Grasshopper Plague

Golden Grasshopper

Even when struck by a plague of almost "biblical proportions" there are amazing things to see.  The garden is on the backside of a large pasture and the dry weather here has dried the grass.  Apparently this leaves  thousands of grasshoppers searching for a home.  The amazing part is the sheer variety of their appearance.  They are mostly either gold, green, brown or gray.  But they come in many different models and sizes.

Some are alien looking like the golden one.  The one that calmly sat on my arm while I took numerous pictures looks like a cartoon character with its staring round eye.  There are large beige and gray ones that are rather paleolithic, and there are some camouflage ones that look like army vehicles.  And they have all converged on the garden.  The green beans were their first choice.  Now they are

Obliging Grasshopper Model

munching on the tomatoes and I caught them eating lemongrass.  They may be eating the rhubarb leaves and those are supposed to be poisonous. I really don't see a ready deterrent for a bug that eats lemongrass or rhubarb.

My only plan at the moment is to put a birdbath near the bamboo and see if I can't entice the bluebirds, flycatchers, and buntings to do a better job.

Years ago a friend covered her tables at her wedding reception with pastel net over white cloths.  Afterwards, she gave me yards and yards of net.  If I had all that netting today I would cover the garden beds with it.

Melon plant courtesy FrankenFather

The melon plant was courtesy of friend Steve, the father of our grafted "FrankenTomato".  Frankenmato is doing fine and growing an attractive crop.  Steve also pitched in a pepper and a melon.  It looks like a Sugar Baby type, I don't remember.  According to my best guess it should be ripe.  The two tiny tendrils above the stem of the melon are brown and dry and the underside is a creamy yellow, but it doesn't thump well.  Maybe because it is smallish.  It is nerve wracking to decide when to cut it.  There are only two, this one and a smaller one of this type, so we only have these two shots to get it right.  I guess the best strategy is cut the small one and if it is unripe then assume the large one isn't ripe yet.

Red Flame Seedless Grape

The last photo shows the growth of our Red Flame Seedless Grape.  I am astounded by the length of the vine in just one growing season, about twelve feet so far.  When I planted it this spring the above ground vine was about eight or ten inches.  It has grown this much in about three months.  This is my first experience growing grapes and I am amazed at how well all of the vines have grown.  I will need some study trellises next year.

Pillaging grasshoppers, exuberant grapes and mysterious melons.  It is hard to be bored in the garden.  Voltaire was right to remind us to tend our gardens but he didn't give credit where credit was due, good gardens owe something to God's handiwork.

Supply, Demand, Spiders, and Dragon Wings

Fern and Caladiums

For those who have kept up with my journeying I am back in my home state.  It is taking some effort to re-enter the hotter temperatures but I am dunking my head in cool water often and wearing baggy white T-shirts as I make my gardening rounds.

I was pleased to see that most of my planters at work survived my absence.  Thank you to staff and those who watered for me.  This fern and the caladiums are brightening up a dark spot.  I am glad to see the fern flourishing, because I am ready to severely cut back a prominent deformed azalea and the fern will need to cover up the stubby trunks.  They should put out new growth relatively quickly.  I will be watering and sloshing fertilizer lavishly to try to speed the initial regrowth.

I really enjoy the begonia/fern/caladium plantings.  As long as you can provide some shade and plenty of water and some fertizier you should have attractive results.  Could I just say that "Dragon Wing" Begonias rule.

Dragon Wing Begonias

In one of those odd modern dilemmas of supply and demand there were no Dragon Wing Begonias in our town, at least not at the places where I am required to shop from work.   Several years ago I read about this fancy begonia in a gardening magazine.  It was described as a "begonia on steroids".  I thought "Ha!" what hype! But when I saw some red ones I bought a few.  Wow, I was wrong, they were just as advertised, maybe even better.  The next year there were no red ones, but there were some pink ones, I used them.  They grew just as well, but I needed red for the color impact. The following year  there were no red ones or pink ones.  I saw a few already in planters, but I didn't want to buy the whole expensive planter.  A couple of years ago I ordered my own seed.  It is expensive, around $30 for the smallest amount.  They was hair-raising to grow and plant.  Begonia seeds are seriously small.  Think period at the end of size-six font.  Because these begonias are so tough, I have been able to maintain my plants ever since, and there still weren't any Dragon Wings locally.  Just don't understand the marketing rationale I guess.

Garden Spider and Grasshoppers on Tomatoes

The garden has suffered from the hot temperatures.  Kudos to the on-site co-gardener for his watering efforts there.  Now that the surrounding grass has died the grasshoppers have found our well watered greenery.  Our Garden Spider is on patrol but if you look very closely at the spider photo I count at least five grasshoppers in the web's immediate proximity.  We need more grasshopper-munching sneaky spiders.

I need an economy where I can trade grasshoppers for begonias.  I guess that is marketing and DIY philosophy.  How to get what you want, how to get rid of what you don't want.  The DIY part is the realization that just like my local Lowes isn't going to supply the plants I want/need, and the Garden Spider can/will only do so much, I will have to figure it out for myself.  It is a battle of wits and wills.