Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Japanese Beetles Come to the Celtic Ozark Garden


Well, I am very sad today. Japanese beetles have come to the Celtic Ozark Garden. I have found the little pests in my apple trees, and my beautiful Cascade hops. I don't think the beetles understand that I can live without apples, but I can't live without fresh hops for my homebrew. Argh.



The Japanese Beetle is a real threat to the Celtic Ozark Garden. They will eat grape vines, flowers, and a host of other things. They can destroy a garden.

The best way to get rid of the pest is with a bucket of soapy water, and a butterfly net. Catch the bugs, and drop them in the soapy water. The water kills the Japanese beetles, and doesnt harm the envirnoment. If you use a pure dish soap like Ivory, the water will even be good for the soil. It's one of the ingredients in my liquid fertilizer recipe on this site.

Wish me luck. It may be the Battle of Fallkirk in the Celtic Ozark Garden full of Japanese beetles.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Squash Are In

Today we get to pick a summer favorite. The squash are in. We have yellow neck and Zuchinni ready to go.

I have picked them when they reached 8 inches in length and about an inch and a half in diameter. They stay nice and tender that way.

What we don't eat fresh, we will shred for zuchinni bread, and freeze in a freezer bag. Make sure the fruit is clean and dry before freezing. We use a food processor to shrewd the fruit. Later, we will also just cut some in 3/4 in thick slices to freeze for soup and stews.

slainte
Ray Province


Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Summer Squash

The summer squash is slowly starting to appear for the season. I have zuchini and yellow neck. Both types are easy to grow,and produce a lot of fruit.

You can start these as seed ahead of time, and transplant in mid May in the Ozarks. They will go into August, when you often get Squash bugs. They need to be picked when small. Once they grow real big, the skin gets tough. Those I save for seed or breads.

A standard all around fertilizer and plenty of water
make these take off. A well drained soil is good. Size will be the big issue, as these buggers get very large. One plant needs 16sq ft.

Later in the season, I'll add some recipes for squash. For now, we stir fry with onions, garlic, Greek Seasoning and a little Soy Sauce. Ya boy howdy!

We'll talk again soon,

Ray Province
The Celtic Ozarkian



Raymond C. Province, M.A.
Celtic Ozark Solutions

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Spring to Summer Garden Transition

I finished a video today on Spring to Summer Garden Transitions. In this case, I was finishing up a great year of sugar snap peas, and then getting the garden ready for breen beans. Hope you enjoy the video.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Peas to Green Beans

One of my favorite transitions of the year is from growing sugar snap peas, into green beans. I am picking the last of my snap peas this weekend. Once I have picked, and refertilized the soil, I will be ready for green beans.

I usually grow a Blue Lake Sytle Green Bean here in the Ozarks. It does well in wet or dry conditions. And the harvest is 60-70 days, so I can usually get a couple of rounds in each year.

Nitrogen is a big deal here. Peas and green beans both love it. So, I make sure I use a good fertilizer with plenty of nitrogen. The leafy plants love the stuff.

Green beans are one of the easiest plants to grow also. So give them a try. You can check out my video of green beans on this blog for more info.