them all it's pricey, and I have to pay when I place the order, not when they are delivered sometime in the fall.  Fig, persimmon, nectarine, and dwarf apricot and apple are the current choices.  Always subject to change, but those seem to remain the perennial favs.  I do vascillate between peach and nectarine because after all, this is the Peach State.

The garden is looking great, however.  I've had a couple of small harvests of green beans already, and both squash and eggplant are nearing eating size.  I'm thinking it won't be long before I can come home in the evening and find dinner out there.  I still think the squash, particularly the patty pan, aren't gaining in size as fast as I would expect, but I sure don't know what to do for them. The vines look great -- all green and perky, as they should be.

 The bamboo sticks here and there are to keep the cats out -- and they seem to work.  Same with the chicken wire. The nasturtiums are interesting -- some are robust, others barely living.  Seems that the ones planted nearer other plants are the ones doing well, while the ones in more barren areas are suffering.

I'm really impressed with the Eco-Smart Organic Weed and Grass Killer that the Dirt Doctor recommends.  This photo was taken after about 1/2 hour, and the difference in the sprayed and unsprayed really tells the tale.  It works.  Couldn't be easier to use.  I bought the large size, about a gallon, for about $10 at HD.  Oddly enough, the odd bits of grass coming up in the raised beds, which I sprayed first, still look fairly robust.  I can always hit them again, but I'm guessing that with time, they'll shrivel up and die, die, die. This is a winner!

I continue to smell the (in this case) wonderful aroma of rotting vegetation when I'm near the black plastic.  I finished laying it around the beds on Tuesday, so that chore is done for now. I'm ready to get another roll of it (cheap -- about $9) and cover half the front yard, nearest the house where I want to plant things.