GREAT BUY

OK. I don't normally share my secrets, but today I went to Wal Mart.

They had a fresh shipment of houseplants that was the best I've seen.

Birds Nest fern is one of my favorites. 8 bucks.

Several varieties of Croton. 8 bucks

Great buys.

see you there.

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Farm Update

Nearly 2 weeks since I've tapped about anything.

Well, here is progress on Hagler Farms, LLC...

1. Planted 181 hills of Orange Bulldog pumpkins nearly 2 weeks ago, and they are UP(thank goodness!). Signs of BIG turkeys, one deer and fawn, but not too much damage as

of Sunday, Father's Day. Replanted some picked over hills and praying for a successful crop this year.

The enemy...

2. Zinnias, broom corn, celosia and sunflowers are up and most blooming!

shaggy Cactus Zinnia.

3. Adorable post cards ordered and on their way for FlowerCamp. Aquinas High School group postponed to September 18, 2010. Registering for September 25th and October 2nd...Mailing will go to Garden Club members, Master Gardeners, and last years' Campers.

Celosia, it's supposed to be a giant red one!

4. Lots of work to be done before fall Camps. Always something broken. Robert overwhelmed with grass cutting and repairs! Have a young lady(UGA) interested in learning about the upkeep of our place, so eager to put her to work!

Robert & Sam repairing sprinkler heads...fun?

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Taters

The tops of the potato plants were bent over and yellow, so I decided to peek in the pot and see. YEAH! I didn't expect a huge harvest in the old plastic pot, so I was pleased to dig out 25 new potatoes.

They smell so fresh.

Cooked them with some fancy cabbage last nite and everyone (except Sambo)

tasted and enjoyed.

Blessings from the Garden

ML

Bees Part 2

Long live the QUEEN!

The story continues as we have completed hive

installation in both gardens...home and farm.

It is an interesting story, but here is the short version.

Catch me with a glass of wine and I'll lay out the

whole adventure.

We accidentally smashed the "cage" holding one of the

queens, thought we were sunk. Dr. Middlebrooks

(bee mentor) shows up to "hive the bees" and who is

hanging on to the outside of the bee package? Yep,

MIA QUEEN!

Great time learning about the bees. Read all you want, but

there is nothing like doing it yourself!

Here was our fun evening with Mentor Middlebrooks!

Dr.M is holding the "package" of 10K bees...

so calm! They were place into their new English

Garden Hive.

This is the Queen who never left!

The bees were thirsty and took sips

of our sweat...

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Farm Wrap Up

Hagler Farm Weekend Wrap

My first bouquet for summer! Added some new varieties of zinnias

this year, and experimenting with celosia and broomcorn...

No doubt, pink is a favorite!

Ms N. makes a fine farm hand! Planted about 10 hills of white pumpkins.

This is an experiment as most "specialty" pumps don't do well in south

georgia heat & humidity!

Will have a variety for FlowerCamp in September/October.

Honey bees are in at the farm, too! Looking

forward to fresh honey and lots of pollinated

pumps!

Blessings from the Garden

ML

WANTED: SQUASH VINE BORER

WANTED DEAD

SQUASH VINE BORER

A note from a garden buddy, thought I would share

since June is when this nasty critter lays it's eggs...

Hi, Mary Louise,

My modest squash crop has been wiped out by what I suspest are squash vine borers --- maddening! Emailed Sid who responded that he is having the same problem --- he suggests Liquid Sevin and/or Kay Pittman's organic tip of planting radishes around the squash (while I appreciate organic approaches, I am suspect about this one) --- am assuming you have some squash out there with all of your other bounty --- do you have any suggestions for me should I get around to re-planting??? I seem to recall having this problem every other time I have tried to grow squash, many years ago. Also remember Daddy dusting everything in sight with white powder when I was growing up - which I assume was Sevin - which probably explains a lot!!!

Help!

Here's what I know and gathered from the UGA website:

Symptoms:

** wilted plant, think you've not watered enough

** pin size hole at base, look for SVB scat

** happens to the best of us overnight

Strategy:

** remove section of vine affected and rid

yourself of those nasty worms(larvae)

** cover wounded section with moist soil

plant will heal and hopefully develop roots

** inspect your garden daily, look closely at leaves

and especially with squash, the base of

plant

Who is at risk?

