Octomom

Eleanor finally laid her eggs! Four days after the first testing site, she laid her eggs in almost the exact same spot as the first testing site. I was beginning to get worried about her. The weather changed this week, and one of the nights got into the upper 40s, and she didn't move from the spot she was digging for a whole day. Yesterday, it warmed up considerably, and she was roaming about most of the day. She started digging again around 4 or 5 pm, and I went to check on her every couple of hours, but it was all in a huge rain storm! We had larger than golf ball sized hail, and some in our area had baseball or larger sized hail.

This is where she decided to finally nest. The little indentation to the right is where I uncovered the first egg. I'm glad that I went out multiple times, because she changed her digging location around 8 or 9 pm. You can see the one she started on the left. The actual nest was covered up and even when I first saw it, so I could reasonably assume there were actually eggs there. The site to the left was abandoned as is.

Here's the first egg!

Seeing more white showing through as I dig through with a spoon. 

I started marking the eggs with a marker to make sure I keep them right side up. I was surprised after I uncovered six, and started moving them, to find two more.

Eleanor is an octomom!

Time to keep them humid, but not to much. Last year, Nadine's eggs split, and I think they were too wet.

 

This is the earliest we've ever had eggs by nearly three weeks, but we had such a goofy March. I can't imagine how Eleanor fit all eight eggs inside of her and still managed such a voracious appetite. Eleanor laid two clutches of eggs last year, first 5 eggs, and then another clutch of 4 eggs. She's never laid this many at a time. 

I've got garden updates too, but not that much time. I'll share those pictures later!

Gardening in the Dark - Updated with Photos

This is probably a first for me. No pictures, not tonight anyway. Photos added 3/27. I did garden most of the day as well as in the dark tonight. I was hoping my dwarf Tophat blueberry bush would arrive today, and was sort of waiting on it to finish up my work, and it won't come until tomorrow now, so that meant I left a bunch of stuff out and just a bit more work that needed finished. I could have waited until tomorrow, but I got started on finishing up my newspaper pots and just went ahead and filled them by my back porch light.

Things accomplished today:

• Potting up of 81 tomato/pepper plants in newspaper pots
• Run to Walmart/Dollar Tree for more seeds, potting soil, fertilizer, and hanging baskets (I couldn't pass up a few packets of $0.20 seeds at Walmart... and I think I was short on pepper seeds anyway...
• Mixed potting soil with fertilizer
• Filled and planted summer squash and zucchini in my Dollar tree buckets from last year 
• Made remaining 25 newspaper pots
• Potted up remaining 24 tomato plants and 1 lone basil plant in the dark on the patio

I've been dreading the potting up stage. Partly because I do so many at a time, but also because, once again, I was late in making my newspaper pots so all of that had to be done at once.  My hubby helped out tons with the newspaper pot making last night, which was a welcomed first.

I know it's early to get those zucchini and summer squash started, but they worked so well in the buckets last year, and it's been so consistently warm. I noticed a few volunteer watermelon plants growing in the compost pile the other day, and found a squash of some sort (probably zucchini) that already has its first true leaves back in the turtle pen. I figured if they grew in nature on their own I could risk a few seeds now. The pots are portable too, so that means a trip to the garage or even the dining room if we get a temperature drop. I just about wrote "late" temp drop, but Spring has come so early, that I feel thrown off, it wouldn't be "late" it'd be normal.

Squash volunteer in turtle pen

Spinach seedling (excited with how much growth I have so far, spinach is not one I've had much success with)

Lolla Rossa lettuce seedling

Valerie lettuce seedling

Broccoli and lettuce

Snap peas, radishes, and the non-existent carrots

I feel like my tomatoes and peppers are "behind" because they are so small in this potting up stage (they do have a phosphorus deficiency at the moment, but that will clear up with the fertilizer and fresh soil...). Realistically they are way ahead, they are completely hardened off, seeing as how they have spent MAYBE two days inside at the very beginning. IT'S STILL MARCH. I have to keep telling myself that. 

