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Worm Food

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My silent workers toiling away in the darkness of the worm bin have been overjoyed of late! My daughter Ashleigh asked me “ Dad, how do you know that they are overjoyed?”

“It’s simple, they wiggle more!”, was my knowing response.

There is a little more to it than that. The red composting worms I use,  (Eisenia fetida or Eisenia andrei), are surface or near surface feeders. For most of the summer, up until two weeks ago, they weren’t wiggling much at all. In fact they either stayed buried deeply in the bins or, possibly succumbed to the brutal heat. During the weather change I took some groceries out to the little guys. Not much sign of activity. I was afraid that this long hot summer had been too much for them. I spread the meal out, put the lid on and hoped for the best.

Two days later I took another bowl if groceries out and on the surface, especially on the strawberry trimmings, it was swirling with red wrigglers.

Yes they were overjoyed!

A bowl of yummy wormfood

A bowl of yummy worm food

My overjoyed workers wiggling, waving and eating!

My overjoyed workers wiggling, waving and eating!

 

TTFN

Bishop

 

18. $1.75

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I loved this simple approach. I do supplement from my garden when I can. This is a challenge we can all do and keep more in our pockets and probably cut fat, calories and miscellaneous “parts” that get mixed in unbeknownst to us!

Carpenteria Farmer’s Market

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Thursday Afternoon – We, my wife and visiting friends from Canada took a stroll down the 800 block of Linden Avenue in Carpenteria, California. The weather was perfect and our friends, Alan and Jan, seemed to enjoy the day.

Below are a few shots I took as we wandered down the street, puntuated with stops at the brewery a few blocks away toward the beach and at the Cork Tree Bistro on the way back. It was a great evening.

Orchids - so beautiful!

Orchids – so beautiful!

I wish I could get my heirlooms to grow this beautifully. Jan had the green striped variety with her lunch on the pier in Malibu.

I wish I could get my heirlooms to grow this beautifully. Jan had the green striped variety with her lunch on the pier in Malibu.

I couldn't resist - I bought three baskets! Yum

I couldn’t resist – I bought three baskets! Yum

The colors and variety is a visual treat as well as nutrional treat.

The colors and variety are  a visual treat as well as nutrional treat.

 

TTFN – Houston is cooling off but it will never match the weather in and around Santa Barbara!

Bishop

Quiet Tuesday

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I had hoped to garden some today but I took the day off. Early, it was warm and very humid. Mid morning, the skies opened up and really drenched my neighborhood. The busy hummingbirds too a short break but as the rained eased they flew. My wife asked about them flying in the rain – I told her their wings beat so fast that they don’t get wet….not sure she believed me.

I think more than anything I was just lazy today!

As the sun was going low I sat on the patio and snapped a couple of backyard shots that I would like to share with you.

 

One of the little bombers circling

One of the little bombers circling

Ready to dip the bill

Ready to dip the bill

Casting shadows on the fence

Casting shadows on the fence

Cropped a little closer

Cropped a little closer

The Texas Star

The Texas Star

 

I hope to get some dirt on my hands this week…..I promise I will!

TTFN

Bishop

Back in the Backyard

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Trying to balance work, travel and my backyard duties has been a juggling act. My hired help has had to step in and lend me a hand. My hired hand is a bit expensive but he does good, albeit slow, and deliberate work. Expensive in that I pay him an hourly wage and have to feed the 6 foot 5 inch behemoth too! He really is worth every grocery bag that he chomps through!

This week besides the usual lawn mowing and edging he harvested some long overdue Sago Palm pups. He did a beautiful job removing them and now we are in the process of potting them. Sago Palm pups can be a money making venture. I may ask him to cruise the neighborhood and remove the pups for our neighbors.

DSC_3669

A nice sized pup!

A nice sized pup!

Before I took off to Colorado last week I was replanting some of my strawberries. One of my beds was devastated by the brutal summer an then wiped out completely by my son as he did some irrigation work in the strawberry patch. It really turned out well for me in the end. I had a portion of my veggie beds where I had dropped some strawberry plants into several years ago. They took over that end of the bed! I am needing to clean that end out to plant some fall veggies so no harm done. I moved quite a few out last week and have more to do this weekend. Can’t wait for the spring harvest!

