Worms on Junk Food

This is a monochidae eating a monochidae . Thanks to Wikipedia for capturing this brutal moment. Will they stop at nothing?

How do you tell the difference between healthy earthworms and those on junk food?

The worms eating potato chips, pressure treated wood, fries, vinegar, and consuming large amounts of alcohol will be dead. That’s how you know they aren’t healthy. You’ll most likely find these worms at construction sites, outside bars, eating at McDonalds, and everywhere you find large amounts of vinegar. It’s not always the worm’s fault. Some have to work in this environment.

What is healthy for a worm? If a worm eats a shredded $20 bill will his castings be worth more? Can they eat a $20 bill?

Paper money is made of 25% linen and 75% cotton. Both are biodegradable and organic which is the food source for worms. Worms will eat parts of decomposing animals but it’s not their preferred food source.  Earthworms don’t know the difference between a $20 bill and Monopoly money. Sorry. And you shouldn’t add too much money as it has additives and oils from your fingers that might not be too healthy for their digestive system. The digestive system makes up most of their body and there is nothing worse than a constipated worm.

You can try and tell your plants that you are feeding them some expensive organics to make them happy. If you lie to your plants too much they’ll stop believing you. Did you know that worms in your garden soil give your plants antibiotics and natural insecticides? They produce these chemicals as part of their daily routine while watching TV and knitting. Plants that absorb the nutrients in the soil will also uptake the byproducts of the worms thus helping them to resist pest and disease. The plants may also develop a certain preference for the same favored TV shows as the worms watch. That’s not proven but it is logical.

At 3 months old, worms are adults and ready to produce about 3 cocoons a week assuming a bird didn’t eat them first. Did you know that birds eat worms mostly in the Spring? The baby birds need protein. Once the chicks are raised, the birds prefer grains and seeds for the carbohydrate levels. If I was a worm, I’d wait till Autumn to cross the road.

The worm cocoons take 11 weeks to hatch out 3 more little worms. Healthy worms have both male and female parts so they don’t need a partner. They are also very kind and loving with their 5 hearts.

Worms eat dirt as they absorb food. They need the gritty granules to help break apart the food. They have gizzard where the food is broken down to useful parts.  That’s why you see a little dirt pellet trail in the garden. They are thrilled you noticed.

Worms don’t drown in water as long as oxygen molecules exist there. The reason you see them come to the service during rain is so they can travel more easily. They can’t travel when the sun is out or they will die in minutes and you’ll be facing a lawsuit. They’ll sue you cause there was no warning that worm frying conditions might be present when the clouds go away.

The phone book has several Nematode Lawyers should you need one or should the worms need legal advice. The things you don’t know could bring financial doom. Worms are notorious for taking these cases all the way to the Supreme Court–and winning.

So see–we all knew it was good to have worms in the garden and knew to be careful about their environment. Kill the worms and you take away natural antibiotics and pest repellants.

Copper, Peach, Orange, Golds

How about some shades of orange. All pictures came from Proven Winners Plants. Permission was given from Proven Winners to use the photos. The picture is displayed first and then a list of the plants follows.

Poor Truck, Ain’t It Pitiful

Finally, today, I got the beds mulched with yummy leaf compost. This is my 4th truck load in the past two weeks. Last year we put in about 15. You can read about that here at My Keyboard has no ame and Thomas Edison

My youngest son surprised me today and helped with the first load. He was quick so I had time to go get a second load and be done with all the beds around the house. He’s so busy and I really appreciate him stopping by and lending a very strong back and arms. You rock honey!

There was just a bit left to be done on this bed today. Last weekend both boys and MrD surprised me by finishing a load I had started. It was the second load last weekend and I could not finish it. They all got up early and had it done by the time I got out of bed. So I’ve had a lot of help.

The rose bushes are all snug in a new layer too. I’ll also put down some Espoma Rose Tone soon. All the beds will get some mushroom compost and Espoma Flower and Plant Tone. Espoma is an organic product. It’s like giving your soil a good vitamin dose. It replenishes trace minerals. Espoma has a solution for your plant needs and they do it without killing the good bugs.

If you have tired soil, Espoma will do the trick to revive it. Of course, you have to put down some good leaf mulch too.  The beds get cow manure every Autumn and the shrubs get some Espoma Phosphate at that time. Phosphate helps set the buds and promote root growth. It will burn plants so follow directions carefully.

