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.

I think the thermostat is broken

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, and wow June has been a test of everyone’s patience hasn’t it? It’s been super-hot and then not so much, we’ve had Thunder storms, thundershowers and flooding. Then there’s the weirdo pollen problems, I swear August is going to be absolute hell, and to think certain people still deny climate change. Well anyway today’s blog post is all about the garden photographs and what’s going on in the test gardens so be prepared for a lot of images folks.

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Castor Bean

 

That’s right folks this is one of those giant castor beans I was selling at the market. I kept one for planting in the gardens and here it is. In just two weeks after it’s planting its newest leaves are already a foot in diameter. When I joke about this plant being really good at drawing attention away from other things it’s not a joke it’s more or less an observation of fact. I will post a monthly photograph to show how big these things really can get so all you gardeners out there can really see what those not-so-tiny seedlings are capable of.

 

Solanum x burbankii - Wonderberry

 

Some of my customers at the market looked at the Wonderberries with a bit of doubt, which is understandable; they do look a lot like a certain weed. But then Wonderberries are very close to their genetic origins and as such they have not been as genetically homogenized as things like their cousin, the Better Boy Tomato. Even if you bought these with no intention of eating the purplish-black berries the plants still are interesting to look at and certainly will get you answering all kinds of questions. Take a peek at my post from last month to see how much growth has happened with this plant in just three weeks.

Nicotina alata ‘Seratoga Purple Bicolor’, ‘Seratoga Rose’ – Flowering Tobacco

Some folks seemed confused by the idea of growing tobacco just for the flowers, but some could not tell the difference between the purple and rose types. Purple is on the left and has a faded ‘face’ while Rose is on the right and is a pink-rose color throughout the bloom.

 

Hemerocallis sp. - Daylilies

It’s sort of a tradition to post pictures of the day lilies when they bloom and these are my assorted mix, there are some tawny day lilies int here and a bunch of other assorted types and colors.

 

Physalis sp. – Ground cherry

It’s impossible to know what specific variety this volunteer is, it could be the Cossack Pineapple, it could be Cape Gooseberries, it could be the new seed I bought at the beginning of the year. All I know is it volunteered in the same pot as my Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) and I’m ok with that.

 

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ – Coneflower

The crazy reddish-pink coneflowers are still going, they seem to like their spot but that garden bed could use a weeding. Remember folks, roses and coneflowers do make good company.

 

Hemerocallis sp. ‘Gentle Shepherd’ – Day lilies

Originally slated as a fill in for the Memorial bed, and then used in a curbside bed and then transplanted into the Compass bed in 2017, these plants sure get around. They’re bigger and healthier than ever.

 

Clinopodium vulgare – Wild Basil

For those with a good memory I offered these plants for sale in a prior year. Well as it turns out they are definitely perennial, and they seem to be doing just fine in the test gardens with light maintenance. Yes you can use the leaves in cooking, they impart a flavor that’s a bit like Thyme and Basil combined.

 

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Texas Star’ – Swamp Rose Mallow

Does anyone remember how I tell that story about that one neighbor I used to have who mistook a plant in my front yard for Marijuana? Well this is that plant, it’s a hibiscus, but until the flowers bloom it really does look like a recreational herbal substance.

 

Opuntia ellisiana – Spineless Prickly Pear

While the flowers do not last long, boy are they a sight to behold!Prickly Pear is a true cactus and Cactus blossoms are worth all the troubles that cacti can give you when the plants are not in bloom.

 

Capsicum chinense x frutiscens ‘Fayetteville Inferno’ – Fayetteville Inferno

There she is, pushing four of five years old, the oldest and biggest of the pepper plants I grow at the test gardens, she’s taller than she’s ever been and gets special treatment. You see Peppers are short-lived perennials, and to get one to live more than three years in cultivation is a bit uncommon. This pepper is at least four years old and I’m hoping for a fifth growing year. Why all the fuss? This is the only Fayetteville Inferno Pepper plant in existence anywhere. I’m harvesting seed and taking cuttings this year just to keep the line going.

 

Brassica oleracea medullosa – Marrowstem Kale

Marrowstem Kale was an oddball seed purchase based on the name. I mean a kale that doesn’t get woody or stringy stems where you can eat almost the entire thing? What is not to like about that level of efficientcy? What no one mentioned was that these Kales can bet massive, like on the scale of how big a properly grown Collard or Cabbage-Collard Plant can get. The specimen pictured has leaves that are a foot long and it’s stem is 1” in diameter. Despite its sinewy looking main stem it seems to be doing just fine, even cabbage moth damage doesn’t seem to be slowing it down. This has got to be some kind of a growing record, and now I’ve found it has a specific scientific name that diverges from the names of all other Kales.

Here's some info on the plant:

https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Brassica+oleracea+medullosa

 

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.

 

Summer Veggies: ($3.00 each)

Pepper, Sweet Banana, Poblano/Ancho, Habanero, Golden Bell, Ghost ($4.00)

African Runner Peanuts (Almost Gone!)

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Basil, Emerald Tower, Dolche Fresca, Rutgers DMR Devotion

Cervesa & Lime Cuban Oregano

Oregano

Thyme

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 Twelfth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on or around the 25^th of June. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.