The August Heatwave

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market.  This post is a bit late mostly due to work and the harvest season however I think you will find the photos discussed this time totally worth it. I should also mention that Blogspot has changed some of it's formatting so until I work out the kinks expect that the formatting of these posts may be a bit off for a while.

This tiny little Green Tree Frog popped out of my 'Cerveza & Lime' Cuban Oregano plant as I watered it and game me some serious 'side-eye'. They dont much like chlorinated tap water and I was watering with a hose. If you see these frogs in your garden it is a sign that you have a healthy ecosystem and you are doing the right thing.

Another bit of evidence that I am doing my ecosystem right, in the upper right next to the black pole holding up these two grow bags is a little Green Anole Lizard. These critters eat a LOT of bugs, and that helps me out. The trick to getting them, frogs and toads is to provide natural places for them to hide from things like birds, and domesticated cats. I spot several of these little lizards per month during the warm season so that means certain insect populations are kept in check.

Ripe fruit charts are where it is at. Here we have a ripe super-hot pepper chart. Notice the weird shapes of each type and the variations in an given harvest. Only the Lemon Drops are ever consistent, Fayetteville Inferno's are always sort of tri-lobed, Red Fatalii's are stretched and cylindrical roughly, Chocolate Fataliis are skinnier and more curva-licious than their Red Fatalii cousins. Golden Carolina Reapers are chunky as hell, while the Mad hatters are weird, tri-lobed and the lobes extend out like little pepper-feet. Its a mad world of peppers certainly, but I'm still shipping these to Fowler's Barbecue in town so they should have hot sauces soon.

Here is a handy fig chart, you can see the differences between the types all in one picture! Folks at the market were very concerned that the White Ischia were not ripe but as you can see figs ripen to a whole lot of differing colors. White Ischia ripen to like green if not green-yellow, Brown turkeys aren't always brown, and can have purple tinges, Magnolias are a weird taupe-tan color. Chicago Hardy can be brown, or a dirty brown sand color while Celeste can be a myriad shades of brown with red tinges. It varies greatly and so do the ripe sizes of fruit.

I never quite got the south's obsession with planting Crape Myrtles everywhere as a solution to everything. Yes I get they dont get diseases, can grow in crap soil and pretty much nothing short of a act of god kills them. The flowers aren't that great and then there's the fact their seeds are viable and they escape cultivation. Well this flower cluster with rain droplets from a brief rain shower changed my mind somewhat. This wont make me want to plant more of them but I can kinda understand why folks like the flowers now.

Some of you probably knew this was coming. This is what the 'Hairy Balls' Milkweed seedpods look like and well, if your balls look like this you need to talk to a doctor immediately! The plants get to about six feet tall and the flowers  hang upside down and only bumblebees seem to like them, so hair balls plant plus hairy bumbles...weird combination!

Muslin Bags are used to protect ripening figs from Grey Catbirds who are smart enough to observe me picking fruit and know it's food I'm picking. They don't usually figure this out immediately, but about halfway through the season they start pecking at figs and absconding with potentially saleable fruits. This is the inexpensive and organic solution, apparently the bags fool them into thinking the figs aren't fruit at all, or maybe it makes them look terribly unappetizing.

 

I do not as of the time of writing this know what species of Grasshopper or Locust this is. I found it in my 'Iron and Clay' Cowpeas that were knocked over by Tropical storm Isaias, this critter stood nice and still for the camera and was easily five or so inches long. It is the largest of it's type I've ever seen in the test gardens.

 

Much like tomatoes, figs can burst and split if they are ripening and receive too much water in a short period. This White Ishcia fig has fallen victim to heavy rain fall and practically exploded. Typically these figs are washed, inspected and frozen as soon as possible. I never take these to the market because they have no shelf life in a fresh state and will turn to pulp in processing.

The above are all Magnolia figs, at varied stages of ripening, the three in the back row are in the soft or firm ripeness stage while the one on the left is at soft-ripe stage and is about to burst. The fig on the right is soft-ripe and has begun to burst due to excessive rainfall. Sometimes the protective muslin bags I use can worsen this.

