Critters On Parade

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, and boy do we have an episode for you. As we all know there’s a bit of a heatwave and somewhat of a dry spell going on. If we’re lucky the upcoming storms will put down enough rain to alleviate some of that and maybe take the heat and humidity down a peg. As with any weather prognostication for rain I will believe it when I see it. In the meanwhile I’m irrigating the test gardens as best I can and in the process snapping photographs of whatever happens to catch my attention which brings us to today’s post which is just a few days late. There are a lot of critters on display this time so grab a seat and maybe some popcorn and check out the summer menagerie.

This is my first go at pickling using a fast mixture and some added seasonings in the form of cloves and ancho peppers. Two gallons of kosher dill-clove-pepper goodness!

Scolia nobilitata – Scolid Wasp

Scolid wasps at a glance can be mistaken for small bees, but they are a fairly docile and are attracted to blooming mint. You can usually tell a wasp from a bee by looking at one feature; bees from a dorsal view point tend to have a nearly circular ‘hump’ on the thorax, they also tend to have a fair amount of fuzz.

 

Here is additional information about these beneficial wasps:

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/wasps/scoliid_wasps.htm

 

 

 

Pantala flavescens – Wandering Glider

 

I get a lot of dragonflies in the garden but few sit still long enough for me to photograph, this one cooperated and sat so still I wasn’t sure it was alive. A gentle poke proved that it was quite alive.

 

Here is an informative link covering these Dragonflies in more detail:

https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Wandering-Glider-Dragonfly

 

 

Manduca sexta – Tobacco Horn Worm

 

Tobacco hornworms are kind of the price you pay for growing tomatoes and other nightshades, but also evening scented flowers. Tomato Hornworms look different and are from a different type of moth

 

Here is an informative link covering these critters in more detail:

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/tobacco_hornworm.htm

 

Vaccinium virgatum – Rabbiteye Blueberry fruit

 

Yeah blueberry season is in full swing right now and this was the result of a recent harvest from just four bushes.

 

 

Caliente the Cat inspects some blueberries, shortly after this picture was taken she made a face, stuck out her tongue like the berries were disgusting and wandered off.

 

 

First she drinks out of the birdbath like a weirdo and now she’s laying in the driveway like that… I think ‘Felis catus.exe’ has stopped working

 

 

Lasioglossum species – Sweat Bee

It is kind of a miracle I got this shot at all with the camera in my phone. These little bees are loving the Thai Mint flowers alongside the Scolid Wasps. Mint attracts so many interesting pollinators it’s amazing to me that few know of it’s critical role in garden ecology and biodiversity.

 

 

 

Solanum x burbankii  – Wonderberry 

 

I thought a close up for the fruit of Wonderberry was in order. These dark purple-black fruits are fairly small but when they ripen you often will pick them by the dozens. The down side is that they are kind of delicate and will burst if you apply too much pressure while picking. I find it most effective to gently pull them free with the pointer finger and thumb then let them roll across your palm into a cup.

 

 

Leptroclossus phyllopus – Eastern Leaf Footed Bug

While technically considered a agricultural nuisance, I am not a fan of these things. They squirt projectile poop (gross!), and they use their sucking mouth parts to piece plants and fruits to suck out sap. If an infestation is bad enough they can damage your crops. A simple insecticidal soap or a pyrethrum based insecticide can knock down their populations.

 

Here is more info:

https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Eastern-Leaf-Footed-Bug

 

 

Hyla cinerea – Green Tree Frog

I come across a few of these little frogs every year. Their continued presence tells me that I’m handling the biodiversity aspects of the garden just right. Frogs and toads are essential to biodiversity and are beneficial as they eat a lot of insects that might otherwise cause me trouble. Sometimes when we have a stretch of dry weather they will take refuge between my plant pots on the grow trays because it’s dark and moist.

