flyfisher51's Blog

July 2008
Jul 12, 2008 | 9:52 PM PST
Tag: July 13th

Busy week and weekend.  There has been little time to work on the garden. I need to weed the side garden.  The weeds are blending in with the flowers and it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.  I think I have some Convolvulus returning from last year. I also have some Morning Glory that is returning for the third year. It is snaking its way through the other plants.

The Morning glory I planted on the small wire trellis and push mower is doing well, but without flowers.  The same can be said for the ones on the hop trellis.

The Yellow Poppies are producing their first batch of seeds. I may gather these before they pop to plant in another part of the garden. The area they grow in seems to be shrinking. I started the side garden with one of those wildflower mixes from Walmart.  That was about 6 years ago. They came with that box and are all that is left of that first group. The second year they came up I almost pulled them all out early in the season thinking they were weeds.

I moved my Rosemary and Oregano that I had from last year into larger pots on Monday night. I moved the Hot and Spicy Oregano and Greek Oregano I bought two weeks ago into new pots.

The Lavender looks distressed. I think it may not need the same amount of water I am giving the other herbs. My mint doesn’t seem to be spreading outward as advertised. It is getting taller.

The Hops are starting to flower. I have read many places not to expect a lot the first year.  I also read that you get one ounce from 8 flowers. I’m looking at several hundred flowers per plant. If they all mature I will not have to buy hops for my American Pale Ale. I will only need to purchase some Fuggle Hops for my Oatmeal Stout and Saaz Hops for my Belgian White Beer. I am growing Northern Brewer hops that I use in the APA and Stout and Cascade hops that I use in the APA. It will also allow me enough to make the Hop Pillows I have been threatening my Wife with. This is a classic battle of the household. I love the smell of Hops and she doesn’t. I might even make some medicinal Hop Tea. Of course I am making all these plans and my Hop Flowers are not even a full 1/8” in diameter.

Speaking of beer, I brewed my last batch of American Pale until October. I normally would not brew this late but my Daughter bought me a gift certificate to the brewshop.  The batch I brewed three weeks ago is ready to be bottled. I’ll do that Monday night.

The rabbit won’t be bothering the Coneflowers in the Hop Garden for a while. He ate them all before I could spray them. I should have sprayed them before writing about it. I have the Deer and “RABBIT” spray in the shed, about 30’ from the trellis.

My Zucchini still is without fruit. I may have my revenge yet. A friend is going to give me a recipe for battered Zucchini flowers. I have a boatload of flowers. The winter squash that was growing up the fence has now cleared it. If this is a repeat of two years ago I will be harvesting squash from the Forsythia bush next to the garden this fall.

I am feeding the feathered and furry creatures in the morning before work during the week, and breakfast on weekends. If I feed them late in the day they don’t finish the food and I get the Raccoons in the yard at night. They also use the bird bath so I now replace that water every morning. I don’t dislike raccoons. They have had a tough time in this area the last 20 years with rabies fears where they would be destroyed just for being caught in a trap. It is just they are too large of a wild creature for me to want to attract to my backyard. They are big enough to wreak havoc in a yard and garden. They knocked down the trash can I use for mulching just to check inside. In addition, my garden fence is made of plastic netting. I have not upgraded to wire yet. That’s a project for next year.  I shared my old shed with a raccoon for two years before I had to tear it down. When I needed something from the part of the shed the raccoon was sleeping in it would move to the other side. It never showed anger at me.  I don’t mind them in the yard occasionally; I just don’t want them here every night. So far all they have done is knock down the can, dirty the birdbath, and knock it down a few times. I am also afraid they will scare a neighbor and more traps will be set. This happened last year with my neighbor when one came up on his deck. He was caught and I don’t know his fate. I live real close to a flood plain and we have a load of wild critters in the area. No lions, no tigers, no bears, but we have deer, fox, coyote,  and wild turkey to name a few. I would like to keep them all around without to many clashes.

If you read this far, thank you for being interested and everyone have a good week.