Garden Critters

Catch and Release

                                           Day 1 - A young possum is trapped in our garden

Lovely sweet cantaloupe; 25 total came to vine.  Juicy tomatoes; big red Better Boys and Italian Heirloom as well as sweet little cherry tomatoes both golden and red ones are abundant under a protective sunscreen.  Wonderful sweet corn; about a dozen ears came on, enough for a few good meals.  Unfortunately, Keith and I weren't the only ones keeping watch for the perfect ripe-time! 

I checked the melons everyday for signs of ripeness and any disturbance.  On July 12th, I noticed a few teeth marks on a soon-to-ripen melon just barely exposing the orange fruit beneath the still green rind.  I knew for sure that I wasn't the only one checking for ripeness.  Luckily, the animal trap we ordered online just arrived.  Perfect timing. 

We knew from last year that trapping worked well.  We had many of our melons and tomatoes hit before we rented a trap from the Missouri Department of Conservation traveling to the Springfield office 70 miles away.  We caught two critters - an old possum and a young groundhog before we returned the trap to get our $50 deposit back.  Then the drought came and pretty much finished off the remaining melons and tomatoes until fall.

So this year we were ready!  As of this writing, we have caught and released nine critters in ten days.  Of the 25 melons, only six remain unripened on the vine with the critters taking only two before we got them.  We have kept up with the tomatoes picking all before the critters get to them.  They did get most of the corn as they did not wait until it all ripened and stripped the stalks in two nights.  We did get one mess to eat ourselves but they were not quite as ready as we liked.  There's plenty available locally so we are having as much fresh corn as we want anyway.

So here are the photos taken each morning of what was trapped the night before.  We share some of our melons as bait using one half each night.  We still have more melons than we can eat 2-3 times a day for both of us.  The critters get the smallest and over-ripe ones.  We will continue as long as we have melons for bait as we still would like to have a fall garden with more corn as well as the  tomatoes to protect.  I believe the critters are better off released on public land on the lake five miles away.  At least they will have all the water they want and wildlife that that is attracted to water to keep them happy. They will be in a better place should we have a drought like last year next month. So far, at least two of the trapped critters were injured from fighting.  The critter population is likely too high in our neighborhood.  I am a conservationist.

                          Day 2 - An older possum is trapped and getting ready for a ride to the lake

Day 3 - Rocky Raccoon is caught and happily released.  He was injured with bites on his neck and the hide slightly rubbed off one arm as he likely tried to reach for food through the wired cage.

Day 4 - Another possum

Day 5 - Rocky II is Staying Alive!  This one was successful in pulling in all kinds of vegetation for a nice soft bed.  He was sleeping when I woke him up that morning.

                                                    Day 6 - This was a mean possum!

Day 7 - Rocky III was throwing a hissy-fit barking and growling at Keith

Day 8 - Poor little injured possum with it's tail and one leg all chewed up. He was able to run off well enough when released on the lake though.

Day 9 - No critters were trapped and the door remained opened when I checked early in the morning. I also checked the melons and none were hit. An hour or so later, Keith went out to get some peppers and found the trap door closed with no critter inside. Also saw that one melon was partially eaten. So one got away!

                                         

Day 10 - A very mean and smelly possum that crapped all the way to the truck leaving a mess to clean up.

Days 11 & 12 -  Empty trap

Day 13 - This cute little raccoon probably never saw people before and was so scared. 

We set the trap for a couple more days and didn't get anything so we have quit for now as the garden produce has mostly been processed by now with only a few melons remaining.  I think we have won the race! 

Garden Produce

                                                                         June Garden

July Garden

The best food is food you know the most about.  Mindless eating begins with not knowing where your food comes from and what is in it.  Information leads to making the best choices.  There is so much information available, it can be overwhelming.  So keep it simple to begin.  I like to grow foods in my garden and have done it every year since 1973.  For 30 years, I preserved a large amount and it was a staple for our family.  Fresh fruits and vegetables were eaten in season.  Canned, frozen, and dried foods were for off season.  Since the children left home in 2000, I preserve much less, but can afford to buy the more available organic products now available in stores and farmer's markets.  As always, I am ever conscious of what is in my food before I consume it.