 

 

Stagomantis carolina – Carolina Mantis

            This is likely a female and is quite young. It was perhaps an inch or two long and I did not see evidence of the large wings you’d see on a male of the species. Since it was hanging out in a boxwood which is pretty solid green it’s got camouflage to fit in

 

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

Talking about Tarragon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A9p00q9TrY

 

Feeling the Burn with peppers:

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

 

Savoring the Savory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MwHx6aevNk

 

Horehound; not the way your dog had puppies!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q03PW2pI9bk&t=6s

 

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, Half-pound ($4.00)

Blueberries, Pound ($6.00)

Blueberries, Two –Pounds ($10.00)

 

Summer Veggies:

Pepper: Habanero, Golden Bell, Ghost ($3.00 each or 2 for 5)

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

Pepper, 5” pot: Habanero, Sweet Banana, Ghost ($4.00)

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

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

Cervesa & Lime Cuban Oregano

Oregano

Thyme

Shiso, Green 6” pot ($5.00)

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Cotton, Erlene's Green ($3.00 each or 2 for 5)

Flowering Tobacco 'Saratoga Purple', 'Saratoga Rose' ($3.00 each or 2 for 5)

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

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'

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

Milkweed, Milkmaid White ($4.00)

 

 

Coming Soon:

Comfrey (Herb, late summer)

 

 

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 fifteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on or around the 30^th of July. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

Apparently it rains everywhere else but the test gardens...

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. Today we are going to forgo the loose garden photo format to talk a bit about the events of the garden tour last week. Some of you could not make it to see the sights and pose your questions so I thought it would be a good idea to post the most frequently asked questions so that until the next Sustainable Neighbors garden tour in October you could at least get some of what you wanted to know answered. You can bet there will be garden photos but they’re last in line and come before the market listings. So without further delay I’m happy to present the most frequently asked questions regarding the test gardens.

1. “What are the Test Gardens? 

The test gardens are an extended study of the feasibility, productivity and economic viability of organic gardening and agricultural practices for use in urban or semi-urban environments that can be expanded for use in rural environments with limited space. To put that more simply the idea is to see if organic growing can work in places with limited space for the least amount of cost and the most productivity. Thus far there have been several versions of the test garden over the years with the smallest being the original fire escape garden and the largest being the current version in Fayetteville.

My vision for the test gardens is to use it as a functional example and template for others to see how it can be done and foment their own ideas and implement their own plans for urban agriculture and sustainable organic practices.

2. “How big are the Test Gardens?

The overall area of the property is a half –acre. From an inner-city perspective this is a lot of area, and from a rural angle it’s tiny. However as I’ve said before the front half of the property looks perfectly normal and suburban while the rear of the property is where the sustainable activity tends to be. Officially speaking there is a little over a thousand square feet of cultivated area, out of which approximately 1177.83 square feet are used to grow food crops in raised beds. In addition to the ‘in-ground’ beds, there is a large number of potted crops growing as well. As of  this writing of this article, the container garden section of the test gardens includes, two 10.5” buckets, twenty-five 3-gallon nursery pots, four 6.5” pots, six 7.75” pots, two 7.5” pots, six 12” pots, one 15” fabric pot and a single 13” pot. This adds up to a grand total of 62.47 square feet of additional growing area.

I’d say it’s not bad for a study in sustainability to be able to produce food with 1240.3 square feet of growing area. For fair reference, 1240.3 square feet is about 2.8% of an acreor in short…. If I had a farm sibsity like most farmers do my cost per pound of food would be equal or less than what you pay at the supermarket even with labor added in.

3. “Is it worth it? /How much do you really produce?”

In the case of the first part of the question the answer is an undoubting yes. Like any other project there are moments of doubt and so on in regards to if the message is being understood and if the things under trial will work. In the end however it is utterly worth it when I hear gardeners out there are trying their first attempts at a new idea or are trying some of what the test gardens are currently doing. To answer the second question we produce more than you might think. Armed with a kitchen produce scale I started weighing the literal fruits of the test garden’s labors in 2009. So far the following yearly information has come from the study of productivity.

2009 – Negligible

2010 – 25.25 pounds (first year of aggressive soil enrichment)

2011 – 111.55 pounds

2012 –  71.03 pounds (Drought and whitefly infestation caused crop losses)

2013 – 54.04 pounds (prolonged rain season caused summer crop losses)

2014 – 2.96 pounds (this total is in progress, a bad winter killed most of the winter crops.)

