Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Oh, Deer...and Other Assorted Pests


Over the weekend, my wife caught this deer in my neighbor's yard, helping itself to the colorful buffet. Shoo'd off, we laughed a bit and and said "at least they don't know where we live."


Only 99 Cents!

Yesterday, I found this...



...munched off buds on our front yard rose garden. At least I won't have to deadhead this batch this weekend. 



I guess we're not as off-the-radar to the deer as we thought. Does make me hungry for venison, though...

Then, our tomatoes were doing so well. Weighed down with soon-to-ripen fruit, I couldn't wait for the delicious bounty.



We found this...some creature of the night (either a raccoon, opossum, or skunk) dug 'em up and took the fruit. I salvaged one green tomato that I will fry up.



My wife replanted them and a few days later, they look like they might survive.



Last, I looked out our bedroom window and found a squirrel helping himself to our zucchini plant. I scared him off but he got most of it.



We live right next to the mountains and are in the worst drought of my lifetime here in California. I guess a lot of the wildlife are streaming down, looking for water and food.



Hopefully, we can get something of a crop even with the new population of pests this year. 

What do you do to keep these critters out of your garden?



Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

New Faces and Old Invaders


Popping up in the garden this week, these pasilla chile seedlings are making their debut. I'm excited for these because they are extremely tasty, not too spicy (but more than a bell pepper), are great stuffed, and used for chile rellenos.




Peppers are some of my favorite crops to grow. Pound for pound, it's hard to find another fruit that provides so much savory flavor and health benefits.



I also have this Anaheim chile plant that is showing its first fruit.



Another very tasty crop will be onions, which this group of seedlings will be producing later this season.


In a crack on the patio bricks, an oregano seed has taken root.


It's not where I want it, so that makes it a weed. Out it goes!




Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved.