Repel Mosquitoes

Did you know that you can naturally repel mosquitoes with plants? It just so happens that we sell many of the seeds and plants that are natural mosquito repellents! You don't need to spray chemicals on your family to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Repel Mosquitoes 8/7/23-8/13/23

Monday, August 7, 2023

This time of year, the sun comes up to the left of the oak tree but it did look pretty this morning when I was out with the dogs.

Happy Monday! It is the first day of school here in Poteet, TX. That means there are four of us working today, just four. A customer stopped by to pick up her seeds that she ordered online last week. It is hot and dry and miserable at 101° right now.

I have spent all morning pulling orders. My hips were hurting and I started feeling funny again like I might faint. I went in the house and took my blood pressure. It was 150/52. When the bottom number is so low, I start feeling really bad, yet the doctor says he is not concerned with that. He is concerned with how high the top number stays. So am I but I am faithfully taking all of the pills he has me on for it and they just make the bottom number go down.

So I ate and then my strange feelings went away. I am now mailing the orders. We got in a lot of missing seeds over the weekend so hopefully the few of us who are here can get them counted and packed and sent to you.

I put a roast and vegetables in my Instant Pot tonight and tried to find some seeds I need for orders among those that came in today. So many seeds and too few people find David and me starting work too early in the morning and working way too late in the evening.

We finally went in and ate dinner around 7:15pm but I have a tower of orders that need one or two seed varieties to be counted so I can mail them out tomorrow. Our counter should be here tomorrow for a half day which is better than no day. She was not here today since it was the first day of school here. Matt and Brendon were having to take care of plants plus count some seeds, print envelopes, and get them ready for orders. I had to pull and fill orders, look for missing seeds, tend to the store and deal with not feeling well. But we made it. We have not had this small amount of people in 14 years.

Repel mosquitoes

Beautiful bee balm confuses the mosquitoes so they stay away. I will start growing more of this to have plants for sale.

Right now because of the extreme heat, mosquitoes do not seem to be a problem. I have not had any bother me at all throughout this miserable summer.

Ageratum is a pretty bluish-purple flowering plant that is also known as flossflower. It contains coumarin which is used in commercial insect repellents and the mosquitoes hate the smell of it.

Bee balm, also known as wild bergamot, repels mosquitoes. Horse mint is also called lemon mint. It does well in dry, sandy soil and can be found near beach front property. The smell these plants give off seems to confuse mosquitoes. As a side benefit, the flowers of the wild bergamot and lemon mint will attract bees and butterflies to your garden.

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

This is Fulfillment where the seeds are stored and where I fill your seed orders. They are all arranged alphabetically and should be easy to find. Sometimes, they end up in the wrong place.

Hello! I have been quite busy all day long. I pulled and filled seed orders, including a lot of older orders where we were waiting on seeds.

This is the Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower. Gets about 6-7 feet tall. Head grows up to 12 inches and gets heavy and droops. Produces a delicious sunflower seed for roasting and eating!

Right now, we are giving away one FREE pack of Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower seeds in every order. These are the approximately 12 inch sunflowers that produce the sunflower seeds you can eat. They grow so nicely.

Our two teen helpers were here this morning, helping to deadhead our zinnias. Next step, all the zinnias will be pulled up, making way for the new zinnias that will grow in their place.

Nacho and his team have been here working on a drip system and I am not sure what all else David is having them do. It is 4:35pm and they are still here working. It is 104° right now. We had no customers or other visitors today except for the usual delivery drivers--Amazon, USPS, UPS, and Fed-Ex. Our new banners showing our store hours came in. I have not yet opened them.

After I put away the chickens this evening, around 8:30pm, I went to the back 40 and checked on my sweet potatoes. They are looking good.

The sweet potato plants are still green and looking good. I planted them back on June 1. They are halfway grown.

Repel mosquitoes

Every year, I root and sell a lot of citronella plants to repel mosquitoes.

Do you have a cat? If so, maybe you have catnip or catmint in your home or yard. Both of these cat treat plants are hated by mosquitoes so feel free to plant as much of it as you like.

Catnip has been found to be ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the chemical DEET.

Citronella has a lemony smell that repels mosquitoes. We have a plant in our backyard. If you go shopping in the summer, you can find Citronella candles to light and put on your deck to keep away bugs. You can also just buy the plants for your deck and yard.

Citronella loves full sun and emits a strong smell of lemon that you will recognize because it smells just like citronella candles you have smelled in stores.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

I have a pretty good view of the gate and parking lot to see folks coming and going over here in Production.

