Blog revival - New gardening video!

I have been neglecting my blog, can you tell? I have many pictures to show, and my garden is doing great (except for my tomatoes - a story for another day). What would be a better way to revive this blog than with a new episode of A's Gardening show!

tiny disclaimer - succulents are not my thing. A has become interested in them, and the information he provides in this video is true to the best of his knowledge and understanding of how it all works. I'm pretty sure it's a combination of stuff he has read, and stuff he has heard from his Aunt (who is an avid succulent collector).

Enjoy!

Angel's cactus cuttings from Suzanne Mireles on Vimeo.

Remember the dove nest?

Here they are!

I took this picture yesterday. Today the nest was empty.

Random kid gardening pics

A is mixing composted chicken manure into the front part of this bed. We will be planting melons here. My hope was to have the vines grow up and over the dill as it dies down, but it looks like we'll have to tear out the dill (unless the ladybugs take care of all the aphids for us!). See how the dill looks all sad in the background. Darn aphids.


I have started deadheading my cosmos and other flowers. M has been collecting the old blossoms and "planting" them in various garden spots. He is convinced they will grow. Sometimes he buries the whole flower, and sometimes he buries it above ground.


No pics of E. She has been taking nice long morning naps during our gardening time.

Lifecycle of a Ladybug (lady beetles)

Ladybug Eggs.

Ladybug Larva.

Ladybug Pupae.

Ladybug!

Oh, and FYI - those little white things on the plant around the ladybugs are really really really really bad bugs. Also known as aphids. Well, they aren't too bad - they do provide the ladybugs a food source. Eat faster ladybugs!

From garden to table

Fresh garden greens (Forellenschulss, Lollo Rossa, Black seeded simpson, and cilantro), and dragon tongue beans.




Salad, stir fried beans with a little bit of teryiaki sauce (the kids were upset that most of the purple color disappeared during cooking!), and sauteed red cabbage and onions. A complete backyard garden meal. (sorry - forgot to take a before picture of the red cabbage before chopping it up!)

Garden critters

The anole lizard. Very common here in our yard. These lizards are usually green, but can sometimes change their colors - we've seen lots of brown ones. We counted 8 of these in our front garden. Here's a link for more info: Anole Lizard











One of our favorite insect critters is the ladybug. This one here is taking a rest on our chile pequin plant.

And, the good 'ole roly poly, or pill bug, or whatever you call them. These things are great amusements for my kids. I remember having a roly poly farm when I was little. And we recently discovered that these little guys love to eat the roots and leaves of newly sprouting bean seeds. We're learnin' something new every day.

Goodbye cool weather veggies - hello Doves!

With the warm weather arriving and getting warmer everyday, our cool season crops are slowing wilting away. While I look forward to tomatoes, peppers, and melons, I'll really miss being able to step into the backyard and pick fresh greens for our meals. They just don't like our Texas summers.























And look! A pair of doves had decided to nest in our persimmon tree - right outside our bedroom window. I commented that their nest looks very unstable. A and I looked up some info, and it turns out that doves are known for making shabby nests - sometimes the eggs fall right through the bottom! Let's hope that doesn't happen to ours!