Solomon on the compost pile

The turtles think Spring is in the air. There shouldn't be any shortage of fertile eggs (at least next year..), I'll just leave it at that. I'm wondering if there will be early egg laying... May 18th is the earliest Eleanor has ever laid. We'll see... 

Gardening in the Rain

My strawberry replacement plants came yesterday (All but three or four plants died from the heat and lack of water last year...) So that meant I had no choice but to do some gardening work.

I planted 25 strawberry plants, transplanted broccoli and lettuce starts, planted red onions, and did some weeding. All of this is the rain.

I'm definitely seeing green out there now! The warm weather has been lovely, but I'm definitely afraid of a late frost/freeze. It was only in the 60s today, so that rain that has now taken residence in all of my clothes has chilled me to the bone. At least I got out there with the camera!

In turtle news, all turtles have now emerged. Nadine was the slowest, and I saw her out there this morning for the first time. (she was the one who gave us fertile eggs last year, so I was rather worried about how long it has taken her to come out!)

I can't get going...

I just can't get myself going this season. I have gotten some garden work done, but not much. The "non-winter" we have been having this year has not kept me inside, especially since I've continued to run all winter. That inside time is what makes me long for outside time.

I've got broccoli planted. Twice actually. The first batch that I planted died. It took too long for me to get the shelves and lights upstairs, and they literally died.  The new stuff is happy, with second leaves, and is ready to be potted up. They've even been fertilized (I know, right?!). I'll need potting soil to pot them up though, and I haven't made so much as ONE newspaper pot yet, so where they're going, I don't know yet.

I've got all of my peppers and tomatoes planted. I took it down a notch this season. I doubled what I wanted for myself, just to be safe, and plan to give extras to my mom and my neighbor ladies, but otherwise this "nursery" did not take orders this year. That still means I have 40 some peppers and 60 some tomatoes that I will need tending.

We're still getting a steady supply of lettuce from my Aerogarden. Tender lettuce knocks the socks off of any store bought lettuce we get, so it is a nice treat.  I know not to plant any more "red" lettuce in it though, it starts out trying to be red, but then goes green and stays that way. I'm not sure if there is a nutrient deficiency from the liquid components that we use, but it's not something that concerns me enough to try to fix it.

Yesterday, it was 72 and beautiful (though very windy) and I got the first "Spring" glimpse of Eleanor! She was "out" before I stuck my phone in her face to send this picture to the hubby. She is never shy once she's out and about for a while, I very rarely see her shell close this much.  We've never let our turtles come out of hibernation naturally because I always want the compost that they are hibernating in. This year we moved the finished compost to the garden, and have done all of our composting on a pile in the garden, so we're going to let them do their own thing this year. Eleanor is from Pennsylvania, so we know she's used to a bit colder weather. I'm anxious to see when the others will emerge.

The only gardening I've done was to stir the compost in the garden, and move some of the finished compost we'd piled in so I could build a new trellis and plant my snow peas.  I haven't used a pitchfork or those muscles in months apparently, because I was SORE after even that little amount of work!  At least something is in the ground, even with my lack of planning. I have really good luck with peas in the location I've used in the past, and I know they SHOULD be rotated, but something keeps them doing really well there, so I'm not changing that up this year, but I did have to rebuild the trellis.

I'm a part of a group getting ready to start a community garden in my area, so some of that planning took place yesterday.  Night shift has really taken the life out of me I guess, but I'm hoping some motivation blows my way soon!

I'm glad to catch up on blog reading when I get the chance... Happy Gardening to all!

Long time, no blog.

So it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted. It's been an overwhelming (to say the least) thought of updating this the longer I go. I had over 80 photos to upload to my photobucket for it to even happen. I attempted that part while I made dinner, and food for church this morning, and by the time that was done, there just wasn't time left in the day.

