People are toxic!!

I have lived in my home since 1993. When I found the place, I found the charm of the place was the land and the isolation. Coming from Indianapolis, I was used to city living. I missed the sounds of the city from firetrucks, traffic and screaming kids and the one thing I remember the most is the street sweeper that passed under my window at exactly 3 am every morning. I lived downtown so I enjoyed the fountains, tall buildings and people watching.

When I moved here it was the difference of night and day. When it got dark, it was really dark. The first six months I would have every light in the house one because you never know what might happen. Eventually, I got used to it and even enjoyed being outside in the seclusion and darkness. I could look at the sky and watch the stars which seemed so close, I could reach up and grab them. At night, it was a whole new world. I am serenaded by a symphony from the creatures of the night with the whippoorwill as the star attraction. I know what true peace is.

The downfall of living in the country is people. Since I started school, I have gotten sick more times than I have in my life. This week I have a bug that is not pleasant. On campus, there are what 50,000 people and being around them, they pass their germs along to everyone around. For me, I have been protected by my seclusion. So now, I carry bottles of disinfectant with me and hope the people that are sick are staying home.

I love my home and enjoy the seclusion. Meanwhile, in my pursuit of my degree I will have to just deal with the inconvenience even though it is unpleasant. Whether sick or well, I still have the music of the night to help me through any problems or discomfort and most of all the peacefulness of my environment. The moral of this story is when possible, stay away from people but when worse comes to worse, take a minute to listen to the music and everything else just seems minute.

Garden Pests and Friends

Earlier this week, I found all the leaves of one of my angel trumpet completely gone. I knew right away that it was that little bastard grass hopper, I never could catch. As I wandered around looking at my other plants, I came across the culprits a pair amorous grasshoppers in the process of let's just say having a conjugal visit on my camellia bush. I think it must of been date night for them because to top the evening off they were listening to Barry White and having a good time. Needless to say this couple barely had enough time to finish their cigarettes before their untimely demise. In this area, these large grasshoppers spend the summer reeking havoc on my garden and laying their eggs. Once I went to see my county agriculture agent to see what to do about them because nothing I tried would kill them. His reply was the only way to kill them at that age is to smash them. This was good enough for me at that time but then the eggs hatch in early spring. This is the only time any good pesticide can kill them. When young they are black with a reddish yellow stripe down their back. Once you spray, all you Can do is pray you killed the little bastards. Raymond Zebra states in his article in the Florida Times Unions, "The adult eastern lubber grasshopper (Romalea microptera) is very resilient to chemicals and the only way to rid yourself of them is to smash them. It is best to address them when they first hatch or they will continue to reproduce year after year." I agree with his assessment and have found in the early spring poisons like Malathion or Diazonon are very effective. Usually after spraying, I cut the leaves they are on and put them in a plastic bag and discard them appropriately.

With the grasshopper it is very obvious they are around because it is easy to see the damage. Though, there are other pests that can do significant damage to a plant quicker if left unattended. Aphids and spider mites are so small you can barely see them. So you have to constantly stay on top of inspecting your plants and treating them immediately. Aphids are usually found on the underside of the leaves and slowly drink the nutrients out of the leaves. If you have ever noticed a plant with a black suety color on the leaves, it is a sure tell all that the plant is infested. Treating them with malathion or other pesticides usually will take care of all most pests. As for the black soot, simply spray the plants with soapy water and this will help clean the leaves. As for spider mites, the most damage they do is discolor the leaves. On camellias the leaves turn to a silver color and a good way to deal with them is spraying.

