Garden Tragedy Averted

In my last post, I mentioned a bit of concern over my tomato plants, which had some spotting on the leaves in recent weeks.  I hypothesized that the condition was from too much rain . . . but luckily I asked for a second opinion!  Tomato expert and Edgefield Pottery guru Phil Wingard informed me that the situation was quite dire!  My plants had contracted a leaf canker -- which is highly contagious!

Phil advised me to remove the infected leaves immediately to prevent further spreading.  He told me to either burn the leaves or put in the trash and haul far far away . . . Don't put them in your compost or simply drop them in the garden!

Phil told me that yellowing leaves are a sign of nitrogen deficiency, but when dark brown spots, surrounded by lighter brown inside the yellow appear, that is a sign of something much more sinister.  After trimming all of the infected leaves off of my plants, I had quite a pile of debris:

 
Into the trash it went, and hopefully my plants are healthier and happier today.  I suppose I need to be more vigilant on checking for irregularities.  After all, tomatoes are at stake!

(Get it?  Tomato stake?)  Okay, so maybe I'll concentrate my efforts on botany instead . . .

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The Secret of Neglect

Here it is, six weeks after my last garden blog, and I have to admit that I've done precious little in my garden during that time.  With a high school senior graduating later this week, our time has been spent during end of year concerts, trips, award ceremonies, etc.  Not a lot of time to play in the dirt.

Considering out rain levels have resembled that of the Amazon, I certainly haven't had to water.  I did spread some straw around my plants to hold the moisture in and protect them from the intense heat of the South.  Recently I heard one of my neighbor's quip, "In July, they shut down Hell and just use South Carolina."  Yeah, it can get hot.

Anyway, with no credit to me, my garden is actually doing quite well!  I have fruit on most of my tomato plants, and have harvested one tiny yellow pear tomato, which I ate right off of the vine.  My squash plants have gorgeous yellow flowers and several baby squash.

I've harvested some herbs, using dill, flat leaf parsley, and chives in some rather awesome potato salad for Memorial Day. 

I do have a couple of concerts at this point:  some of the leaves on my tomato plants are yellowing and spotted.  Too much water, perhaps?

Also, my okra is nothing short of a disgrace.  It is almost the same size as when I planted (about 4-6 inches tall).  A couple of the plants are trying to produce okra, and it is pretty pitiful!  Babies having babies.  Todd Ames suggested that deer have been munching the okra plant leaves. I haven't seen any evidence of deer, but there have been some very suspicious bunnies in the area. 

Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading my blog.  For more Lake Wylie Information, and links to Lake Wylie Homes for Sale, visit the websites of my clients and friends!  I'm going to contact Phil of Edgefield Pottery for some tomato advice.  He'll know what to do about those spots!

Plowing the fields

My dear husband tilled and hoed the lower 40 yesterday.  (The lower 40 square feet, that is . . . )  That is particularly impressive if you consider that he is a strict meat-itarian, and shuns most vegetation, including the Almighty Tomato.  Yet each year he tills the soil and hoes the rows so that I can play in the dirt.  Is that true love, or what?

The wind was brutal yesterday, and I wasn't able to get much planting done.  We had 4 ft swells in the cove, and that's pretty amazing considering we have about 2' water depth.  I'm talking that wind was STRONG.  I tried to plant some parsley seeds and they blew all over tarnation.  I suspect my neighbor across the cove may have a lovely crop of Italian flat leaf parsley this year.

We did visit Lowe's during the torrential rain yesterday.  Purchased a 75' soaker hose for the tomato plants, some organic fertilizer and compost, and another hundred dollars worth of stuff while we wandered around the place waiting for the rain to subside a bit.  We decided that shopping at Lowe's during a heavy rainstorm was equivalent to grocery shopping when hungry.  Not a good idea if watching the budget.

This morning has dawned sunny and beautiful, and the trees are still . . . so happily I should get my garden planted!

Thanks for reading my blog.  To read more about Lake Wylie real estate, or Edgefield Stoneware Pottery, or fire damage repair and other completely unrelated topics, please visit the websites of my delightful clients and friends!

Herb it thru the grapevine

I hit the Herb Barn for the third - - no, fourth time this year - - on Saturday. Cathy was having a half price sale, and I couldn't resist. I bought a couple of sage plants, some more lamb's ear, and a little more thyme. You never want to run out of thyme.

This year, I planted some of my most used herbs in a large pot next to my deck, so they're very accessible for cooking. Dill, parsley (both Italian flat leaf & curly), and culantro are growing there. Culantro is a cousin of cilantro - - very similar flavor, but it doesn't go to seed. It lasts all season long and is very hardy. I can't wait to make salsa when my tomatoes ripen!

In the garden, I have basil, stevia and burnet. Burnet is a salad herb with a taste that resembles cucumber. I bought it last year at the Herb Barn, thinking it was an annual. As it turns out, the plant stayed green all winter long! We just tilled around it when turning the garden this spring. I guess it's a keeper!

Stevia is supposed to be a perennial, but I've never been successful in keeping it alive through the winter. Stevia is a natural sweetner, 300 times as sweet. One tablespoon is equivalent to one cup of sugar! No calories, no chemicals. I like to pluck a leaf and eat it right off the plant. Paired with mint, it's like a stick of gum. Paired with my pineapple sage, it has the delightful flavor of a pina colada! Paired with rosemary, it's just weird.

In my landscaping areas, I grow perennials such as rosemary (my plant is 7 years old and HUGE), mint, oregano, sage, thyme, and a few others. Pineapple sage has a wonderful flavor, plus has gorgeous red flowers in late summer that attract butterflies.

This year I added a couple of St. John's Wort plants in my flower bed. It blooms little yellow rose-like buds. I asked Cathy at the Herb Barn if I could eat the leaves and get happy, but she said "We don't promote medicinal uses, just culinary." Oh well. I figure the little yellow flowers will make me happy anyway.

The Herb Barn (York, SC) is closing for the summer this year. Cathy's going on vacation! She'll reopen in the fall, and will host her traditional craft fair on Thanksgiving weekend. If you hurry, you can still pick up some half price plants this year, but only through the end of May.

So herby up!

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