I'm going to grow nasturtiums with my pole beans.

that sounds pretty Stephanie.

I grew nasturtium last year but it didn't like the heat! so I grew some in a pot and put it in a shadier area......then it took off. I brought it in over winter - just put it out on the front porch yesterday. Not sure what I want to do with it yet?

Speaking of nasturtiums and beans.......

I am going to inter-plant the two next year! I had some nastys self seed from last year and left most of them growing in the center of my largest raised bed. When I planted my, (bush) beans, I made rows around two sides of the bed. The beans that were closest to the nastys have not been bothered by the rabbits, they don't like them. The beans farther away from the nastys, (about 4 feet) have been chewed to the ground. I'm hoping that if I get all the beans inter-growing with the nastys that, 1) the bunnies will leave all of them alone, and 2) they will help to shade each others' soil more efficiently. Just my idea......

Melissa - I tried that a few times. (The 3 sisters deal) It surely did not work for me either! The earliest users of this method must have been harvesting for dried beans and corn. Thanks for mentioning that thought! I'd always wondered too!
In my humble opinion, there's no other way it can work. You can't hill soil over the corn roots with beans and squash vines in the way, you can't harvest fresh beans as the corn leaves cut ya to ribbons, and the squash vines don't seem to get enough water or sunlight to produce well. .....and that's above and beyond the great tangle!

Hi chelle,

thanks for sharing your success story! I have seen pictures of your nasturtiums...I love them too!! but when it heats up to 100º they just don't seem to do very well here. although they seem to have worked nicely with the cucumbers... maybe I will try putting them in a more shady spot next year to; or like you plant them with bush beans. do your bush beans shade the nastys at all?

I guess my best success this year (so far) has been my borage and tomatoes growing in close proximity.....I haven't found any tomato horn worms on the tomatoes. I know the season's not over but I am thrilled that those buggers haven't been around.

My nastys are all together in the middle of that bed. They weren't thinned very well so they're shading each others' soil. When they were small they looked terrible....we got hot here fast too this season....but now that they are a full *plot* they're looking better despite the heat.

I didn't put my borage very close to my maters, just stuck it in for an added pollinator attractant. Special bonus....Painted Lady caterpillars have found it and are using it as a host plant.

I saw one very small green *hornworm* looking fella, but I believe it was a Sphinx Moth caterpillar so I didn't kill it. Our hornworms usually come into play a bit later. Maybe in 3 weeks or so. I'm glad you're not having to pick those guys off, I hate that part! They hang on so hard that if you pull too hard you get splattered! Ewww!

Oh you said it Chelle!! Those little legs hang on tight... & that's what gives me the willies about them! No-likeee!! Last year I pulled dozens of those things off my tomatoes, then I learned to just snip the stem they're hanging onto! There was some night shade growing wild and I kept relocating them over there, because they do turn into rather pretty sphinx moths.

The first time I squished one trying to pry it off, I threw it to the ground, shuddering no doubt. But I was quite amazed at how quickly the ants responded to clean up the mess!! I mean within seconds! Thanks ants!!

We have peafowl here. A hen and a cock. Boy, did they love me in the years before someone mentioned the caterpillar form of the Sphinx! Now, if they're out and I'm working in the veggie garden area they follow me around like dogs, begging for a treat!
I always have way more tomato starts than I have places to grow them, so I throw a few in a weedy area and leave them for the Sphinx. The dogs love those. Since they're outside the fence the furbabies can pick their own maters to gnaw on.

the peafowl are very pretty, especially the males with their extravagant display of feathers!! They sure do make a loud noise! sounds like screaming.


do your furbabies like blackberries? I was very amused when I was blackberry picking and looked over to find all three of my dogs were picking the berries and eating them!

I'm not so eager to share my tomatoes with them!!

I don't think my furbabies know about blackberries....besides, they're big galumphs, they'd probably just get their noses full of thorns and say forget this! LOL

I located a pix of Gorgeous George. Here he is on top of a small arbor, surveying his domain.