I have to move that tree don’t I–the one in the middle of the wall. It looks ridiculous. I knew better and it’s going in one of my pots. I ran out of steam last year before I got it transplanted. I hope the roots aren’t connected to China.

Alright, I am now officially organic all the way. I made a mistake several years ago and killed the good bugs with the bad. My soil was pitiful and the garden looked awful. Today, I go to the extra trouble to maintain balance naturally. It’s a pain to go out and pluck bugs, spray insecticidal soap, and remove diseased leaves. But you know, it’s worth it.

Here is an excerpt from an earlier post. I explain why mushroom compost works:

Mushroom compost grows mushroom roots called haphae. Conditions are not right in your garden to grow the actual top mushroom or cap. The underground hyphae is a rich environment for your plant roots. The hyphae creates spaces for your bedding plants roots to grow, it traps moisture and nutrients that would normally wash away, and there are certain organisms that feed off the hyphae that benefit your plants.

I’m in the Garden…Glory, Glory

I’m in the garden today spreading some wonderful aromas around the neighborhood. I certainly hope the neighbors will forgive me for my rich compost scent wafting in the breezes. I don’t think they’ll mind when they get a taste of my tomatoes.

Hope you all are having a grand week. I’ll be back soon to catch up on reading. Hugs to everyone.

The picture above is the wisteria that is growing on an arbor at Tanglewood Gardens in Clemmons, NC. Use my search feature and you can find more Tanglewood pictures.

OH Veep!, this is going in the mail tomorrow.

Veep over at Veg Plotting signed up for my pay it forward post a few weeks ago. My Post  was part of a meme that I signed up for at Jan’s Blog, Thanks for 2 Day. It was a simple request and one that I really loved doing. For the first couple of people who sign up at your blog, you send them a hand make gift with no strings attached. They don’t send you a thing in return. At first, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to make my trademark watering can for Veep. She was the only one who signed up but she lives in the United Kingdom and I live in the good old South. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get it to her.

I normally make the large watering cans and that was going to cost $70 to get it to Veep. But then I had an idea. If I could find a watering can just a bit smaller—it would be doable. Well….as you can see….I found a nice little pea yellow can. Veep said she liked bold colors. She told me that pastels are for wimps.  It was plain when I started with it. I don’t say how I get the design on there. Sorry but a girl has to keep some things a secret. 

There is a packet of seeds on there of my favorite Envy Zinnias. I hope that passes customs. I made a little plant ID poke so she will not forget what they are. 

Sometimes I use these watering cans all decorated like this in some of my arrangements. I color coordinate the flowers and greenery with the colors in the can.

Veep, I hope you like it. I loved making it. It will go out in the mail tomorrow. It’s going snail mail so I’ll let you know the ETA. Hugs to ya.

Daffodils for Mother’s Day

Replacements.com

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs

The American Daffodil Society

Martha Stewart

Wash The Bugs or Kill Them

Detergents clean the bugs. Soap kills them. What is the difference.

Remember, don’t kill the good bugs. This soap solution only kills the bug if you spray directly on it. There is no residue left behind to harm the good critters. I mostly use this soap recipe for the aphids and those nasty Japenese beetles. 

Detergent’s like most of your home cleaning solutions are made with chemicals. When diluted, they clean your bugs but don’t kill them. Most of your liquid dish cleaners are detergents and not soaps.

Soap is made with animal fats and lye. Soap spray will dissolve the exoskeleton or soft bodies of the bugs you target. The spray has to come in contact with the bug.

Use perfume free Soaps with no dyes.

Dr. Bronners, Ivory Soap, Fels Naptha are all soaps.

Mix 1 tsp. with 1 quart water. Dissolve the soap in the water. Wait till the afternoon when the sun is not shining on the plant and the temp has cooled a bit. Spray the bugs directly. If you have Japenese Beetles–use 1 tbsp in a quart of water—but check this strong solution per plant first to make sure the plant can take such a strong solution. I have increased the amt of soap till I get the right amt for the bug and not kill the plant.

This is organic and you can use liquid Ivory soap without the perfumes. If you are using the bar soap—-grate it till you have a tsp or tbsp.

I wrote this a long time ago and saw it on a google catched page. Just thought I’d stick it back on my blog. 

The photo is from my Airlie Gardens Post.

Ageratum or Flossflower in Containers

I found some very interesting and attractive Ageratum containers while putting together my ever growing wish list for this summer’s containers. As always, I wanted to share. Permission to use these photos was given by Proven Winners Plants