Bell Curve Beans

It's the weirdest thing with the beans that are growing through the space-age mulch; they seem to be growing in a bell curve pattern.

The tallest beans are in the center of the row and the size of the plants gradually decline toward both ends.  In fact, the plant on the extreme right end sprouted but doesn't look like it's even going to climb the string at all.

The plant in the center, on the other hand, is looking for new worlds to conquer.  I told Cindy that it looked like it's trying to figure out how to get to the telephone wire six or seven feet above it.

We have no idea why these plants are doing this.  It could just be a coincidence; it could be something to do with the heat coming off the mylar.

Strange Phenomenon

Cindy found this strange tomato in the garden the other day.

What looks like a green stem emerging from the top of the tomato is actually the result of a seed that has sprouted from within the tomato and emerged out the bottom.  You can actually see some of the real stem underneath the tomato in this picture.

Although it looks strange, it doesn't change the edibility of the tomato.

And that's a good thing.

Another Sighting

Our neighbors across the street told us that they saw an animal they thought at first was a dog, then maybe a coyote running along the top of the wall between their house and the neighbors about 10 p.m. last Sunday night.  As they described the critter, we though it might be the Gray Fox, and when we showed them the picture they said that looked like the same animal.  

There is an orange tree on one side of the wall and they have a wonderful Fuerte Avocado tree on their side, and the local canyon rats have routinely raided both trees.  It would make sense for the fox to be there; they are climbers and they eat both fruit and small mammals and my guess is that this fox is eating a lot more rodents than he is oranges.  

We're all in favor of that, and it's nice to know he's still patrolling the neighborhood.

Space Age Mulch

Cindy has been asked to test some material as a mulch.

It's a thin layer of a shiny material like mylar that supposedly promotes plant growth by reflecting light from the ground upward toward the plants.

Since it's supposed to be helpful in shaded areas, Cindy decided to try it in the two new raised beds behind the garage.  Those beds are shaded by the garage and by the neighbor's enormous pine tree which overhangs that part of our yard, so this area looked like a prime spot to try this stuff.

Cindy spread the material on the ground, then cut holes where she wanted to plant her green beans and pumpkins.  She also cut the bottoms out of some plastic cups to protect the beans and arranged string for the beans to climb as they grow.

And they have grown, climbing up the strings

The Persistence of Paper Wasps

Under the Umbrella

The Paper Wasps that established a nest under our metal patio cover last summer went dormant during the winter but started up again this spring.  They chew up bits of wood and plant materials to make the cell structure of their nests, gradually adding more and more cells to expand the nest where the queen lays eggs to replenish the supply of worker wasps.

We watched them with caution because they do have stingers and will sting repeatedly if the nest is disturbed, but they didn't bother us at all, even though we were constantly going in and out of the french doors not far from their nest.

We left them alone because they eat insects and pest caterpillars, which is O.K. with us.  Cindy did not find ANY Tobacco Hornworms on her tomato plants all last year, which is the first year that she hasn't lost at least one tomato to Hornworms.

So we considered the Paper Wasps beneficials to be tolerated, if not exactly welcomed with open arms.

However, this year they have evidently felt that the old nest has reached its maximum limit and decided to add a new complex, and chose our patio umbrella for the site.  When we raised the umbrella, we discovered that they had begun to build the new nest in the folds of the umbrella fabric, so it ended up on top of the umbrella when we opened it up.  Since the new nest was still quite small, Cindy knocked it down with a long pole.

Then we noticed that they were starting over on the underside of the umbrella, so she knocked that one down, too.

It went on like this for weeks:  we put the umbrella down and they started constructing a new nest in the fabric folds; we put it back up and knocked that nest down and they would go back inside again.  Now they've apparently given up on the umbrella and decided to try constructing a nest inside the curtains around the hot tub; Cindy has knocked down a couple of nests there.  I don't know what it is that they like about fabric.  We could tolerate a second nest on the metal patio roof, but we really don't want one attached to either the umbrella or the curtains because they are a bit messy.

You have to admire their persistence, but we really wish they would find someplace else for their new condo complex.

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo

Since there seems to be only one left of the voracious pack of squirrels that were devouring our Tomatillos, Cindy may be able to make some more of the delicious Tomatillo Salsa she made last week.

The tomatillo was a bit like celery and gave the salsa a bit of a crunch.

