Black Widow Sightings

 Northern Black Widow (source)

Watering in my garden tonight, my eyes were drawn to something moving in the corner.  It was a black widow spider!  I've found several in my yard and this one had a very similar web.  Unfortunately I didn't have anything with me to kill it.

April bone sent me this link about how to handle the spiders.  She killed a black widow last week on a tomato plant.

Be careful when cleaning out your beds.

Pickled Peppers

Have an abundance of peppers? Particularly banana peppers?  Did you know there is a painless preservation method?  It doesn't involve pressure cookers - and you can preserve one pint at a time.  Perfect!

Go here to learn more about pickling banana peppers or here for jalapeno peppers.

Fall Garden

Lots of people have been talking about the possibility of a fall garden.  Here is a chart that I have posted on the inside of my pantry (it was created by an Arkansan extension agent).

The inside of the wheel is the first of the month, the outer would be the end of the month.

Because it is a bit difficult to read, I've listed below what you can plant.

August
basil  (first of the month)
lettuce
mustard greens
kale
carrots
parsnips
chinese cabbage
beets
broccoli
cauliflower
collards
cucumber
cabbage
southern peas
snap beans
spinach (at the end of the month)

September
bok choi (first of the month)
pak choi
parsnips
swiss chard
carrots
spinach
beets
cauliflower
kohlrabi
collards
broccoli
cabbage
turnips
mustard
kale
lettuce
radish (end of the month)

October
cover crops (I planted wheat last year)
winter peas
lettuce
shallots
garlic
leeks
collards
kohlrabi
mustard
spinach
turnips

November
garlic, shallots
lime the soil
(protected because frost is near!)
salad greens
lettuce in cold frame
turnips
collards
turn the soil
cover crops

Sharing

Debbie Poirot would like to share from her abundance of mint, sage and oregano if anyone would like some.

She also wrote to tell me that:

Made roast chicken and fresh from the garden roasted cherry tomatoes and sage for dinner last night. The cherry tomatoes are incredibly good when they are cooked!

In the News

The Democrat Gazette ran a piece on neighborhood community gardens in Saturday's paper - highlighting our garden.  I would link to it, but you have to subscribe to the paper to read the article.  

The most exciting part (at least in my opinion) is the fact that my number one son's mug was on paper.  :)

We love our garden in so many ways.

Democrat Gazette

A photographer for the Dem. Gazette came by our garden this week.  Apparently in Saturday's paper there will be a piece by Janet Carson on community gardens.  If you're a paper reader, be sure to look for the article.

Plant markers

Very cute plant marker idea - details here.