The best source for gardening is your local Extension Office as it has the information for the local area. I have used this source for as long as I can remember and continue finding it most helpful since I became a Master Gardener.  For Missouri this sight is a helpful beginning:

http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=CB19

Keith and I both enjoy working in our gardens and this year was no exception even with the usual challenges.  This year we have met one big challenge with huge success - trapping critters that steal our food!  Since this is an ongoing process at this time, I will blog about it later as I am still taking photos.  We are 3 for 3 today - 2 possums and a raccoon in 3 days!

Intuition combined with education and experience has helped in our success and minimized our failures. As with most things in life, nothing ever goes by the book all the time. 

This year we choose to grow lettuce, spinach, kale, onions, leeks, beets, radishes, cantaloupe, peppers, tomatoes, squash, and corn.  We like other vegetables too but sources for good produce are available nearby for the amounts we want when we want them and garden space is utilized for what we want to produce with the most success.  We also have many herbs that come back every year including oregano, lemon balm, thyme, cilantro, sage, savory, curry, peppermint, St. John's Wort and a couple that have to be replanted every year:  rosemary and basil.  Gooseberries come back every year too.

This year I am only perserving tomatoes, peppers, and onions in the form of hot sauce and salsa.  I am including my favorite recipes for both:

                                                                     Beti's Hot Sauce
makes 10 pints
25-30 whole tomatoes
4 cups jalapenos and/or habanero peppers
3 green peppers
3 large red and/or white onions
2-3 cups red cayenne peppers

Remove seeds from all peppers except the red cayennes.  Cut all into chunks for blender and process at puree.  Cook to boil and simmer 1/2 hour or more depending on consistency wanted.  Prepare jars and fill to 1/2" of top.  Add 1/2 teaspoon canning salt to each pint.  Adjust lids, process 10 minutes in water bath canner.  Makes 4-5

                                                                     Beti's Salsa

makes 8 pints
8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 cups zucchini, chopped (seeds removed, if large)
2 1/2 cups onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups green peppers, chopped (seeds removed)
1 cup jalapeno peppers, chopped (seeds removed, optional)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste

Mix all together and bring to a slow boil for 10 minutes.  Seal in prepared jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Springfield, MO Master Gardener Tour 2012

What better way to spend a lovely June day than to visit other gardens and landscapes especially when our own garden and landscape in Hermitage is all caught up?  It is the best of times. 

"This is the second time Master Gardeners will open our yards as a fundraiser and we are looking forward to a wonderful event," said Barbara St. Clair. president of the non-profit organization which sponsors a hotline and tends the Xeriscape Garden
http://www.ozarksgardens.com/pl/VPobD/u/u/0/xeriscape_garden.html on National Avenue and the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park in Springfield, Missouri.  "The thirteen featured gardens range in style from family backyard gardens to hosta beds, Japanese maples, herbaceous borders, water features, low-water gardens, and plants galore."  All the gardens have one thing in common, St. Clair said:  "They all are inspiring."

We began our trip with a plan to see as many places as possible.  I was emailed the information and addresses from our local Master Gardener group in Hickory County.  The night before, I entered all the addresses in my GPS.  With Keith's help as navigator we were ready!  We ended up enjoying seven of the thirteen places leaving the ones with water features as the prominent description at the end of the list as we have minimal interest having that feature for ourselves in our yard.  We live just above the Pomme de Terri River and have a large lake close by; plenty of natural water features for us! 

