Love the Rabbit-Proof Fencing
Posted: 4/27/2009 1:55 AM
We've had a bunny invasion in our backyard. I put in two flats of ivy geranium plants on the hillside behind the garden and planted marigolds along the front of the garden. The bunnies devoured all the new flowers. They're also dining on the grass by the garden and leaving their droppings everywhere. My dogs seem pleased; they think the rabbits are depositing kibble in the yard - yuck! Anyway, thank goodness for the Backyard Botanical's rabbit-proof fencing. Although the rabbits are enjoying the rest of our yard, they can't get in the garden, which is still looking fabulous.
I wish the fencing also kept out caterpillars. A few days ago, I noticed three of them were munching on the snow peas. I removed the caterpillars and immediately sprayed the pea plants with Dr. Earth Organic Home & Garden Insect Spray. This spray works well if you use it early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when it's cool. The good news is I haven't seen a caterpillar since. The pea plants are just fine and producing lots of snow peas.
Not all insects are bad. I've seen quite a few lady bugs in the garden recently. They're beneficial insects. They eat the bugs that will damage your plants. Here's one on the budding Golden Wax Beans.
The beets and carrots are almost ready to be harvested. The top half of the beets grow above the soil, so you can decide how big you'd like them before pulling them.
My kids used to say, it's time to pull the carrots when "their shoulders are showing". Here's one that we'll pull very soon.
This week, we harvested arugula, spinach, lettuce, strawberries, snow peas, radishes and cilantro. In fact, I had to pull the entire cilantro plant, since it was bolting-growing thick tall stems with very small leaves.
While looking for new recipes, I came across a helpful tip about the best way to get the grit out of greens. ( www.finecooking.com/articles/getting-grit-out-of-greens.aspx). Now, I immerse the greens in water, before using the colander and the salad spinner.
Here are some of the delicious things we made: Tomato and Cilantro Soup (www.kalynskitchen.blogspot.com), Strawberry Spinach Salad (www.allrecipes.com), and Chicken With Ginger-Cilantro Pesto (www.epicurious.com). Next week, I'll share our favorite beet and carrot recipes.