Tootfinder

'Midnight Snack' has the darkest leaves I've ever seen in a tomato. Not the best tasting cherry variety, I've read, but will definitely add some interesting color to summer salads. #tomatoes #gardening #anthocyanin

My Sisyphean battle with the squash bug has begun. I face this battle with resignation in my heart. On the plus side though, there are blackberries. #oklahoma #gardening 🌱

My son has put up herb drying hooks for me in the utility room! I'm beyond delighted! He's also put up the plastic greenhouse we got weeks ago so it is now filling with things that need potting on and generally sorting out. I'm also hoping to sort out a small raised veg plot and a pond, so my garden mojo is well and truly back. It's nice to feel enthusiastic again. #gardening

Today's harvest.
#gardening

Princess pumpkin watch continues.
#oklahoma #gardening

My 12 tomato plants are now in. Each gets a deep hole filled with compost, plus a root waterer made from a cut-off wine bottle and some PVC pipe that has holes drilled along one side. Now hoping weather cooperates. Zone 7b. #tomatoes #allotment #garden #gardening #watering

I completed a checklist item for the #pandemicpond this morning. Retrieving some of the rocks that had fallen into the pond over the past couple winters. Since I upgraded to the rain barrel filters I had made a larger waterfall out of a blue water carrier and the original store-bought waterfall. (See historical pics). But I really wanted to embed it into the rocks and have the water flow out onto flat stones like the ones that line the edge.
Mission accomplished. Here’s some of the evolution.
Short video in next reply.
#gardening #home #pondlife

Starting to get a little spicy in the garden. Squash bug war is heating back up, but still no plant casualties. 4 adults tonight, but 2 in flagrante delicto.
#gardening #oklahoma

#garden #garten #gardening

#raspberry #gardening

I noticed an army of ladybugs 🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 in the yard recently. We had a hard freeze last night, so I covered some young trees with sheets to protect them. When I removed the sheets just now, they had lots of aphids on them. Now I know why the ladybugs are so active! #gardening

The cucumbers are flowering already. It's 3°C tonight. What the heck.
#gardening #climatecrisis

A diurnal firefly on my parsley - #wildlife #gardening

This feels very much like a Fediverse thing…I’m looking to re-wild my backyard.
Anyone know someone in Metro Vancouver who could help me?
Boost for each please.
#gardening #rewilding #vancouver

Exhibit A for the "plant basil around your yard to repel mosquitoes" assertion. #mosquitoes #basil #gardening

I like it. ❤️ 💧 🐠 🌴 🌺
#video #pandemicpond #gardening #home #pondlife

I've been #gardening this morning, mainly seeing to the veg plus feeding the olive tree. The garden is really putting on a show. It's a shame Mum's not here to see it, as she's the one behind it all. The sage flowers are in reality a glowing violet colour, just gorgeous. #bloomscrolling

Signs of things to come
#gardening

I love a huge harvest as much as the next guy, but I really enjoy the variety picks during the seasonal transitions. Finding little surprises hidden around the garden is a such pleasure.
Had some storm damage, may have lost a zucchini, but I never regret rain in Oklahoma.
#gardening #Oklahoma

my least favourite part of our garden is the hedge we share with the neighbour (who are extremely nice).
Thus, when I do maintenance of it... I tend to be a little more brutal.
like say.... cutting any branches on our side down to the stump.
it grows so fast! it also harbours evil ivy and holly bushes
#gardening #portalberni

Is it too early to plant beans? Probably a little. But I did anyway. I also mixed all the seeds up so I'll end up with a wall of vines with colors scattered everywhere. Hopefully. No guarantees in gardening. #gardeningthoughts

Traktörden de korkmuyorlar
#garden #garten #gardening

It’s the first long stretch of warm weather of the spring and summer! #pandemicpond #bloomscrolling #gardening #pondlife

#Annabelle #hydrangeas going nuts this year!
#gardening #garden

We lost a few sunflowers in last night’s storm, but the Zinnias seem to have loved the rain. Don’t worry, we have plenty of sunflowers left. 🤣
#bloomscrolling #gardening #oklahoma

Inside view of my fruit cage. The blackberries and raspberries are too new to produce much this year but the strawberries (raised bed and hanging baskets, upper right) have hundreds of developing fruit and I can't wait. When everything is ripe it's very satisfying to watch the birds and squirrels try to break in. #fruit #garden #gardening #blackberries #raspberries #strawberries

spring is nice
#pandemicpond #portalberni #gardening

Bu fotoğrafı dün çektim. Can eriği. Ve yarın büyük olasılıkla çoğu donacak. Zirai don bekleniyor.
#garden #garten #gardening

