What's eating the Paw Paw Trees!

Well something is enjoying my little Paw Paw trees and I'm not happy about it! The leaves must be tasty to some bug! I'll need to protect them from now on, with some organic spray and maybe even netting. Want to give them a fair chance of surviving here, outside of their usual growing range.

When I bought the two, little trees they were (literally) just sticks with a couple of roots! They are now about a foot tall and have been transplanted into 1 gallon pots. With the exception of the munched on leaves, they are both doing very well! Looking forward to spring 2019, to see how they make it through another cold winter.

Upon further investigation, it seems that it might be Japanese Beetle. However, there is good news too! After doing a bit of research this is what I've found:  Pawpaw plants produce natural compounds in their leaf, bark, and twig tissue that has high anti-pesticidal properties. Because of this natural defense, and because pests that are attracted to the plant rarely do significant damage, treating pawpaw pests is generally unnecessary.

Minty Fresh!

The mints are all in bloom and the fragrance is amazing. Not overpowering mind you, just a soft hint of something in the air as you sit near the blooms. The insects are loving all the blooms! The bees, bumble bees, mason bees and I think cutter bees are all there along with a myriad of other nectar loving insects.

The thought of mint honey tickles my taste buds...

All of the mints should have been harvested weeks ago, but I cannot bring myself to do so, knowing that the blooms will feed so many little insects. Every day more and more bees are showing up and at a time when there are very few bees they are a welcome sight.

The little fig tree that could!

What a difference a year makes!! The little Chicago fig tree with just three shoots (by the end of the summer) that only grew about a foot tall last summer is absolutely huge by comparison!

Chicago Fig ~ June 18, 2017

We have raised bed gardens and set the Fig tree, pot and all, down into the deep soil to protect it from the winter temperatures.  Now, we are just waiting to see if we ever get any blooms and fruit!!

May need to repot it before this coming winter; it will be wintering back in the raised bed along with the Paw Paw trees and the Goji berry bush.

Chicago Fig ~ August 8, 2018

A bit of this and a bit of that ~ Tasty tidbits from the garden

We were supposed to be traveling all summer but our plans were changed for various reasons.

Considering everything that didn't happen in the garden this year, it's pleasing to see and enjoy what is happening. 

The bush beans have produced enough for a nice side dish and another little picking will be ready in a few days, the yard long beans are still climbing the trellis and there are a few little blooms coming on.

The Oregon Sugar Pod peas have produced two nice pickings with a third coming on in spite of the temperatures reaching the triple digits. In fact there is new growth coming on at the bottom of many plants and there could be more peas for the pot in our future! 

The radishes bolted right away, however the bees are enjoying the blooms, the Swiss Chard is also bolting but it's still quite tasty.

The beets and carrots are vying for room as a rogue squash is taking over the raised beds! Oh, and a huge potato plant that grew from the purple potatoes that were planted last year and didn't produce any potatoes... well I guess they did but we didn't find them!

The garlic is ready to harvest if we get out early enough to dig before the heat hits again as it is supposed to hit over 100 degrees F again tomorrow.

All in all, just enough veggies for the two of us to enjoy fresh from the garden to the table. What more can one ask for from the unkempt garden? It's perfect for us this year.

Blue Lake Bush Beans and Oregon Sugar Pod Peas growing in containers

Oregon Grape - State flower and great for Jelly!

I try to learn about new food sources as often as possible. I knew that Oregon Grape was used to make dye, but had not pursued it's other uses such as a food source (Jelly). The berries are not yet ripe here but should be ready in early fall.

Here is a link to one of the jelly recipes I've found. https://agardenerstable.com/2010/08/26/the-oregon-grape/

Oregon Grape in bloom

Oregon Grape fruit

Watch out for those spiky holly like leaves! They hurt!