Garden circa 2007

A couple of my favorite things about Gardening this year. First of all I had help from the
progeny and spouse that was lacking in previous years. One of the things I like about gardening is that I learned to look at it as one of the earliest commandments: Go and tend this garden. There are lots of ways to apply this in your life but I believe that none of the possible applications is better than the first. There are lessons of sowing and reaping that come no better than from the first lesson.

Secondly I love that I caught this praying mantis hiding in my basil. As much as I hate the pests of humid climates like Virginia I love the natural predators that come to feast on them. Can we just agree to call them "preying" mantids? As for this one I wish her all the fecundity possible.

Side Note: Insect Picture of the Day will likely have larger versions of this photo soon. I am not sure how I will handle the fame.





Thirdly, this is why I hate the pests of Virginia. After three years of gardening this is the first pumpkin we have had survive the ravages of squash borers long enough to mature. THE. FIRST. ONE. I hate squash borers. We can't grow a decent pumpkin, cucumber, or even zucchini thanks to them. The joke in Utah is that the reason you lock your car doors is because otherwise the neighbors will leave a bag of zucchini in your car and I can barely manage three or four from one hill.


Fourth, the asparagus is still in its experimental stage in the garden. We have six clumps growing now and I expect to be able to harvest quite a bit next year. I have some doubts about how to proceed though. Do I harvest all I can get for a time and then leave it alone or do I let some stalks grow and harvest others all season? More research required.

Next up: a recap of gardening in 2006