The first time we ever grew tomatoes, we were over there just flipping through pruning and such and rolled a leaf over to find that ALIEN of a creature - the Tomato Hornworm.

We found this one on Saturday, and still… even though I was looking for hornworms… it still scared the crap out of me. haha

Last year I would drop them in a little  cup of soapy water, because I really didn’t understand anything but the fact that this lil green monster was chewing my tomato leaves down to nubs!  But since learning about the problems with bees… and how crops are pollinated… and all the other stuff you learn when you dig a lil bit under the surface - we have learned that these guys turn into the Hawk Moth.  We recently had a discussion on twitter/facebook about this and here is a link to even more info on the Hawk Moth/Tomato Hornworm.

Since we like the hawk moth, we decide to just take those green aliens to a nearby plant that is not on our property (haha) and let them free.  We are considerate like that. 

We have seen quite a few lately (we are in West Texas), so if you haven’t started looking - better get to it.  And if you live near us… you better definitely be checking… just sayin’.

Also a few other lil critters have shown up - not sure what all of them are… but did snap a few pics.

Aunt Deb thought had a few ideas, but I dunno.. never seen this one before and I don’t think anyone has nailed it yet.  Give it a shot?

… this next one, well we kinda caught these two… ahem… umm.. well… kinda… “in the moment”

Are you infested yet?  Anyone have any pests they can’t get rid of or maybe a new tip to keep the squash bugs at bay?  Share with the class, please.

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Tags: Container Gardening, DIY, Food, Gardening, Growing Peppers, Growing Tomatoes, HOT AS HELL, James Is Wrong Too, Living Green, Organic Gardening, Organic Pest Control, Pictures, Recession Gardening, West Texas, raised beds by James
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This is growing in the alley… seriously.  Don’t you think we could dig it up and put it in a pot, call it native vegetation & make up a big name in Latin and 10 people would be lined up asking when we got the next truckfull in?

Anyone know what it is?  I assume it is a “weed”, take that in whatever way you wish.  I used to think this was a weed… or that was a weed… then I realized that a weed is what you term it as.  Something growing somewhere it isn’t “supposed to”… is usually called a weed.  blah blahb lhblahblhab.a.a..blahbity blah. 

So what is it?

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Tags: Flowers, Gardening, Not that kind of weed dude., Pictures, Recession Gardening, WEEDS!, West Texas by James
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… you know what we mean.

With some awesome unexpected rain a few time in the past couple of weeks, our watermelons & cantaloupes are doing great!  We are seeing some vines & honestly… we are thinking a week and we will see flowering.  Can’t wait.  In the meantime, here are a few pics of the black diamond watermelons we have growing on (get it… like “we have going on”… but instead of going… we said growing.  Get it?  it is a play on words, nevermind).

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Tags: Drunk, Food, Gardening, Growing Watermelons, Organic Gardening, Pictures, West Texas, raised beds by James
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I think we are about to be neck deep in bell peppers.  We had some issues with our pepper plants at the beginning of this season, so we grabbed a few plants (at a cut-rate) at a local nursery.  Well… those pepper plants have 2-3 (some have 4-5) bell peppers already set… and we are thinking…

WHY DID WE NEED THIS MANY BELL PEPPERS AGAIN?

We have an addiction… seriously.  Oh well.  Check these pics of our lil bell pepper butts (yeah… we call them that)…

How awesome is that?  Very.  We love bell peppers, we use them in fajitas, pepper steak… we are about to stuff some and see how that is…

What do you use bell peppers for?

If you have any tips, recipes or anything… please share.  We are going to need to figure out how to use all of these.  Of course we will lend some to our friends & family - but help us use our bell peppers!

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Tags: Container Gardening, Food, Gardening, Gardening Tips, Growing Peppers, Health, Organic Gardening, Recession Gardening, Recipes by James
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Our first time participating in the Garden Blogger Bloom Day (GBBD).  So bear with us… we have got some nice blooms we wanted to share - so what better way to do it!

Lets get on with it…

Everyone’s favorite thing to see, besides a tomato itself.  The blooms. 

Mexican Fire (Anisacanthus quadrifidus) - in bloom.  So awesome.

Can’t remember the make & model of this Lantana - but one of the ones we bought this year was Carlos Lantana.  We had to buy it.

This is a new addition, its in a hanging basket - a Blue Daze Evolvulus in full bloom.

Our huge Oleander is in bloom.  Very bright and it contrasts so much against its green foliage.

We picked up some Vincas to help add some color to the garden. They do just that.

So there you have it… all the blooms we have to offer.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see your blooms.  Wait… that sounded dirty.  You know what we mean.

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Tags: Container Gardening, Flowers, Gardening, Living Green, Organic Gardening, Personal, Pictures, Recession Gardening by James
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