We have suffered an infestation of
grubs
(won't show you any here, they destroy the beauty of this post...) this
year. They are all over our garden and are killing all our plants, vegetables,
bushes, the grass... you name it. It's been a disaster and the garden has
never looked so poorly and beat up. It is out of our control and all we can do
is to just hope it will go away on its own. However, some flowers are still
hanging in there, like the Dahlias and some herbs. Slightly bloomed out but still gorgeous.
We had a great tomato year and the yellow cherry tomatoes were by far the
sweetest and most flavorful kind I've had. We've been eating them like candy
and once Jay made the most delicious yellow tomato sauce with pasta. Just
tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper and some olive oil, some shredded Parmesan
cheese on top... What more do you need for a great dish? It was amazing!
We got a big and bushy kale plant, I'm just waiting for the first frost to
come before harvesting. They say the frost makes kale more tender. I'm
actually not a big fan of kale but as this is a so called super food I just
have to give it a chance, right? I would love to make some kale chips in the
near future. And then maybe I'll try it in smoothies, pies, pastas...
The zucchini plant has fed us well but now I think it is done for the year. It
is amazing how many zucchinis one plant can grow. I think we've picked 20-30
of them? The best was picking them small and delicate, cook them soft and
tender and serve the cut in half length wise and serve as a side dish with
some butter, salt and pepper. D E L I C I O U S! When October break comes
around we'll rip it all out, veggies and plants, to really nourish the soil the
best we can in hope for a more productive and beautiful garden next
year.
I love being in my garden with crisp cold air and the sun finding its way in
with its golden light. It is so incredibly beautiful this time of the year. It
makes me feel like I'm in Sweden at the summerhouse, with wellies on,
unflattering baggy jeans and oversized gingham garden jacket. Liberty to just
be.
Something else that puts a stop to the liberty is this Covid Beast. We are
currently having a Covid19 situation in our household and we are trying to
figure out what measurements to take come work/school week starting
tomorrow... We are not directly effected by Covid ourselves, but one of Nelly Bo's closest friends has tested positive and they had lunch sharing food the other day. She is now on this boy's "Close contact" list. She has already started her quarantine of 10 days and
tomorrow she will do a Covid test. For the rest of us I'm not sure what we are supposed to do. I'm confused.
The information is not so clear in my opinion. I think we'll get ready to go to
school, apprenticeships and work like normal, but it doesn't feel great...
Hmmm... Hopefully we get some information from the authorities this
afternoon to bring some clarity to the situation.
Anyway. I should go for a quick walk before the rain comes. Hope you all are
having a smashing Sunday. Sending lots of hugs and love from my home to yours.
Until next time - take care!
PS: I seriously dislike Bloggers new edit mode and I'm sorry for it
looking awful when posting (gaps between pics etc... I can't fix it).
It is close to impossible to use. A real dinosaur layout... I need to change
platform. Anyone who can help me?
PS 2: I think I fixed the gaps... I hope so.
Kärlek
Annette
Annette
FOLLOW My Rose Valley
HERE:
Your autumn flowers are wonderful, especially dahlias. I hope you will get rid of grubs.
ReplyDeleteI adore your blogging voice and your unique take on the world, your visuals make my heart happy too!! So lovely to immerse myself in your beautiful garden today, a real joy, thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have something in Switzerland like a master gardener program where you can call them for advice on how to get rid of your grubs. Someone from a university that has an agriculture school may be able to help.
ReplyDeleteHere in the US, we have limited success with adding beneficial nematodes and milky spore to our soil to get rid of the grubs. I don't know if any of these are available in your area of the world (and I don't know the type of beetle the grub becomes in your area of the world either). Although in doing some research, it appears that Japanese beetles have arrived in Switzerland (I am so sorry to hear this). It is going to take several years to try to mitigate them. I read an article that your government is trying a type of fungus that appears to be having good success. That is great.
It is important to hand pick any of the beetles that develop from the grubs and drop them into some soapy water so they drown. You usually can shake them off any leaves/flowers into a bucket with soapy water if you feel squeamish about touching them.
Hope Nelly Bo will test negative and continue to do so.
I think your garden looks lovely (as always).
Lovely to read your post and see tour lovely garden although I’m sorry about the grubs! I do hope Nelly has a negative on her test. Fingers crossed on that.
ReplyDeleteAs for blogger alternatives, the only other free one I know of is good ol Word press. Although that has ads over it if you get the free version I believe. Otherwise most other options mean shelling out some of the hard earned. I keep wondering about it but Im not sure I can be doing with the hassle of moving and I’m not sure how I feel about paying either. 🤷♀️
Sandra x