I've been very busy! After a year of searching for a nursing job, I start my first real job as an RN tomorrow! Finishing up at my other job, and getting everything ready to go for the new job has taken up a lot of time! My brother-in-law was living here, and has left, we had to ask the 20 year old who was living here to move on, which was kind of a lot in itself. That also meant that I had to completely redo that room. (My new job means that I'll be working nights for a while, so I needed to make the only basement--no window-- bedroom livable)

I have continued to garden, and harvest, and eat plenty out of the garden (not as much as I would have liked) and still took many pictures (also not as much as I would have liked)

Here's a before and after of the room I worked on. Definitely still a work in progress. I'd like to refinish the dresser, and get some bedding for this room, but I didn't want to just leave a plain mattress in there and call it "finished".  Took about three or four coats of primer to cover up those Sharpee drawings on the wall-- note to self NEVER allow that to happen when you have kids.

Here's a sample of what has been harvested this past month. 

The three green zebras in the center are the only three we'll have. One has been eaten.  Both plants died from some sort of wilt, and I had to pull them.  I'm very sad about that, it was one of my favorite plants last year!

Some of the turtle eggs are definitely fertile, and we're very excited about it! I've been "candling" them. Those with chickens are probably familiar with this. I've done this with all of the eggs (though I don't actually pick them up, like you would with chickens). I shine the flash light up next to them, and have watched as veins are forming in 6 of the 15 eggs. I'm pretty certain all of Eleanor's eggs are duds (which is a bummer, she's by far the prettiest turtle) I've read different websites that have said you can candle box turtle eggs, and others that say that you can't, well... you can.

(Egg laid by Nadine-- June 5) Picture taken June 30

picture taken today-- July 10

Garden June 18

Garden-- July 2

Since the first picture, all lettuce has been pulled, it finally got incredibly bitter (after weeks in the 90s!), we pulled three of the four broccoli plants. I'm holding out for the fourth. Also pulled were the peas... much to the dog's dismay. They had a good run, and we ate as many as they gave us. No frozen ones this year, but we weren't good about eating the frozen ones last year. I'm hoping for a fall crop this year as well. I've planted and staked up pole beans, and planted more. We've had our first green bean harvest, though not impressive. We've had several handfuls of cherry tomatoes. I know that means that I missed my first tomato of the year post, but we've yet to have a great full sized garden tomato. We have had a severe issue with squirrels stealing them before they're ready. They're not discriminatory either, they take the green ones and the ones that are ripening!  I snagged this (crazy looking!) Cherokee Purple (thanks EG!) one off of the plant, and it's ALMOST finished ripening on the counter. I wasn't going to risk it any longer. I want to taste these!

Here's the "MESSIEST" part of my garden. The catch all of the extra plants within the turtle/compost pen... It doesn't get near enough sunlight, but there are several squash, zucchini, marigolds, and volunteer tomato plants coming up anyway. if I get food from back there great, if not it's just a place for me to be a bit "extra messy".

 

Here's the front of the house in bloom. The fuschia petunias to the right were planted from seed, and are only four plants! It's a "wave" variety, and I ran out of seeds so that's one I'll have to reorder for next year. They are GREAT bloomers!  I got to see my daylillies for the first time this year, and my glads are in bloom along with my rose of sharon.  

I think that's about all I'll fit into this post, and this evening... I've already gotten the "are you going to be off of there soon..." comment. So, hopefully I can do some catch up readings on some of the blogs I read as well! 

What to do with Cabbage Loopers

I fortunately have not had to deal with any cabbage loopers until now. Last year, my plants looked like a lace doily, and I never got any broccoli from those plants.  It's nice to know that there is a place to take them when I find them though!


I spent two hours out in the garden with sprinklers and new fertilizer. I bought some new organic fertilizer and some blood meal yesterday.  Organic = stinky.  I had to breathe through my mouth for the whole process, but I had several of my paste tomatoes get blossom end rot, and it's been a while since any of my plants have been fed.  I've done a much better job with that, and keeping the plants staked this year, but it's still a hard thing for me to remember to do!

I picked a full sized zucchini and my first yellow squash today! More peas were picked, and I'm about to go plant some more green beans. I cut all but the very newest growth out of my strawberries today, because they appear done. I did this based off of a suggestion from my great uncle, so we'll see how they do. They were looking pretty sad and diseased anyway.

