Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, if you’ve been paying any attention to the news, two hurricanes were in the gulf of Mexico at the same time. This is an event with no precedent in known history. I know that some of the readers of this blog are in the path of the storm and may or may not be in imminent danger. Dual hurricanes are incredibly rare and only serve to increase the normal hazards because the weather has had no chance to calm between the storms. If you are ordered to evacuate please comply with evacuation orders, it is not manly, nor impressive to weather a storm situation of this magnitude, it is sheer stupidity to stick around. 2020 has already been a nuclear-rocket propelled rollercoaster ride and we seriously do not need any more tragedy this year. With that said I know the Carolinas are going to get some of that crazy hurricane weather soon but it likely won’t be quite so bad. We got lucky, but others are not so fortunate. Now, garden-wise I have some photos from the test gardens that you should find interesting and some new videos on youtube that I know you will like.
Here we have the first ever Kadota fig harvested in the test gardens. It is not uncommon for a large fig to weigh nearly 2 ounces a piece. Kadota, Magnolia, Brown Turkey, are all larger sized figs. White Ischia, and Black Mission are medium-sized while Chicago Hardy and Celeste are small sized. 
This is Acheta domesticus or the common House Cricket. These are introduced from Europe and are mostly harmless though they can become a problem when they start eating fabric. Their chirps are in threes and they are about an inch long. I had one of these in the house not to long ago and had to hunt the little bugger down. 
This critter's identity is unclear, it may be a Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) or a Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris). The two species of toad do interbreed and so it could also be a hybrid. Regardless of that, the test gardens does have several toads in residence that eat an untold number of nocturnal insects. Since toads don't really get moving until the evening the above picture was taken using a flash at about 9pm. 
Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). This type of butterfly is one of the most commonly seen in the test gardens, they seem to really dig the giant lantana's flowers. 
This is Chia (Salvia hispanica), I did a video on this but for note individual plants can grow to be upwards of six feet tall in a single season. 
Someone in Sustainable Neighbors asked about strange orange bugs all over something, and I thought I'd post this picture taken on Tuesday. These little orange bugs are Assassin Bug Larvae, they are brightly colored either to indicate to predators they taste awful or to indicate they will bite. Assassin bugs are aggressive predators that are beneficial to the garden as they kill and eat tons of other insects. Typically their larvae are clustered like this until they reach a certain size then they move out to go eat anything that moves. These were found on my Beauty berry (Callicarpa americana) bush in the front yard, they seem to prefer blue or purple colored fruit for some reason
With all the fine garden pictures and info covered below we have the entire five-part series on Mallows that you should have in your garden. The episodes cover Zebrina Mallow, Roselle, Cranberry Hibiscus, Flowering Maple and, Swamp Rose Mallow. Thankfully the weather cooperated during shooting and only one episode had to be shot in the lab.
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
Food Plants:
Peanuts, African Runner: $3.00
Herbs: (3” pots)
Black Fennel: $3.00
Horehound: $3.00
Mountain Mint: $3.00
Oregano: $3.00
Herbs: (5” pots)
Cuban Oregano, ‘Cerveza & Lime’: $4.00
Horehound: $4.00
Oregano: $4.00
Oregano, Italian: $4.00
Roselle, ‘Thai Red’: $4.00
Herbs: Special Offer
Rosemary, Prostrate: $8.00
Ornamental Plants:
Coneflower, ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry: $4.00
Milkweed, ‘Milk Maid’: $3.00
Milkweed, ‘Passionate’: $3.00
Due to the current Covid-19 situation and the state’s requirement that all citizens are not to gather in groups of more than ten, the weekly Sustainable neighbors meeting is online. Please check the sustainable neighbors Meetup.com page for more info about how to attend our online meeting.
https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/
Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market. This brings to a close the sixteenth LITFM post of 2020; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 4th of September. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.
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