Happy Wednesday! It is another hot, dry day that should get up to 107°. I was sitting in this new place filling seed orders. I have a great view of the gate and parking lot from the window on the door. A vehicle drove up and one of our former employees got out. I told David that she was probably here for a job. She was. Unfortunately, sales are not there right now so we had to tell her no. She said her family's business has cut her back to one day a week. We understand. We just let six people go because the sales aren't there to pay them.

This small TV has taken almost the entire day to set up and go through updates. It has been ridiculous. At least it works and has a nice picture and sound.

It is now 4pm. David has been trying to set up a new TV out here in Fulfillment so he can watch movies while he works in here all day long. The TV just kept updating for about three hours. Then it finally had enough and now he is getting it registered, all so he can watch a DVD. The garbage you have to go through these days compared to just plugging in the old ones and turning them on is unreal.

David has to be in here sending seeds to Amazon since we have no one else to do it just like I have to be in here shipping out seed orders. We are all doubling up on work to keep us going during the slow, hot summer.

It is hot at 106°, bright, sunny, and dry. No customers have been here today and no seed delivery drivers either. I need seven seed varieties to get the orders out that are sitting on my desk. Of course, our seed counter took off again today at 2pm so even if they came in now, we could not get the orders out. I understand things happen but three days in a row? Matt has taken seeds over to UPS to be sent to Amazon.

I have been filling orders and adding our new seed collections to the website. I still have quite a few of them to add.

David says the automatic drip system for my plant area is working and that Nacho finished it yesterday afternoon. I have not yet seen it as I have been very busy all day long.

An online customer wants to know if we will have tomato plants ready for purchase by Labor Day. We tried but we could not get the greenhouse cool enough to start tomatoes this summer for fall. Even with three large commercial air conditioning units, we could not get it below 100° Fahrenheit. Sorry, folks. We have no plants for fall because of the extreme heat, just like last year at this time.

Repel mosquitoes

Lemon balm tastes so good. It is great for your tea in addition to being able to repel mosquitoes.

Lemon balm is good for flavoring your tea. It can also be used in recipes as a substitute for lemon peel. It is pretty easy to grow and loves sun. We sell the seeds.

Lemongrass is hated by mosquitoes, but not the kind we sell. The lemongrass that we sell (Cymbopogon flexuosus) is used to make tea. The lemongrass that mosquitoes hate is Cymbopogon citratus but we do not sell it. Do not eat the Cymbopogon citratus lemongrass that repels mosquitoes. We sell edible lemongrass but we do not carry the lemongrass that repels mosquitoes.

Lemon Thyme repels mosquitoes and tastes and smells like lemon. It can be used in place of lemon or lemon peel in recipes.

Our dogs love to eat lemon grass. The kind we sell is to eat or make a tea out of.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Leghorn hens and Foghorn have taken over in the big hen house. Matt is holding this one. He gets along very well with birds.

Last night, we received the biggest seed order we have ever gotten and this morning, I pulled it all, filled a box, and then rechecked everything. We were very excited to get an order like this! Thank you to the person who placed it. We really appreciate it.

I spent the first few hours this morning fighting with two different printers, neither of which would print out the orders. Finally, Matt brought me a new printer and set it up. It worked with no problems. I pulled orders right up until 5pm. Of course, this left me no time at all to do anything on the computer including write on my blog so here I am now in my den, writing after 7pm.

Matt found an amazing donut shop up in Devine that made delicious donuts and wonderful croissant breakfast sandwiches. He says there is no name posted on the building. We had no visitors today except for the normal delivery people and Encino Pest Control who did show up to keep us bug and pest free.

All five of us were here for the entire day for the first time this week. We got a lot of seeds in so I was able to mail out several older orders waiting on a seed variety.

We ended the evening by David almost getting the forefinger of his left hand ripped off by a commercial air conditioner blade in the greenhouse when he was working on it. He is okay so far. I wrapped him up and the bleeding has stopped. Lots of flesh off. Fun times.

Repel mosquitoes

Marigolds repel mosquitoes.

Those pretty orange and yellow flowers called marigolds actually repel biting mosquitoes so be sure to plant them everywhere in your yard and put them in pots on your front porch and on your deck in the backyard. Their smell is something that mosquitoes hate. Marigolds love full sun but don't forget to water them.

