I Planted My Garden

[kleenex]

A couple of more weeks for me and I can try out my first pepper of the season!!!

 

[bethzaring]

My garden's going great guns - already picked green beans, eggplant, lettuce/greens, cukes, tomatoes, carrots; have okra about 1 inch long, and green peppers and poblanosa are coming along.

However - some @)*$&#()*&#$###!!! worms got into my 6 baby cantaloupe and ruined them! Also had to toss a couple of cukes that were worm ridden. Oh, and all my squash plants got miners that killed them just as they were putting out baby squash. Mind you, here in the South, there are bugs that aren't even IN the bug books! I'd love to hear of some organic methods of bug control for critters like this.

Oh Bethzaring, where are you?

Hi There, I'm in the garden!! Thanks for asking, always glad to try n help!

My first and most important method of bug control is my thumb and index finger. Gosh I am glad I do not live in the South. I walk the garden in the morning while the goats eat their grain, to survey what's goin on. The garden is usually wet with dew so I do not touch anything for fear of spreading virus's. I will dust at this time because there usually is not any wind to blow the dust away and the dust sticks to the plants when they are wet with dew. I could be dusting with BT for the cabbage worms or with rotonone for flea beetles. Then I come back later when the plants are dry to do what ever needs to be done when handling the plants. Cabbage worms are too numerous and tiny to hand pick and BT works every time. Actually I dust a few days after I see the moths, even before I see the worms.

It sounds like it is too late for the squash and cantaloup plants. Next year, patrol the area daily and you can do surgery on the vine the instant you see the miners. Cut into the stem where you see the hole, or doo doo, and remove the rascals. I can't grow cucumbers because I have too many cucumber beetles. Rotonone will keep cucumber beetles off veggie plants. My cucumber beetles are under control if I do not entice more with cucumber plants. I am used to a powdered rotonone but I could not find any this year, so I bought a liquid that will have to be used in my hand held sprayer. What worms are in your cucks? Bug identification is very important, so you can tailor your approach to the bug.

As to my garden, I dug the garlic a few days ago and got the best crop ever. I will be able to sell some for planting stock on ebay again, closer to the time to plant them in the Fall. The potatoes grew some more so it looks to be a good potato crop. I am picking the neighbors green beans, they planted some to can but the wife is having back surgery this week. My green beans are flowering. Spinach is still doing great, am digging some carrots, the celery has really taken off, onions are doing okay. The corn is just making tassels and looks GREAT. And I am keeping a close eye on my winter squash plants, so far so good.

 

[JohnL]

Hello all,
The veggie and herb garden are both doing great. I cut two large clusters of broccoli last night, have been harvesting cukes for a while and have so many Japanese eggplant that I'm running out of ideas
Tomatoes are just starting to ripen and I can't wait to make a nice tomato, mozz and basil salad. (basil is doing well also).
Problems encountered so far, the okra plants died right off, the sage that I planted is NOT sage! Also the squirrels have stripped my peach tree for the second year in a row......

 

[bethzaring]

mice eat broccoli?!?

Last week I started 12 broccolis in the greenhouse and yesterday morning, I found all the leaves, cotyledons actually, had disappeared. And I noticed some mouse turds near by. So I set a trap and caught a mouse this morning. I have never had this happen before, we usually do not have mice in the house though. I am astonished that a mouse would eat broccoli leaves, but the evidence is strong that they do!! I do not think the broccolis will live, so will have to start them anew. I usually start some brassicas for fall, in case my spring planted ones are too pooped out.

 

[marmalady]

Beth - The meeses have to get their greens, too! The weirdest thing I ever saw was in NJ, saw a fat woodchuck actually climbing over our 8 foot deer fence to get out of the garden and away from me!!! I was torn between being mad that he ate all my 'lopes, and laughing at the site! I fixed the woodchuck problem by getting some predator scent from Agway - they actually sell different 'types' for different pests - from fox, to coyote, to cougar!!! And boy did it work - didn't see another 'chuck the rest of the summer!

So you're thinking rotonone is okay? I've seen some organic folk who don't even use that. What about Sevin? And --- the 'BT' is?

The worms that got the cukes, squash and melons are all the same - very pale green and about an inch or so long, maybe half as big around as a pencil. It's almost a losing battle down here with the bugs. We do have ladybugs and saw 3 baby praying mantis in the garden last week, so I know that does help. But it's really heartbreaking to raise these plants from seed, baby them through their 'infancy', then see them demolished in 1 day. Sigh.

 

[bethzaring]

Hey Marm, I just do not know what you got in the vines. Here is a link that may help you identify the bugger.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_diseases_pests_insects/article/0,1785,HGTV_3580_1941369,00.html

I get my organic info from various Rodale books I have. Their list of acceptable controls are: insecticidal soap, pyrethrins, rotenone, BT (bacillus thuringiensis), ryania, sabadilla, and neem. Yes, I think rotenone is okay. I have let plants die rather than use Sevin or similar products.

Rodale suggests row covers to keep moths from getting to the vines. Do you think you have caterpillars, or worms? BT works on caterpillars. I use BT a lot on my brassicas.

 

[marmalady]

Great links! Tx. I'm not sure which one it is either, but will definitely do some dusting next crop. I was going to put in a 2nd crop, but think I"ll wait if all those buggy monsters are out there right now. Maybe start some in August, see what happens. This was a first year garden, anyway, so lots of note-taking about what to do and what not to do!

 

[mudbug]

That is so cool!

This is called the Three Sisters. The early European settlers got this idea from the Indians.

