We live in a rural area and are surrounded by fields of weeds, hay, and rocks.  In fact, our own property fits this description as well.  This makes for a wonderfully peaceful place to live and raise our two boys.  This beauty also comes at a price.  This year it is the grasshopper pressure.

We began to notice a few over the past several months.  Now when we walk near a patch of weeds or our garden, it’s like the entire area comes alive.  Our poor potato plants are literally skeletons of their former selves while the tubers are full grown and safe below ground. 

We planted bush beans late (June 30).  They were not as lucky as the grasshoppers totally annihilated them, stems and all.  They disappeared within three days!

Needless to say we are having a tough time with these pests.  Maybe next year will be better.

We are fortunate to live near the beautiful Cub River in Idaho.  Last weekend we took our two young children for a hike up to a spring where the river is reported to begin. 

On our hike we witnessed some wonderful wildflowers.  I took some pictures and I am pleased to be able to share them with you.

Cub River, Idaho

Spring at Cub River, Idaho

Cub River Wildflower

Cub River Wildflower, Paintbrush

Cub River Wildflower, Pink Rose

Cub River Wildflower

Cub River Wildflower

Cub River Wildflower, Hyssop

Cub River Wildflower

I hope you’ve enjoyed these images.  God has created many wonderful sights in this world for our pleasure.

Happy Gardening.

-Thomas

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post or story.  This carnival has quickly gone international as a few of the entries came from outside the U.S. 

I hope you enjoy this first edition!

Sarah presents Caring for Your Lawn in the Winter | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, “Even though your grass doesn’t need much attention during the winter, it’s still important to follow some basic seasonal lawn care guidelines; especially if you live in a cold climate.”

Jamie McIntosh presents Control Carpenter Bees posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, “No one likes carpenter bees drilling into their decks and homes. However, these insects have an important role in your organic garden.”

Ty Cee presents Pinoy Horticulture posted at Pinoy Horticulture, saying, “Pinoy Horticulture provides information about the activities of horticulture societies and plant enthusiasts in the Philippines”

Dave Trenholm presents Growing Potatoes In Straw posted at Alberta Home Gardening.

valereee presents Garlic Mustard Dill Pickle Relish posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, “All those small early cukes are perfect for pickle relish!”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Yard Yarns (Limerick and Haiku Prompt) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

R.Pettinger presents Tips on Making A Compost Heap. | Gardeners Tips posted at The Compost Heap, saying, “some practical tips on making a successful compost tip”

Suzanne presents works for me? tomato posted at adventures in daily living.

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Treating And Preventing Mosquito Bites posted at Tip Diva, saying, “Ahh, summer. The sun is warm, the water is cool, the flowers are blooming, and unfortunately, the bugs are biting. The worst offender of them all is the mosquito, carrier of pain, itching and possible diseases like West Nile. Here’s how to treat and further prevent bites”

AdmirableIndia.com presents Bangalore to Mysore on Bike: Day 1: Part 2: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Brindavan gardens and Krishnarajasagara or KRS dam posted at AdmirableIndia.com.

Laura Williams presents Around the Homestead Today… posted at Laura Williams’ Musings.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of gardening everyday using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of gardening everyday, blog carnival.

Common Yarrow - Achillea millefolium (Image used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2)

Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is a weed that grows in patches in many areas of the United States.  You are probably already familiar with Yarrow.  It has been bred and selected to have many, usually pastel colored flowers.  In the wild, however, white is the predominate color while pink is rare.

In all but the most manicured of lawns, Yarrow often grows undetected.  Mowing helps to keep it short and prostrate in form.  The plant easily spreads itself via underground rhizomes.  If left to flourish in a field or roadside, one little seedling can become a large clump within a few seasons.  Because of its hardiness, Yarrow can be difficult to erridicate from your lawn or garden if you so desire.

In the recent past, we have begun to use Common Yarrow in our garden both as a specimen plant and as a cut flower.  During the spring, when the small plants appear in the lawn, you can consider transplanting them into the garden.  You can also do as we did and head off into open fields or mountain sides to locate plants.

I like to first establish the plants in pots or cell packs.  Yarrow is a durable plant that thrives in most soil conditions.  Therefore, you can use any soil in your small containers.  Purchasing a potting mix is an option but not necessary.

As you dig Yarrow, you will see many small plants connected together or to a mother plant via the rhizomes.  Simply cut into individual plants that have decent roots and transplant them into your containers.  Water the yarrow as you would any other potted plant.  In a few weeks you should have some nice transplants ready for the garden.

Keep in mind that Yarrow can be very prolific and needs plenty of room to spread.  I recommend 18″ apart in full sun or partial shade.  If the clumps of plants get too overgrown, its easy to either dig some of it up or spray with an herbicide if that is your preference.  Chances are, if you’ve found Yarrow growing locally, you will have no trouble in getting it to perenialize in your garden as well.

If you decide to grow Common Yarrow you will enjoy years of inexpensive long stemmed flowers that make great arrangements alone or with other cut flowers.  Yarrow also dries well.  Just tie a bundle together by the stems and hang upside down in a dry location.

Happy gardening!

