It's been raining constantly. The ground is so saturated there are puddles everywhere.
I think I found the reason for my weird looking banana peppers. Ants have made nests right next to both Serrano and banana pepper plants. I'm sure they are destroying roots, because leaves have started curling. I raked the dirt around and sprinkled cayenne pepper, but the rain must have washed it away, ants are still there. I had two bags of potting soil and ants had moved into those bags as well. I guess they are trying to find a safe place to be in this rainy weather, but in the process completely destroying my plants.
I had several meetings at work so there wasn't a lot of time for gardening. I did transplant a mango plant in a pot. Now it has several big leaves. I sprouted this from a very delicious mango, so I hope it grows well.
Classes start on Monday. My classes are all ready, so I am not stressed. I could have worked on more online course material, but I spent the last two days crocheting two dish cloths. I did one using single crochet stitch and then practiced double crochet stitch. The double crochet dish cloth has several big holes because at first I kept missing the last stitch of each row. It's not a perfect square, but I can still use it. 😊 Next, I want to make this dishcloth pattern shared by Stephanie. I haven't followed a pattern yet, and this seems very simple one for a beginner like me.
I did a little bit more decluttering. There was a box of fabric remnants, and I discarded several unwanted pieces, and folded the rest neatly in a big plastic container.
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| Crocheting. |
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| Mango in a new pot. |
This week's to-do list:
1) Prepare raised beds. - Not completely done.
2) Repair the lunch bag.
3) More decluttering (books)
Next week's to-do list:
1) More decluttering.
2) Finish preparing raised beds.
3) sow bitter gourd seeds.
XX,
Nil
I did a little bit of gardening and a lot of writing this week.
ReplyDeleteAnts can be so persistent! Good luck in getting them to move on. Your single stitch crochet looks so good! Your double stitch will be just as good in no time.:-)
Thank you Priscilla. I still need more practice on keeping the edges neat and straight. 😊
DeleteI too like the single crochet dish cloth. I washed it once and still it kept its shape. 😁
Look how well your mango seedling is doing! Well done on all the decluttering and having all your class work ready for starting on Monday! Your crocheted dish cloth looks good! I hope you are able to get rid of those ants!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a restful day, tomorrow, before starting classes on Monday. Have a wonderful week, Nil.
Thanks Bless.
DeleteJust before the semester I got a cold, but other than that, the week went really well.
Ants are winning the fight so far. LOL
Thank you!
ReplyDelete"Under the weather"...
✨🍑✨
Hugs to you Wisps. xx
DeleteMaybe orange peels will help to get rid of the ants. I have a friend who sprays Pledge orange oil around her house to get rid of ants as they don't like the orange oil, so it might work and it's natural too. I like your dishcloth, it looks great and very usable. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Belinda. I didn’t know about the orange peel trick. I tried dish soap, cayenne pepper but none helped. I don’t have oranges, but I will see if other citrus peels work.
DeleteHi Nil, I hope you are feeling better. That's great that you have learned the double crochet stitch. I am excited that you are going to try that pattern that I posted. It's fun, and good practice. Dishcloths are so practical. Stephenie
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephenie. I feel a lot better now.
DeleteI plan to start your pattern soon. I will post a photo once I’m done. 😁
I hope they were black ants and not fire ants.
ReplyDeleteThe color of your dish cloth is beautiful.
Actually, I didn’t look carefully to see what type of ants they were. I too hope they are not fire ants.
DeleteThe crochet dishcloth looks good. I've only ever knitted them so I might have try making some crocheted ones.
ReplyDeleteI hope this year at school goes well for you. X
Thanks Jules. Perhaps it’s too early to say, but it seems like the semester is going to be good, with a nice bunch of students . 😊
DeleteI would live to learn how to knit, your work looks great and it is so great to have your own mango plant! I am following, greetings from Poland ☺
ReplyDeleteHello Natalia 👋
DeleteThank you for reading and following.
I haven’t tried your recipes yet, but love reading them.
Nil, we would love some of your rain. I find that crochet is much quicker than knitting.
ReplyDeleteChel, if I could I’d send you all the rain I’m getting here. LOL
DeleteWishing you a good school year with nothing but attentive, bright and eager students. Ants are the worst. Good luck with your battles. I brought my dad some mangoes on Saturday and you have inspired me to pinch one of the seeds and try to get it to grow.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anita. It seems like I have a good bunch of students, though it’s still bit too early.. 😁
DeleteThose pesky ants!
ReplyDeleteUgh, and they are winning !
DeleteNil I wish I could crochet. I must go online one day when the tropical rains set in and teach myself. Enjoy the rain, we need it in Australia. Good luck with your mango tree, all of ours are flowering over here so that is a good sign for a good crop this year.
ReplyDeletePauline, now I think I’ve had enough rain for the year. Haha.
DeleteIt’s so nice to have homegrown mangoes. My neighbor has a big tree, but I’ve never seen fruits. I hope you have a very good crop this year.
I’ve always poured white vinegar over areas where ants were in the garden. It works.
ReplyDeleteThanks Akasha. I’ll try vinegar. Once I poured a mixture of water, vinegar and dish soap on kale to get rid of lubber grasshoppers, and it burned the plants. Maybe it was too much vinegar. I’ll start with a tiny bit. Ants are making nests right near the root system so it’s a bit tricky to eliminate them without harming the plants.
DeleteWow your crochet is coming alone really well, well done.
ReplyDeleteI need to plant my mango tree too, mine was grafted so hopefully it will give me fruit soon.
I’d be happy if my tree gives me fruits by the time I retire. LOL
DeleteI think you are right, a grafted tree will grow quickly.
Hope you are enjoying being back to your job! Beautiful dish cloths! I used to find that with heavy rains the ants were bad. You are right, probably trying to get dry places. Andrea
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrea. Yes, I’m enjoying being back in the classroom. 😊
DeleteWe were away on an anniversary road trip, but not too far as we stayed in New England, so I have been having a restful week. Thanks for the anniversary well wishes which were much appreciated. I will return to blogging but am now trying to catch up on reading posts from other bloggers.
ReplyDeleteyour dishcloth looks great Nil. you are clever. ants can be such a nuisance. our kitchen has lots of the little nuisances running around. have a good month. cheers sherry
ReplyDelete