turnin' the dirt

Just finished up with a great book that took me way too long to get through.  Winter has been busier with a few more setbacks in my physical health than I would have wanted with flu and some problems with my wrist.  Nothing a little chiropractic and acupuncture couldn't help fix, but still.  The book I just finished was The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren and it was full of great information, laughs, stories and recipes from a first time home gardener.  I highly recommend for the humor alone.  An excerpt, for your enjoyment, which just had me rolling!

This weekend was spent getting seedlings thinned out and re-seeded in the planter box.  Things have been coming up great with all of the sun and moisture we have been getting and so now, we find ourselves spacing out the healthiest of our new growth so that the strongest can grow large and deep.  I always feel a bit guilty pulling up the newest growth for survival of the fittest, but the birds will have a treat of new sprouts of radish, carrot, turnips and beets to feast on.  Meanwhile, the indoor spring seedlings are doing great with around 10 hours of sunlight and another 4-6 under a grow light.  Those cucumbers are going to start blooming if they don't slow down!

hothouse cucumbers and tomatoes

It was also time to turn the compost a bit, pile on a little more, and dig up some of the weeds in the quiet part of the plot waiting for the spring seedlings.  In the meantime, for my birthday mom sent a garden guardian for our broccoli and brussels sprouts which we put out to proudly look over the crops.

before on the left, after on the right

guardian of the green

Interestingly, digging in our amended soil from December after putting out a few cubic yards of fresh compost, we have been finding some peculiar new citizens.

OMG WHAT THE HELL IS IT KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!

At least that was our initial reaction upon digging up one of these little guys.  After digging up 5 where we had corn last year (you'll recall the corn worm disaster of 2012), we got a little concerned.  Has our fertile dirt been taken over by pests?  Time to call in an expert.  For those of you that are starting your gardens at home, trust that you need to have some friends in the business.  Best place to start for advice on growing is your local farmers market, just as Spring Warren suggests in her book.  If you're going to farm, enlist the advice of a farmer on what, when, and how to grow.  Later, when pests come up, go straight to your local nursery with some samples of your bugs or problem plants.  Any guesses what our little friend here is?  We were pleasantly surprised to learn that not only are they *not* plotting to devour every young vegetable we plant (unlike the gophers and birds), they are actually quite beneficial.  What you are looking at is the larvae of the Cotinis mutabilis or Fig Eater Beetle, one of my favorite insects of San Diego and somewhat of a totem animal of mine.

Cotinis mutabilis

Once when dining on the patio at a vineyard in nearby Temecula, one of these little guys flew right up and landed in my ear.  While most would probably have a heart attack, I've had a long history since moving to San Diego of these landing on or near me and crawling around only to fly of in short order.  They do not bite and are a little clumsy, but are some of the most beautiful insects I have ever seen.  Turns out, the grubs are also super efficient at breaking down organic matter in the soil, so from now on, we will be relocating those we find directly into the composting bins to eat until their multiple chambered tubular heart-crops content in exchange for highly organic grub poop.  These and the hundreds of earthworms that have moved in over the past year are more than welcome... at least until they adult stage.  As their name suggests, these beautiful animals can wreak a bit of havoc on soft fruiting crops such as figs, peaches, and apricots... the last of which grow on our farm.  We are quite fond of them and don't intend to share with a swarm of beetles.  Sorry guys.

You learn something new everyday in the garden!