Greta's Farm - on Farmville

I now own a cyber farm - Greta's Farm - on Facebook. Feel free to visit me there and become a neighbor. I'm growing strawberries, eggplant and wheat. I guess I have to sell the strawberries at market to earn enough coins to expand my operation, but if I knew which v-a-r-i-e-t-y I'm growing, I might make up some preserves - or drop some in the blender with some rum ...mmm.

Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain

Between 1:30 and 4:00 this morning, we had a terrible rain storm here in Asheboro. Radar indicated the storm just kept reinventing itself - not moving anywhere. Just as soon as it started to die down, here it would come again. Some lightning and thunder, but primarily rain. Lots of it. We had 3-1/2 inches during that time. When I went to bed the first time, this garden cart was dry.

Garden Colors

Here are some other colors around my yard right now ... the pink rose is a climber... the azalea is seasonally-challenged ...

Making Money

I think it's time to harvest my money plant. The leaves dry and appear as "coins." You rub them together and the seeds drop out - ready for planting. They don't do much good at the gas pump.

The Rose from Hell

I'm a Barbra Streisand fan. I could watch Funny Girl over and over and over. As a little girl, I sang with her records - and still find her fascinating. I know, not everyone does. And no, I don't care for her editorial comments or her politics either. I just like her movies and music.

So that leads me to the rose from hell.

I just planted two rose bushes in my garden. Yes, I'm slack - still have 3 more to go and one's a climber. They should have been in the ground by now. Of the two just put in the dirt, one is a Mr. Lincoln and the other is a Barbra Streisand.

My bright red Mr. Lincoln has such a heavenly, strong rose fragrance - the one written about by poets throughout eternity. Flowers are bold and striking against the green foliage backdrop.

Then there's the BS rose. It stinks. It's a strong sour, citrus smell. The petals are tightly wound up. It's a pale lavendar that pales in comparison to my Mr. Lincoln. And the card that came with the rose said that Barbra herself picked out this variety for her name.

Her nose works differently from mine.

I'm surprised that in this heat they're blooming. But, we have had plenty of rain and some cool nights.

NC State Bird on my Porch

Shhh. They're nesting.

This basket last year held a beautiful fern, but I got slack and the ferns all died. I hadn't taken them down all winter. When spring came, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal found one and set up a home. They have 4 little babies - and my cats want 'em!

Digging Up Dirt

I went to my parents' house yesterday and made a raised bed for their tomatoes. Oh, they're going to be crowded. In a 6'x2' planter, I put 3 tomatoes, 2 sweet basel and 1 green bell pepper. I hope the stands support and hold the Topsy Turvey tomatoes I hung. I think I'm going to have to go back and fasten them to the side of the tool shanty. One good wind and I think those Topsy Turvey hangers will land in China!

My mom always wants her tomatoes where she can pick them, which means the soil never gets a break. She had difficulty understanding why she needed to rotate space. So, I dug up the dirt where her 'maters typically are, mixed in some fresh soil, covered all that with newspaper and a little mulch - and then started adding new dirt. I included some lime, Black Cow manure, sand and vegetable garden soil. Not the ideal situation. Needs clay to hold the water. But my dad likes to water the plants, so I know they'll stay moist. I really should have taken some dirt from my garden, but didn't have time to dig some up and strain the weed roots out.

2009 - Up and Running!

We've had a lot of rain this year, so getting the ground prepared has been delayed. I didn't think I could get a tractor in my garden, but my neighbor, Bill Kenan - a long-time gardener - proved me wrong. Here he is turning the soil. Now this particular area hadn't really seen daylight in 3 years. It had been under black plastic. My thought was to till the entire garden, amend and cover this year with mulch.

Instead, I'm using the area seen in this photo for my garden and have planted Ambrosia cantaloupes to run over the rest of it. That area is where I've had my tomatoes for the past 4 years. I'm letting it rest with a lot of leaves and kitchen garbage so it will be ready for a larger crop of tomatoes next year.

And besides, there are only so many hours in a day. I can't tend to all of it. Weeds kill me. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Centipede Grass

My front yard used to have gorgeous light green centipede grass throughout the hot dry summer. Well, several years ago, I had my huge oak tree deep-root fertilized. MISTAKE. The auger that drilled holes into the tree roots pulled up dormant seeds -- weeds and grasses that hadn't been mixing into my beautiful centipede grass.

So I wound up with a ring of unknown grasses surrounding the tree - 21 holes. After a tornado took out my favorite tree, I ended up with a real mess in my front yard.

Now it's loaded with all kinds of grasses and weeds. Since the rains have softened the soil, I"ve been digging up quite a bit of the unwanted greenery. In the basement, I've got flats of centipede seed germinating - and I'll plant the plugs in June.

Local landscaping companies don't carry centipede sod. So I'm making my own.