 

[Claire]

All is going well here, in spite of my late start. I happen to love pickling cucumbers (I don't pickle, I just like the thin skins and small seeds), and they are really starting to produce. WE have another week or two until tomatoes ripen. I have a patio tomato and a plum tomato in barrels, then an Early Girl and some other variety (can't remember) in the ground. THe herb garden is nothing short of spectacular, but then it always is. I always have more herbs than I know what to do with. I have Hungarian hot peppers, and three cayenne varieties (the former to eat fresh, the cayenne and super cayenne are more for drying). My first batch of lettuce has bolted, and I'll be planiting a second bed as soon as this heat wave passes. Mustard greens and Swiss chard are gone, but (assuming I keep some level of energy) will be re-planted when I do a new lettuce bed.

 

[SizzlininIN]

I picked my first green peppers last night. I can't believe how fast my cucumbers are growing though. I was just out there yesterday and today I went out and I couldn't believe my eyes........one had to of grown 3 inches or more overnight. I'm def. having the size of the garden increased next year. My tomatoes are monsters and they are right up to one another and the cucumber plant wants to take over the whole garden.

 

[Claire]

Some people are squeamish (although most gardeners aren't) about squishing bugs and such in their fingers. I carry a pair of scizzors when I hit the garden -- helpful for minor trimming and harvesting -- and cut worms and bugs in half with them. For the first time since I moved here I found a toad in my garden! I assume that is a good thing.

 

[Claire]

The oddest predator I had was when I lived in Florida. I was growing cabbage (when you live where I did in Florida -- right at the freeze line -- cabbage, cauliflower, brocolli, brussels sprouts all make great winter crops). The heads looked so beautiful. When I went to harvest them, I pulled away the outer leaves and found big bites taken out of them. HUGE bites. What on earth? I called the extension and was told I must have a gopher turtle. Thank heaven I never saw the creature. It must have some mouth on it.

 

[bethzaring]

Some people are squeamish (although most gardeners aren't) about squishing bugs and such in their fingers. I carry a pair of scizzors when I hit the garden -- helpful for minor trimming and harvesting -- and cut worms and bugs in half with them. For the first time since I moved here I found a toad in my garden! I assume that is a good thing.

Hi Claire!

I use my fingers in two manners. The first, with most bugs, is to fold the plant leaves over the bug and squish the bug, I like to leave the squished bug on the leaves as a reminder to the other bugs to beware. I have one bug that I must pick off and remove to a can of oil. Blister beetles are too fast to try to smush on the leaves. And they are voracious, they can defoliate a tomato plant right before my eyes. Oh, and if I find a bug to big to squish , I will pick them off the plant, drop them to a hard place on the ground and step on them.

Good idea about the sizzors, Thanks....

 

[Claire]

OUCH! ERRROR! ERROR! I would never, never, ever destroy an earthworm. I mean catipillars! I actually take earthworms on my shovel from one garden patch to another hoping to start a new colony (or whatever it is called). You know you're a gardener when you go from a girlish "oooo yuck" when you see worms, to rescuing them from the sidewalk and putting them in your garden!! I'm surprised no one caught me on that one!

 

[Constance]

Well, earthworms are one thing. Tomato worms are another.

My oldest girl was a real Ellie Mae, and I'll never forget once when she was about 8 years old, she rescued a tomato worm from the garden for a pet. It sat next to her bed in a peanut butter jar with holes punched in the lid, fed daily with tomato leaves, until I convinced her dad to let her have a REAL pet.

 

[bethzaring]

Claire, I instinctively knew you were not referring to earth worms. And yes, toads are a good thing. I will transport stray toads to my garden whenever I come across one. I will even stop on the road to collect a box turtle to put in my garden, or if I am not on my way home, I will put the box turtle safely on the other side of the road so it does not become a roadkill.

 

[Claire]

I'm already thinking about what to plant next year. There is a 1 X 3' patch with nothing in it (I thought the cukes would need more room than they did). It's against a wall, so can be something vining. Maybe green beans? Maybe peas in he spring (always a gamble as far as I'm concerned, and do you get enough to make it worthwhile?) The women I call "my ladies" (a woman who is totally crippled by arthritis, and one who is legally blind from macular degeneration) are looking forward to cucumbers next week! I highly recommend all of you with gardens find someone to give the excess to. Yes, you can preserve it, but giving it away to someone who cannot garden is very gratifying. My ladies are older, but it can be even more fun to invite a child who has never seen a vegetable outside of a grocery store to help you harvest. You can actually encourage an interest in healthier eating when you encourage children to see where these vegetables come from.

 

[Claire]

Constance, I cut that very animal in half this week. I called it a catipillar, but it had eaten half of a green plum tomato. Guess I need to pay attention to them. So that's a tomato worm? Thanks. I've gardened in Hawaii and Florida, but in spite of having lived here for five years, am still learning.

 

[Claire]

For those of you who are expecting a tomato explosion, but don't can:

Halve the tomatoes and put on a baking sheet (one that has sides). Add cloves of garlic (don't need to peel), and thick slices of onions. Sprinkle with herbs, a sprinkle of salt, lots of ground pepper, and, since you're all gardeners, a couple of hot peppers. Put in the oven at a fairly low temp (maybe 300) and very slowly cook them (this'll be an hour or more). When all the liquid dries up from the pan, take out, cool, then run through a food mill, ricer, or seive and freeze. When you thaw, they will STILL be watery. Don't stir them, simply drain the water off of the top. You will have the most flavorful tomato sauce you can imagine.

This is so simple, and the sauce is to die for. Grow pepper, basil, oregano, chives, etc and do it all at one time. A freind who was sick asked me why my lasagna was so much better than anyone else's. This was in March, and it was this simple, easy-to-make sauce.

 

[bethzaring]

If you have a tomato hornworm that looks like this, leave it alone, it is already dying a slow death as a host for a parasitic wasp. And it you leave it alone, those wasps will return next year to again kill all your tomato hornworms.......organic gardening at its best!