A rained out farmers market, tomato hornworms and an organic garden tally

Considering the east coast is supposed to get a predicted three to five inches of rain today it's not surprising that the parking lot of the farmers market is empty. So, I unfortunately can not bring you a glimpse of local Ipswich, MA produce for the Farmers Market Challenge. I can, however, put on a big batch of Farm Share Soup, bring you a few pictures of a fascinating garden pest and update everyone on what they can do with a mere 6 foot by 14 foot veggie bed.

I want to introduce you all to an adorable beastie I met in the tomato patch yesterday while doing some emergency staking in preparation for Tropical Storm Danny. This is a tomato hornworm, which is actually a bad thing to find in one's tomato patch since if they get out of control they will do a lot of damage. I do remember seeing the moth that must have laid this larvae a months ago feeding on some of my flowers. But, have no fear, I also saw a second hornworm that looked like this below:


This guy has been parasitized by the small braconid wasp so he won't live long. Those white things on the worm's body are the wasp's eggs. Neat huh? You're more likely to see the damage these guys do than the worms themselves as they are so cryptic. I've been seeing their droppings and the giant holes they make in my tomatoes for weeks now. Yet, these are the first full grown worms I've seen and they're bigger than my thumb.

Since my garden is organic I will let these worms be and let nature take her course, which she seems to be doing already. And considering my garden has seemed to have luckily escaped the late blight sweeping the state I have at least fifty tomatoes ripening. If I lose one or two to a worm it's OK.

My little Monsanto Sucks, Michelle Obama Rocks Organic Veggie Garden is a bit out of control. I've been harvesting like crazy. So far in the raised bed and a few small patches around the rest of my small yard I have eaten, shared or frozen the following:

• 35 Strawberries
• 42 blueberries
• 5 large salads
• 5 tomatoes
• 9 zucchini
• 1 cucumber
• 5 large bunches of cilantro
• 274 green beans (just over 3 pounds)
  
• 67 carrots
• 3 batches of basil pesto

So if you too have a small yard or even just a patio you can still do a lot. You just have to dream big.

Ipswich Farmers' Market, growing mantids, and a teaser carrot

I finally managed to get down to our local farmers' market. It didn't get going until two weeks ago and we've been away so this was the first week I made the three block walk to buy my local honey. Marshview Apiary from right here in Ipswich is always there and that's right where I headed. Processed cane sugar sets off my Crohn's Disease, and it tends to be hard to avoid since cane sugar is in everything. So, I've figured out how to cook and bake with honey and I'd rather get it from Eric and Irene Josephson then from the store. Here's my husband shelling out $6.75 for 16 ounces, total bargain!

We indulged in a pint of blueberries and four amazing cucumbers from the stall next door. Sadly the blueberry bushes at Green Meadows Farm where our CSA share comes from are infected with a fungus and we can't pick any this year. And my one little bush in the backyard has only yielded 25 berries so far (but twice as many as last year!)






The best part about the day was when I got home I played a bit in my Monsanto Sucks, Michelle Obama Rocks Organic Garden. My ten tomato plants are now well over six feet tall and are loaded with little green tomatoes. I harvested a few zucchini, and just for fun I held my breath and pulled up one of my carrots just to check their progress. I was expecting a tiny little root but look! I've never grown carrots before and now I'm wishing I had! My husband and I split it, it was delicious. Only sun, water and Neptune's Harvest fish emulsion went into it and it's was just as good if not better than anything I've tasted from the store.

Then I poked around to check on my mantids and I found one amongst the green beans. It was twice as big as last week and I'm glad it survived the three inches of rain and high winds we got Friday morning. The garden looked like a tornado went through!

I'll pull up another carrot next week, now I'm getting impatient, especially since I have about 100 growing....that yummy baby carrot was such a tease!

For more virtual farmers' markets visit the Farmers' Market Challenge at The Road to Here.