The Jones Garden Blog

Changed the location of the murder bucket and productivity resumed.

Score is 9 to 13

I know I will never be RID of all of the pests in the garden. That’s just not practical. But the pendulum is swinging and some balance is being restored.

Score: 7 to 13

Gardener up two in two days.

I may put out more murder buckets. 🙂

Squash and zukes?

Still going. Four-six per day. 😳 No squash bugs yet. Plants look great but have vined two to four feet.

Tomatoes?

Here and there. No large toms yet. Very tasty. 🙂

Watermelons? Vines look great. Getting pretty thick and crazy. No visible fruit yet.

Cantaloupes? Vines were nearly destroyed by the chickens. No flowers or fruit.

Onions? Still… going… no bolting, no real bulbs… We’ve harvested the occasional stem/bulb-ish onion.

Peppers? Not many sweet peppers. Jalapeños and New Mexico peppers are coming along nicely. Several good sized fruit ready for harvest but giving them extra time to accumulate a larger amount.

Basil? Chickens nearly destroyed it. Starting to come back.

Grapes? Still growing. Still there. Still… yah, a bit tart.

Pomegranates? Growing. Most are racquet ball sized.

Citrus? Few, green and small.

Sweet potatoes? 😭 completely wiped out by the squirrels.

Strawberries? One plant has survived the squirrels, birds and heat. It’s small but healthy and in a plant that gets watered by the sprinklers.

I know. The name is a little dramatic. It was a hopeful name when I gave it. Now it is… just more descriptive.

In the last three days the score has gone to 5 to 13. We’ve lost some tomatoes but through various methods… including the murder bucket, we are finally making headway.

I found the instructions for the murder bucket here. It’s a minute and eighteen seconds but is very descriptive and I can now confirm it is also effective. A bucket, a nail, a board, some water and some sunflower seeds.

Sitting next to the garden. Contemplating ways to win this war with the pests, which stands at 2 to 12 by the way. That’s pests 12 (sweet potatoes). Going over the task list for the day. Spending time in prayer. Enjoying a stogie from a dear friend, listening to a sermon from North Cost Church and breathing in the cool fresh air during this little respite from our triple digit temps. Thank you, Lord, for mornings like this and for Your abundant blessings. God is good!