Computers are wonderful, until they are not.

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, A This post is late by a week. Unfortunately the computer I normally use to write these posts and edit the phots for these blog posts and for the youtube channel is currently out of order. It seems the CPU has gone and I need to find another one. In all honestly I might have to upgrade the motherboard and CPU so I don’t have to keep hunting for parts that are getting a bit scarce. AM3 central processing units aren’t exactly new technology and they’re becoming harder to find in any reasonably quality condition. But thankfully I’ve jerry-rigged a solution to the slight delay and today, although late I have a blog post for you with a ton of garden photographs and info so stay tuned for what is to come.

 

 

Here we have a volunteer Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) climbing up a bamboo stake. There are two types of cucumbers that are used in the garden, Bush type and Vine type. The cucumber pictured is a vining type which will climb up just about anything. The bush type has shorter stem internodes and still climbs but doesn’t get as big. Typically varieties like ‘Space master’ are bush type and they’re the best option or containers or limited spaces. They produce cukes as big as the vining types but are better for those who don’t know how the cukes do.  Way back in the mid 2000’s ‘Space master’ was the variety I experimented with to good success.

 

 

This pretty flower which looks a bit spindly is Thin-Leaved Coneflower ‘Prairie Glow’ (Rudbeckia triloba). It took a few years to really get it going but these flowers are totally worth it. For anyone who’s read this blog a while you know I have a bias towards coneflowers in general because they are native flowers that are pretty sturdy and reliable. The downside to this type of rudbeckia is that the rabbits seem to like eating it’s foliage a bit much. Thankfully their eating of it stopped once Caliente the cat showed up.

 

 

Three years later and in consideration for transplanting this Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus sp.) has bloomed. In our climate these hardy perennials can form dense clumps that resist the intrusion of weeds nicely.

 

 

Toad lilies (Tricyrtis formosana ‘Gilt Edge’) have been a long time perennial favorite of mine because they are evergreen in zone 8a and their flowers and foliage resembles Orchids minus all the special care and fuss. The best part is that these beauties spread by stolons so eventually I can give out clumps to friends and they are not invasive.

 

 

 

Four o Clocks (Miribilis japapa ‘Broken Colors’) are an old-time garden perennial that I have a special affinity for. They are named because their flowers never open before four pm, and they are the most well-known member of their family. They are considered a tender perennial in zones 7-10, and can form large tuberous roots that resemble rutabagas over time. Their large seeds are easily collected too so it’s easy enough to pass seeds onto neighbors and friends.

 

 

 

More Four O’clocks here, did you know they are also called ‘Marvel-of-Peru? They can have a sweet scent, and are actually native to the Americas. In the background of this picture are the papery seed husks from Silver dollar plant (Lunaria annua).

 

 

 

Inevitably when you have a garden you attract things. This kitten was found taking a nap in the driveway and was super friendly. Unfortunately Caliente wasn’t too kind about having competition for being fluffy and I had to take this kitten to Cumberland County Animal Control hopefully to be adopted by someone soon. Unfortunately FAPS said they were full and could not take her so CCAC was the best option.

 

 

 

Ah, remember that small Castor Bean (Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’)? Well this is how big it is now, there is no doubt those leaves are about the size of a pizza pie pan. Lets see how big it gets before the end of the year!

 

 

 

Now here is a life and death moment on the leaf of an Evening-Scented Flowering Tobacco Plant (Nicotiana syvestris). This spider is a Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) and it is eating what appears to be a Cicada killer (Sphecius speciosus) of some sort. Green Lynx Spiders are numerous in any given garden setting and due to their unique color they are rarely noticed. They pose no threat to humans so it’s best to just observe and leave them alone.

 

 

 

This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus). I get several of these large butterflies in the garden every year; though this is the first time one has stopped to feed on the mint blossoms. I suspect this is a female due to the enlarged abdomen. Typically these butterflies will seek out a member of the Parsley/Carrot family to lay their eggs on. The Resulting caterpillars are those cool looking black and yellow striped ones with the little orange 'antlers' that they poke you with when you disturb them.

