Our Potatoes are Coming Up!

We were pleasantly surprised to go outside yesterday and see our potatoes starting to peek through the hay. Honestly we didn’t think they would make it with the huge ant population we have in the yard. The ant mounds are getting bigger and bigger, as well as being very savvy when it came to my seedballs. I had many seedballs that were prepared without using any cayenne pepper, and guess what?? the ants demolished all the seedballs and took the seeds. The seedballs that remained in tact and are still undissolved are the ones I prepared with cayenne pepper. I have not watered those at all since I’m waiting for the monsoon that should come in about four weeks. So they are there waiting for some good rain. Before the rains come, however, we are planning on having a little war with our ant army. I’ll be sprinkling some dried instant grits around their mounds until the rains come. If you need to get rid of huge outdoor (or even indoor) ant infestations, instant dried grits is the way to go. The instant grits will expand in their stomachs killing them. No chemicals, no need to lament over more lost seed balls, and above all else…I can be sure to allow my grandbaby to play back there without her getting ravished by an angry army of large red ants. Those little buggers are fast and aggressive! A word of caution about using instant grits in the yard; do not use them where ducks can eat it. Ducks can not expel gas (fart!) and it can seriously injure them. We don’t have ducks right now, so we’re ok. Also make sure that you do not water the area the grits are being applied…it will ruin its effectiveness.
We also have a peach tree in the back yard that I never thought would bear fruit…I was wrong. After Dom created some earth works around the tree, and after watering it deeply four or five times, we were happy to see some beautiful little babies form. Last year we had one little pitiful peach that was growing on the inmost part of one of the branches, and it never matured. This year we have four peaches and many more that are now starting to get bigger as well.