Harvest Monday

Thanks for hosting Harvest Monday Daphne! If you want to check out what others are harvesting, head over to Daphne's Dandelions!

I harvested this broccoli yesterday, and it was added to stir fry with a bunch of other garden vegetables for dinner for three last night. I had a few open yellow flowers, so it had to be cut. This is my first year harvesting broccoli, so I am still learning when to harvest it. Hopefully I'll know better next year!

One of the snow pea harvests

Looks like I missed one in the previous harvest from the day before!

Five more heads of lettuce: 2 Buttercrunch, 1 Little Caesar Romaine, and 2 Valerie

Strawberries that I shared with the neighbors, but grabbed a picture of before I took them over.

More strawberries and peas!

More peas!

The bag of peas is for size reference only, though we ate all of them finally yesterday.

Everything green in this meal came from the garden! And there were three of us who ate it! The zucchini babies were delicious, and perfect, and tasted no different. They were small, and had the tiniest seeds in them, but that was the only difference. This meal was a very satisfying one!

I was having a hard time remembering what I had harvested, and thought it would be a small post, but when I pulled up all of the pictures I was pleasantly surprised! This was a great garden week!

Sorry to sound redundant, but this morning I recovered another four turtle eggs! Eleanor laid 4 more last night, so that is the first time she has double clutched here to our knowledge.  Multiple clutching is very normal for box turtles, we just haven't seen it happen before. Her total for the season is now up to 9, and only 19 days apart. I guess she wasn't going to be outdone by Nadine, who laid six the night before.  We now have a total of 15 eggs inside.  I did some research last night about multiple clutching, and found some instances where the average amount of eggs per female/season was around 11.  This is the first year we've had any turtle besides Eleanor lay, but I don't know what we'd do with 44 baby turtles, not that I'm counting my turtles...

More Eggs!

Yesterday was so hot, and I really just wanted to be doing something active, so in the afternoon my husband agreed to take me for a walk... around the mile loop in our local mall.  We bought a 5 gallon stock pot for him during the trip because we will shortly be attempting our own home brewing.  When we returned, we found this...

Here is a little video of her digging the nest.  I've never been able to get this close, or as good lighting when Eleanor was digging.

Nadine was digging her first (that we've ever seen) nest.  It was nearly 8 when we got home, and she was still digging around ten, but when I went out there this morning, the hole was perfectly covered. Definitely was not a test site. If I had not seen her digging, there is no way I would have noticed this, other than the fact that the basil plant she was digging by is now gone.

There have been loads of ant hills by the compost pile and in that general area, and even though she laid her nest in the ground and not the compost pile like Eleanor does, we still felt it was too risky to leave it back there, so I got out everything I needed to bring the eggs inside to incubate.

First egg found

I mark the top of each egg so that I keep the top of the egg in the same orientation when I place them in the deli container.

First three out

Still three to go!

I was surprised to find six eggs in this nest! She is considerably smaller than Eleanor, and her eggs were slightly smaller as well, it's just hard to imagine six of these things fitting inside of such a small shell.  She was chowing down while I was digging up her nest.  She probably did not have room to eat with all of these inside of her.  Her eating behavior has been a bit different than last year, so it will be neat to see if she becomes more "outgoing" again.

Nadine's eggs on the left, Eleanor's eggs in the two containers on the right

All of the eggs with the lid on, with a thermometer that also checks the humidity. Turtle eggs absorb water through their shells, and do best under humid conditions.  Thermometer reads 82% relative humidity, and 78 degrees.

In gardening news, I had four male blossoms open today (two of which were a set of twins!) and two female (one yellow squash and one zucchini) blossoms, so I went ahead and hand pollinated!  The other zucchini in this picture had no male, but look at how big it is anyway!

It's going to be a scorcher of a week! I went ahead and tied the tomato plants up to the stakes again this morning. It was rather windy and truly threatening of storms that never came.  Good to have some work done though!  Happy Gardening!