Moth Decoys

I got my cabbage moth decoys in order and placed out with my broccoli.

Supposedly the butterflies are territorial and will not deposit their eggs if they think another female has staked her claim to that area.

I'm not sure how effective these are but if it deters even one moth from visiting my plants and laying eggs then it's worth it.  They doesn't cost anything other than time really.  Also, not sure how hanging them with clothespins will do but that's all I have for now.

The broccoli plants are doing fantastic. I even built wire cages to keep them protected from the rabbits and deer, which seem to be visiting on a regular basis these days.

2018 Broccoli Harvest

I picked (4) head of delicious looking broccoli from our garden.  They survived the woodchuck, rabbit and deer.  Now I'm feeding Jack 2.0, our senior rabbit, the leaves from the plant and he loves them!

Broccoli 2014

Broccoli was first veggie we picked this year!

\

Two heads picked and ready for eating, with two more in the wings.

More Greens Veggies!

 

The peppers are doing FANTSTIC this year; a bumper crop!

 

The broccoli also did very good.  Although, being eaten by a wild rabbit down to just their stems shortly after I planted them, they bounced back nicely and produced some tasty florets.  The rabbits (our rabbits) are now enjoying them, as they're all done.

Garden Vegetable Green!

 

It hasn't been the best year for cucumbers, but the broccoli and peppers are doing GREAT!

 

This summer JoAnne has been cooking my mothers recipe of hamburger and rice stuffing which she then stuffs into peppers and tomatoes!  Oh my God, they are out of these world!

 

Not only are they delicious but it reminds me so much of my mom, even down to using the same pan to bake them in that my mother used to use.

 

Both :-)  and :-( at the same time.

2013 Broccoli - Round II

 

Another batch of broccoli picked last night!!  The first batch was DELICIOUS!

2013 Broccoli

 

Although these are small heads of broccoli, they're the first to be picked.  Remember these broccoli plants were chewed to their stems by a wild rabbit, but TLC and constant care they've bounced back.  The plants themselves look great, however, the smaller heads may be a side effect.

 

No worries, they'll cook up and taste just fine!!

Hunt The Wabbit Hunt The Wabbit...

I planted the (4) broccoli plants last weekend, all the while salivating just thinking of how tasty the tender florets were going to be, yummy!

 

As you can see from the before picture they look good; happy too!  However, if you look close enough you will notice paw prints throughout the freshly dug soil.  Clearly, we have a visiting cat issue.  Now, so long as they are catching the unwanted critters and NOT using our gardens as a litter box, they're welcome to stay.  I can deal with paw prints...

 

However, the after picture shows something entirely different - WHERE ARE MY BROCCOLI PLANTS?!?!  Thanks to Mrs. Wild Rabbit all that's left are broccoli stems poking out of the ground.

 

As Elmer Fudd used to sing - Hunt The Wabbit Hunt The Wabbit...

 

Before -

After -

 

UGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

First Broccoli Pick of 2012

I picked two beautiful head of broccoli yesterday, see above.  They're each about the size of a softball.

This season the woodchucks did not bother our broccoli plants, as they did last year, but it's early yet and could still happen.  Although, I planted them in a different location this go around than years past. Closer to the house and farther away from the tree/wooded area, which is their comfort zone.

Yummy, yummy good!

Oh, It's On Now!

Wednesday June 8th was the first time this gardening season that I saw a Woodchuck milling about at the edge of our backyard. He was bold enough to venture just a few feet from the cover of the wooded over growth and onto a patch of clover where he nibbled a while. Of course the bugger ate two of our Queen Anne's Lace plants on his way to the clover patch, of which there are very few this year - STRIKE 1!

Friday June 10th I received a text message from JoAnne with an attached picture (see after picture below) that read, "Oh Uh...". The sumbeach got the courage to venture approx 50' into our side yard and helped himself to a beautiful, softball size head of broccolli that we were just days from picking - STRIKE 2 and STRIKE 3!!

Before -

After -


That dude isn't gonna know what hit him...

Soft Rot

OK, enough all ready. We've had enough rain, how bouts some nice, dry, warm summer like weather?!

It's been a horrible spring here in New England weather wise. We've had more rain and cold days than I care to count. One plus is that everyone's lawn looks fantastic and alive; nice and dark green. However, too much rain can be problematic also. Take for example our broccoli - the plants themselves look great, nice, big and full. However, the conditions have been perfect for a disease called "Soft Rot", see picture below.

Soft rot of broccoli is brought on by long periods of wet weather. The results are a watery and slimy rot with an offending rotten odor. This condition also attracts a surprisingly large numbers of flies, which seem to enjoy dining on the slim. It's so bad that even our domestic rabbits, which typically love and devour broccoli, won't even touch it!

I was lucky enough to pick one smaller broccoli head before the rot arrived and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS! Also, if I remember correctly last year each broccoli plant produced a second, smaller head following the initial harvesting . Perhaps, this will happen again this year - only time will tell.

Broccoli Harvest

Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family, Brassicaceae. The family includes many vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, collards, kale and kohlrabi.

It was introduced in England in the early 16th century known as “ Italian asparagus” or “sprout cauliflower”.

Here is our first head of broccoli of the season picked this afternoon!

The softball is there for size comparison.

The other (3) plants are not too far behind, so we'll be picking more broccoli again very soon.