Sweet Tooth Haven

Brown Widow Egg Sac

Well, I went to see if the brown widow was still under the leaf and look what I found.

Beware the Brown Widow

Brown widow spiders are fairly new arrivals in California.  For creatures that are supposed to be reclusive, I've been seeing quite a few.   I first became aware of them at the end of August when cleaning my classroom.   I saw some round, white, spiky egg sacs attached to the window and a coworker told me they were from brown widows.  Never having heard about brown widows, I looked them up and she was right.  I wish I had taken pictures.  Now I found a large brown widow that lives behind a leaf on my back wall.  There are babies as well.  It's a speedy spider and I have not been able to get a good picture of the orange marking on the belly, but it's there. 

You can just about see the orange marking through the blurriness.

My Mutant Feijoa Leaf

I noticed this strange double-leaf on my feijoa tree today while I was watering.  Not sure if I should be worried. Is it a harbinger of mutant fruit?

Feijoa - Pineapple Guava

Whenever I find feijoas (AKA pineapple guavas) in the markets around here they are priced $2 or $3 each.  Crazy.  They are delicious eaten raw, and baked into bread, but the price is just too high.  These fruit are supposed to be easy to grow in the southern California climate, so I finally decided to plant my own.  I placed a special order at a local nursery, but when it finally arrived months later, I found they had several at Lowe's for a lower price.

I picked a 19-inch plastic pot and drilled a few holes in the bottom to allow good drainage.  Then planted it with a mix of potting soil and soil for citrus trees that is supposed to be quick-draining.  I planted 3 nasturtium seedlings in the pot to keep it company.

I hope it blooms next spring so I can have some fruit in the fall!  If so, I might share my recipe for feijoa bread.

If you want to plant your own feijoa, look for a named variety that will bear fruit.  The common one around here is Coolidge.

Paranoia and a Baby Lizard

For the last few weeks I've been convinced my crazy neighbor killed off all the lizards that used to live in/visit my backyard.  Throughout the spring we watched two lizards alternately sit together in the sun and chase each other around.  We were happy to have these pest eaters living in the yard entertaining us with their push-ups.  I was so excited in mid July when I saw a teeny tiny baby lizard on the patio.  Then a week later, they all disappeared.  No more lizards!  Our only guess was that the obsessive lady next door decided they were eating her plants and poisoned them.  Or their obnoxious dog ate them.  Either way, I was annoyed.  Until I saw this little guy on the wall.  It's only about 2 inches long including the tail.  I hope he stays away from the wacky neighbors!

Grow Veggies on the White House Lawn

This video was created by Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, as part of the Eat the View campaign.  KGI promotes kitchen gardens and home-cooking around the world. They want the next president to convert part of the 18 acre White House grass lawn into a working garden.  The White House kitchen could use the food and the rest donated to a local food pantry. It's been done before and now would be an excellent time to set an example. 

Watch the video:  This Lawn is Our Lawn

Don't forget to sign the petition to help get some veggies growing on that lawn.  Who needs all that grass anyway?

 

I Gave Up Too Soon

I decided in May to call the asparagus I planted two months prior a loss, at least for this year. I started filling in the trench little by little.  No sprouts showed their heads so I planted some basil right in the center of the asparagus trench.  Imagine my surprise to come back from a 2 week trip to find this:

I put my hand on it thinking it was a weed, was getting ready to pull, and realized it was my asparagus.  A scrawny, skinny thing, but that's what it is.  There's another growing right in the middle of the basil I planted.

I was expecting everything in my little herb garden to be suffering from dehydration after 2 weeks with no water.  Nothing was.  The mint has spread like crazy and my asparagus finally pokes it's head out. 

Critters Everywhere!

With all the critters that have been hanging around my house lately, you would think I lived out in the country instead of suburbia central.  First, there were the cannibalistic lizards.  Now this week we've been spotting crawlies all over our house.   Some are welcome, others not so much.

We have a black widow in our garage.  I'm not sure what the plan of action is to get rid of it.  So far my boyfriend has knocked down the larger web which made it retreat into the crevice.  It's barely coming back out.  Its future doesn't look good.

I found this dapper looking katydid on my pineapple sage.  He was happy to have his photo taken.

I think he's smiling!

This little hummingbird dive-bombed me when I was picking weeds.  I'm hoping there's a nest nearby.  Baby hummingbirds would be so adorable!

There were several lucky ladybugs.  Maybe a neighbor released some for pest control.  I'm happy to have them.

You can view all my visitors in my Critters and Creepy Crawlies album.

My Garden Surprise

I was minding my own business watering my herb garden and checking on my asparagus when something caught my eye just peeking out of my thyme bush. 

At first I thought, "Is that a snake skin?"  So I looked closer and revised that thought to "Maybe it's a snake."

So I looked closer and thought "What the hell kind of snake is that?"  Then it started moving and I backed away (quickly). 

As it crawled out of the bush and into the pit where I'm attempting to grow asparagus I realized it wasn't an it, it was them.  Two lizards.  One  with the other's head in it's mouth.  I was sufficiently freaked to go inside as I thought,  "I have cannibal lizards in my yard."  My boyfriend who used to catch all kinds of lizards and snakes was not impressed enough to even come look.  He just said, "It's probably an alligator lizard, they'll eat blue-belly lizards."

I looked closer (through the window) and said they have the same markings and the caught one is just a bit smaller.  He revised his statement and said, "Maybe they were mating or maybe they are fighting over territory.  They do that to prove who is stronger."

As they crawled up onto the concrete patio I saw how long their tails were.  The little one was still alive and was walking alongside the larger one that had his head in his mouth.  It looked like a teenager being dragged inside the house by a disappointed parent.  Alligator lizards have this slithering way of crawling that is very snake-like and makes my skin crawl.

Here they are climbing out of my asparagus pit.  I took it through a wet window because it was a good view (not because I was scared).

Here they are on the patio.

Here they are crawling toward the bushes for shelter.

The Great Asparagus Experiment

Today is the day I start the Great Asparagus Experiment.  Why is it an experiment?  Because I am not an avid, or even a good, gardener.  In fact both my houseplants just died.  One even started growing bright yellow mushrooms. Anyway, while grocery shopping today I was browsing in the garden department (because I do like to pretend I have a green thumb) and I saw a bag of asparagus roots.  Of course I decided to give it a try.  After all, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle made it sound so easy.  In the book Barbara Kingsolver explains that asparagus is a permanent crop.  You can harvest it every year after letting it establish the first year.  What could be better than fresh asparagus from your own yard every spring?  Since I won't actually get to eat any asparagus from my efforts until next year, I decided to let you know how the planting and growing goes.  Maybe I'll inspire you!

Here's what one of the roots look like.  Mine already have some white shoots sprouting from them.  There were 8 in the bag.  I fit 3 in my tiny side yard and saved some for my mom.

With nothing else to go by, I followed the directions on the label.

• Dig a trench 12 inches deep. (Well, close enough)
• Place plants on bottom of trench and spread roots out flat.

• Space 20 inches apart (mine are a bit closer)
• Cover with 3 inches of soil.

• As the stalks begin to grow, gradually cover with soil until level with surrounding ground.
• Water freely during spring and summer.

I'll keep you updated as the stalks begin to grow (keep fingers crossed).

Updates:

July 13, 2008