Here's the recipe she used:


Tomatillo Salsa

2 cups husked, rinsed and chopped tomatillos, or 1 1/2 cups tomatillos and 1/2 cup chopped ripe or green tomatoes.
1/2 avocado
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped white onion
salt and/or pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1.  Combine tomatillos, avocado, garlic, onion, salt, pepper.  Let stand at room temperature for up to an hour, or refrigerate for up to 1/2 day (bring back to room  temperature before serving).

2.  Taste and adjust seasonings, then stir in lime juice and half the cilantro; taste and adjust seasoning again, then garnish with remaining cilantro.  Serve at room temperature.

Still Around

I saw one of the junior California Ground Squirrels under the bird feeder this afternoon, vacuuming up birdseed as fast as he could.  This is the first one we've seen for several days.  This one looked more wary than they have in the past, stopping to raise his head every couple of bites to look around and scan the surroundings for threats to his well being.  They've been pretty bold in the past, even letting us get within about ten feet of them while they're sucking up our expensive bird seed, so this is different behavior.

Eventually this one jumped up on the garden wall and sat there munching the seed he had stored in his cheeks, keeping a sharp lookout while he did.

Then he decided he wanted some veggies with his cereal.  He dashed into the driveway and started climbing over the plastic fencing around the tomato, but apparently either thought better of it or heard a noise that frightened him, so he quickly beat a hasty retreat.

We still don't know why suddenly there are so few of them around, whether it's the presence of the Gray Fox poop under the feeder or whether they've grown to the point where Big Mama finally kicked them out of the nest, but now we know there's at least one still around who remembers where the tomatoes are and how to get to them.

Still No Squirrels

We did see one of the junior California Ground Squirrels briefly yesterday, but other than that brief glimpse, it's like a scene out of "On The Beach".

No squirrels anywhere.

Cindy removed the fox poop from under the bird feeder, but forgot that we were going to try the experiment of leaving it beside the tomatoes in the driveway.  Maybe she was just grossed out by it, but she just got rid of it.

It's still pretty weird that they've all just suddenly disappeared.

New Mystery

Shortly after I hoisted the white flag in yesterday's post signaling surrender to the squirrels on the contested tomato and tomatillo plants, Cindy pointed out to me that she hadn't seen a single squirrel all day.

We kept a watch out and didn't see any squirrels the rest of the day, even under the bird feeder.  Since she had just reloaded the feeder and the Sparrows, House Finches and Scrub Jays had been patronizing it heavily, which meant there was plenty of seed scattered on the ground, the absence of squirrels was unusual.  In fact, it was downright spooky.

So where are they?  Is there a California Ground Squirrel convention in town this week?  Have they all gone to the beach for 4th of July?  Has the Gray Fox managed to take out the entire squirrel burrow population in one night?  Has some idiotic neighbor poisoned them all?

Fox Poop?

Later in the evening I walked down to look at the bird feeder and discovered a clue:  what looks a lot like fox poop directly beneath the feeder.  Hmmmm.  It looks like Mr. Gray Fox has claimed the feeder as his territory.

Since male gray foxes apparently have a very strong scent, that may be what is scaring the squirrels away.  I told Cindy that we should move the poop over to the driveway, away from the feeder and see if the squirrels reappear.  If they do come back the fox poop might keep them away from those tomatoes.

It's kind of a weird feeling in the garden without them scampering around.  We've become used to their presence and especially the acrobatic antics of the young ones.

We kind of miss them when they're not here.

We Give Up

Need I Say More?

O.K., we surrender.  We've finally admitted that we can't effectively protect the tomato and the tomatillo in the grow bags in front of the garage from the depredations of the California Ground Squirrels.

They climbed over the temporary fencing, chewed through the pantyhose Cindy had put over some of the tomatoes, and came back again and again the raid those two bushes.

The bad news is that there's really no place to move those two plants to protect them any better; the good news is that the other tomato plants are doing so well that pretty soon we're going to be up to our kneecaps in ripe tomatoes.  We've already had BLTs, tomatoes in sandwiches, tomato sauce and tomatoes for breakfast.

I told Cindy that pretty soon she's going to be throwing tomatoes at the squirrels, urging them to eat some.  She says, "Never!"  She'll take the excess tomatoes and make tomato sauce out of them, then freeze it and we'll have it all winter long.

In fact, we're currently trying to finish up some of the veggies she froze last year before the beans, zucchini and pumpkin start producing this year.  It looks like the garden is going to produce lots and LOTS of produce this year.