Marigolds are annual plants, meaning you need to plant new ones each year. Place pots of them near your front and back doors to keep the mosquitoes away from your home. They have pyrethrum in them, which is used in insect repellents. They also repel the insects who attack your tomatoes (aphids) so plants some near your tomatoes as well.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Hello and Happy hot Friday! It is currently 4:45pm and 105° Fahrenheit. We close in 15 minutes. I have just been told that Saturday store hours will begin on Saturday, August 26 from 9am until noon so you have three hours to shop here before it gets too hot and at least I will still get half of a Saturday. It is still way too hot here for tours, not that there is much to see because most beds are empty. We have not planted anything for fall yet as it won't even think about growing in this oven-like heat.

Sue Ellen is standing and Pamela is sitting. They were so happy to see us after such a long time but they are cool now. Aren't they so cute?

Pamela likes her haircut but she is thirsty. They were at the groomers for almost four hours. It normally doesn't take that long.

This morning, we started the day off by loading all three dogs up in the truck and heading off to the groomer where all three of them got shaved. The puppies were shaved for the first time. They look very cute. It cost me a lot, though.

Ethel has been shaved for summer and she feels so soft and cool now. Here she is in the back of the truck ready to go home.

While we waited, we did some grocery shopping. The groomer was running behind so we came home, put the groceries away, I dealt with a customer, and we ate lunch. Then we went back to the groomer, picked up the three dogs, went back to buy the cool stuff at the store, and came home. I put the stuff away, cleaned and wrapped David's finger from the accident last night, and started filling seed orders.

No more customers have visited since so I have gotten all of the orders done that came in today. The crew is packing up to go home for the weekend now. So I have two more Saturdays off and then I will be working again which means getting up earlier and getting the animals fed so I can get changed and ready to greet the public by 9am. I feel like it is still way too hot. I go out early in the morning but by the time I get back in from feeding and watering the animals, I am soaking wet with sweat and I have to wash and put a change of clothing on because it is still too hot.

We won't be giving any tours because it is too dangerous and we have no extra weekend help. It is just me and I have already done my tour early in the morning with another in the afternoon and one more in the evening to put everyone away. When the weather is nice, it is fun to go out and see the animals but right now, I hate going outside.

Repel mosquitoes

Mint plants repel mosquitoes.

I love mint! Spearmint, Wintergreen, Chocolate Mint, Peppermint, English Mint, and Orange Mint all naturally repel mosquitoes. Plant some mint in a few pots and place on your deck or patio, near your outdoor furniture.

Mint plants spread quickly and grow rapidly. They love full sun, but don't forget to water them because they love lots of water, especially where it is stifling hot, like in Texas. If you start with one mint plant in a pot or in a garden bed, that plant will quickly grow and spread and take over anything else that might be in the garden bed. I speak from personal experience! Mosquitoes detest the smell of mint and will vacate the area. Yay!

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Good Saturday morning. I took Ethel out a little while ago when it was still dark and it is hot and humid outside, very ugly! I am not looking forward to going out there to feed and water the animals or do anything else. I am glad we got the grocery shopping over with yesterday so I don't have to go anywhere today. It is tax free weekend in Texas and the stores will be packed full all weekend.

Walmart wasn't bad yesterday at 9am but when I went back at noon after picking up the puppies, it was awful. The place was filled with people. It took me so long to pick up just a few cold items plus some peroxide and band-aids for David's finger that David got mad and texted me wanting to know what was taking so long. I did not look at anything fun. I just grabbed what was on the list but the place was full of people. So I asked the cashier what was going on. She told me it is tax free weekend. Had I realized that, I would not have come back.

Normally, Texas has tax free weekend before school starts. This year, school started first. Too early, too hot, so ridiculous. People should be on vacation until after Labor Day. Also, if they cut back on some of the "no school days" including the Christmas break, they could get out in May instead of waiting halfway through June but no one ever asks me. Here in Texas, they get out either in May or at the beginning of June. Back east where I grew up, we never got out until after Flag Day which is June 14. Every Flag Day, they would take us outside and seat us around the flag pole. Then we would sing patriotic songs to the flag during our music time. But at least we were out that week until the day after Labor Day.

Two weeks from today, our Farm Store will start opening on Saturdays again from 9am to noon. Don't be showing up at 1pm or 2pm and expect me to open the store back up for you after I have worked in the morning. Just because we live here does not mean I want to spend every waking moment of my life working. Just like you, I have laundry to do, a house to clean, and food to cook. And don't show up five minutes before we close and stay for an hour to shop. We like to eat our lunch on time, just like you do. These are all things that have happened in the past.

