@#%@%$% Gopher!

Gopher.

An entire marigold pulled under! I am going to have to try and spare the money to put barriers around the bed under ground to protect the cucumber that's planted there as well. I didn't notice right away in the first picture because of glare and getting other pictures quickly. Wasn't until I was watering that I turned around and stood there in shock after a moment. See the small pile of dirt in front of the border? Another pile off to the left... I'm not holding out much for the other two even if I did run the hose into that hole to flood as much as I could. When I was a kid we would run the hose for a good half hour. I'm not paying for the water but am not going to waste it on a gopher hole.

I didn't take a picture of the fence bed because nothing is happening there right now. Watered thoroughly at least and there's nothing I can do for the next while to protect those last two marigolds.

In order to put an under ground fence in there I would need ideally dig a trench all around but since I know it's moved off to the left maybe can get away with just a short piece and going half way around from that direction. Oh and it needs to be a foot deep. First.. I don't have a trenching shovel which is narrow and mostly flat. The mostly flat part is crucial so you only dig the width you need, they're expensive and even if I could return it I don't know if I want to do that. Looking at the prices I realized that what I actually need is called a 'drain spade' because it's straight, where as the trench shovel has an angle to it (They're about $40 at HD I found out).

This is annoying and aggravating at the least. I can only hope that the north bed and the fence bed will be left alone. The north bed is likely off limits due to distance (not necessarily a deterrent for gophers) and soil quality. Given the little bastards persistence, if they pull anything else in the other beds under it may turn into full on war.

If this were my own yard I would have taken precautions in the beginning to lay down hardware cloth all around. Didn't have a gopher last year so didn't think anything of it until it happened this year.

 So the next time someone says 'plant marigolds it keeps pests away' I'll ask what pests? Gophers love marigolds apparently as well as peas.

Still whining about putting mulch on the north bed though.  Oh about that, I saw the beginning of a garden video where the woman said she doesn't use mulch on her beds...she uses compost. Um.... guess what? Anything you put on the surface to cover the soil and hold in  moisture is by definition, mulch. She just doesn't use bark or straw or anything else. The compost is a smart idea because you can just turn it into the soil when you finish for the season. Obviously that's where you actually have to stop planting in the winter because of snow or extreme cold and prep the garden for the following year. 

In  my garden when everything finishes up I hope to still be here. We've cleared the first hurdle for this month but still have issues with getting rent on time in the future. I still want a true raised bed garden and better soil.

Same ol' garden, new problem and flowers!

Weather is still warm and predicted to be warmer on the weekend. Still breeze thankfully but it's not a cooling breeze just air moving about that's slightly cooler than the rest of the air.

I 'might' have some pocket change to get some seeds or fertilizer, one or the other not both unfortunately. The new problem is: I sprung a leak in my hose.

 Less than a year old and it has a hole already. I kept the original cardboard label/wrapping for it but have long since lost the receipt. I bought it at HD and they can look it up using my card. It has a ten year warranty and I may just haul it over to get an exchange. Or, I have the mending tape to take care of it. Decisions will be made tonight.

The marigolds are opening!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The peas are just about ready to pick, might pull a few pods tomorrow and get a continuing harvest for the next few days or a week. Luckily they keep for a while and by the time they are done, I should have some beans to plant.

Not quite fat enough and there's a number of them that won't be ready for at least a week. Just going to keep them watered and hope I can get some fertilizer in there and the other beds soon.

Keep forgetting I want to plant chives and onions later in the fall. Will see about the chive seeds this weekend maybe and the onions will definitely have to wait until fall.

Watered the south bed really well, the other two weren't as needful, did sprinkle them a bit but not heavily. I realized that one of the things people make a mistake about is seeing a wilting plant means they have to water. If the soil is bone dry, yes most definitely but if it's middle of the day and the soil is still damp, no. Check back in the evening or the next morning and do the watering then.

I've mentioned before about the '3 o'clock wilt' how it can get so hot during the day the plant responds by wilting to conserve moisture. The other reason for wilting is it can't pull up enough water even if it's available, to compensate for what is being lost from transpiration. Soaking them at that point could actually do more harm than good. 