4. “I live in an Apartment/Condo, how can I garden?”

That should not be a problem, as you can see with the above area information, the test gardens incorporate 46 container crops as of this writing and I fully expect that to be fifty or more in the coming days. But if you do not have the space for big 14” or larger diameter containers there is the option of window boxes or herbs grown in smaller pots to sate your inner gardener. In fact some of the pots in the test gardens are in the 6” diameter range and ornamental potted plants often can make due with 4-6” diameter pots.

There is also a wide range of edible house plants such as Okinawa spinach or even the medicinal house plants such as the aloe family to fit your need. Space is honestly the least of your worries.

5. “What about this ‘Organic’ stuff I hear it’s a hoax!”

That’s both true and false. On one had you have major corporations that want to slap the term organic on things whether they actually are organic as per standards outlined by groups such as the Oregon Tithe or are “organic” because some corporate entity says so. On the other hand you have the lawyers who are paid to create intentionally ambiguous and confusing language to make identification of truly organic materials harder. Somewhere in the middle is the consumer who half the time cannot even get a real honest answer from the other two and has to rely on interpersonal networks and their good judgment. 

The concept of growing organic crops or raising live stock in an organic fashion is not a hoax any more then rain catchment systems are a fraud. In fact it is a very legitimate means to increase the longevity the land. Whether you agree or not the land itself is alive, every single blade of grass is covered in organisms, and the same can be said for every speck of dirt. Although it has not been studied in a multi-decade long study to determine side effects of agricultural chemical pollution there is some short term and median information to suggest that practices such as mono-cropping, GMO crop proliferation and mass application of pesticide and insecticides is not positive. But for you at the very least, if you grow your crops organically, you know that they have no funny business going on. Keep in mind the average head of lettuce travels at least a few hundred to a few thousand miles to get to you there is no telling what happened before during or just before you bought it. The head of lettuce growing outside in your back yard? You can be sure you know what went on there. And that is the point, organic growing practices are food security.

6. “What is the point?! [Insert reason not to garden]”

I do get this sort of question every so often, typically it’s worded in a confrontational way and as always I answer it anyway. The reason I encourage urban farming, sustainability and gardening in general is that it’s flat out good for you. The act of gardening is formally recognized as exercise, more so whatever you grow has a positive effect on your outlook. Consider how rewarding it is to see that tiny seed go from a crusty dry thing to a gorgeous adult plant over a period of weeks or years. Some will say negative things about the bugs, or chemicals in the rain or jet contrails making it cloudy or whatever and you know what? I keep on gardening because in the end, anyone who opens with a negative assessment telling you not even to try has their own problems that need work, not you. The best part is that as they try and dissuade you from gardening, you can drown them out with the crunch of that salad composed of lettuce, spinach, amaranth, tomatoes and cucumbers that you grew on premises and smile knowing that you’ve just proved the doubters wrong.

So those are the six most common questions I get both on garden tours and at the farmer’s market table. I got a little wordy with some but that’s just what it takes to explain. We have a brief weekly photo section and then the market information.

Oenothera biennis – Sundrop/ Common Evening Primrose

I’ve talked about it a bit before but here is a night time picture of the evening primroses in bloom at about 8 pm at night. True evening primroses bloom right after dusk to attract moths and some species of pollinators. Despite having very pretty flowers they are not aromatic in a good way. For note this traditional form of primrose is a biennial.

Sanseveria trifaciata – Snake Plant / Mother In law’s Tongue

Now here’s something I’ve yet to see, a snake plant in bloom, um, yeah it’s not quite the prettiest of blooms but as far as these plants being willing to bloom I think the flowers are kind of cool. The sanseveria group rarely bloom and for note in this picture both the birds nest dwarf type and the true tall type are growing in the same pot.

