Garden Pests & other notables

These two flew the coop and proceeded to bed down in my newly planted lettuce patch.  Alas, the entire fall planting of lettuce seeds is no more.  We came home from a lovely time at the beach to a sad state of affairs in this garden bed.

On another note, the artichokes are coming along nicely! 

And my herb garden was happily put to bed just before we left for our little trip.  I added in some treatments from around the farm!  Some ashes from the barbeque, some coffee grounds from the kitchen, some old chicken bedding & manure from the coops (at least they are good for that!) and finally some leaves from the leaf pile my children already started!

To answer a few questions from the last garden post:

~ Biennial means carrots have a two year growing cycle.  The first year you can eat them!  Then if some are left in the ground for a second year they are not for eating they produce seeds and you can collect the seeds!

~  Yes, I do can & freeze and this year I'm also dehydrating.  We have a catering business and many times we have so much produce left we can't possibly eat, can, or freeze it all in time.  We have one of our biggest events ever this weekend so I bought a deydrator in time to make sure nothing goes to waste!

~ I didn't grow sweet potatoes this year but we grilled some from our local farmers market and I found out how delicious and also nutritious they are.  Sweet Potatoes are a must for my 2012 garden plans!  I am also going to add in garlic, shallots & green beans! 

Please do comment about your gardens!  I love to hear tips and ideas and successes!

Blessings,

Olivia