When working with poison, one has to be very careful and wear protective clothing and safety glasses. If you get a little on you, wash the area immediately. When finished, throw the clothes in the washer machine right away and shower. Exposure to most of the household poison can be serious but not bad unless you ingest it. As for other poisons, just getting it on your skin can be dangerous. One time, I bought an antique commercial powder spreader for decoration. When I got I home and unloaded it from the truck, a yellow powder poured out of it all over me. Yes, I got very sick and actually should of went to the hospital but being the stubborn man I am, I just layed down and slept for a couple of days. This piece of equipment came from an old farm house and I think it is safe to say it was DDT. I now understand why it was taken off the market. Fortunately I did not have any two headed babies.

The Department of Agriculture bans may of the good chemicals because of tree huggers who say they are getting people sick. Sometimes you trade off for the good of the plant or the people. I choose plants. I have found that when old people die and families have yard sales and you can always find some of better chemicals. yes they are banned for safety reasons, they sure work a lot better than the watered down alternative. Sometimes I think the Department of Ag do not think when they ban certain items. This year they decided to ban phosphates from fertilizer because people felt it was doing damage to the environment. What they did not think of is that the state of Florida is known for their Phosphate mines. Duh.

Call me a prude or a murderer but I'll stick with the poisons to keep up my beautiful yard. If people want to complain, keep their damn children out of my yard.

I've dealt with the pests and the mean time I have found some new friends. Besides the birds that frequently visit the yard, I have found this year I have been fortunately blessed by several new species of butterflies and moths. These are the kind of friends I like to have. Though on Saturday George discovered a couple of his own new friends, Hilary and Bernard gophor turtles. He is facinated by them. When he goes out, he runs to see if they are out and tries to play with them. On the otherhand, I have never seen a turtle flip someone off but they do that often now just to try to get rid of him. Being a good parent, I have not told him what that means, so he just keeps playing.

Of all the creatures I can call friend the most welcome is Ophelia. I met her Saturday while working in the yard. Ophelia is a black snake. When I first moved to Florida, I was terrified of snakes. I had a pair of black snakes that used to sleep right outside my back door. I had a hard time using that door until I started talking to the locals. They told me that if you have a black snake on your property, you will not have rattlesnakes. Apparantly they are territorial and do no like rattlesnakes. After this brief education, I was able to share my porch with them but found it is easier to accept them if they had names. I named them Frank and Julie (after a couple of people that reminded me of snakes) It is very safe to say she is my best friend.

With that, I'll leave you with this thought: we have good friends and bad friends but sometimes even a snake will make a wonderful friend moreso than people that may act similar to them.

Plesant surprises

As a gardener, people love to give their casts offs away (I do this too.) I tend to take different or odd plants-especially bromiliads. Sometimes is is a good thing or on that can turn bad quickly. Several years ago, an elderly woman gave me several bromiliads but could not describe the flower. I though, what the hell and planted them. This particular species is deadly, not actually deadly but will cause serious damage to exposed skin. You have to wear long sleeve shits and thick gloves to hand this plant. The leaves grow out about two and a half feet and are armed with very long needles. I forgot one little thing about these plants. They grow quickly and if you ignore them they become very invasive. I planted 5 plants and now have an area with over 40 plants and they spread quickly through their root. This process took many years. One day, I started pulling some up and just about decided that it has been five years and no blooms, I would just remove them all and send them to the dump. Then the strangest thing happened. The middle of a couple of plants started turning orange. Eventually, it shot a 2' pure white spike up. This was very unusual as I had never seen a white one before so I decided to hold off on throwing them away. This large waxy spike eventually put out small flowers and then little purple flowers from within them. The flower is breathtaking. unfortunately I do not have any photos yet of this one but will post when one blooms. I also have some available it anyone will like one (shipping and handling not included.)

I bring up such cast offs, because today I found another usually flower from a plant I never thought bloomed. A friend gave me a hanging burro's tail. It's knotty leaves cascade down to the ground. While watering today, I notice something different, a waxy looking bouquet. I looked down and I'll be damn but it had bloomed. Here's a photo of the flower. It is beautiful and one day I hope the entire plant will put out blooms all at once. I guess my point today is if you are offered a plant and not sure of what it will do, be patient and you may be quite surprised-even if it may take a couple of years.