Here is a recent LITFM video about Pineapple Verbena.

This video is about the living Dinosaur plant known as Horsetail.

Ah, and here is a video about Carrots!

Last but definitely not least for this blog update we have a LITFM video covering Okinawa Spinach.

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.

 

Plants & Stuff Available Now:

Food Plants:
Peanuts, African Runner: $3.00

Herbs: (3” pots)
Black Fennel: $3.00
Chocolate Mint: $3.00
Horehound: $3.00
Mountain Mint: $3.00
Oregano: $3.00


Herbs: (5” pots)
Agatache, ‘Golden Jubilee’: $4.00
Cuban Oregano, ‘Cerveza & Lime’: $4.00
Horehound: $4.00
Oregano: $4.00
Oregano, Italian: $4.00
Roselle, ‘Thai Red’: $4.00
Thyme, English: $4.00

Herbs: Special Offer
Rosemary, Prostrate: $6.00


Ornamental Plants:
Coneflower, ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry: $4.00
Milkweed, ‘Milk Maid’: $3.00
Milkweed, ‘Passionate’: $3.00
Zinnia, Golden Star: $3.00


Coming Soon:
The Fall Crop Lineup: Kale, Collards, Mustard, Chard!

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 21st of August. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

Seasons Greetings II: Indoor and Outdoor

Welcome back to the second of the holiday episodes of Lost In the Farmer’s Market, today we have a short list of interesting plants that may make great gifts for those gardeners you know. But before I get into that, I would like to talk to you about a quick garden topic and explain the odd posting schedule. 

In case you are wondering why there was a double post today it is because the first post of the month was delayed with me buried in finals for the last two weeks. This post was intended to appear yesterday, and so both are posted back-to-back in chronological order so no one misses out on anything. That said lets get on with the garden stuff.

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, every square inch of your gardening space is home to something. And those things play a critical role in the balance of your garden. Your actions can ensure the proper balance of the soil, growth of your plants and the long-term health of the micro-climate that is composed of your yard. If you are being mindful of the way in which you garden you should then have no problem attracting beneficial creatures and making sure that your soil is productive and well balanced.

Case in point if any of you will remember, I reported seeing larger numbers of toads in the test gardens last year. I’d like to think this was a direct response to the installation of seasonal drip irrigation and the rain barrels. This year I spotted green frogs living near the rainbarrels too. Frogs as you may know pretty much need clean water to survive, and moisture to be healthy. To see them this summer was quite important because it meant the rain barrels were the right choice. But now for the first time in perhaps ten to fifteen years the Small green lizards are showing up.

I think the lizard is a bit camera shy, I blame all this GEICO business really. It hid under the cover of the leaves of the Coffee chicory as I took this photo.

Some of you might say, ‘So what it’s a lizard’ and a few years back I might have agreed. But the Green Anole is important because it eats large insects, which means moths, crickets palmetto bugs, slugs and a entire host of things I don’t necessarily want messing with the crops. Which in turn means less chemical controls are needed; not that I use many of those anyway. That aside seeing them proves that my efforts are providing an environment in which they can function and I can continue onward doing what I do anyway.

This individual was about 6" long and about as thick as a pencil.

Close up of the head of the snake, as you can see the head is angled making it easier to burrow.

The next critter in the list is this guy. Some of you may be thinking ‘God it’s a snake kill it!’ first off put the shovel down, not every snake is venomous. This is a Eastern Worm Snake they don’t get any longer then 11 inches on average with the largest noted being 13 inches. The key here is that they are NOT venomous in fact they lack fangs because their primary prey is exclusively invertebrates. Their name both comes from their tiny size which often is comparable to that of a particularly large worm, often their coloration bay be brown or grey. What makes these guys important is that their presence indicates there are plenty of invertebrate organisms living in the soil, and they are present to keep the numbers in check. The noted prey of this particular species includes slugs, snails, grubs, caterpillars, other soft-bodied insect larvae and of course worms. Because worm snakes prefer to be near rotting logs it is possible they also eat termites. Considering this particular snake is adept at digging as its reduced and pointed head suggests, it may play some role in aerating the soil. Chances are you may have these guys in your yard but may never see them, for some that is just as well.