I make dark light of my battles with the squash bugs but on mornings when I head out and find such lovely vegetables, it makes it all worth it.
#gardening #oklahoma

I'm sitting outside with a coffee, amid the garden Mum planted so skilfully, and which I maybe didn't appreciate while she was alive, and the various things we've stuck in pots - walnut, fig, olive etc - and have just ordered a hazel tree and a cherry tree from The Woodland Trust. Mum had several big ceramic planters that are now empty or full of scrub and they're just right for young trees that are just a twig and a leaf 🌿

Around the #pandemicpond today. The marsh marigolds are flowering in the filter barrels! The rhodo will pop soon. The tinker bell lilac is so pretty and the Japanese maple has finally established itself and gained some height and foliage. Providing good morning shade to the stream and top pond.
#bloomscrolling #gardening #pondlife

Last October when I pruned my fig tree I threw the clippings into a moist bin in my basement in case some of them rooted. Which they did. Now I have to unload them on neighbors and passersby. "Hey, pssst: want a fig tree?" #figs #ficus #gardening

We sadly missed an egg pod on our avocado squash. We killed a bunch of adults and nymphs, but we will see if the ones we missed can kill it. In the mean time, we harvested all that we could plus some zucchini and blackberries.
#gardening #oklahoma

If anyone needs a gift for a vegetable gardener, I just love my folding Opinel harvesting knife. It's especially useful when the zucchini plant is crowded with stems, flowers, and fruit. #garden #gardening #allotment #zucchini

Squash Bug War Report:
3 adults, 2 egg pods, 10 nymphs. Total: 15.
Yes, I killed them. The adults were soldiers. The egg pods were weapons caches. The nymphs? The tribunal calls them children. I call them future war criminals in soft exoskeletons.
. . .
#gardening #oklahoma

Squash Bug War Report:
1 Adult, 2 Egg Pods
Too tired for story time, a simple harvest report will have to do. Getting some nice zucchinis plus a handful of blackberries daily. Onions are coming off the rack and harvested our first jalapeño of the year in nice purple hue.
#gardening #oklahoma

One of the shelling peas grew up on the wrong side of the bird netting. Sad, but a nice reminder that all the effort setting up the structure was worth it. #peas #sparrows #gardening #pisum #birds #allotment

Argh, the squash bugs are back after a couple of days of reprieve. Good news is though there are cute mystery melons and blackberries. 🍈
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

The first of our onion crop is off the drying rack (though we’ve been stealing from it daily) plus our sad garlic crop for the year. Don’t feel bad for us though, we got dozens of heads from a single bed last year. 🧅 🧄
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

My fruit enclosure. On the left side along the back is a raised bed with strawberries, plus aerial baskets with even more varieties. Four blueberry bushes are on the back right but still too small to really provide much this year. In the front are blackberries, raspberries (normal and black), tayberries, and boysenberries that I put in last year (and also a bit small). In the corners are grapes that are being trellised to grow along the back in a single vine. Spanning the width (27 feet) are several galvanized wires onto which the berries and grapes will be attached when they get bigger. #berries #strawberries #garden #gardening #fruit

Squash Bug War Casualty Report:
Adults: 0, Egg Pods: 0
I know I’m lacking on Dad humor missives, but it seems we’ve come to a cease fire in the war. Two days now and only one egg pod to show for it. Going to go quiet until they return. I know they are out there somewhere.
#gardening #oklahoma

2nd #poolpond pump is back up and running!
Spliced in a new (old) extension cord.
But I actually think the previous one was OK as well and I had just misconfigured the controller and didn't know how to reset it because of the --shall we say-- less than English instruction manual 😂
all good.
Onward!!
Main job now: Finish levelling the whole backyard dirt pile and start landscaping!
#diy #backyardProject #gardening #pondlife

Quick update on my quest to rid my yard of plants I dislike. Bamboo, privet, and English ivy are 100% gone, though latter still tries to creep in from neighbors' yards. Hosta, wisteria, garlic mustard, and unidentified invasive bulbs are next on the list. #garden #gardening #weeds #bamboo

We’ve been getting a handful of blackberries everyday now, but it appears after last nights rain, we may soon be on track for a blackberry explosion. Jelly and Jam time!
#gardening #oklahoma