Hence I just got the surface moist to cool things a little and was good with that. Me personally, wanted to make sure that the guy that just hates to see things wilting would see the soil was wet and leave them alone. He hasn't touched  the garden as far as I know since we had our little talk. 

I remembered to try and check the lemon bush for damage but forgot by the time I was done with doing my things. Oh well. There are times when intervention in someone's yard is needed and other times not. When it is a definite threat to a larger area like citrus groves and grape vines yes. Years past it wouldn't have been an issue but in the last ten years it is a serious threat to everyone's yard if they have certain plants. 

Anyway... warm weather, flowers and such. 

 

Peas pulled, some watering and another bug

 When I water, I water really well. It also helps that the soil holds water for a longer time due to the clay content. North bed was still damp, not bothering with the potato bed and the south bed...needed water. The June gloom drifted in last night before dark and didn't drift back out again until the sun was well up in the morning. Hence why the soil was still good for water in some spots. 

The Marigolds are coloring up!

That was taken before watering! Soaked the heck out of it so it'll be good for another day or two or until I decide to plant something.

The tall peas are doing fantastic! One pod was ready so I picked it and tested the peas, they were much better flavored than the other ones. the lower leaves and mildew is getting worse of course but I don't dare spray Neem with the weather getting warmer. Have to hold off on that until evening for sure.

When I was getting pictures of this plant I noticed something on one of the pods and, if I'm not mistaken, I think it's a Glassy Winged Sharpshooter. Not a good bug.

Unfortunately I disturbed it too much and it flew off before I could destroy it. Here's why it's a bad bug..

"The main problem associated with the glassy-winged sharpshooter is that it can transmit the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa from one plant to another. This bacterium has a broad host range, able to infect hundreds of plant species in dozens of plant families."

"The main problem associated with the glassy-winged sharpshooter is that it can transmit the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa from one plant to another. This bacterium has a broad host range, able to infect hundreds of plant species in dozens of plant families. Although infection by X. fastidiosa does not lead to disease in many of these host plants, it does cause several important, often fatal, plant diseases in California. This includes Pierce’s disease of grape, alfalfa dwarf, almond leaf scorch, and mulberry leaf scorch. Other diseases caused by this bacterium in landscape plants include oleander leaf scorch, sweet gum dieback, and cherry plum leaf scorch. Other strains of X. fastidiosa cause phony peach disease, plum leaf scald, bacterial leaf scorch in a wide range of shade trees (sycamore, elm, maple, oak), citrus variegated chlorosis, coffee leaf scorch, and olive quick decline disease, but these diseases have not been confirmed in California. It should be noted that the strain of X. fastidiosa that causes oleander leaf scorch will not cause Pierce’s disease in grapes and the strain of X. fastidiosa that causes mulberry leaf scorch does not cause disease in oleanders or grapes. At this time there is no cure for any of these diseases. For more information on oleander leaf scorch, see the Pest Notes: Oleander Leaf Scorch."

 This is why it is a kill on sight bug.  I should have just taken the one picture and killed it immediately. If it were feeding on my plant (which I think it was due to the spots I saw on some of the pods) it needed to be dealt with immediately. Unfortunately there is no spray that is effective against them as they move quickly away from view. I'll have to give the lemon bush a good looking over to see if there's any damage or signs of feeding.

Anyway... watering was done, can't plant anything still since no seeds or plants. I've got all my cool season seeds and the red pepper seeds but I already have four pepper plants. In the cupboard I have pinto beans, rice and lentils. Still have two small tomatoes that I harvested but again, I want a different variety of tomato that doesn't crack. Going to look on maybe Craig's list or look for a local seed swap. I don't have any valuable seeds to swap unfortunately so that may be a dead end.

Before and after watering. The soil in that north bed was still pretty good but I pulled the peas and then cultivated around everything and watered lightly. The south bed got soaked well, again. This coming week I will be getting my retirement money and will plan my budget carefully and allow a measly ten dollars for garden. (If all I'm getting is $20 from the county for additional food money we have to consider it no extra money and budget and pinch accordingly).