Cabbage and kale

I just realized that I haven't planted any cabbage or kale and it's getting a bit late for that. It has been so warm that I had not even thought about fall vegetable plantings. The past five years I have had good crops of kale.

Last year it was too warm a winter and both kale and cabbage were covered with caterpillars before I could harvest them. It was discouraging, when I had fought off the possums from digging them up. This winter is shaping up the same way so far -- warm. I'm pretty sure that's why the yard has been invaded by a new vine which is native to Singapore. I wish we had Singapore's hummingbird moths too, because their caterpillars would eat the vine, but alas we don't have that balance.

On Friday afternoon while I was looking for our little cat Daisy, who had disappeared that morning, I found my back fence neighbor near our compost heaps. She said she was determined to eliminate the invasives. I was so focused on finding the cat that I didn't take the opportunity to discuss the invasives with her. I hope to do so in the future. She is retired and I am not, but I am hopeful because most of the invasives in my yard actually came from her yard, before it was hers. Bamboo, the little bush with the red berries and dark green leaves (she know the name of it), the Boston fern-- together we can wipe these out. Where the Singapore stink vine came from I don't know. It just popped up. But if we have another hard freeze winter like we had three years ago, I hope it will get a whollaping.