Solanum sp. – Cape Gooseberry or Ground cherry

Yet another member of the ground cherry or gooseberry clan appears as a volunteer. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s some trick at work here, they do not germinate when I sow the seed but will germinate once the seed starting pellet is tossed out in the garden. Maybe I ought just throw about fistfuls of ground cherry seed and see if I get a delicious forest

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ – Black & Blue Sage

Black and blue sage in bloom is something to behold. The humming birds love it and while it has no herbal uses I know of the striking combination of the black stems and electric indigo flowers is enough to throw some extra sparkle to any garden bed.

Rudbeckia maxima – Giant Coneflower

Giant cone flower is a rudbeckia that can get up to six feet tall, and are best pet as the tallest ornamental in a bed for the obvious reason that they get very huge. Much like cut leaf coneflower R. laciniata, giant cone flower is a experience unto its own. They are essentially wild species that the industry has not tampered with so, the giant cone flower is a rudbeckia for part shade while the cut leaf coneflower likes moist stream banks. Bot can be used to expand the range of your garden’s options.

Lampranthus sp – Variegated Ice plant

I know this was on last week’s post, but finally I snapped a photo of the plant with its flowers open. The normal skinny leaf ice plant has bigger flowers but I still like this one the bright pink contrasts nicely with the foliage.

Bufo fowleri – Fowler’s Toad

So after the Wednesday market was rained out I returned home to find this little guy hopping about inside the enclosed patio. I still can’t for the life of me figure how he got in there as he could not have hibernated in a plant, none on the deck had been outside, nor could he have come in under the door, the gap is too small. My nearest guess is this tad burred in under the foundation and got onto the deck through the crawlspace entry but either way this critter had to be put back outside or he’d die. So it took some doing but I finally caught him and placed him in the block bed. Moments later the toad burrowed into the soil doing this crazy spinning move to dig and then unburied himself once night fell. Such is the way things are at the test gardens, critters aplenty. I might add that in the neighborhood of the test gardens there are the toads, and the resident frogs. The frogs are Hyla andersonii or Pine Barrens Tree frog. I photo graphed one of these guys hanging out in the fig bushes last year.

This weekend there is a chance of a thunder shower so I’d advice considering bringing a umbrella. The chances are not high but it is better to be prepared than soaked. For reference the Fayetteville farmer’s market occurs Wednesdays between 2 and 6 pm, and on Saturdays between 9am and 1 pm. The market is located at 325 Franklin Street in the front parking lot of the Fayetteville Transportation museum. I’m now present at both market days so you now have two opportunities per week to hit up the booth for info or plants and let me tell you, flower season is upon us. Some of the rare plants and exotics will be appearing this weekend so get ready for horticultural mayhem. This weekend’s plant list is as follows.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Vegetables

3x Eggplant, Casper , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Eggplant, Louisiana Long Green, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Jalapeno, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Habenero, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Sweet Banana , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Pimento, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Carolina Wonder, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Brown Berry, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Tomato, Cherokee Purple, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Martino’s Roma, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Rainbow Cherry Mix, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Red & Yellow Currant, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Tomato, Reisotomate, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Underground Railroad, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Cucumber, Armenian, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Cucumber, Poona Kheera, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Fruits

6x Strawberry- Ozark Beauty, 3.5” pot ($3.00) (On sale!)

2x Ground Cherry, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Herbs

4x Basil, Sweet, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Basil, Thai, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Basil, Cinnamon, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Basil, Red Rubin, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Chives, Common, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Fennel, Black, 7” pot ($6.00)

1x Lavender, Munstead, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Marjoram

4x Oregano, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Parsley, Italian, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Sage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Thyme, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Ornamental:

2x Passion Vine, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Black Hungarian Pepper

Artemesia

Rosemary

Lavender ‘Hidcote’

Potatoleaf Hillbilly Tomato

Japanese Black Trifele Tomato

Melon, Vine Peach

Melon, Horned

Well this has been a rather long episode hasn’t it, and here we are at its end with the precipitation report. Surprisingly up until the shower on Wednesday we had virtually no noticeable precipitation despite several showers that deposited less than 0.10” of rain. This later rain event was far more generous lasting about a half hour and leaving with an average of 0.375”. a bit over a quarter inch isn’t much but it’s better than the humidity soaked nothing we were getting before.