Tag Archives: peppers

Good House Keeping

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August 13th. I’m glad it’s a Thursday and not a Friday. I am superstitious. I used to cross my slippers when I go to bed to ward off ghosts. I was plagued by nightly visits then. You have to remember I ‘saw’ them when I was a child. I no longer do but I still sense their prescence and give them due respect.

It’s another grey morning. I made my daily visit to the garden and greenhouse. I did some housekeeping there yesterday. The bitter melon vines were overgrowing into every space possible. They were blocking the sunlight and air flow. It’s hard for me to trim them as I like to hang on to them for more fruit. It was creating a lot of humidity which led to red aphids on the pepper plants. Some of them were on the bitter melon leaves also. I sacrifice the pepper plants that had no fruit on them. I sprayed the others with soapy water. I trimmed off all the affected bitter melon leaves. Thank God they were just on one side.

After a severe pruning of the vines sunlight can get in and there is better air flow. It’s a lesson in letting go and not hanging onto every little things. More could mean less. This morning’s count of bitter melons is 22 big and small. hanI have given away 6 to friends at coffee, 2 to my father and we’ve eaten a few. I shall blanch and freeze some for winter.

I’m applying the ‘pruning’ rule to my closet this morning. What use are my high school grad and bridesmaid dresses hanging in the closet? They are taking up space and gathering dust, not only in the closet but also in my head. Yes, I take pride in that I made them both. Then there’s my mother’s 3 dresses also hanging there. One of them still have the price tag on it. She had not worn it. The original price was $100.00 marked down for $50.00. I was surprised that my mother did this. This was a dress from a long time back. I was happy that my mother valued herself to buy that dress even though she never wore it.

Against well given advice, I did try on my mother’s dresses. It did make giving them up harder. Two fit very nicely. They made me feel beautiful and elegant but where would I wear these dressy dresses to? I decided that they would all be donated. They would make nice gifts for someone. They do not look dated as I had thought.

Still Here

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It’s July the third and the third day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am still here. We are having more sunshine today though I still woke up in darkness this morning. Yesterday’s thunderstorm warning came to naught. There’s a 50% of rain for this evening. For now I can bask a little in the sun.

It was hard work this morning washing out white cabbage butterfly eggs off my broccoli and cabbage plants. The whole bed was heavily infested with them though they are under heavy netting. Perhaps we did not do it soon enough. Researching, I found that soapy water can kill the eggs. I will do a daily morning and evening check for them. I did find 2 caterpillars. I feel a bit discouraged with this year’s strange weather, white cabbage butterflies, eggs and caterpillars. My bed of peppers have survived the leafroller caterpillars. But with our cloudy cool weather, they are not big nor robust. Whether they will come to fruit is questionable. Oh the joy of growing food.

It’s 6 pm and no rain yet. There’s a severe thunderstorm warning. We did reached a high of 25℃ today. Anything is possible. Tomorrow is the fourth of July. I wonder what fireworks are coming from our southern U.S. neighbour. This morning I read that a Catholic nun was arrested by ICE while she was walking to attend mass at a church in Texas. Yesterday Major Watson was arrested for calling for Trump’s impeachment. I am heartened that courage and morality are still here. As Heather Delaney says, This is why I still have hope. And you should, too. See you tomorrow.

Gardening Woes

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I hate how everything takes time, energy and effort. I’m in a complaining mode already. Not a good way to start the day. It is what it is. I must be feeling the ups and downs in the weather and temperatures. I woke up to 1℃. I wondered how my little tomatoes under the hood of the raised bed. Was I foolish planting them yesterday knowing the low was going to be 2℃? It was useless wondering since the deed was already done.

I need not have worried, for now at least. The tomatoes looked fine. Meanwhile, in the greenhouse, not everything was. The bitter melons, all four of them, had red aphids on them. Then I noticed that the peppers I hadn’t planted also had them. So it was squishing with my fingers and squirting soapy water to wash them off all. Now hoping the bitter melons will survive. Maybe I should start a few more. There’s still time. This is what I get for not paying attention.

To make matters worse, I found the bed of peppers planted a couple of days ago all had red aphids on their under leaves. I’ve just finished squishing them all by hand. The hopeful thing is I spy some ladybugs present. They do eat aphids. I’m surprised to learn that ants and aphids are symbiotic. So woe is me for I do see them in the bed, too. I’m feeling a little/alot overwhelmed. I set a dish of sugar laced with borax to kill the ants. Then I sprayed the pepper leaves with soapy water.

Now I have to sit back and try to relax. I do have alot of pepper plants. I have taken appropriate measures. I have learned a lesson. You can’t neglect without a cost. You have to put in the time one way or another. Some ways are easier than others.