The first stop was at Wickman Gardens to purchase our passes for $10 each.  We then received booklets to guide us even though we already had that information provided online.  It was a way that the participants could see that we paid our way, I guess.  Everyone was so friendly and inviting.  All had provided refreshments.  The photos below cannot fully show all that was enjoyed in person.  The fragrances, the sounds of birds and insects and wind through the foliage, the variety of textures, temperatures and viewing angles, and especially the camaraderie between fellow gardeners cannot be captured in a photo.  I have done my best to bring some of it together here.  Enjoy!

1347 S. Airwood Drive - Shirley Luttrull has a small yard but great things come in small packages.  All the space is divided into "rooms."  She began in 1980.  There is a beautiful waterfall just feet away from her back door.  Also included are statuary, gazebos, arbors, flowerbeds, and many plants in every possible space.

                                                              Front view from street

                                      Window boxes utilizing rain guttering to grow lettuce

 View standing at the back door

                                                     Gazebo is used as a Reading Room

                                                                Arbor with wisteria

                                                           Ferns along side the house

Garden of Weeden

Keith and the pelican at the waterfall with the backdoor in view

2839 Covington Circle - Avis Holloway has wonderful specimens around her landscape she began 28 years ago.  I first noticed the well-established New Dawn roses on the arbor on the side that leads to paths that meander through beds of flowers and shrubs, under shade trees, out to sun-lovers and ground covers and back around to shade.  It is obvious this gardener knows, loves, and collects plants!  What caught my eye especially were the giant lily, many hydrangea and the magnificent magnolia trees.  The fragrances were exquisite!

                                                               Front view from street

                                                     
                                                                           Side yard

                                                                        Many lilies

                                                  Pathways meander through sun areas...

                                                        ...and shaded hosta areas

       Lilies are my favorite and with so many varieties, I have no doubt I'm not the only one!

Magnolia trees are the main source of shade

                                                   A VERY tall lily and highly scented

                                                 One of many showy hydrangea bushes

                                                      Overview under the magnolia tree

                                          Sun area next to shade area just off the back patio

741 S. Farm Road 197 - Dennis Westcott has a wonderful working garden because he is one of the regular vendors at the Greater Springfield Farmers Market.  There is a wide variety of quality vegetables, beds of perennials, flowers for cutting, and a new area devoted to mushroom production.  Keith and I were particularly interested in the production of wine caps, shitaki, and oyster mushrooms.  We will be looking at this website for more information: http://www.fieldforest.net/

                                                             Front view from street

                                                         Vegetable gardens - standard

Vegetable gardens - raised beds

                                    Shitaki mushrooms grown on oak logs ready for harvest

                                   Rows of oak logs 1-3 years old placed along fence in shade area

 

Oak logs with holes drilled to allow mushroom to grow from starters; they through wax plugs

This hardwood log stack is to grow the oyster mushrooms.  Between this stack and the logs along the fence for shitaki mushrooms is some ground mulch used for the wine cap mushrooms.

Here is Dennis talking to Keith standing in front of the wine cap mushroom bed between the shitaki mushroom logs on the left and the oyster mushroom log stack on the right.


1305 Meadowmere - Brent Palmer has 2.5 wooded acres hidden in the heart of Springfield just a block away from National Avenue.  It is truly a "secret garden" just waiting to be explored.  There are giant trees, shrubs, flower beds, vegetables, statues, and potted plants in a mix of wild areas and "civilized" garden beds.  The house is vintage 1956 with a Frank Lloyd Wright design.  The largest tree is a pin oak and the center of the huge lawn showcases a magnificent magnolia tree.

                                                   Front view from end of long driveway

                                                           The long tree-lined driveway

                    The circle driveway with the house on the right and an outbuilding on the left

                 A very large lawn closed in from the outside world with large trees and shrubs

 
                                                          Magnolias scent the area

                                             Magnolia trees in the center of the large lawn

That would be me leaning against the largest pin oak on the acreage located just to the rear of the house.

                                                                   Flower beds off the patio

                                           Variety of hostas line part of the circle driveway

Just one of many evergreen trees around the property that have been here a very long time.