-Thomas

In my last post I discussed how I have started to see the value in heirloom and open pollinated vegetables.  I’ve purchased some dry bean varieties and I am also going to grow Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and Cherry Belle Radish.  I plan to put the lettuce and radishes in this week.  The beans may have to wait until next spring.  I don’t think there is enough time to grow them to maturity in our climate.  Our average first frost here in southeastern Idaho is September 20 and our elevation is 5000′.

I’ve always been a proponent of chemical fertilizers.  However, I am now seeing the long term benefits of using compost and other organic material to improve the structure of the soil while providing the needed nutrients.  Maybe it’s my age (33) or maybe it’s a desire to teach our two young sons the best ways to be more self sufficient through sustainability.  Either way, I have decided to go “organic” beginning with my seed saving efforts.

We are breaking ground on an additional garden spot soon.  I am going to use this area for my seed saving as well as to provide additional space for rotating our crops each year.  We always seem to have trouble with solanaceous crops in rotation.  We grow a lot of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes each year so this should benefit that as well.

This new plot will be completely organic.  I am excited to be able to say and know that everything produced in that area (and on our entire place in the future) has been grown organically.  I’ll let you know how this project progresses.

Happy Gardening to you.

-Thomas

Heirloom Tomatoes

I have recently begun to be interested in seed saving and preserving historical vegetable varieties.  While in college and during my first job where we performed variety trials to determine high producers in Oklahoma, I was definately concerned with hybrids and thought the old varieties were useless.  Now, in my home garden setting (and with the passing of 10 years), I have changed my outlook. 

During college I learned that you cannot save seed from a hybrid plant and expect to get good results the following season.  A tomato will always produce a tomato, but the offspring of a hybrid will not be true to type and will likely produce poorly.  With open pollinated varieties, such as many heirlooms, you always get plants that are just like their parents.  It’s important to note that when planning to save seed, you should ensure the variety you are interested in is separated by a good distance from any others of the same species.  When cross pollinating occurs, your offspring plants will not be the same as the parents.  In a sense, this actually produces a hybrid. 

Another thing I’ve come to realize over the years is that the large seed companies are creating monopolies on the best producing varieties.  This is fine for commercial production, but what about home gardeners and those wanting to preserve historical types?

The answer, as you may have already realized, is to grow open pollinated or heirloom vegetables.

I found a great website, Seed Savers Exchange, which sells and promotes old varieties of many vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  I have joined the exchange ($35 a year) and also have ordered the following beans to start on my journey:

• Hidatsa Shield Figure Bean
• Brockton Horticultural Bean
• Calypso Bean
• Painted Pony Bean
• Speckled Cranberry Bean

Seed Savers Exchange also helps connect seed savers together through an annual spring catalog.  I hope to be able to sell some of the bean seeds I collect this season.  I think I will also produce some lettuce seeds (Black Seeded Simpson) and radish (Cherry Belle).

This is really an exciting pursuit.  I’d love to hear of your own seed saving experiences.

Happy saving!

-Thomas

I’ve recently started a new website/subscription list that gives you in depth composting tips and reviews of products in the industry.  All of this information is free to you!  Simply visit Compost-Today and join me in an effort to increase your compost efforts.

As a gift when you sign up for my free email tips and reviews, you’ll receive a free copy of “Composting Begins in the Kitchen.”  This ebook is available for immediate download. 

Thanks and I hope to talk compost with you soon. ;-)

-Thomas

I am very pleased to announce our monthly Carnival of Gardening Everyday will begin with the first edition on July 15th.  This carnival is designed to spread unique and timely content related to any gardening topic.

I look forward to some really great reading!

Please submit your content by July 10th and be sure to join us on the 15th.

Submit your entry into the carnival here.

-Thomas

The splitting of tomatoes from the top of the fruit can be a bothersome problem in any garden.  First, the splitting occurs.  Then, fungus and mold move in and before you know it, you have a pretty ugly tomato. 

What causes this and how can it be avoided?

The splitting is actually caused by an imbalance in water supply.  Usually, a large amount of irrigation that follows a dry spell will cause the fruit to split.  The plant actually takes up more water than it needs during wet periods.  The tomato plant loses some water through transpiration.  However, if the weather is cooler following a rain or excessive watering, the plant cannot release enough moisture in this way.  The tomato fruit take some of the excess water (actually it is forced into them) from the plant.  When a critical level is reached, the fruit begins to split radially along the top.

One way to avoid this is to mulch your tomatoes.  Mulching provides an environment where the soil neither takes up water too quickly nor loses it too quickly.  This allows for a more consistent soil moisture level.

Another way to avoid splitting tomatoes is with the use of drip irrigation.  This actually goes hand in hand with the mulching method.  Drip irrigation can be soaker hoses or other drip material that supplies water slowly to the tomato plant.  When used in conjunction with a timer to provide systematic frequent watering, drip irrigation will greatly decrease your chances of having split tomatoes.

No one likes tomatoes with cracks and splits in them.  They can be ugly and, in some cases, unusable.  It is difficult to avoid this problem altogether.  However, using mulch and drip irrigation can be helpful.  Some things like heavy rainstorms are out of your control and may cause splitting no matter how hard you try to prevent it.

For most people, a split tomato will not cause too much heartache.  The split (and mold) can simply be cut out with a knife and the rest of the tomato will be fine.

Happy gardening to you!

-Thomas