I been waiting for a pix of the peacock, besides being beautiful does Gorgeous George serve any other purpose?

Susan - Nope. Absolutely none at all. They're Moms birds, if I had my way........ , well, okay maybe not, but they eat my flowers!!!!
That means if they're out at the right time and they eat my veggie blossoms, no and/or delayed veggies.

I was at a friends ranch & they had a peacock. in the evening I heard what sounded like a person screaming... it turned out to be the peacock!

Kinda destructive and noisy little creatures huh? They are beautiful though.

Yes, on both counts!

If my son isn't in my direct line of sight and the peacock screams I'm often dropping everything to go to the rescue!! Then just to find him, (my boy) hale and hearty, peacefully playing on Grandma's carpet! *Groan*

Since getting my chickens for my birthday this year I am very happy with the number of bugs they are eating! They can gladly have the hornworms... should any show up on the maters, we will find out if the chickens like them!!

This spring I sparked a conversation with a local farmer... he was going on about wanting some chicken manure <it was before my b-day> to grow his tomatoes. He said chicken manure grows the best tomatoes ~ "In spring, just dig yourself a hole where the tomatoes will grow, put some chicken manure in the hole and cover it up, then plant your tomato seeds; by the time the roots grow down to the manure, it will be perfect fertilizer."

I will probably try that next spring.

Sounds good, just watch it with fresh chicken poo...easy to burn an area up. We did it here. I can't seem to get my step-dad to put the chicken stuff on the compost pile, he always dumps it in the field where it's just wasted. That area isn't even growing weeds.....burnt.
Composting it a bit with some other stuff would probably be safer. I have found that it's possible to use fairly fresh horse poo, or rabbit poo, but so far they're the only ones that I use that aren't composted for a year first.

How neat that you got your chickens for your birthday! Hope it was a very happy one!

Here are ours, if you haven't already seen them around........



BTW - to get back OT, my roses are thriving inter-planted with onions! I didn't have garlic to use, forgot to order it, but the onions are helping to keep bugs off of them. The roses without the onions around them have those pesky little green worms that chomp up all the leaves. I'm planting seed started onions around those this afternoon!
The neat thing about these little onions is - I started them from saved seed from last years onions! A great success for me.....my first time! I'm a successful seed saver!!!! Yeah! (That has been a long, hard road for me!)

good for you Chelle. it really is rewarding to save seeds... and a challenge because they are all so different!

And Great News that your roses are doing so well with onions planted nearby!!

Your chicks are very pretty... silkies I believe. But yes it was something that my nephew from Louisiana brought me chickens, a rooster and built me a coop for my birthday this year....... I've been wanting them for so long and was very surprised; almost fell down in tears!

Big hugs!

They sure are some wonderful times, aren't they?! Enjoy your gift, seems like that one was really special!

I haven't yet found a pix of the huge onions in with the roses.....I usually try to keep them out of the shot, but here is 'Queen Elizabeth', finally re-awakening with a handful of pretty blooms, (and no chewed leaves! ).

Oh my that is breathtaking!!

In need to grow such beautiful roses, I love the fragrant ones!! All that is growing here are the wild varieties, which are fragrant in early spring.... but long gone now; awaiting the hips that can be harvested after the first frost. seeds of the rose are found in the rose-hips, btw Although many roses are hybrid varieties.

The wild roses are definitely open polinated reseeders, and are often spread by birds...

Ooh, you have a really good shot there! I never seem to get out back, with a camera, when the wilds are blooming. Too busy in the main gardens then, they just slip my mind. I don't think mine have a scent though, it's hard to tell since they bloom at the same time as a wild shrub that has a really strong, sweet smell. Maybe some kind of Russian Olive?
I've never taken pix of the shrub, it's only pretty by its smell, the visual aspect is that of an ugly duckling. Serious. Thorny too.

....and yes, the birds bring those wild roses everywhere! The birds like to try to nest in my gutters, if I don't keep them cleaned out in a timely fashion I even get those roses sprouting up there! Imagine!