This small slow-growing cactus is noted for its fragile stem-joints. These two cuttings are about six months old but the one on the upper right has doubled in that time probably due to soil fertility.  I barely water these and keep them in full sun.

The mammilaria cactus  as a whole are best known by their common name, Nipple Cactus. The name stems from the usual round shape of the stems when seen from above and the rings of blooms which make the cactus roughly resemble an areola when seen from the top down. I think we all know from the name of this group what classical agronomists had on mind while wandering the wilderness. Believe when I say the names only get worse when you delve into the meanings of horticultural names.

That aside, Thimble cacti are typically small, they form short branches that are roughly shaped like a thimble. This cactus is easily propagated from its small easily separated branches. Though like most cactus you must be patient with new cuttings as they take some time to form roots.  Overall the thimble cactus requires cactus soil or standard potting mix, in the case of the latter you must remember to water very sparingly. Like all cactus, thimble cactus require very little water and definitely do not like having wet foliage or extended periods of wet soil. What makes thimble cactus desirable for gifts is their lack of dangerous spines, while the thimble cacti do have a coating of curved spines it takes some special effort to come into contact with the glochids or to lodge one of the primary spines in the skin.

The real gift-able feature of these cacti is their potential for use in living sculptures. When used in a role similar to bonsai, with colored gravel and assorted miniature statues the thimble cactus transforms into an interesting living accent. The whitish colored spines on the thimble cactus can be used to contrast with a dark pot or dark colored sand or gravel to make the plant especially striking. If paired with more angular or darker foliage house plants in a single pot the effect can make for quite a nice miniature garden. Also when added into a small miniature glass conservatory it makes a nice companion to other slow growing cacti.

I often use this plant as a metaphor for understanding and tolerance. If you look closely that somewhat Z shaped ridge in the middle of the plant was the original growth, it used to be a straight line, over time this cactus will contort in odd ways.

This is a monstrose form cactus. The term monstrose essentially means mutated or warped.  called ‘Caterpilar’, it was bought roughly 2005 from Home Despot on loan as a part of the Cactus exhibition for VanVleck House and Gardens. This very slow growing cactus is now pushing its seven year in my care and is the only outright prickly cactus in the collection. As for that metaphor, I often use the cactus to emphasize tolerance and understanding because what is more misunderstood then a prickly cactus? In this case the warped lumpy shape plus the spines tends to add to the point of what is being said.

As for how I use it to represent tolerance and understanding as you can see in the picture other plants have colonized the pot. There is a bunch of dragon cactus, and that brown curved thing at the top of the picture is a Million bells petunia plant. The three plants live in the same pot with no problems. During the spring and summer the million bells grows out and covers one entire side of the pot in foliage and bright pink blooms. Typically I aim the million bells side at someone and ask for their first impression, then after turn the cactus side towards them and ask the same question. Often they won’t even look at the cactus closely, which demonstrates a lack of tolerance because all they can see are the spines. Yet if you look closely you can see that it in shape resembles coral, or some kind of brain-like organ, the adjectives are endless. But the point made is that, how can one expect to be tolerant and understanding they are not willing to look past what they see from afar instead of looking closer and examining the situation?

For gift ideas this is a plant you give to someone fascinated with arid climates and desert regions. Also if you know a horticulture-inclined person who wants a unique plant this may be it. What really makes this a good gift plant, is that it grows slowly needs little in the way of care and can be put outdoors in for the summer. Appearance wise it is a very unique and in a dish shaped pot with attractive gravel, pebbles or sand it can make for an interesting centerpiece.  This is a unique gift that requires some thought and planning as well as knowing that this cactus will develop into a more interesting specimen over time.  When I bought this plant it formed a singular crest, but over the years it’s developed the lobes lumps and numerous crests you see in the picture. Who knows what it’ll look like in another seven or so years?

This wraps up another episode of lost in the farmer’s market, I hope the plant ideas and the thoughts on biodiversity help to get your ideas flowing not only for the holidays but also for the coming growing year. Thank you for reading, and as always Keep ‘em Growing!