I will eventually discard a lot of the bromiliads but the burro's tail will be a keeper. Enjoy the picture.

Caring for plants during rainy seasons

If you have found this blog, thank you. Yes, I can be blunt, though my experience in my garden should make up for anything you may find out of the ordinary.

Here in Central Florida, were are in the middle of the rainy season. This is great for our water supply but can reek havoc on our plants. With extensive watering or rain plants are very susceptible to disease and fungus. Some of the symptoms are black spot, falling leaves, yellowing of the leave or simply a powdery mildew. The pictures to right are examples of what the fungus can do. The one on the left is very sick. The right has yellow leaves but if untreated can look the same way. Many times, people have the misconception that these symptoms only effect roses but this is untrue. It effects most scrubs, flowers and vegetables.

You should apply fungicide often during the rainy season and less frequently the rest of the year. Though we know it is important to water plants on a regular basis, timing is very important. It is best to water in the early morning or at least an hour before sundown to allow the foliage to dry. It you water before dark, the moisture in the air and water on is on the plant, this is the ideal conditions for mold and mildew on the plants. You should also remove the infected leaves and ones on the ground to prevent additional infection.

In the Department of Agriculture information site (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PP154), Harmon, Palmateer, and Ribbeck , write: "Plants die for many reasons, not all are diseases. Many environmental stresses cause disorders that mimic diseases. For example, drought stress can kill a plant; this isn't a disease. Disease occurs when a pathogen infects a plant and disrupts growth or kills that plant over time. The most common plant pathogens include fungi, bacteria, and viruses. What else do you need besides the plant host and a pathogen to get disease?"

There are many good fungicides on the market. I use several different ones including copper sulfate, Dacinil and Captain. There are many on the market and are very simple to use but carefully read the instructions before use. With some diseases such as rust, it may take alternating different ones to cure the disease. Last year I had,I had a sever problem of rust on many daylillies that came from other states. Some were big dollar plants. The plants caused a spotty rust color marking on the leaves, prevented growth and production of flowers and possibly spread to other beds. Fortunately, it was restricted to this only bed.

I first treated them with copper. This did not take care of it. After extensive research and talking to other gardeners and the country extension, I found that alternative applications of different fungicides over time will eventually cure the plant. Though the greatest tool is patience. I began alternating treatment with copper, dacinil and captain and did not see results. Before winter came, I cut the foliage down to the ground leaving the root system in tact. I decided that in the spring, if the rust continue, I would pull all the effected plants and discard them. When spring came and the plants began to put out new leaves, the plants were cured.
If the extreme alternative is to remove the plants, it is always important to put the infected foliage and plants in a garbage bag and send them out with the trash. It is important to continue treatment of the soil to prevent future spread of the disease.

Though, it is frustrating when your plants have a fungus or disease, patience, research and speaking to the experts at the local county extension to get the most accurate information. Do not depend on clerks at stores such as Walmart or any of the major hardware stores because they may have no knowledge or very little training in dealing with such problems.

Granted, it is easier to just discard the plant but it just takes a little education and patience and you will be happy with healthier plants.