 

 

 

While this picture isn’t ideal for identification, this Mantis is probably a Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis). Chinese Mantises were accidentally introduced in 1896 in Mt. Aity Pennsylvania. While they do eat a lot of pest insects they also eat just about anything they can catch which makes them a threat to native insect populations including the Carolina Mantis (Stagomantis Carolina) and the European Mantis (Mantis religeosa). I do not think they are declared an invasive species yet, but they are hard to miss as they are the largest species in the USA as they can get up to five inches long.

 

 

 

Here we have the literal fruit of my labor, three differing types of Fig (Ficus carica). The big green ones are White Ishia, the tan ones in the lower half of the container on the right are Chicago Hardy, and the darker brown figs at the top of the container on the right are Celeste. The scientific humor here is that figs are technically not a fruit, they are called a Syconium. A Syconium is essentially a flower turned inside out, the actual sex bits are those strange filaments inside the fig. Normally a small fig wasp (Agaonidae sp.) does the pollinating. I only know for sure of one species of commercially available Fig that probably has wasp bits in the 'fruit' and that's Calimyrna. Thankfully, Black Mission, Brown Turkey, White Ishcia, Chicago Hardy, Magnolia, Celeste, produce fruit through parthenogenesis. Basically they had a genetic glitch somewhere that made them produce edible fruit without the need for pollination. In short a literal virgin 'birth', and so they were the types that were proliferated by humans because without the need for a wasp, they could go wherever the wasps were not and provide food in exchange for better care. So for all you vegans out there sweating if eating figs breaks your lifestyle and diet, most commercial and homegrown figs are safe.

 

 

At last, we have the Botanical Test Garden’s Mascot Caliente the Cat assaulting some weeds. Really those weeds had it coming for growing so aggressively!

 

 

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

Yucca: Still gonna git you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVo38cxaSkM

 

Ruellia; Ruellia DeVille….wasn’t she in that movie about the dogs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aImcuHhW5Wo

 

Coleus; Not Coal Industry Approved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cB91RjUVAg

 

 

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 fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, 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.

 

 

It's Tomato and Cuke Season!

 

 

Fresh Food:

Figs, 1 Pound ($8.00)

Tomatoes: 2 for $1.00

Cucumbers: 2 for $1.00

 

Summer Veggies:

Pepper, 6” pot: Scotch Bonnet ($5.00), Cayenne ($5.00)

Pepper, 5” pot: Assorted ($4.00)

 

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Basil, Emerald Tower, Dolche Fresca, Rutgers DMR Devotion ($3.00 each or 2 for 5)

Comfrey ($4.00)

Oregano

Thyme

 

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Marigold 'Antigua Yellow', 'Durango Red', 'Tangerine', 'Hero Bee' ($3.00 each or 2 for 5)

Coneflower, ‘Artisan Soft Orange’, ‘Artisan Ombre Red’ ($4.00)

 

 

Coming Soon:

Milkweed, Milkmaid White ($4.00, more available soon)

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

 

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

https://nextdoor.com/g/ybvdm226x/?is=nav_bar

 

 

Meetings are back on track folks! We now meet at LeClairs General Store on the First and third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on August 5th between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.

 

 

If the two above methods do not work you can always contact me through this blog, PM me through Nextdoor.com and or visit the Fayetteville City Market. This brings to a close the sixteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on or around the 13th of August. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

OK forget the thermostat, who turned on the sauna?

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, we hope your garden endeavors are working out just as you planned them. There is a slight change in schedule regarding posts to this blog and posts on the youtube channel. It was found that producing the videos and the blog posts at the same time proved too often be a but heavy on time consumption. So posts up here on the blog will be every other week as planned but we moved over a week. Videos will alternate in the same way on the non-blog post weeks keeping conflict between the posts at a minimum. So for today we have another set of garden photos showing our progress in this strange summer.

Coleus amboinicus – Cuban Oregano, this is the Cervesa and Lime variety which was the first Cuban Oregano I was ever introduced to. It has a more citrus-twang to its flavor. This specimen is the mother plant from which all the cuttings sold at the market came from, she’s in a 10 or 15 gallon nursery pot which was an upgrade from a 14” pot. Cuban Oregano used to be known as Plectranthus amboinicus.

 

Coleus amboinicus – Cuban Oregano, this is a variety with a larger leaf and cream to white colored variegations. These plants can get huge over the course of a summer and have the expected basil-oregano sort of scent and flavor.

