When taking your garden indoors

I put peppers and tomatoes into pots about mid July. Only since September have they shown any significant willingness to bear. It is now October, what to do, what to do. Having a recent discussion with a fellow I vendor with down at the Kootenai County Farmers' Market. He told me a lot of light, he also suggested using a fan. I can think of why on the latter, stirring the air around plants would reduce fungal infections as well as keeping them stronger for not being out in the wind. As for "lots of light." Well, you need special fixtures and ballasts for "sun stick" full spectrum lights. But checking out the Sylvania web site and I found "daylight" light bulbs of various wattages (I chose 60 watt.) And ordered 3 packages. Then going to Lowes, I found 48" 40 watt daylight fluorescent tubes. Installing them without need for a special ballast and they were roughly equivalent to the sun stick in near all spectrum bright. And not as spendy. So, my plants are now in the basement. Hopefully, I can overwinter at least the peppers and bring them out next year. If I actually manage to overwinter the tomatoes, I'll let my fellow vendor know, and what to use as light. Tomatoes need 14 hours of daylight. Would daylight bulbs help? Stay tuned.

When deer are a problem

Many problems got in the way of my putting in a main garden this year: rototiller broke down, weather, dinged my foot. My mother had put in a garden in good order and then got to complaining about the too hungry deer feeding on her plants.


Taking that as a cue, I started putting what I'll call a garden into pots on our deck. As this black and white digital HP photo demonstrates.

Here in Dalton Gardens, Idaho and living near the mountains as we do, deer can be real pests. Nice to look at and a problem when you try to grow a commercial garden on a shoe string.

Did you know this?

Recently getting an herb catalog, saw where the people putting it together listed various hot peppers as an herb, a spice with medicinal qualities. How about that?

So, come county or state fair time, here is one for you: If there is a garden area for the fair and if the garden portion of it also allows exhibits of potted herbs, submit a hot pepper plant. You may have to explain to everyone however just why a hot pepper can actually be displayed in the potted herb section.

But, what the hey, for the folks who view a tomato as a vegetable and not a fruit, the local Kootenai County Fair manages to confuse anyone who thinks a tomato is a vegetable by wanting it displayed in the fruit section of the garden section of the fair. So, let's display a hot pepper plant as an herb and really throw a kink in how people should understand what they grow in their gardens or buy in the supermarkets, Farmers' Markets, road side stands and etc.

Weather is always a factor

When setting up for the Farmer's Market, weather can make a big difference as to how much business it will get that day. People do not like to come out when it is cold and rainy. As happened Saturday the 19th of May 2007. It rained for about 5 hours in the early morning and finally stopped around 9:00 am. Up and until that time, barely anyone of the customers was even walking through the market on the corner of Prairie Ave. and Highway 95 in Hayden, Idaho. As for myself, I am out there getting drenched and wondering if the rain will stop.

As a result of weather, I am more likely to set up plants for my booth and/or produce if I have it. Since photos and crafts don't do so well in pouring rain. Checking the desktop weather on my computer, the weather for Wednesday is cloudy and around 70*. Which should bode better for my comfort and decent sales at the downtown Coeurd'Alene, Idaho Wednesday Farmer's Market.

What's new this month

Welcome visitors to the blog: Morpheus Creative Photography Comments: I shall post on this blog for any new developments that you might just be interested in. For example, the Kootenai County Farmer's Market starts on Saturday, 12 May 2007. You will find this site on Highway 95 and Prairie Avenue. We are in operation for this site every Saturday, from now through the middle of October. The hours of operation are: 8:00 am to 1:00 pm.

What you will find at my booth: I plan on bringing tomato plants, cabbage plants, assorted herb plants, lettuce planted in pots. And Broccoverde, the green novelty cauliflower.

I shall also be bringing hand crafted items as well as photographs.