Duck Water

Over the last few days we’ve been watering our courtyard plants and veggies with duck water from their kiddie pool. It could be a coincidence, but our pepper plants are now just starting to bud. They are starting to look healthier and more vibrant since the duck poop was added. Dom and I had to change out the pool water this morning, and we watered everything from the globe artichokes to Rasta Row. I can’t wait to see what happens! I have been wanting to do this for a few months now, dreaming of the moment when I could pour duck poop water all over my little fruits and veggies. Its like they are getting a poop milk shake! LOL Refreshing on a hot day and filled with all kinds of beneficial nutrients.
We made a temporary duck house for them which I must say looks a lot like an abandoned building with squatters living inside. Dom simply took scraps of wood we had laying around and concocted a home for them. Its working fine, but I do hate the fact that the kitchen cabinet doors which we took OFF of the cabinets are making a comeback on the temp duck house! I know I could do some things to make the structure a little more attractive, but I don’t want to waste the energy on it since we have so many other things to do throughout the day. The amount of weeds that are coming up right now is amazing. Billions…not millions of weeds. BILLIONS! In the area where the fruit trees are planted I was able to fill three 3 gallon buckets up with weeds. After picking them, I brought them into the duck pen and the ducks and chicks when nuts for the weeds. They really love puncturevine, tumbleweeds, and Bermuda grass. Oh, they also love grass hoppers, beetles, flies and anything else that moves. A yummy treat for them.

Here are some photos I took as of this morning around our property:

Red Oleander

Sweet potatoes growing in an old container. I planted the slips a few days ago.

Globe artichokes

More globe artichokes and also flanking the artichokes are some volunteers growing. We are unsure what they are. They look and feel like sedums, but our neighbor said that the old timers around here eat it like wild spinach. They are pretty cool little plants, so we are letting them grow here.

Zucchini getting large and in charge.

In this photo, zucchini, to the left and right of the zucchini are pickling cucumbers and those little green things coming up behind it all near the fence are snow peas. Almost every single snow pea I planted last week has come up.

In this photo to the left are all the snow peas coming up. To the right are new grey zucchini and of course the large green things are mammoth sunflowers and Jerusalem artichokes.

Part of Rasta Row. Not too long ago I planted Bush beans in between the pepper plants. Almost all of them showed up a few days ago. Three beans didn’t make it. Not too shabby.

As you can see, the leaves of the strawberry plant were totally scorched by the sun and drying heat and wind. After putting up a shade for them, most of them made a nice recovery. I don’t know if you can see it, but there is a white strawberry blossom peeking through one of the leaves…do you see it? Yeah baby!

Armenian cucumbers made a bold comeback! Also planted and supporting the cucumbers are yard long beans planted on either side of each of the cucumber plants. They are flowering now. I also planted more mammoth sunflowers in this long patch and they are coming up now also.