The newly planted strawberry bed

The newly planted strawberry bed

The white flies destroyed my cucumbers and devastated my friend John’s too. I replanted and the white flies returned only this tie I was ready! At first sign of the little buggers I blasted them with a good and safe insecticidal soap. They are looing really healthy! My discarded sweet potatoes have overwhelmed the 4X25 foot bed near the garage. Wow….I will be very curious to see the resulting harvest in a month or so.

My healthy cucumbers climbing the trellis

My healthy cucumbers climbing the trellis

Those pesky sweet potato vines!

Those pesky sweet potato vines!

 

The hummingbirds have been cruising through the Houston area on their way south. We love watching their antics around the feeders as the greedy ones chase others off.

Backyard Visitors

Backyard Visitors

Rain has been long overdue and we are getting a huge dose of it over the past several days! Needed but probably not quite enough to pulls us out of the state wide drought!

TTFN

Bishop

Butterflies in the Garden

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Not my garden, from a garden in the central part of Texas. I took my 400 mm lens and my handy 18-200 mm zoom but did not expect t need my macro lens….Oh well. I did manage to capture a few decent butterfly shots with my big lens…. Beauty is all around us, we just sometimes need to slow down and really look!

JBD_0195

JBD_0186 JBD_0272 JBD_0271 JBD_0229 JBD_0206 JBD_0202

Enjoy

TTFN

Bishop

North of Santa Barbara

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I am always looking at the countryside when I drive, usually to the dismay of my wife. On a recent trip to see my mother up in Los Osos, CA, I was driving down the California Coast to LAX to fly back to Houston. Today I was  without a passenger to watch over me. The farms, vineyards and vistas along the way are part of my distracted driving issues…..Hun, if you had been with me I would have agreed to let you drive, honestly! If only I could pick up my little backyard farm plot and drop it off in the Santa Maria area or anywhere north to Cambria Pines I would be a happy camper. At least I can dream!

One spot that has always caught my eye on the drive along Highway 101 is the Arroyo Hondo bridge, part of the “old” Highway 101. Today was the day to stop and look around. Several things caught my eye…the bridge was one and it always had, The other was the sunlight in the bristles of some local vegetation. So, here are a few shots to capture what caught my eye. Enjoy.

Arroyo Hondo bridge from the highway side with the train tracks in the background.

Arroyo Hondo bridge from the highway side with the train tracks in the background. Converted to Black & White

Arroyo Hondo bride in B&W viewed from the beach side.

Arroyo Hondo bride in B&W viewed from the beach side.

Converted to black & white.

Converted to black & white.

I love the way the light gets caught up in the bristly head.

I love the way the light gets caught up in the bristly head.

TTFN

Bishop

 

Enjoying the Central Coast

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Following my class reunion in Bakersfield on the 31st of August I drove over to my Mom’s place in Los Osos, CA. Nice change from 98 F to , what the locals considered hot, a pleasant 81 F. Her list of honey do’s was short. I had a dead potted plant to deal with and a few drip sprinklers that were misbehaving. My work done I could concentrate on just visiting with mom, she has been very lonely after losing her best friend and husband, Ed, a few years ago. She does have a good deal of spunk, she teaches/facilitates a Tai Chi class in her little community three days per week. It as much a social session as it is a physical activity session. The women benefit from both.

