Gladioli, Yellowjackets, and Organic B

Forgot to post a picture of the Passion Flower, which was mentioned in last week’s posting. Our Tomatoes are ripening and our Pumpkins are flowering, if only for a brief period, before they start nourishing their ever-swelling fruit. We had our first taste of our Cucumbers a few days ago. There is nothing like a clean, crisp cucumber fresh off the vine!

Sara’s Gladioli are opening up in all their crimson glory and her Black Eyed Susans are multiplying, as are her Marigolds. A light purple Phlox has been opening up in the past week and even the lowly Potato plant shows promise of subterranean bounty.

The Windflowers are still gracing the top of the canopy and there are still a few white and purple Daisies left from the previous cycle of blooms. We’re having Beans with almost every meal. Sara prepares them with herbs and slivered almonds and butter. It’s out of this world! Throw a few new potatoes in to boil (store bought, I confess, I didn’t plant enough this time around) and you’ve got a complete meal.

Dessert? Sara and Hedgehog disappeared the other day. They found a patch of blackberries in a nearby clearing. We eat them with apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Freshly picked, delicious blackberries! I would lick my toes, if I could reach them after such a dessert.

Speaking of just desserts, Jim got a fright the other day when he tried to throw a smoke bomb into a yellowjacket nest, “just to see what would happen.” He missed and it landed under the hollow tree. He was lucky, only two stings, but Sara had to give him a shot of Benadryl in order to ward off an allergic reaction. Needless to say, he promised never to do it again and his allowance for the rest of the month is being sent to a wildlife fund, instead of his pocket.

One should never mess around with any form of wildlife for fun. Reminds me of when Hedgehog caught a frog and wanted to keep it in a jar. I had to convince her that the poor wild creature would die in captivity. She finally let it go, but her heart sank, and she wasn’t herself for a few days.

Thank goodness there are still bees coming around to pollinate our flowers. Not as many as in previous years, but enough to help fulfil nature’s plan. I read on the Internet that there is an insidious mite that has reduced the bee population in many countries. Australia alone would lose two billion dollars from its economy if honeybees disappeared.

I used Carbo Load Liquid on my vegetables during the flowering stage and waited for the bees to do their thing. Now that the tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers and pumpkins are on their way I realize how beneficial Advanced Nutrients specialty products are in supplementing my 100% organic nutrient treatments.

I take a B-complex 50mg supplement daily, so I decided to give all our plants Organic B, which contains all the essential B vitamins and not only helps the plants, but also the beneficial fungi and bacteria supplied by Piranha and Tarantula for our root systems. All our plants, both flowers and veggies, are robust, bursting with health, and super productive.

The gladioli are especially lovely this year. I cooked a special vegetarian meal last night for Sara and the kids, in order to thank her for all the work she puts into the garden. She took the kids to see “Barnyard” and she was especially grateful when they got home, because they were all starving. Now that the humans and the animals of the family are well fed, I plan to get up early to water the garden for the next few days--it will take the pressure off Sara.