An Hour a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
An hour a day keeps the doctor away. That phrase kept going through my head this morning as I did my morning ritual of checking the garden. Sometimes that hour makes the difference in my mental health for the day. I felt so much happier when I came in. And I know eating fresh food from the garden keeps my body healthy.
Berkley Tie-Dye tomatoes, one of my favorites
Today promises to be the hottest day of the year, so my garden TLC had to be accomplished early. For me, that one hour usually turns into two or three. Working freelance (web content creator, actress, photographer, homemaker) I realize that is a luxury folks who work long days away from the garden can’t afford, and I’m very grateful. And that’s why I write a blog, to share the garden with you.
Mostly what I do is ponder, and look closely. One of my LBL’s (Late Bloomer Lessons) is Be Observant. Observance takes time. The larger the garden, or in my case, the more complex, the more time it takes. Our yard’s square footage hasn’t changed in the four years I’ve been gardening, but this summer it is it’s most complex and biodiverse. I will talk about biodiversity in one of Season 5’s upcoming episodes.
Pondering this morning:
…about the powdery mildew being so much worse on the Black Krim tomato plant I’m trying for the first time (and deciding not to plant again), led to me spraying the base of vines with milk spray and removing offended leaves;
…whether loufa being a squash means that female flowers must be pollinated by male flowers, and I don’t have any male flowers so will these baby loufas develop, and noticing the leaves were a little droopy so I watered;
Female loufa squash flower
…with the temperature rising to 91°F if I should water my 21 peppers on the driveway three days early (I did);
…if my hand-removing and squashing scads of Southern green stink bugs off my green beans (they originated on my bolted rocket arugula) will turn the tide on the invasion or will I need an insecticidal soap (which I’ve ordered just in case);
Southern Green Stink Bug, 5th instar
…will the baby Seminole squash from my only vine’s only spectacular female flower become a squash;
Female Seminole squash flower
Seminole squash 20′ vine growing from pot alongside driveway up to kitchen door
….and various other random thoughts.
At the end of today’s session, I observed a baby melon that appears to have been pollinated.
Melon (I won’t know the variety till it gets bigger)
Melons are so hard to grow here, I’m afraid to be hopeful. This heat wave should actually help the melon vines. There were also five strawberries (two from another plant), enough for a small snack. Three garden hours spent, heart and mind lifted! Check! Hope you are able to get out into a garden this week!
Three ripe strawberries
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Thank you!
Category: Curbside Gardening, Garden Musings, Pests, Urban Gardening
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Kaye, I’ve been watching your travel videos for some time but never read your site. This is the first time and it will not be the last! I love it all! Do you have ‘helpers’ to get all your videos and page done or do you do it all yourself. I’m jealous! I’d love to do something kinda like this but in a different direction but I have no computer skills except what I’m doing here, typing! I keep thinking I need my 8 year old great nephew to do my ‘technical’ stuff. HA! I’m old, 69, but not quite a late boomer growing wise, my career has been growing and nurturing plants and landscapes. Lucky me. But now I’m into renewing my Michigan woodlot to all native Michigan plants. I’d like to record that for ‘posterity’. Keep up the good work. I love it!
This is so awesome and I apologize I’m only now responding. The notification went in my junk folder. To your questions: I have NO helpers preparing, shooting, compiling, filing, organizing and storing video and photos, writing episodes, coming up with ideas, or help with making me look good in front of camera. I do it all. It’s quite a chore, honestly, and I work full-time on my content and my garden. As for Late Bloomer episodes, I pay an editor, sound editor and composer for each one, which is why I ask for donations and sharing of my videos. I cannot pay their going rate, I have to wait for them to have a little down-time, which is why I’ve never been able to upload on a consistent day and time. So I started the travel vlog, and am reluctantly learning to edit that to increase my content on my channel. I must raise financial support this year, as after four years of working hard full-time, I’ve made a commitment to make Late Bloomer sustainable. I will be initiating a Patreon account for fundraising for a sixth season (of 20 episodes), as well as other initiatives. Please share Late Bloomer website and channel with your friends. More subscribers means more ad revenue. As for you, I’m VERY impressed that you are renewing your woodlot and I hope you will be incorporating native edible plants as well. I hope the Phoenix vlogs can inspire you. The idea being if you could not get to the store, you would not starve. And please, 69 is not old. 89 is old. You have twenty great, fulfilling, energetic years before you get old. 🙂 Thanks for your support!!!I look forward to hearing from you often!