Mom likes to nap in the afternoon and I will usually slip off for some sightseeing or picture taking. The weather was amazing, hot for the locals but so perfect for this Houston boy. I walked across to Sweet Springs Nature Preserve for a few photos….nice view of Morro Rack and the estuary at the south end of Morro Bay. I then walked on over to Baywood Park. It runs together with Los Osos! Baywood Park is a nice picturesque location where I have captured some nice sunsets as well as shots of locals & visitors. (Click on any image to see it enlarged)

A panoramic crop looing toward Morro Bay

A panoramic crop looking toward Morro Bay – Taken from Sweet Springs

Across the water to the Baywood Park area

Across the water to the Baywood Park area – taken from Sweet Springs

Baywood Park sunset

Baywood Park sunset – From in front of the coffee shop

My timing was right! The farmer’s market was in full swing and the streets were full of people. The diversity and quality of produce grown along the Central California coast is amazing! I wandered up and down the main aisle crowded with shoppers. I didn’t buy anything as I was leaving early the next morning and Mom didn’t need anything at the moment. The little coffee, breakfast and lunch spot near the water was full of visitors. I found something to my liking there……they now serve beer. Two on tap, the Firestone 805 and an IPA from a local San Luis brewery. FYI, if you stop by the Back Bay Café in the near future some of my photos may be hanging on the walls. Yee Haw!

http://thebackbaycafe.com/

The crowd enjoying the day at the Farmer's Market

The crowd enjoying the day at the Farmer’s Market

Wonderful colors

Wonderful colors

Great Selection

Great Selection

Squash with blossoms attached. Looks yummy.

Squash with blossoms attached and Brussels Sprouts. Looks yummy.

The day before during her usual nap I drove over to Morro Bay showing up just in time to catch a few laps of a sailboat race. The route was not long but it did involve some changing obstacles. Fishing boats coming and going, tethered boats, kayakers making the trek across to the dunes and the harbor cruise boat. The there was the old guy in his little day sailor, oblivious to the race, looking very much like I would in a year or two……warning to my kids, I like the image of me emulating this old guy!

That is me I a few years!!!

That is me I a few years!!!

The tourists flock to the massive Morro Rock at the harbor entrance. This time of year is a great time to be entertained by the otters feeding in the boat channel. It seems that they know that people are watching and strike a pose as the tourists snap photos. I brought several lenses so I put the 400mm lens on to get a little more up close and personal. They are handsome creatures.

Smile Mr. Otter

Smile Mr. Otter

I then had to fly home to Houston to see what damage the heat and humidity had wreaked upon my garden. The stellar plant(s) in my garden right now are the sweet potato vines. Not sure if I will have lots of sweet potatoes but the vines have overwhelmed the area. My job today will be a massive haircut with the string trimmer for the runaway vines.

I dream of a few acres somewhere near San Luis Obispo. I would have a slice of gardener’s Heaven!

If you like my photos and would like to have one or two please check out my refurbished web page at; http://pappadecker.smugmug.com/

Hopefully the redesign will be easier to navigate!

Sunsets are in this folder; http://pappadecker.smugmug.com/Outdoors-and-Wildlife/Landscape/Sunsets

TTFN

Bishop

Strawberry Towers Forever

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I think I have used that title before but being a simple guy …….. I am simple aren’t I? Don’ any of you answer that question.

I have been in withdrawals from my blogging habit……..hmmmmmm, maybe if it had indeed been a habit I would have been blogging every chance I had….isn’t that what habits create. So, I don’t quite have a blogging habit but I do derive a lot of pleasure from sharing my blog life, whether it be my gardening blog or my beer brewing blog. Rest assured that I haven’t been idle. I am still sweating through several T-shirts every time I am out working in the garden.

The heat has the tomatoes struggling so I yanked most of them and replanted with some high dollar grafted varieties from a local nursery. I am cautiously optimistic! I set my buddy John up with 3 new plants and his seem to actually be doing better than mine. His cucumbers are doing very well…..mine succumbed to the dreaded white fly attacks. I still have peppers doing well, the single eggplant has taken over a corner of the garden and my asparagus ferns look very healthy….it bodes well for next year.

Talking about next year. I had a bumper crop of strawberries and therefore a bumper canning effort for my low sugar strawberry preserves. I like the low sugar recipe, not just because of the reduced calories but primarily due to the fact that more of the berry flavor comes through! If you have followed me for a while you may remember my efforts with strawberry towers. It makes the garden grow vertically and keeps those nasty bugs that live in the beds off of the berries. I eschew using bug sprays of any type. My first attempt at strawberry towers worked ok but I shredded my hands and fingers planting the bare root plants through the small holes. My subsequent efforts were easier on the hands, created bigger but fewer pockets. I like volume when it comes to berry harvest!

