My...What BIG teeth you have!

As a matter of fact, I would like to bite you!

This friendly little visitor to the farm would probably have been happier with a free chicken dinner, or an egg breakfast, followed by a chicken dinner.  However, he stopped to sample the bread dipped in powdered sugar first.  Some wildlife can be safely relocated away from the farm, but this is not one of them.   Possum stew anyone?  Blu Bear

EXTREME GARDEN UPDATE

Irrigated Corn

Pumpkins get the royal treatment too!

Water Truck

O.K.  they win!  This enormous garden is state of the art.  Water, fertilizer...weed preventing mulch...I WANT ONE!!!  Well, the secrets out.  The Extreme Garden is actually a test garden being conducted by Rupp Seed Co.   According to a Rupp spoke person, the "garden" consumes about 2400 gallons of water per week.  And just think...they are practically neighbors!  In the middle of a drought, they are growing what can only be called UNBELIEVABLE plants of every variety.

Local Animal Shelter Gets Silly

You are kidding...right???

All for a good cause

As Bob Barker use to say..."Control the pet population..."

As a stuffed bear that writes a blog, and loves to take pictures of just about anything silly...this one is almost as good as the "Turf Painting" post last month!  Blu Bear

Tiny Tim Plant Gets "Published"

I was just A LITTLE SEED ONCE!

Never though a gift plant would end up in here!

Every one knows I love giving plants as gifts.  This one made its way to a Grand Ma who no longer could garden any more.  Boy was she wrong!!!  This tomato plant variety is the smallest in the world.  In fact, it almost never gets bigger than a basket ball when full grown.  Guess Grand Ma hasn't lost her green thumb after all!  Blu Bear

I WONDER...how tall will this tomato plant get?

MONSTER TOMATO PLANT THREATENS TAKEOVER

A 7 foot Tomato Plant?

Why I love drip irrigation!

Honest...I tried to prune it back...it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  I water it using drip hose, as shown in the photo.  But, what am I to do...get a ladder out to pick my cherry tomatoes?  Boy, if I could have a watering system for my garden like this one,  I'd never have to worry about rain again. 
We've been looking into a bunch of different systems for watering and fertilizing Blu Bears'Garden.  Some would run into the thousands of dollars.   If you've been following the Extreme Garden, then you have a pretty good idea what we'd like to do.   

My Pumpkin Patch 'n Sun Flowers

A sea of green!

Our new "white" pie pumpkins

 

Red ones too!

After seeing so much brown this summer, its great to see my pumpkin patch with its sunflower boarder smile with bright yellows, greens, and reds!  Blu Bear

Drought Update

Field Reporter O'Beary

The nation wide drought has dominated the local news.  Our local weekly, the Heartland Trader gave it front page coverage on its impact in Fulton Co. Ohio. 







Bob Krumm, author of this most recent article entitled Latta, Daniels get sense of impending disaster  reports on the worst drought in 56 years.  The director of Ohio Department of Agriculture David Daniels, puts the impact at 90% of Ohio's farmland, and even cracks in dry ground measuring three feet in depth.  This will hurt not just the family farms, but it also means higher prices at the market for everyone.

Blu Bears Garden, suffered as well.  Our hopes for an excess of good crops for the local food banks is perhaps the most tragic result of this unusually dry planting season.  Fortunately the squash and pumpkin crops suffered the least.  And, because we grow mainly food pumpkins, we expect pumpkin pies to be on every ones turkey day table.   We hope the pumpkin patch will fetch enough sales for Halloween to cover the costs of this years garden, and the seed, and equipment needed for next year.  Thank goodness stuffed bears work for hugs!  Field Reporter  O'Beary

Whats a bear to do???

Its been raining almost every other day this last week.  Too wet to work in the garden, but boy has the pumpkin plants gone crazy.  We managed to do some serious clean up of areas destroyed by the drought, but got RAINED ON while doing it!  Nothings worse than a wet bear! 

After we all dried off, we decided to play with the camera.  Bears can be such hams!  I've been waiting for you to post some of your photos on the web site.  Let me know if you are having trouble doing it.  Thanks for all the stuff you've e-mailed, but why don't you share it with all of the readers.

OH...another "Hi" to all of the readers from Eastern Europe.  Its great to see all the new visitors.  Ohio must seem like a long ways away.  I've got some bear relatives in your area too!  Also, I'd like to welcome the 2 new readers from the great state of Alaska.  I'd love to see pictures of your gardens. 

Your pal  Blu Bear

DON"T BLINK....

Amazing!!!

What a difference a little rain makes!

Peak-a-BOO!

The barn yard is finally green again.   And, the plants around the deck have went crazy.  I've got my paws full of work to do now!    If I'm not care full, the deck will be completely covered by my "plant samples"  We try to put one of most everything we grow around the deck just to see what they do with all the water and food they want.  That way, we can tell if the ones in the garden need some extra care.  I'll prune and tie up these monsters, and post a new photo of them next week...bet they get really big!  Blu Bear

Farm Stands OPEN for business

Fresh cucumbers

Remember Grandmas' Crock pickles?

Yellow tomato's???

$6.00 a peck????

Straw Beary and I went for a drive to see what farm stands were offering this season.  Many shelves are empty, and the prices give a hint that this is not going to be a bumper crop year.   You  were smart to grow a small garden, and gave it plenty of water and fertilizer!  Now get ready to enjoy all of your hard work...  and the sad little glances from the neighbors that now wish they were as smart as you!

Choo Choo shows off his first cargo

First pie pumpkin, harvest 2012

"Just look at this beauty!!!"   Choo Choo screamed.  Sure its a bit early, but not by much.  This is called a pie pumpkin because of its high sugar content.  Behind it are a chive and basil basket.  Although the gardens yield may be smaller than hoped for, we'll make up for it with yum factor.  Straw Beary has some really great pumpkin recipes that she'll be sharing with you soon! 

Blu Bears' Garden Update

Finally!!! Some ripe tomatoes

How great is this???

O.K.,....I know I planted it...but what is it???

Thats the fun part of growing a garden...  like breaking the rule about "cross pollination" .  You just never know what you are going to get.  This plant is a bute, but this is the strangest squash I've even seen...or is it a pumpkin...or a mutant ninja acorn!!!

Extreme garden update

Even out of focus this garden rocks!

Tomato, squash, cucumber, onion, you name it...

You can't help but think this Extreme Gardener is one smart cookie.  Even my gal Straw Beary thinks we should use this, or a modified version of it next year.  How about you?

More news from the Cresent newspaper

Oh boy...here we go again!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does seem to be a common new story this year.  That's one of the reasons I have been following the Extreme Garden.  If you look back at my continued  reports from last spring till now... you'd have to agree that's one smart farmer!  Blu Bear