Gardening

[Marsha Cassada]

Our bois d' arc tree is absolutely loaded with fruit this year. The poor branches are weighed down. I picked the ones I could reach. It would be interesting to know why it bore so well this year; usually there are just a dozen or so. Nothing eats them; I've heard old timers put them around to repel insects. The only thing they are good for, for me, is decorating.

 

[Willow Flats]

Our bois d' arc tree is absolutely loaded with fruit this year. The poor branches are weighed down. I picked the ones I could reach. It would be interesting to know why it bore so well this year; usually there are just a dozen or so. Nothing eats them; I've heard old timers put them around to repel insects. The only thing they are good for, for me, is decorating. View attachment 42165View attachment 42166

Thanks for sharing this. I wasn't familiar with this tree so I googled it and found it's history on Wikipedia really interesting! Learning something new every day.

 

[Willow Flats]

Also very pretty where you have used it.

 

[MerMaeve]

Our bois d' arc tree is absolutely loaded with fruit this year. The poor branches are weighed down. I picked the ones I could reach. It would be interesting to know why it bore so well this year; usually there are just a dozen or so. Nothing eats them; I've heard old timers put them around to repel insects. The only thing they are good for, for me, is decorating.

Oh, I had to google it too to make sure what it was, we call them Osage Orange. Mom loves the smell of the "oranges". I like your use for them.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The pioneers used them for fence posts. I save all the ones I can for my planned primitive fence along the back of the patio. The wood is so hard; bois d' arc means "wood of the ark". Those posts don't rot in the ground and are practically indestructible. No one here says osage orange, they say "bodark". If the bark is stripped, the tree is orange underneath. Deer (and horses ) like the bark. Maybe the Osage indians brought the tree in their travels?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, I mentioned this tree to folks on a local gardening forum and some said their horses love the "apples". So I introduced Dapper Dan and Midnight to them last night. Dapper Dan took a greedy bite, snorted, and rejected it. Midnight crunched it up. She headed over to another one, but I stopped her. Thought I'd better be sure there were no ill effects. She is fine this morning, so I guess they are okay for horses to eat.
I just read that Lewis & Clark saw this tree; the wood was used for bows by the Indians around Cincinnati.

 

[MerMaeve]

Well, I mentioned this tree to folks on a local gardening forum and some said their horses love the "apples". So I introduced Dapper Dan and Midnight to them last night. Dapper Dan took a greedy bite, snorted, and rejected it. Midnight crunched it up. She headed over to another one, but I stopped her. Thought I'd better be sure there were no ill effects. She is fine this morning, so I guess they are okay for horses to eat.
I just read that Lewis & Clark saw this tree; the wood was used for bows by the Indians around Cincinnati.

I know cows can choke and die on them, so I looked it up and they are okay for horse per this article: Hedge Apples and Horses - Kentucky Equine Research.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Visited my sister this week. It was fun to take her a sackful of black eyed peas (she'll have to shell them herself), onions, and some pullet eggs. She sent home wee yellow tomatoes, perfect for snacking and salads.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My beans are still going strong. It is not a variety I like, however, so I did not save the rest of the seeds and I'm not saving seeds from these. The variety said they are yard longs, but are sort of like a pole black eyed pea. Not as tender as my favorite yard longs. The vines are so strong and heavy they are pulling down the twine. I have some more yard longs coming up; hope they have time to produce before freezing. The plant in front is the artichoke. I cut it back and it's coming out again.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Pulled up those darn green beans today. Good riddance. As the season progressed, the pods got tougher. Even picking them when slender they still required a long cooking time. The only good thing about them is that Dapper Dan and Midnight love them.
My brown cotton did poorly this year. It was a cool spring, and the summer wasn't as hot as usual, so maybe that is the reason.
New kale coming on, and recent planting of yard longs is beginning to bear. I should have had a second crop of strawberries, but they didn't bloom again.
I have seen two butterflies this year that are new to me. I think a wood nymph (pictured) and gulf fritillary .

 

[Cayuse]

Pretty Butterfly! Almost looks brownish colored like a moth is. Moths are lovely if you really look at them.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My flowers are still looking pretty. A few yard long beans are coming on.

 

[Willow Flats]

Marsha that looks like the perfect hummingbird habitat. Beautiful!

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Marsha that looks like the perfect hummingbird habitat. Beautiful!

AGREE! (We plant a lot of flowers with hummingbird and butterflies in mind.) Marsha, do you have a lot of hummers? We only get a few every season. They stick around to nest and then leave for the winter. I put out feeders to encourage them too.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes, we have hummers here. I do not feed, but try to plant things they like. I saw one just a few days ago; I thought they would have all migrated by now. We are also on the monarch migration route, so I'm incorporating some milkweed in my plantings. There are quite a few native milkweeds in the the pastures here also.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Oh! Lucky you! I would love to see Monarchs! The closest we get are Swallowtails.

Our hummers are slowly leaving. This year we only had two nesting pairs. We get the Rufous, not the brightly colored varieties....but they are still fun. It's been getting chilly at night so they will be heading south soon. I like to keep the feeders out through October and into November since we tend to have some travelers stop in on their way south.

 

[MerMaeve]

Oh! Lucky you! I would love to see Monarchs! The closest we get are Swallowtails.

Here you go! I have a better picture somewhere.....Mom and I raise the caterpillars in the summer and release the adult butterflies when they hatch.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

MerMaeve -- Question: How do you get the caterpillars?

 

[MerMaeve]

MerMaeve -- Question: How do you get the caterpillars?

You find them on the milkweed plants. (Milkweed is their only host plant)

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I raise a few plants of brown heirloom cotton every year. The plant is indeterminate, so I pick bolls over several weeks. Unfortunately, my chickens got into the bed this week and in one day stripped the plants of every leaf and destroyed the green bolls.