My 2012 garden is really doing well despite global warming temperatures that have made 90 degrees and above the norm here in the Garden State. I've never watered my garden this much ever. Sometimes twice a day. Sometimes 3 times a day. Despite the extreme weather conditions, I've been able to harvest a bunker crop so far.
Just today I picked potatoes, onions, collard greens and okra. I'm waiting on my sweet corn to fill out a little more. My cabbage is beginning to ball up. The tomatoes are still green and the watermelons and cucumbers are way behind schedule due to the extreme weather conditions.
The good thing is that I've finally figured out how to control the insects and critters than like chomping down on my plants. I'm using snail and slug drops. It's highly effective. And instead of using Coyote pellets this year I experimented with mole and groundhog repellent. It's also very effective against rabbits, squirrels and other critters that roam my yard, including the most beautiful skunk you've ever seen.
I call the skunk 'White Back' because at night all you see is the beautiful white coat running down its back. He seems to know that I'm a friend and not a foe. He runs when I come outside at night and comes back once again after I go inside. I have to admit that I do feed him. He likes dinner scraps. He would never spray me unless I cornered him.
Now onto my photos. I hope you like them. I hope that I will encourage you to do a little gardening yourself. I hope you have a wonderful day. Take care and remember what the 4th of July is all about. It's not all about picnics, parades and fireworks.
It's a true all-American holiday. It's about remembering what the country stands for. It's about declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Thanks to all of my friends who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday. I really appreciated all the best wishes.
Lloyd 'Tony' Cope
Follow Lloyd Cope at Twitter and Facebook
©2012 by Lloyd Cope for Gather.com. All rights reserved.
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
A bill of particulars documenting the king's "repeated injuries and usurpations" of the Americans' rights and liberties.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness of his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
The signers assert that there exist conditions under which people must change their government, that the British have produced such conditions, and by necessity the colonies must throw off political ties with the British Crown and become independent states. The conclusion contains, at its core, the Lee Resolution that had been passed on July 2.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
PS Happy Belated Birthday, Tony! I'm so glad you were born! And I'm so glad you're still on the planet! And I'm so grateful for your friendship!
PPS Thanks for the tips dealing with pests. Knowing that I'm not licked before I start just may increase my desire to give gardening a try!
Give gardening a try. Everything I've learned comes from doing it over and over again.
It's very rewarding. This morning I had some mashed potatoes made from my own homegrown potatoes. It so reminded me of what mashed potatoes tasted like when I was a child. It was ummm, ummmm good.
Interestingly enough, it is only the first few lines that I continue to remember by rote. The rest becomes necessary for me to refer to written script"....among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." When i come to that point the remainder seems to vanish for some reason. All men created equal...endowed by certain unalienable rights by their creator...among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...these words resound so prominently with me. I constantly look for evidence of its fruition.
Thanks, again for the post, and again, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY.
It is a great document. So many countries have adopted our Constitution as their own because it make the case clear that "All men are created equal...endowed by certain unalienable rights by their creator...among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Happy 4th of July Rosa.
Lloyd
Surround the base of the plant with grass clippings so the it will retain moisture once it rains or after you water your garden.
Hope this helps. Happy 4th of July.
Lloyd
Manley's resume is impeccable. He was a Rhode scholar. However, I didn't like some of the political season violence that occurred during his runs for the Prime Minister.
I believe the Jamaican people are still suffering from the violence that occurred under his watch with the People's National Party.
Wow Lloyd, that's a lot . . Where I live it's pretty hot every year, and I have sandy/silt soil that dries out fairly easily, and I water most things maybe once a week. But I water deeply, and train the roots down early on by letting the plants get rather "thirsty" before watering.
Do you have very shallow soil or something? Two or three times a day is a lot of work . . .
It's just been too hot and the lack of rain makes watering it over and over again a necessity.
Anyway, you may want to experiment on a plot or two next year, to see if there is a way to reduce your labor investment, and perhaps a bit of water (since it does not evaporate easily from well below the surface).
It's good to see that your garden is producing a variety of good healthy eats for you, I suspect many people don't realize just how much and how good the food (and herbs) can be, that one can grow themselves in even a relatively small space.
The weather is cooling down. We even had a thunder storm last night. Things are looking up.
Loved reading the Preamble again. Hope your 4th was awesome.
Please share the secret for getting rid of tomato hornworms.
Green Step Caterpillar Control
Controls worms and caterpillars on fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and shade trees.
Recommended for Imported Cabbage worm and Cabbage Looper, Green Step must be eaten to be effective. After ingesting the insecticide, worms and caterpillars immediately stop feeding, though they may otherwise appear to be unaffected for several days. Best results are obtained by treatments when worms are actively feeding on treated, exposed foliage.
Kills worms and caterpillar-stage insects, but has no effect on birds, earthworms or beneficial insects, such as honeybees and ladybugs, when used as directed. Worms and caterpillars eat treated foliage, then stop damaging plants.
Acceptable for use on edible plants up to the day of harvest.
I just took a look at my watermelon patch and see no signs that it will produce the 40+ melons I harvested last year.
Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck.
Happy belated birthday to you, and I hope you had a wonderful 4th!
What a great suggestion. I'm going to look into trying it. Where you find garlic juice?
And thanks for the Happy Birthday. I appreciate it.
I clapped my hands loudly. He climbed down and the race was on. I chased that critter at full speed. He turned around to see that I was still chasing him and ran into a hole underneath my shed.
I took a hammer and began banging on the shed. He didn't come out. I just put 6 inches of stone and dirt around the opening. There's still an opening at the back of the shed.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to put another 6 inches of stone and dirt around the rest of the shed.
His ass better be gone by tomorrow morning. His behavior is unacceptable.
...I didnt want to risk the chance of something else being done.