What Lies Beneath

Well, a lot has been going on, so catching up may be tricky. How about I make the 4-hour epic into a miniseries.

Let's start with worms. There were a lot of them.

As invasive grasses like Johnson and Bermuda tend to stretch deep, much digging was in order to prepare the garden for winter (and hopefully for a more weed-resistant future). The deeper we dug... the bigger the bug.

This is a grub. Apparently, they live most of their life in this form and then become this:

A green june bug.

We love to hate em.

Chickens love them, too - but once they have wings, you gotta catch em!


This guy must have been in there a while. Gross? Maybe. But actually pretty fun. Deep weed roots and huge grubs may not be as familiar a sight for those who till mechanically. But, as you can see lots is going on about a foot under the surface. By hand-digging the soil, we not only can deal with those problem-causers but also can protect the beneficial creatures. Like earthworms! And spiders. And all the microorganisms that make "soil" much more than dirt.

Another fun one to catch? My friend the hornworm...

Organic Weed Killer

It's damp. It's chilly. And it's September in Texas. (what?? I didn't even bring long sleeves...)

In other news, I forgot to mention another by-product of rain - weeds. Though I can't recall the names of the two I find most often, the ones I worked on today, bermuda grass, were the most invasive. It stretches out and sets roots most anywhere it touches soil. And the roots go deep, which means digging. And digging means... worms! The chickens ate well.

The bermuda is so persistent, it broke through fiber cloth and even black plastic ground cover! Bad stuff, it seems...

Water, worms, and where burgers come from...

(hint: not a burger)

NOAA is usually afraid to pass its bright green/yellow crayon over our area. This weekend, though, the radar showed a creative streak. And it rained!! ...And rained! ...and rained.... and... 3.5 inches later, it stopped.

Most of the areas hit by this weekend's slow-mover would probably laugh at that. But here, it was perfect!

Lost some tomatoes when the rains split them, and some pepper branches broke under the water weight. Meanwhile, the salad greens are thriving! The okra is multiplying its spiney-covered, gooey-centered self. The rain also set into the compost, giving us hope that the soil may really be getting there. And nutritious soil means nutritious veggies that resist bugs and disease (which is the way to go when you don't use chemical pesticides).

The rain also brought a few stowaways out of hiding. I was not really one of those kids who dug in mud looking for worms. Cool rocks and broken glass, maybe. But not worms. Somehow, at age 28, I've become a bona fide worm wrangler. Grubs, which live a few inches under the soil, grow up to be pesky beetle-like lovers of squash, eggplant, and so much more. Hornworms, a green, horn-tailed cousin of the adorable caterpillar in "A Bug's Life," have a thing for tomatoes. Luckily, chickens have a thing for them. Throw in a few grubs, and you've got some protein-rich eggs!