So back to the drawing board. Not wanting to waste materials I sought out a way to make the first towers more user friendly. For my second generation efforts I had used an electric heat gun to soften the pockets and it gave me an idea. I took the original towers (first generation), heated the lower edge to soften the hole and stretched it like a protruding lower lip! I think it is going to work.

http://wp.me/p13JYy-5v  original post

http://wp.me/p13JYy-lP this post shows an image of the second generation tower

A close look at how the hole gets stretched once heated

A close look at how the hole gets stretched once heated

Modified and original views.

Modified and original views.

A look at my heat gun....a hairdryer on steroids. I call it my "Binford" hotter than Hell model!

A look at my heat gun….a hairdryer on steroids. I call it my “Binford” hotter than Hell model!

I am nursing my Pineberry (a white strawberry with red seeds) plantings, trying to root as many runners as I can. I hope to plant one tower entirely in the white colored Pineberries.

Tuesday my oldest son and I are off on a day long fishing adventure – gardening again on Wednesday. I will highlight a path he put in for me as I get caught up on the stories floating around in my head.

TTFN

Bishop

Jammin’

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This growing season saw a bumper crop of strawberries. The result was lots of fresh berries for snacking and tons for jam making, lots of jam! The blackberries were starting to look really good toward the end of May. I had high hopes for a good blackberry harvest based on the number of blossoms and the large size of the developing berries – and JAM!.

The blackberry harvest started out strong. When I was home more berries made the freezer bag than we used for fresh eating. During my out of town work assignments the ratio was reversed. I still thought I had a chance to load up the freezer but the local birds discovered my luscious, juicy and organically grown berries. I would see dozens of berries that needed another day to finish ripening only to discover them gone, missing – nowhere to be found the next day. Evidence of birds sitting trellis wire was abundant. I guess next year I will have to invest in some netting.

Friday this past week I needed to clear some freezer space for my wife. I had partial freezer bags of blackberries, strawberries and some wild dewberries. I spent an hour and a half scratching the living daylights out of my arms and legs as I braved the thorny dewberry patches only to be rewarded with less than ½ gallon of berries! They have great taste but they are, oh so small. I decided to make a mixed batch of berry jam! Problem solved, room in the freezer and a 9 +  jars and jam! I say 9+ because I fill a jar of the foam skimmings’ and the bottom of the pot for my wife. She makes an interesting oatmeal frittata with egg whites and tops it with the lower grade jam. Still tastes great but doesn’t look as nice in the jars.

Garden chores out of the way for today consisted of removing 5 tomato plants that gave their all against this brutal summer that Houston has been suffering through. I replaced them with some grafted varieties and hope to get them well established during the tail end of summer. I hope to have tomatoes through Thanksgiving again this year!

My son and his friend kept the garden well watered including all of those pesky weeds. I should have provided some more detailed instructions on weeding while watering – an alliterative activity that aids the garden. That said….I have been pulling weeds like crazy! They have made a nice layer in the compost bin. I added about 6 inches of leaf mulch and 10-12 inches of grass clippings on top of them. The pile should really heat up now!

I pulled the leaf mulch out of my second bin. I am nearing the bottom of that bin and found some nice finished compost. I spread about 8 – 5 gallon bucket loads of the compost into the bed holding most of the tomatoes and cucumbers. Today being a three t-shirt day in Houston I will postpone spreading the remaining compost for another day…..none of the upcoming days look to promising in the next week so I guess I will just have to suck it up through a few more days and shirts until the job is done.

Thorny, scratchy and very tasty wild dewberries.

Thorny, scratchy and very tasty wild dewberries.

 

Kathy's Frittata - Her first bite was followed by these words, "Ewww seeds, but tasty!"

Kathy’s Frittata – Her first bite was followed by these words, “Ewww seeds, but tasty!”

TTFN

Bishop

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