Just Because I Can...............

I was raised among a family of gardeners, descended from folks who gardened  because they had to, just to survive. Fortunately this rubbed off on me, and I never let a season go by without planting at least a few food and fiber crops. I have had good luck this year with my natrurally green-colored cotton, as well as a new variety (for me) a variety of Hopi white, short staple cotton that takes only 100 days to mature! This is huge for those who would like to grow cotton in northern climates, and I am willing to share seed with anyone, anywhere the cottton seeds can be legally sent. Some states have major restrictions on the shipment of cotton seeds, and for some very good reasons. I have never had a pest problem with any of my cotton, and I do grow organically.

For more eye candy and a fantastic dryland gardening catalog, check out this pdf from Native Seeds/Search:

http://www.nativeseeds.org/pdf/seedlistingcatalog.pdf






For anyone who does not have room for a garden, not even a patio, balcony, or lanai, here is the book for you! I bought this book soon after it came out, when I was just a nerdy 12 year old kid. This book has had a place in my home ever since, through various moves and upheavals. You can still pick it up for just a couple bucks on Amazon. This book will take you through all the pleasures and perils of saving bits of your dinner to literally create a lush, tropical garden, all on a windowsill!





The After-Dinner Gardening Book

Elemental

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

If you subscribe to the "truth is stranger than fiction" theory, as do I, then I can promise without a doubt that you will love this book. Though I read very little other than non-fiction, I feel this book stands out from the crowd in its appeal to both layman and specialist, who will no doubt appreciate the levity even in the most hideous of cases, such as the Nuclear Boy Scout who loved his amerecium, almost to death. (By the way, I wonder where he is now, kudos and a big bag of organic, heirloom vegetable seeds to anyone who posts with an update.)

But enough of this, what is afoot in my garden, you may well ask, or not, but here goes anyway. I decided to plant yucca, bear grass, and devil's claw (the O'odham domestic variety with claws up to 18") for an experimental basketry project that I am planning for later this winter. Here are some royalty free stock photos of devil's claw, for those of you who have never seen them, and I will also be posting pictures of my plants as soon as I take the time to download them.

The fruits of all species are edible before they ripen and become woody and  they can be steamed and eaten. The Tohono O'odham eat the seeds, in ancient times seeds provided an important source of dietary oils. But beware if you are ever riding horses in an area where these are found, as they can cause a severe crippling injury if stepped upon or caught around an ankle.

 immature plant

 small but lovely flowers

botanical illustration

 the actual dried claws before preparation for use in basketry and before seeds are removed for use as a food source

 Hawkmoth species, known to feed on and pollinate devil's claw plants. The devil's claw is the only plant not in the solanum family that this moth's young will feed on.

 Hawkmoths in the larval stage, yum!

 Dark areas on askets are woven from devil's claw. Papago woman circa 1916.

 O yes, my grapes are covered with these, but I leave them alone since they do a better job of pruning than I do, and besides, I am a sucker for butterflies. Since they never show up until after my grapes are picked, I can't see any reason to bother them.

 

 

The Trouble With Squash

Squash, and indeed the whole Curcurbitacae family have long held deep fascination for me. This year, we had a very bad crop, indeed. This will be a sad, sad winter with nothing but store-bought curcurbits for the near future. Here is a pcture of the criminal who has wrought such destruction in my pumpkin patch:

  adult phase Melittia cucurbitae

  larval phase, late stage, heavy damage

 larval phase

The squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) is a day- active species of moth that attacks wild and cultivated varieties of squash. The moth is often mistaken for a wasp because of its movements, black wings, and bright orange scales. The females typically lay their eggs at the base of leaf stalks, and the caterpillars develop and feed inside the stalk, killing the leaf. They migrate to the main stem, and with enough damage to the stem, the plant may die. They also eat through the stem and into the squash or pumpkin, thus causing even more crop loss.

The squash vine borer lives in most  North American states, except the Pacific coast (how unfair!) Southern states have two broods a year, and in the warm sothwest, we have a near perpetual state of infection from first frost to about May or June.

Pesticides are not effective after the larvae are inside the plant. I find this a VERY difficult pest to control. I try to avoid the pest by timing the production season to harvest before the pests can build up, or after they have peaked, but that all depends on yearly frost patterns.

Prevention includes bacillus thuringensis to kill the grubs, before they eat into the vines or fruit. An old gardener trick for vining squash and pumpkins is to cover the vine with earth at various points along its length, causing rooting at several points, and thus continuing to feed the developing fruit despite the loss of the original stem. After the vine has taken root at multiple points, the infected portion of the plant can be cut off, along with another inch where the larvae is eating into healthy tissue, without significant  to the plant. Once larvae are eat into the stems, control must be quick. The first sign of the problem is wilting of the vine, and it is sometimes too late for control efforts at that point. Experienced gardeners watch the stems for signs of frass (grub poop) protruding from small holes, which indicates the presence of the larva inside. Some gardeners carefully cut the stem along its axis and remove the caterpillar before it does too much damage. Others use a stiff wire, a needle, or a toothpick to kill the borer without too much damage, believe it or not, this can really work! So, if you want gorgeous pumpkins like this, the organic way, you know what has to be done!

squash blossoms

Dill's Atlantic Giant grown in Japan

 

Blue Hubbard (what most of our canned pumpkin is really made of)!!!!

 Golden or Hubbard

Thanks to all involved for the free stock photos, you rock!