Gray Tree Frog in the Garden

This little frog was sleeping very comfortably in a vertical position right by our back sliding door. He's a gray tree frog that lives in woodlands, or marshes and swamps with standing trees. Large sticky pads on his toes enable him to cling to the side of the house like this. The gray tree frog eats insects and his call is a musical trill that can be heard at night. Welcome to the garden, little frog!

Garden Log #2

It has been awhile since most of my vegetables were planted, so this is an update on how they are growing.  

Weather:  It has been a cooler than average summer this year, with temperatures often in the 50's at night.  Even now, we still have the heat on at night in the house!  We have also received plenty of rainfall, and watering has not been necessary every day.  We just turned our sprinklers on the first week of July.  Sunshine has probably been less than average.

Pests and Diseases:  Earwigs are the biggest problem, attacking the eggplant and the basil.  They have also eaten oregano, nasturtium, and yellow pepper.  I have trapped around 120 of these in the tuna can/vegetable oil trap.  Flea beetles are a moderate problem.  I have not taken any measures to control these yet.  They have attacked all the tomatoes, and leaf damage is noticeable on the older leaves.  The apple mint had rust colored residue on the undersides of the leaves.  I pulled it out of its pot and threw it in the back field.  I have had a small number of green aphids on both eggplant varieties.  I picked them off manually with a toothpick and dropped them in soapy water.  There was a cocoon on my sweet basil which I threw in the back field.  I have just begun to find  leafhoppers in my black seeded simpson with signs of some plant damage.

Wildlife:  I have observed wild turkey regularly.  There is also a red fox which I spotted twice in the backyard.  There are many squirrels, but they have not come onto the deck.  Many songbirds and crows.  One hummingbird.  Occasional deer.  No rabbits.

Fertilizer:  The potting soil contained a slow release fertilizer.  On July 6 I used Miracle Gro tomato fertilizer for the first time at the amount recommended on the package.  I did foliar feeding and root feeding in the evening.  I fed the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and strawberries.  It seems that there may be a small amount of fertilizer burn on the foliage of the Japanese eggplant and the brandywine tomato.  There are brown edges on some of the leaves.  Next time I may use half strength fertilizer.  

Growth:  

• Tomatoes - all growing profusely with many flowers, sungold has 2 small fruits. Plant height is:

Brandywine - 36 inches
Sungold - 36 inches
Patio - 24 inches
Better Bush - 18 inches
Husky Cherry Red - 21 inches

• Eggplant - New leaves have been appearing, growth  is just beginning in the last week

Japanese Long - 11 inches
Dusky - 17 inches

• Yellow Bell Pepper - Very minimal growth - 10 inches tall
• Boston Pickling Cucumber - Strong growth, climbing support, no flowers, 19 inches tall
• Everbearing Strawberry - Growth is not impressive, there have been 3 very small somewhat deformed berries, runners have not migrated to bottom holes of pot.
• Hot peppers - Some growth, many flowers, many green peppers have formed, no red peppers yet

Cayenne - 17 inches
Chili Red - 14 inches

• Early Perfection Peas - About 6 - 8 inches high, are climbing each other but have not attached to the support yet.
• Carrots - Have all sprouted with first true leaves.  Plants still very small - about 2 inches.
• Radish - Very strong growth (about 6 inches tall) with small radishes forming.  Many plants did not take root well and while the plant is still alive, there is no radish root forming.  I can only figure that this is due to the heavy rain which occurred shortly after they sprouted, and possibly uprooted the plant.   There are no signs of insects or worms in the soil.  
• Lettuce - All growing well, butterhead thinned, still need to thin Little Gem (this is overdue).  Harvested mesclun mix.  Spinach is still small.  Leaf lettuces are about 4 inches high.  Head lettuces about 3 inches.  Butterhead lettuce planted in front yard is growing well.
• Herbs - Sweet basil growing profusely, nasturtiums very strong with flowers just beginning, chives, thyme and parsley growing well, rosemary and oregano growing moderately.

Pictures:  Taken June 19/July 7

Daily Turkey Sighting

Seeing wild turkey in my backyard has become an everyday activity.  I see the female with her two poults the most often, but the male is around as well.  They are in the yard almost every day, and very often 2-3 times daily.  It's always exciting to look up and suddenly see such a large bird casually walking down the middle of the lawn.  They seem to be out at all hours of the day.  I can tell that they have very good hearing and eyesight, because any sound or movement from me sends them walking quickly for cover.

Wild Turkeys on the Lawn

I was sitting out on the deck this evening with my computer, looking up vegetable gardening tips, when I glanced up for a second and saw this...a wild mother turkey with two little turkey babies.  In my backyard!  Yes, we do have a few trees in the yard, and there is an empty lot nearby that is very natural, but wow!  Apparently, wild turkey in Michigan have been increasing in number over the years after a successful reintroduction program.  They had disappeared from the state due to over-hunting and habitat loss in the early 1900s.  Now they are showing up more often in backyards and suburban areas.  They also have exceptional hearing and eyesight, and can run 15-18 mph, and fly up to 55 mph!  However, when they saw me they just started walking a tiny bit faster toward the empty lot.  I hope to see them again soon!