Weekend at the Farm October 22 - 23, 2016

This is a seed head of amaranth.

Arrived Friday evening, Bert was already here.  I left early Sunday to go to Sam's birthday party.  He is into Spiderman so I got him a Spiderman shirt and shoes.

• This is the time of year when you think the days cannot get prettier yet every weekend is prettier than the last one.  The butterflies are amazing again.
• My Torch Mexican Sunflowers are in full bloom.  They are very colorful.  The butterflies are all over them.  The Whitestriped Longtails have finally showed up.  They are mostly brown, and they have a prominent white stripe across their wings and long narrow tails.  They are very distinctive-looking.  There are some small orange butterflies all around, but they move so fast that I cannot see if they have any markings.  The orange color is brighter than the Gulf Fritillaries and they are smaller with about a one inch wingspan.
•  I worked most of the morning in the Vegetable Garden.  I pulled up all the beans - I can't believe they lasted all summer - and a lot of the Tabasco pepper plants. I mulched a few of the 4 x 4 beds and both of the 2 x 16 beds to keep the weeds down.  I probably won't plant anything in most of the beds.  I added some compost to one of the 2 x 16 beds and planted 3 cabbage plants and one collard green plant.  
• I planted a mustard green in a pot and put it in the Star Garden, and I amended the soil and planted 2 more collards and one more mustard in the Star Garden beds.  Mustard greens and collards are such pretty plants.  I think they are very decorative.
• I found some Bright Lights Swiss Chard and some Cilantro in my seed box, so I sowed it in the Vegetable Garden.
• Throughout the day I spot watered in the Rose Garden with my low-flow sprinkler.  The Rose Garden looks absolutely fantastic.  I have gotten rid of most of my Ox Eye daisies so that other perennials and annuals can make their mark.  The zinnias are attracting butterflies.  So pretty.  I stayed in the Rose Garden most of the afternoon just moving the sprinkler and enjoying the weather and the butterflies.
• I mulched several beds in the Greenhouse Gardens.  
• My Night Blooming Jasmine is in full bloom.  I sat outside Friday night and Saturday night just breathing in the night air.  What an unforgettable smell, yet it is difficult to describe.  I don't know of another smell that I can compare it to.
• Before I left Sunday morning I sprayed my roses with fungicide.