Tag Archives: bugs

As Summer Slips Away

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Benjamin

Summer loosens her grip on us reluctantly in our part of Kentucky, snug on the southern shores of the Ohio River Valley. The heat and humidity claw at us through the month of August and well into September. Occasionally, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, bees, beneficial insect, bugs, compost, cucumber, daisy, Eleanor Perenyi, Ernest Dowson, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, lemon cucumber, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, photography, propagate, straw bale gardening, summer, sunflower, sustainability, tomato, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden, zinnia | 28 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Prepping for Winter

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Benjamin

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, bees, beneficial insect, bugs, coneflower, echinacea, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, nature, photography, purple coneflower, Winter | 16 Comments

Bees & the Future of It All

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Benjamin

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Vivid.” The vivid hues of this thistle let’s the honeybee know the kettle’s on. When I was a boy growing up on a farm in the Ohio River Valley, going barefoot … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, beekeeping, bees, beneficial insect, bugs, colony collapse disorder, coneflower, flower gardening, gardening, honeybee, integrated pest management, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic farming, organic gardening, photography, pollination, pollinators, summer, thistle | 43 Comments

Sharing the Garden-Passing Along Love & Blisters

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Benjamin

I often think about gardening with my mom and grandmother when I was young. Time has softened the experience now, but the (hard) time spent in the garden as a wayward youth was usually as punishment. Failure to do chores? … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, beneficial insect, birding, birdwatching, bugs, corn, daddy blog, English Peas, family, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, kids, onion, parenting, Peas, photography, spring, sugar snap peas, summer, sweet corn, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 28 Comments

The Bittersweet Melancholy of Summer’s End…

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Benjamin

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.~John Steinbeck September and the remains of summer have all but slipped away. The warm spell we’re experiencing in our part of the Ohio River … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, basil, birding, bugs, cilantro, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, gardening tips, goldenrod, guacamole, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, pesto, squirrel, steinbeck, summer, sunflower, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 41 Comments

End of Month View-August 2014

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Benjamin

August ended the way it usually does for us in this part of the Ohio River Valley–Hot, humid, a thunderstorm or two. The days are noticeably shorter now, and the plants have noticed. A burst of productivity in the vegetable … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, black krim, bugs, cleome, Cleome hassleriana, compost, coneflower, daisies, daisy, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, pepper, propagate, romanian pepper, rudbeckia, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 43 Comments

August and Everything After

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Benjamin

August surprised us this year in our part of the Ohio River Valley. Mild temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s (F) are unusual during what we usually refer to as the “dog days of summer.” Felt much like late September. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, bugs, climate, compost, farming, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, peonies, peony, snakes, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, weather | 38 Comments

Wordless Wednesday-Monarch

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Benjamin

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, beneficial insect, bugs, butterfly, caterpillars, flower, gardening, monarch, summer | 18 Comments

Tomato Hornworm (Parasitized edition)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Benjamin

Some days you know just aren’t gonna go your way…if you’re a tomato hornworm, and you wake up one morning all bedazzled with little white decorations, chances are, the day will not end well. These little adornments will hatch and … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, biological controls, braconid, braconid wasp, bugs, caterpillars, farming, flower gardening, garden, garden pests, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, tomato, Tomato Hornworm, vegetable garden, wasp | 2 Comments