1179 South Jefferson - Diana Duchascherer has always been a gardener.  She grew up next to her grandparents who had a commercial greenhouse in Springfield.  She has her own greenhouse which enables her to keep her large tropical plants all winter and move them out to the patio in the spring.  Awarded Garden of the Month by the Cherry Street Garden Club of Springfield.  The location is next to a large cemetery which I noticed allowed a nice breeze to come through the open area.  Keith and I liked the greenhouse and it's connection to a porch.  There is a large collection of succulents and cactus.  The yard has much decking and a raised pool area.

 
                                                              Front view from street

                                         Much decking and rock work entering the backyard

                           The double-walled greenhouse with a porch to the rear attached to the house

It appears that tomatoes are grown here without any worry about critters getting any.  I wonder if the "coop" could also be for chickens at another time.  The green lawn area is the cemetery bordering the property.

                                         Overview of the backyard from the raised pool area.

                                                       Shade area with many hostas

                                                                     Water features

                                                                           Waterfall

                                Keith inside the greenhouse with the attached porch to the rear

                           Inside the greenhouse are wonderful cactus and succulent containers

                                                         Outside container displays

                                                    Shaded area on the side of the house

                          Meandering pathways created in a general  U-shape in the backyard.

626 E. Wayland - Janet Wreath has a backyard highlighted by a large, beautifully constructed pond and waterfall along with lovely trees and perennials.  Garden objects like bird houses and statues are sprinkled everywhere and there's even a fairy garden.  There are many hostas, ferns, native flowers, and peonies.

                                                                Front view from street

                                                            Side walkway with hostas

                          Large water feature includes waterfall and pond with aquatic plants

                             Wildflowers such as Echinacea (purple cone flower) have large stands

                                         Elephant ear is surrounded with wild jimson weed

                                             Water features stream along with a natural path

                                         Clever arrangement of birdhouses on a metal wheel

                        This is an area alongside the water features with much detail like a fairy garden.

                      

                        The detail continues with more characters to enjoy along the pathway.

2610 Alta - Tom and Cathy Lakowske's home was our final visit on the tour saving the best until last!  This is a magazine-ready garden in an idyllic retreat of a serious hosta and Japanese maple collector.  There were 100 hosta varieties and 25 Japanese maple varieties on 1/4 acre started in 1998. The plants were all so vibrant and healthy-looking! The yard is artfully laid out so that there are multiple garden rooms and seating areas and a sense of space far beyond its size.  Every inch is planned with hostas, maples, heucheras, Solomon's Seal, inpatients, and lovely shade plants and clematis grow up everywhere.  Fountains, statues, planters, and Tom's collection of bird feeders ensure there are lots to see and enjoy.  The sweet sounds of birds is everywhere now and then.  Keith and I especially noticed the soft sounds the wind made through the leaves and the natural flow that brings this place alive and allows you to feel like you are part of something wondrous.  After talking with Tom, I knew I met the maestro.  For so much more about this paradise:  http://www.swmogardens.com/

                                                               Front view from street

                                                                   Front yard

                     
                                                                    Front yard

                                                           
                                                                      Front porch

                                    Interesting stone bench and wood slabs for the walkway

Brick pathway on side of the house surrounded by greenery

                         Lovely fountain under an opening in the canopy for light to come through

                                                       I'm sure enjoying this Garden Room

                                                            Birdhouse arrangement

                              So many shades of green catching the break-thru lighting

                                                                       Gazebo area

                                                           A very nice outdoor room

                                                      Keith and Beti in a Happy Place

            

                                                          Master Gardener Tom

                                                          Bird feeder collection on porch

    

                                                                     More bird feeders

                                                                Bird feeders all over

                                                              Such vibrant hostas!

                                               So many varieties of Japanese maples!

                                                                 Wonderful pathways!

    Love this squirrel displayed in between the boughs of a 100+ years old tree.  Such a joyful look in a very happy place!