Hubbard, zucchinni, pumpkins

The SVB is not as likely to bother with your

cucumbers or melons, whew.

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

BEES!

BEES

We've been experimenting with honeybees at the

farm for about 2 years. The goal was to enhance

pollination of the pumpkins with the added perk

of local honey.

For some reason, our bees abandoned us last summer

and so it's rinse, lather and REPEAT until you get it right!

Gizmo and I road tripped to Claxton, GA today (yes, home of famous

Claxton fruit cakes) to Wilbanks Apiaries where they "grow"

millions of honey bees and ship all over the country.

http://www.gpb.org/georgiabackroads/evans

Came home with 12 pounds of bees, that's fourty thousand

divided into 4 "packages" of 10K each. I was the "pick up"

gal for Dr Middlebrooks, a local beekeeper. He is our mentor,

and a very patient soul at that!

Dr.Middlebrooks gets 20 grand & I get

20 grand. (first photo-the queen & I have an understanding)

The bees come in wood "packages"

covered in wire screen. Thank goodness they are contained because

they don't sound too happy!

On the porch for safe keeping for a couple of days.

We'll have a new hive at the farm & one at home!

You guys be good and stay right there!

Will post about the transfer to new hives asap.

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Garden to Grill...and somewhere in between!

Summer Herbs by June

Some of my friends have dubbed me June,

as in "Cleaver". Although I am much too young

to remember the show, I produce the

full meal deal for breakfast and dinner

every week day unless I am dying. My brother in law

once asked if he could come over for breakfast because

he knows hot coffee, bacon, eggs and grits

would most likely be the morning special!

I've been experimenting with the garden harvest

on the grill this week. Here was tonight's menu:

* grilled marinated shrimp on rosemary skewers

* tomatoes slices topped with jalapeno, basil,

Vidalia onion, and mozzarella cheese then

drizzled with white balsamic vinegar

* grilled tenderloin tails and fingerling toms

in olive oil

Keep cutting your garden herbs! No need to pay

3 bucks for a moldy package of wilted leaves!

Blessings from the Garden.

June...I mean ML

Cooking with Herbs

Herbal Harvest

It's good to have herbs in the garden, and better to

actually make use of them!

Last night I snipped a handful of flat leaf parsley,

rosemary & chives, chopped them and placed in a zip lock bag with

quartered new potatoes.

Added a bit of olive oil, distributed onto

Pampered Chef large bar pan (LOVE IT)

and roasted on almost HIGH broil for about 15 min.

Even my kids love the potatoes...

please pass the ketchup!

Blessings from the Garden...

ML

Bruschetta

Pronounced Brus Ketta, this tasty little treat is

great served as an appetizer or add a bit more cheese,

some beans and you've got a tasty

small meal!

Marianna and Emma were caught experimenting in the kitchen this weekend then presented the parents

with this...

By now you should have plenty of basil planted in

the garden, tomatoes will be ripening soon, maybe you have some fresh garlic, too? The girls had a not so fresh sliced baguette, some olive oil, basil, toms, and

mozzarella cheese.

I must say, the parents were impressed.

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

June List

June is a busy month for gardeners in the CSRA.

The heat is on, humidity up and growth boundless.

Here are a few things to do in June, oh, & keep July

in the back of your mind...fall planning/planting!

* Plant more peas, beans, corn, and okra from seed.

* Garden stores still have transplants ready to put

in the ground. Find more squash, peppers, eggplant

and tomatoes!

* Tie up tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and beans to keep an upward

growth habit! Use tall wood posts, stakes, bamboo.

* Fertilize your veggies. Have you tried Llama beans?

* Plant pumpkin seeds! Remember they need lots of

room & be sure to look at maturity days for length of time you'll

need before they are ready!

* Last chance to plant sweet potatoes.

* Start rooting your hydrangeas.

* Plant zinnias, celosia, sunflowers, and cosmos all from seed...

* Buy some dahlia bulbs and get them in the ground!

* Not too late to plant some annual transplants...marigolds(lots of

pretty varieties now!), impatiens, caladiums, coleus, ornamental

sweet potato vine, and periwinkle(vinca)..

Blessings from the Summer Garden.

ML