Squash and Sand

Squash

I learned a lot about plants this week.  Our early prolific yellow squash is finally ripening though I'm learning the hard way about pests.  Some of the squash is rotting from the flower end so while cutting them open I discovered pickleworms eating away.  I haven't used any pesticides so I'm not surprised about the pickleworms but I have been very impressed that the larger squash have been growing well without any problems.

Freezing some of the smaller squash that was ripening quickly.

Squash, pole beans, and sugar snap peas growing strong.

Tomatoes are growing slowly.  Red potatoes on the left have leaves that are starting to yellow so I'm thinking of digging them up.  I've also noticed that the sweet potatoes are starting to come back from last fall.

Cuttings

One of my favorite things to do is take cuttings and grow new plants.  I've been experimenting with rose cuttings since I was little and now I'm trying to take cuttings of everything that will grow.  Currently I have lots of Angel Trumpets (Brugmansia), Spiderwort, Crape Myrtle, and Firespike (Odontonema cuspidatum) taking root.  Some of these plants root very quickly while others take some time.  I'm real excited to see how well Crape Myrtles grow from cuttings.  Today I bought some silica sand (labeled as pool filter sand at Home Depot) to use as my new cutting soil.  I've read that silica sand is course and drains well which will help the cuttings take root better.

Angel Trumpets plants all started from cuttings and newly taken cuttings on the bottom left of the picture.  

These spiderwort cuttings were taken from a plant that fell over.  They have already rooted.

Here are the firespike cuttings all growing well.

Crape Myrtle cuttings

Thoughts

We decided to plant roses along our front walkway and under the bedroom windows so I've been thinking a lot about how we are going to do this.  First I need to finish pulling up the rest of the boxwood hedge and find some rose bushes decently priced.  I found a larger Peach Drift Rose at Walmart this week and will begin looking for some more.  I also came across a cheap Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) that we had fun planting in the front yard.  

Planting the new dogwood tree.  The John Deere is full of compost.  It's easy not having to drag a wheelbarrow around the yard!

Roses and hibiscus staring to bloom.

Took the family blueberry picking, it was a blast!