Gardening

Today I used Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) on my broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage, in my garden. It comes as a spray or powder. I bought the powder under the name Dipel. I poured it into the cut-off leg of an old pair of pantyhose and shook the pantyhose over each plant. It worked beautifully and was easy to use! It is supposed to kill the cabbageworms that emerge later on in the season en masse. I'll have to do it about once every 10 days from now on, but it is worth it to keep those worms out of the cabbage. The BT is totally organic and non-toxic and you can use it on crops right up to the day of harvest. The way it works is that it releases spores which the worms ingest and then die within a couple of hours because they get sick and can't digest food. I only use non-toxic substances on the garden.

2008 Garden

We're trying something new for this year's garden. We did not till it this year and we divided it into four sections that will be rotated, and one permanent section for strawberries, onions and asparagus. We put black gardening cloth all around the inside of the garden fence and also used it to section off the garden, which will be covered with hay or straw to create permanent walkways.

So far I've planted radishes, carrots, spinach, turnips, turnip greens, collards, peas, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Soon to be planted: strawberries, asparagus and lettuce.

Even though it is hard work and back-breaking, I love digging in the garden to set the plants and sow the seeds. The sun is warm and not HOT like it gets in May onward through the summer here in the south. The birds are nesting all around and it feels like a new beginning, which it is.