If we could ever find some good, dependable people to handle the store on Saturdays, we would stay open longer but nobody will work on a Saturday so it is always me. I already put in close to 60 hours a week on this business. David puts in more time than me on it. It is our bread and butter so we have to work hard but we deserve some time off, especially on the weekends.

5 Easter Eggers in kennel in chicken house so the big birds can get used to them so they will not pick on them. 1 week was not enough. Big chickens are bullies.

Here the chicks are enjoying their freedom but once the hens came out and started picking on them, the chicks went right back into the kennel. They are tiny compared to full sized chickens.

I let the 12 week old chicks in the kennel out today, thinking they would be okay among the bigger hens. The Leghorns picked on them. Soon, the five were back in the kennel so I closed the door and will let them stay longer. They are still too tiny in size to fight back. The Leghorns are 18 weeks old. The Easter Eggers will turn 13 weeks tomorrow and are not ready to hold their own yet. They have been in there for over a week so I thought maybe the big chickens would be used to them by now. Nope!

Foghorn triumphantly got up on the kennel to watch his kingdom. He crowed right after I took this photo.

David wanted to use the utility sink this morning. I bought a plug for it several years ago and I have used it but it was not there. So I cleaned out the cabinet under it and the two shelves above it. I could not find the plug but everything got wiped clean and I threw out a bunch of things we never use. I was going to clean up the cabinets above the washer and dryer but my back was hurting. Maybe tomorrow. You know, we pay a cleaning lady but she never cleans the laundry room. I have asked her and countless other maids before her to clean it, not to mention our laundry room in San Antonio. All of them have refused it. There was a thick layer of dust on everything. Why won't they clean the whole house? I am paying several hundred dollars every time they come. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Late this afternoon, David cooked a turkey breast for tonight in the oven. He was supposed to smoke it, only it was too windy. It came out delicious.

Meanwhile, I cut up watermelon and took it out to all of the chickens. They loved it. I got just four eggs today, all of them white, including one large one. That means that four of our 18 week old Leghorns laid eggs, but none of the rest of the older hens did.

These eggs are bright white in real life but the lens doesn't show it.

Svengoolie was a replay with giant scorpions so we watched Rambo III. LOL! I fell asleep for a little while.

Repel mosquitoes

Some of the many rosemary plants we sell to repel mosquitoes.

Grow rosemary plants to repel mosquitoes. It is not only for use in your cooking, but also to put outside on your deck to repel mosquitoes from your outdoor living area. The smell is lovely and mosquitoes despise it!

Carrot flies and cabbage moths also hate rosemary so put some near your vegetable garden to keep the bugs from ruining your growing vegetables.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

The plant area in front of the Farm Store was graced by the sunrise this morning. I was out here feeding my fish.

Well, good morning and Happy Sunday! I woke up at 5am and took my thyroid pill. I tried to get back to sleep but all sorts of bad things that we have been through came to mind. I got up at 5:30am and let the dogs out and got some coffee and a roll because I was starving. David is still asleep so I am in my office so he can rest.

You will be happy to know that it is still hot and humid outside right now. The forecast shows 100° plus for the next ten days as it has since June with no rain. Everything is sandy, brown, and dry outside. It feels like you are walking into an oven with dry heat. There is enough nasty humidity to make you soaked every time you go out so that you have to change. I hate it.

The sun is coming up later and going down earlier now. It is 6:39am and dawn is just beginning outside. Sunrise is at 7:03am today. It is still too dark to go out and feed the animals. We have snakes and scary spiders and there is no way I am going out there with so little light.

Just a few weeks ago, I could wait until 9pm before putting the animals away for the night. Now sunset is before 8:20pm. In fact, today, it is at 8:18pm. Yet, the heat remains the same and there has been no rain at all.

If you live in this heat, you will want to give extra water to your fall garden once you get it planted at the end of the month. Don't just water once a week. Check the soil every day to make sure it has enough water on it. Use mulch to help keep it moist. Don't forget to order your seeds in time to plant by the end of the month. If you don't know what to plant, this list of fall garden seed varieties will help you.

Repel mosquitoes

Wormwood plants will repel mosquitoes.

Wormwood is another herb that mosquitoes stay away from. The oil in the plant can be used as insect repellent and the leaves can be used in sachets to repel moths and mice in closets and wherever it is needed. It is poison so do not consume it.

You can easily repel mosquitoes with plants by planting the seeds or seedlings in pots or around your yard. Don't allow those annoying blood suckers to ruin your outdoor time! Repel mosquitoes with plants!

Here is a link to all of the herb seeds that we sell at David's Garden Seeds®.

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