Squash Bug War Casualty Report: Adults 0, Egg Pods 0.
No enemy contact, but I know they are out there, it’s like they are taunting me . . .
“Hallo, you tiny-brained gardener! You frighten no one! Today we did not come, because we did not feel like it!”
#gardening #oklahoma

Anyone know what could cause a Japanese maple to suddenly die in the Spring? Leaves are all shriveled but not yet crispy. Not my tree but I'm curious. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. #maple #trees #disease #arborists #garden #gardening

Hot peppers are on their way. The Thai Chilis are the first to appear this year. 🌶️
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

4/4 Spent the day today with @… turning the water on and off, and the pump on and off.. watching how the water comes out of the bog filter and down into the poolpond. Pump is only at 25%, which is more like 15% as there will be a second pump as well in time.
Shifted some of the flat stones around and got them in a nice place. I had to do some hand digging under the lining near the tree. I am pretty sure the berm is too low there for when the pumps are at full force, but I am ok with where things are now. There is lots of opportunity to build the edges up if need be.
For now, I am going to work on sealing the rocks along the edge in to help direct the water.
I also need to splice in an extension cord into the pump wiring so that I can run a long enough distance to have the power supply and controller in the small shed and not hiding under the liner at the top of the pond. 🤣
#pandemicpond #PoolPond #gardening #portalberni #home #yard #bloomscrolling #BackyardProject

Squash Bug War Casualty Report:
Adults: 1, Egg Pods: 2
Too tired to attempt dad humor tonight, but feels like we have reached a equilibrium. Great news is the it’s in our favor, we got 4 more squashes and zucchinis tonight.
#gardening #oklahoma

Good morning Oklahoma.🌻
#oklahoma #gardening #sunflowers 🌱

Backlit corn silk to show off the feathery surface that helps snag falling pollen grains. The stigmatic lobes can grow over an inch per day. #corn #maize #pollen #botany #gardening #allotment #pollination #pollen #stigma

PS.
Here are the two outlets. This is probably not how it will look in the end, but just a starting point. Once I have the water flowing how I want it to, I will use pond foam sealant to lock the rocks into place and force the water into its final channels and patterns but as you can imagine there is some trial and error to be done before that big step.
For noe you can see there is a fold of liner sitting vertically betwewn the rocks to split the channel. I really have no idea where the water will get to once at full force so this might be too high, or too low but it should not be too far off.
The main thing is that the water is contained within the greater system around the tree. That's the trickiest part right now.
It is a wonderful tree. We don't want to drown it.
Speaking of which, if you are wondering about water. Yes. This is thousands of litres of water. But at this point I am not worried if I need to fill up and drain the bog filter a few times. All extracted water will go into the rest of the garden anyway, so aside from a little evaporation, nothing will be wasted.
Still waiting on it to fill. Looks like it won't be full before quitting time. oh well! Back tomorrow water experiments!
#pandemicpond #PoolPond #gardening #portalberni #home #yard #bloomscrolling #BackyardProject

Upon learning that we had harvested the very last cabbage for the summer, an overwhelming, undeniable Teutonic command came welling up from within me demanding immediate fermentation activities.
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Our Espresso Gladiolus have started blooming.
#gardening #oklahoma

2/2 Then I moved on to working on finalizing the stream and edges of the poolpond.
After a trial run last fall I realized I needed to do a little more sculpting of the clay at the front of the pond where the bog filter and poolpond meet.
I would like to encourage a long waterfall along the front edge.
So after some peeling back of the liners to reinforce the berm in a few spots near the tree especially, I made a proper ledge at the front and am laying down some of the slate that we also used on the #pandemicpond in the front yard. It'll tie the two in conceptually.
Now I am filling the bog filter with city water (the likelihood of filling from the skies is long gone now) but I will only fill it enough to get a read on where the water is wanting to flow.
Ideally I would like two channels from the bog filter.
The main one will go toward the poolpond, along the front and spill over from there.
A secondary one will go close to the tree to be used if I need to divert the water from the poolpond but still want to keep the filter and system active.
Now I wait... I'm running out of time for today but will be back tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get a pump back in and start up the system!
the apple waych strap is hiding a tan line... but it is not just a tan unfortunately lol
#PoolPond #gardening #portalberni #home #yard #bloomscrolling #BackyardProject

We had a leek escape our notice and we are letting it go to seed. They make such an interesting flower structure.
#bloomscrolling #gardening #oklahoma