Welcome to my blog about my country home. I am an avid gardener and for the most part will discuss my trials and tribulations of my own personal experiences gardening in central Florida. Here are photos of my successes. I am very proud of the yard. For now, I want to give you a little back ground about learning about gardening.
I started gardening at about age 8, when little old ladies would gladly pay me 25 cents to pull their weeds. This one lady was thrilled to find someone to do the work but did not think about the fact that 8 year olds do not know plants. She put me to work in a very large flower bed and I proudly pulled all the weeds. When I was done, I knocked on the door to collect my pay and show off my good job-this is the first time I every saw an old woman cry. I thought she was overjoyed with the wonderful job I did, but I as learned that day lilies, petunias and other flowers are not weeds. I also learned for the first time that I was a little stupid son of a bitch and to get the fuck off my property. I never even got my 50 cents. I guess some lessons are hard to learn. When I got home, I told the bitch about what happened, another lesson well learned- never call your mother a bitch, even if someone tells you that you are a son of one. My ass hurt for a week and lye soap leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Eventually, the work dried up around my home; apparently old ladies also like to talk to other old ladies about little sons of bitches. I heard that word a lot but no one ever told me what it was but I knew well enough that it included a belt if you say it.
Fortunately, my wonderful Aunt Gwen loved to garden and I was her precious little angel and not a son of a bitch. She was very patient with me and taught me about growing vegetables and flowers. She also showed me the most important thing that I never forgot. What are weeds and what are not. She paid me more money but just the time I spent learning from her instilled my love of gardening. She also told me what a bitch was and why I should not call any woman one until I grow older. I still have her gardening books to this day.
Over the next few years I went through junior high and high school with small vegetable gardens hidden away in my back yard. I had wonderful crops but then I learned a new word “fag.” My mother just told me to ignore those little sons of bitches and she loved me. Years later, I learned what it meant and my mother still loves me. I think it is because now she gets better gifts and flowers more often.
As I grew older, I lived in apartments and the closest I got to gardening were a few potted plants and the pot plants I grew in a nearby lot. I loved the 70’s. I learned that certain plants had really good uses. Some you can bake with and others you simply make tea either way colors were much brighter and sometimes you saw flowers bloom right before your eyes. I learned about the beautiful poppy from Asia also help you relax and laugh so hard you would piss your pants.
Eventually, I graduated from high school and eventually landed a job with the American Red Cross after a year of volunteer work. I did not do a lot of gardening for quite a while and learned that when you work for non-profit organizations they want all your time and cannot afford to pay you. I’ll tell you a little secret for those of you just starting out in the world. Never, never share your back ground unless it involves a great salary with benefits. For the next 25 years, I worked as a volunteer and paid staff for many organizations from Red Cross, AIDS to developing programs for troubled youths. Although, I gained great experience, created great programs and helped to better the communities and the states I lived in. I learned another important lesson. As Michael Keaton, as Beetlejuice says, people who commit suicide becomes social workers in heaven. I don’t remember the act but somewhere along the line I must have.
This left me very little time to do much gardening. Eventually, I decided to stop volunteering and started my own business writing grants and program development for these organizations. For the next three years, I ate a lot of ramen noodles and everyone wanted me badly but very few could afford to pay me. This is when one of my voices in my head told me that I needed to get away from this field so we can eat real food and pay the bills. At this point, I proudly declared I am a gardener.
I landed a job for a wonderful and very patient 66 year old woman who needed someone to care for her yard and large flower beds. She taught me a great deal about plants and using chemicals in caring of plants. This was the start, of a great friendship and she became my mentor. She was born and raised in South Florida and had a vast knowledge of growing tropical plants and orchids. When she moved to Bushnell, Fl she learned more about growing in the area. I worked for her for about 9 years until I developed skin cancer and this put an end to working as a gardener, though I can work certain hours on my property.
There you have it; this is my life, now a full time student and a gardener. Most people look at me and are surprised when I talk about my property and my flower beds. I have 5 acres and eventually I will have it completely cleared and set up as a park and sanctuary. I am often asked why I love gardening so much and I tell people to look at the beauty of my yard and it says it all. Mostly while I work in my yard, I have time to talk to the voices in my head, who help me decide what to plant where and what roses to buy. Most of them are very helpful but that little fucker Harvey. Yes that giant pink rabbit does exist. I think when Jimmy Stewart died, he sent Harvey to me. All Harvey wants me to plant are carrots, lime trees and potatoes so we can make our own vodka. Until next time, always remember as an adult, those little sons of bitches eventually grow into teenagers, otherwise known as little fucks they better be paid.