Grilling Season Opens

[ellyssian]

As a wrap up to an already-event filled yesterday, we hauled the grill out and cooked up some sausages, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Thus, the grilling season has officially begun.

Dinner was served in the backyard.

Deb's hammock was set up, and while I was lounging there after dinner, an eagle - or possibly a very large buteo - circled the skies above me.

To finish off our Earth Day celebration, Justin and I planted a Tiarella wherryi (Wherry's Foamflower - Google image search) down in Bank Island, along the driveway.

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As Earth Day is actually today, we may spend some time putting down some organic fertilizer for the lawn, or perhaps just lounging around in the hammock.

Comments

[d2leddy.livejournal.com]

We have to move the grill from the other house to this one. And clean it. Ugh.

Re: Foamflowers.
I have some at the other house. One of the many items Im pondering leaving/moving. Still have not materialized at your place to purloin oaklings.

P.S. I have ponderings to possibly pronounce about your potential career switch to landscaping.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

For Earth Day we are doing... well, pretty much nothing. :( Our plants haven't arrived, so we can't even do that.

But yay for grilling! J's going to check our propane tanks, and we'll probably grill something in the next week or so. It's perfect weather for it- finally!

[jenjiyana.livejournal.com]

yay grilling season! I wanted to ask you, do have any recommedations for organic pest control in the garden?

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Why, yes, I do!

What kind of pests, exactly, are we dealing with?

oops

[jenjiyana.livejournal.com]

err i dont know. We havent actually gotten out there yet. We are going to start rototilling (i think that's it) this weekend. I probably should read a book or a magazine on gardening I suppose. I will get back to you on that.

Re: oops

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Heh.

Some advice in advance: don't do anything at first.

Stay away from broad-spectrum products - they take out the good bugs along with the bed. Net result: more bad bugs, because nobody's there to eat them up.

Encourage ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantis, assassin/wheel bugs, and soldier bugs. They eat the stuff that eats what you plant, and whole squadrons of them should be on every garderner's payroll.

When something does start eating what you plant, get a positive ID first. Find out what eats it, and see if you can coax some to come and dine - provided they don't also eat what you plant.

Because you intend on eating some of what you plant, make sure whatever you spray isn't going to take you out as well - which is already a path you're on by asking about organic pesticides. Even more than pesticides that contain only organic materials, you want to make sure you use products that are approved for use on organic foods.

If a garden is healthy, and doesn't get liberal doses of fertilizers and pesticides and othericides, and does get the right amount of sun and water and good naturally composted soil, the plants themselves - and their good bug buddies - will thwack the bad bugs before they get a foothold.

This doesn't mean you'll be bad bug free, but that they will be kept in check and won't do drastic damage.

Re: oops

[jenjiyana.livejournal.com]

ok thanks. Im going to look up composting :)