Had a productive morning in the garden. Got all the beds weeded. Said bye to some old friends. Harvested the last cabbage. Pulled our garlic crop which was pretty much a failure this year. Started harvesting the onions, which did great this year. Out with the kale too. 🧅
#gardening #oklahoma

SQUASH BUG WAR CASUALTY REPORT
KIA: 0, Egg Pods Destroyed: 0
No contact with the enemy today. Not one bug. Not one egg. The leaves are still. TOO still.
This is not a victory. This is a TRAP.
#gardening #oklahoma

BATTLE REPORT: 2 adults eliminated, 4 egg pods destroyed, 1 enemy escaped.
Comrades! Today we struck at the squash bug bourgeoisie — even catching two saboteurs in the shameless act of expanding their counter-revolutionary forces! They were dealt with accordingly.
#gardening #oklahoma

The onion crop is getting close, very excited. #gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Evening Squash Bug War: Casualty Report
10 adults KIA, 4 egg pods destroyed.
O cursed stinkèd foe, thou crept upon my vine!
But lo — my thumb of justice, swift and firm,
Hath crushed thy copper eggs and broke thy line.
The Union garden stands. Begone, thou bug.
#gardening #oklahoma

Morning Squash Bug War Casualty Report: Adults 1, another adult was able to escape. Egg Pods: 0
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Just a reminder that gardening centers will happily sell you plants such as Pelargonium citrosum that are supposedly able to repel mosquitoes. But don't be suckered. No plant has that ability even if thousands of Pinterest pages insist it's true. #mosquitoes #gardening #gardens #plants

Evening Squash Bug War Casualty Report: Adults: 9, Egg Pods: 3.
After several days of light contact, the enemy returned in force. Much squishing was inflicted and some good leaves were lost. But we survive to harvest another day.
#gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Finally managed to weed eat and cut the lawn today and got the last of the gravel moved so that we can get a bobcat in here to level the yard!! Yaaayy!!
Also did some cleaning out on the pond. Turns out the moss is great… until it REALLY latches in and makes space for grass. There was so much into the stream that it was backing up into the top pond, causing it to overflow, and the whole system lose water!
When I pulled up the moss, it pulled much of the gravel with it! So lesson learned. Very light on the moss, no more gravel in the stream, keep things neat and tidy!
In all though, the pond cleared up fast thanks to the barrel filters and all is good!
#pandemicpond #gardening #pondlife #spring #portalberni #backyardPond #PoolPond

Tonight’s Squash Bug War Casualty Counts: 6 adults, 2 In flagrante delicto. 4 egg pods. #gardening #oklahoma

Anyone have a recommendation on elbow-length gloves for harvesting berries from thorned plants? There are lots of leather ones but I'm worried it would be hard to pick off individual fruit. #blackberries #raspberries #garden #gardening #thorns #gloves

Dispatch — Squash Bug Front
Casualties: Adults 0 | Eggs 4
After last night's slaughter, both sides withdrew to their lines. No sentries crested the trenchline. Scattered egg fire at 0600 — harassing only, a reminder they still hold the zucchini salient.
#gardening #oklahoma

Evening Squash Bug War Casualty Report: Adults: 0, Egg Pods: 6. This is starting to feel less like a war and more like a scene from Alien. On the plus side, we did get to harvest our first squash, albeit a small one. #gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Silly gardening tip: before using a hose on a hot day, purge the superheated water into a container for later use. #watering #water #garden #gardening #hose

Morning Squash Bug War Casualty Report: Adults: 0, Egg Pods: 1. Suspect enemy has retreated into hiding to regroup and resupply.
Will need to increase our sentry duties in preparation for the next attack wave. #gardening #oklahoma

I had a mad idea this spring to allow all of my volunteer sunflowers to grow in the yard. I hope this pans outs into something magical because right now mowing is difficult and I am afraid I might get lost in my own yard.
Music by the genius Kristy Kruger. #gardening #oklahoma 🌱

Stilt roots of maize are really creepy when they are reaching out for soil. #maize #zea #roots #corn #botany #garden #gardening #allotment

this Azalea has a mind of its own. All of the other bushes finished flowering a month ago. Meanwhile, this one is like hey where is everybody?
#Gardening #PortAlberni #bloomscrolling

Every spring I reread this article on how tomatoes respond physiologically to even a single night below 50 °F (season-long reduction in yield). I'm always left wondering whether planting them out now (lows in upper 40s) might allow an earlier harvest, albeit at the expense of total productivity. Because I'd be OK with that. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. USDA 7b. #tomato #tomatoes #garden #biology #circadian #gardening #temperature #weather #allotment #philadelphia https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/1996/oct/tomato/

