by CMG Ron S
October 2024
September is always a bad month for me as I reminisce of things that could have been, but never have. Of course I am thinking about the things that I could/should have done in the garden and/or yard landscape. I could have gone all in with a winter vegetable planting, but only went in about as far as $26 worth of broccoli transplants and one 4” pot of thyme. That may seem like a lot of broccoli, but that is about the only vegetable, other than tomatoes, that we both consume in quantity. I have tried earnestly to grow a Spring crop of broccoli but have never succeeded other than for a few spindly heads and some florets. I like Brussel sprouts but likewise have not harvested a single one from my planting attempts. This fall, I gave in to the temptation and compulsion and put in a few just for fun. We eat many an onion but I have likewise not pulled one out larger than a pickle ball. Actually, I would be happy for a pickle ball onion. I will try around the 15th with another bundle of TX 1015Y or perhaps Early Grano 502. The Aggies seem keen on these and both have been around for a very long time. That is going to be it for me in 2024.
I repaired the drip irrigation system that I partially destroyed in my attempt to slash and burn a previous year’s asparagus canes. I told you all about that fiasco. It took me a couple or three years to actually do the repairs as I perfected my procrastination techniques. It actually came out reasonably well. I can once again simply turn on one quadrant (I have two) of emitters and go back in the house to watch the next episode of whatever TV show may be on. I have a timer app on my phone but there are times when it mysteriously stops working, usually due to my not turning it on. When that happens my spouse reminds me in direct terms and voice. When I first got into using the drip system a friend recommended using the variable emitters rather than the “per hour” emitters. It made good sense as this allowed the adjustment of flow and even stopping some completely. The problem of hard water showed up a few years later as the emitters built up calcium deposits and clogged. I would remove the little screw caps and meticulously clean the little water slots with a pin and pen knife. Then I remembered the effect that vinegar had on calcium. Meanwhile I was avidly replacing these emitters with two gallon per hour ones. Great, but what about fallow beds in a quadrant? Well, back in July I was in Lowes just wandering around (I like wandering around Lowes, but prefer my wandering to be at Ace Hardware) and saw the 1/2 inch cut offs. That would solve the fallow bed problem, but these do not install themselves and I am still procrastinating.
I have one medium bed of Oscar okra and perhaps ten plants in a smaller bed. Thanks to those of you who have come to Herb SIG and a couple of monthly meetings to help me deal with the overabundance. I am still harvesting okra almost every other day. If I skip a harvest day the pods grow to over six inches and are inedible. Also, the fire ants have discovered that with little effort they can burrow into the pods rendering them unpleasant to harvest. The leaves have now dropped on all but the lower four or so feet of each plant. Still, the lower parts are putting out branches with more okra. I can’t just pull the pants, mostly because these plants resemble the Jack and the Bean Stalk thickness and my chainsaw is hard to start.
Malabar Spinach
Oh, I almost forgot. My thanks to Emily for gifting me a Malabar spinach plant last year. While the plant faked me out by appearing to die, it actually was spreading underground. Really! The plant is beautiful and would cover a fence if the deer were not cropping it back. I do not like to eat it as it tastes to me like a very unpleasant weed, but it does produce copious numbers of very small white flowers that attract many of what appear to be Clytie Ministreak butterflies. I have included a picture so if there are any lepidopterists reading this, please identify properly. We also have a surfeit of baby skunks that are almost as tame of our cats. These babies have been eating the dry cat food since their teeth came and think we are their parents. They rub up on our ankles.
Baby Skunks