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Zanzibar Castor Bean. This giant castor bean can get up to twelve feet tall in a single warm growing season, it is not frost hardy. Thankfully one plant will produce a fair number of large easily processed seed to grow in later years. Folks at the market doubted the size and capabilities of this tropical looking annual, but this one just keeps getting bigger.

 

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Zanzibar Castor Bean. This is proof that my claim that the leaves can grow large enough to have a diameter similar to pizza pie pans. This leaf is at least twenty-two inches in diameter but in reality if it were to lie perfectly flat might be two feet in diameter. They will get bigger, this is just the beginning.

 

 

Ricinus communis ‘Impala’ – Impala Castor Bean. At the market while selling Castorbean Plants I often get asked what the flowers look like and the descriptions are certainly entertaining. It’s hard to really describe the flowers but this picture illustrates it easily. The flowers are the little pink and white things lower on the stalk. The spiky pink balls are the seed pods, thankfully the spikes look more dangerous than they actually are. These castor beans volunteered from seed that survived in the garden soil somehow, it might be that they are more cold hardy than your normal Impala types.

 

 

Abelmoschus esculentus ‘Jing Orange’ – Jing Orange Okra.  Strangely enough they aren’t very orange, but I am still happy with the red coloration. These have become a replacement for Red Burgundy Okra in the garden and seem to be more vigorous and productive. The pods are still tender at 3-5 inches in length and I’ve been slicing them and freezing them for later use in succotash or gumbo.

 

Nicotiana sylvestris – Evening Scented Flowering Tobacco. I sold these at the market last year and from seed they have volunteered in the garden in a few places and really I am not all that upset about this. The scent at night is nice and the long tube flowers stand out in comparison to the other flowering tobacco plants in the garden this year.

 

 

 Brassica oleracea var. medullosa – Marrowstem Kale. Just when I thought this plant could not do any more to amaze me, it said ‘hold my fertilizer’. The stem is even thicker and according to a caliper measurement it’s two inches thick which if this keeps up I think it’s trying to be a Kohlrabi. I’ll keep you all up to date on how this cold season specimen plant develops.

 

 

Echinacea purpurea ‘Purple Magnus’ – Purple Magnus Coneflower. It wouldn’t be a LITFM post without a coneflower and these purple magnus coneflowers are looking really good. Asters bring in the pollinators and on a sunny day there are tons of things hitting up these perennials for the nectar and the pollen.

 

Lastly, here is the Blueberry harvest, seriously thats a LOT of berries.

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

All about wonderberries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhyIqdE0sn0

 

The science of how Thunderstorms apply nitrogen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA-rXvazNPs

 

The origins and uses of Tomatoes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yEPZEFMlcw

 

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.

 

Fresh Food:

Blueberries, Pint ($4.00)

Figs, 1lb ($8.00)

 

Summer Veggies: ($3.00 each)

Pepper: Habanero, Golden Bell, Ghost ($4.00)

Pepper, 6” pot: Scotch Bonnet ($5.00), Cayenne ($5.00)

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Basil, Emerald Tower, Dolche Fresca, Rutgers DMR Devotion

Cervesa & Lime Cuban Oregano

Oregano

Thyme

Shiso, Green 6” pot ($5.00)

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Cotton, Erlene's Green (Limited Quantity)

Flowering Tobacco 'Saratoga Purple', 'Saratoga Rose'

Marigold 'Antigua Yellow', 'Durango Red',  'Tangerine',  'Hero Bee'

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'

 

Coming Soon:

Comfrey (Herb, late summer)

We have a new place to share information and work on groovy sustainable stuff!  You can look for Sustainable Neighbors in our own Nextdoor.com group under the name “Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville”. You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join but it is a private group so feel free to request to join us if you are signed up on the Nextdoor.com site.

 

https://nextdoor.com/g/ybvdm226x/?is=nav_bar

 

Unfortunately, Covid-19 is still mucking up the works in terms of meeting in person. The good news is that Sustainable Neighbors does have a Discord Server. You can request access through our Meetup.com page or you can request access via our Nextdoor.com group. The meetup.com page is below for anyone looking to join us.

 

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

 

Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to buy anything or maintain any sort of attendance standard, you can come on in and join the meetings. When this Covid-19 mess calms down we may be able to resume normal in-person meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market. This brings to a close the thirteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on or around the 16^th of July. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.