Anyone know the name of these tiny chili peppers? A friend brought them back from Sardinia and is curious. I've managed to germinate a few so perhaps flowers in a month or so will help, but maybe their small size and origin is enough for an ID by an expert. #peppers #chili #capsicum #garden #gardening #sardinia #italy #cooking

This transplanted arbutus tree has established itself and is reaching for the sky now!!
#arbutus #madrone #gardening #portalberni

The strawberry section inside my bird- and squirrel-proof garden cage. No fruit yet but hundreds of flowers. #strawberries #fragaria #garden #gardening #raisedbed #fruit #erdbeeren

From the archives, here's a drip-irrigation device I made for spot watering at the allotment. Because watering is just a drip or a trickle (you choose), it goes fully into the soil rather than running off to the side. As a bonus, fewer weeds around the plant because they never get water. #garden #gardening #water #artichoke #allotment #wine #bottle #diy

4 inch rock moved to new spot. And new gravel spot ready,#poolpond #backyard #home #gardening #BackyardProject #pandemicpond

Here's my tomato waterer in action. The screening attached to the wine-bottle funnel prevents insects and garden debris from getting trapped inside the PVC tube. #tomatoes #water #gardening #allotment

two loads in the cart. One load left on the ground of the 1 inch rocks then it's into the gravel
don't be fooled by what you can see. The black fabric is actually concealing, almost half of the pile of gravel lol
#poolpond #backyard #home #gardening #BackyardProject #pandemicpond

it's time to move the last of this rock out of this back part of the yard to somewhere else so that the mountain of dirt can be flattened and spread out and ready for planting and other things.
The clay is already hardening up!
#poolpond #backyard #home #gardening #BackyardProject #pandemicpond

I finished caging my peach tree to keep the squirrels and catbirds away. Each fruit is also bagged to keep flies and moths from ovipositing. #peaches #prunus #fruit #trees #gardening

back and muscles say i am done for now but I made a good dent in the gravel. Managed to get all the gravel off the black fabric so that can be stored away. Just a two or three cart loads left but I don't want any nasty back surprises!
Maybe I can look up some folks with a bobcat and book a date for levelling! 🙌 🚜
emptying the poolpond of icky water.
and rhubarb!!
time for tylenol and a snack
/end
#poolpond #backyard #home #gardening #BackyardProject #pandemicpond

Made labels for the raspberry, boysenberry, tayberry, black raspberry, and blackberry I planted last year. Quickly realized that the some of the temporary markers had disappeared during the winter and that I'll need to guess which is which. Oops. Hoping they'll be useful differences in stems, leaves, and fruit. #garden #gardening #rubus #raspberry #boysenberry #tayberry #blackberry #plants #berries

a little double pipe action?
i was originally going to use IPEX white solid pipe for this part of the plumbing, but it stuck out like a sore thumb and was difficult to conceal.
Luckily, I got a bonus 50ft of flexible 2" black pipe last year after Amazon sent me it even though I had cancelled and refunded the order. I thought I might sell it but never got any bites. So here we are!
#poolpond #pond #gardening #diy #electrical #pandemicpond #backyardProject

2/2 Along the same plumbing lines... I am also preparing the pumps themselves.
One major thing to do was to splice in an extension cord to the cord for the pump. Obviously this is a "break the warranty" situation, but there is no way around it really. The included cord is only about 6ft to the electronic controller unit and AC/DC transformer. It needs to be much longer to reach even just the shed beside the intake bay where the main pump lives.
I do have two of these pumps so I am holding off extending the second one until I know this first one is successful and happily pumping away in the pond.
The second one will take water directly from the bottom of the main pond as opposed to the intake bay, but it is only additional capacity and isn't critical. Ideally I will have both on at half power normally. But for now, we start with this one!
Need to get butt connectors and heat shrink tubing tomorrow. Ill probably do this electrical work on Thursday or Friday night so I can test it out hopefully Saturday!
#poolpond #pandemicpond #backyardProject #portalberni #gardening #diy

Hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons) using mud to cap a nest at one of my insect hotels. Called the bean-flower bee (mame-ko bachi) in Japan because the balls of pollen and nectar they pack inside stems for their larvae to eat are as tasty as a dessert made from honey and soybean flour. The species was introduced to North America in the 1970s as a way to increase productivity of apple orchards. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #pollination #bees #osmia #insects #orchard #gardening

1/2 #poolpond update since my last post got unintentionally deep-sixed and now there is further progress!
on Saturday and Sunday we got supplies and I installed the irrigation box. It involved digging Yet Another Hole, plus small trenches on three sides to accomodate pipes from the main water areas.
Convincing the valves/manifold to fit into the box was a chore, but we got there!
Also fed the main pipe line through the box which yes, involved disconnecting it from the filter pond end, and basically feeding the filter box along the pipe, back to the hole.
In all it turned iout well. I will be removing/rearranging the stream near the tree and adding another layer of liner just for that doversionary stream so I can contain/isolate it fully if I want and also feed the two pipes exiting toward the big pond under the stream so it is less visible in the end.
Sometimes I feel like as this goes I think up more things to do and it makes it all interminable, but really, it just makes it better!
but wait there's more after the pictures...
#pandemicpond #backyardProject #portalberni #gardening #diy

The tulip display at Longwood Gardens was incredible this year. #LongwoodGardens #tulip #tulips #tulipa #tulpen #flowers #bulbs #garden #gardening #pennsylvania

I gave away some fig treelets yesterday and boy did they go fast. If you have one that gets pruned I urge you to do the same: just throw the stems in a bin, cover with moist sand, and ignore in your basement during the winter. In the spring, just pot them up. Easy peasy. #figs #ficus #plants #gardening #swarthmore

I had to rearrange the cane fruit in my garden but failed to transfer the identifying stakes. Anyone have an opinion on what this might be? Options are Prime Ark blackberry, Jewel black raspberry, raspberry, tayberry, and boysenberry. The fruit should resolve it in several weeks but I'm dying of curiosity. #berries #rubus #garden #gardening #flowers

Well, this was a chore I have been kind of dreading since last fall! Cutting, splicing, crimping and ultimately connecting and lengthening the cable for the water pump for the #poolpond. I did it, but I am tired and my hands hurt. 😂 😭
It’s a pretty straightforward thing… you cut the ends off the extension cord, cut it to length, cut the part of the pump cord you want to extend in two, and then set about stripping, crimping, heat shrinking, and taping, the two cables together.
But I knew it wasn’t going to be one and done. I started this at 4PM. Thought I had it almost done by 4:30 and then realized I forgot to thread the heat shrink tubing on first. 😣 doh
So I started over.
Then I got half way through try#2 and had to leave….
Came back to it just after 9PM… and spent the next two hours doing, and redoing, it. Until it was, I hope, good.
Won’t know for sure until I plug the pump in tomorrow.
Slightly nervous. 😬
I’ll update you tomorrow! Probably first thing! 🤞
#pond #gardening #diy #electrical #pandemicpond #backyardProject

Dug a new weed pit at my allotment this morning. The victims spend a week or so drying out, then get buried. I've been doing this for years and the soil is slowly getting better. #allotment #gardening #weeds #weeding #composting #soil

This morning I prepped the spots at my allotment where the tomatoes will go. The soil becomes rock-hard clay at approximately 6", so I use a posthole digger to make an 18" hole that gets filled with compost. And to make watering easier and more effective, I have PVC pipes, capped at the bottoms, that have 1/8" holes along their lengths so that I can quickly slosh in a bunch of water and let it slowly percolate to the roots. A bit of work to make these watering funnels but the tomatoes develop very deep roots and are fine if ignored on a hot day. #tomatoes #gardening #allotment #soil #vegetables #wine #roots

For probably the 100th time I've pruned the neighbor's border privet (Ligustrum obtusifolium) that was planted right along the property line. Always makes me grumpy. #invasive #noxious #privet #gardening #ligustrum #oleaceae

My local arboretum had a plant swap for members and I scored four perennials and a bunch of seed packets from Burpee. It was a mob scene, with numbered admittance so that nobody got into fights about being first. My contribution was nine fig trees, and they went fast, I think. #swarthmore #garden #arboretum #gardening #flowers #plants

From the archives but resharing because it's that time of year: my blog post on protecting pea plants from birds. And soon I'll post pics of my new and improved pea cage. #peas #gardening #garden #pisum #birds #allotment #blog #VegetableGardening https://colinpurrington.com/2024/05/birds-are-eating-my-pea-plants/

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) flower in the female phase, with anthers still packed into a ball that looks like an osage orange. Mostly pollinated by beetles and flies attracted to the unpleasant odor. I'm hoping for fruit this year. #pawpaw #fruit #botany #flowers #tree #nature #pollination #annonaceae #gardening