Weekly Gardening Thread – 2009 Vol.10 – July 17

Free Republic | 7-17-2009 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning to all of you gardeners. Well it looks like the weather is going to be cooling down in the Midwest, East Coast and parts of the South starting today and continuing through the weekend. Wow it is looking like September in July! Our plants are going to be confused!

[hoosiermama]

Water ours twice a year: Christmas and Fourth of July.

[hoosiermama]

Asian Lady Beetles,...I have choice words for the idots who brought them here....Live close to the soy field, so We have an infestation twice a year....Have developed an intolerance to anything that has soy in it and have wondered if this could be the cause....Swell up like a ballon when one of those little bugs bite me.

[Gabz]

We’re getting a blast of true Eastern Shore, VA summer weather today. The humidity is sky high and even as early at 5 this morning the weatherman was warning about severe storms this afternoon/evening.

Oh fun!

[hoosiermama]

I was is it possible?

[Daisyjane69]

Good point, gardener-in-chief! I prolly misread the post.

Lemme try it this way. Cactus mix would be great. But...pineapple guava needs a LOT of heat. By that I mean on the south side of the house, against a white wall, and pray for the best. Water ONLY when it starts to droop. I’m guessing that in Indiana, it’s only two good waterings a month.

Hope that helps!

[reformedliberal]

I hate them, too. I have an exterminator in every October 1st.
It guarantees I am vacuuming up dead ones. A month in the Fall and another month in February as the hardy ones that got in try to get back outside. In the outbuildings, they still manage to get in every Fall, despite the spray, so I am vacuuming thousands of them until June.

I hate the stink when they are vacuumed. The bite doesn’t bother me, though.

I blame the University Extension biologists. They imported the buggers to control aphids. Worked, but nothing will eat the Lady Beetles!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Try ‘Rotenone.’ You can get in as a powder, but can make it into a spray. Don’t use it if it’s near water, though.

Use or spray when bees are least active at the end of the day. It’s approved for ‘organic gardening.’ We sell a ton of it at the garden center, though I’ve never had to use any chemicals of any kind in my organic garden, by design, so I don’t have personal experience with it. Sorry!

“Rotenone is a resinous compound produced by the roots of two members of the Leguminoceae family. Its common use is to control various leaf-feeding caterpillars, beetles, aphids and thrips on a wide variety of vegetables and small fruits. A slow-acting chemical, rotenone requires several days to kill most susceptible insects, but insect feeding stops shortly after exposure.

Rotenone is moderately toxic to most mammals, but is extremely toxic to fish. It’s widely used to poison “trash” fish during restocking projects. It has been assigned a CAUTION rating.”

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/VegFruit/organic.htm

[trisham]

Heh. I've had no luck growing tomatoes since we moved here in the autumn of 2002. I tried container grown tomatoes last year, with no success. :)

[Red_Devil 232]

Yep I have seen the radar showing some storms to the west of you and they are moving your way!

I just put two big pots of water on the stove and waiting for them to get boiling for canning my tomatoes. It is still a cool 73 and expected to get to mid 80's with a 70% chance of T-storms this afternoon.

[gardengirl]

You can still get rotenone dust?! I’m jealous! It’s the only thing that has worked for the last few years and they pulled it off the market. B/c there used to be so many big farms around here, most things are immune to sevin. :(

[hoosiermama]

University Entomologist....I knew one at Purdue, neighbor of the homeplace...He even admitted they were “causing a great deal of problems for homeowners.” but had helped the farmers considerably.

In the spring I just open the windows and they are gone in a very short time....Have bought a shop vac just for the little buggers.... Some years are worse than others.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I woke up at about 2am to add covers to the bed; the temperature drop was THAT noticeable here last night...and the fact that I had a Basset Hound plastered to my back side was a good indicator of a temperature drop too, LOL!

Picked 6 lovely squash this morning; I have lots of tomatoes on, and lots of blooms, but no ripening and no more fruit set because of this chilly weather. Pepper plants are small, but producing.

We're going to a ball game tomorrow night; it's going to be darn CHILLY, but that's OK. I prefer that over 90 and humid any day; perimenopause is NOT being kind to me, LOL!

Son is coming over to mow the lawn today and I'll have him dig three more holes for me for my new 'Quickfire' hydrangea. And then I'm done. Honest! ;)

And one clarification; I don't HAVE my MG certificate; I'm still a few credits short, but LIFE and working in the field keep getting in the way. I'm still a few credits shy of my Business Degree, too, but that hasn't stopped me from running multi-million dollar companies, either! I guess I'll just NEVER be employable or useful to others without that sheepskin, Eh? LOL!

[hoosiermama]

Thanks for the tip.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We’ve replaced ‘Sevin’ with ‘Eight’ spray or liquid concentrate. Many customers are mad that we can’t get ‘Sevin’ any longer, too.

I’ve worked very hard to develop a balanced Eco-System here on my little farm. I have very little problems with bugs because I have lots of birds, bats, toads, salamanders, snakes and good bugs that eat the bad bugs.

I know that’s not always the case in some parts of the nation! You can do all you can ‘organically’ and STILL have problems. :(

[hoosiermama]

Both agents in the counties I am in contact with advice the natural balance and soil balance approach....It is surprising how that help controls the little pest....

Autumn olive, seed pods for the birds, and a good water source....Use gold fish from the bait shop to keep the misquito population in balance.

For the big pest, rabbit, deer etc. I have a border collie...Who is sleeping in “my spot” with her head on the pillow snoring right now....Keeping varmints away is hard work.

[Red_Devil 232]

Well I ain’t removing you from the list! LOL

[Red_Devil 232]

I guess the Sevin ban is a State mandated thing? I can get it here in Miss. Why are they banning it?

[Dutchgirl]

Please add me to the ping list.

I am officially a gardener as of 7/11 when I planted my first veggie seeds in white 5 gal. buckets with drain holes, a bottom layer of mulch and potting soil.

This weekend I will be re potting the cukes and zucchinis that are already three inches high. I chose my species and planting times according to my local extension office and have just been amazed by the results.

Here in Jax, we've been getting rain every afternoon so I haven't had to do any watering, but the one Celebrity tomato plant I bought is looking a little pale and I think it's getting too much water. Any advice?

[tob2]

Sorry that some people are having winter like weather. Here in Virginia, I am enjoying this cooler summer. It’s easier to walk and easier to breath too. The garden pots are doing very well. Enjoying a bumper crop of cucumbers and the tomatoes have recovered nicely from my accidentally overfeeding them nitrogen. There is enough basil to make fresh pesto every two or three days. The cooler weather means less watering. Every once in awhile there is a summer like this. Yippee!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning! We had a good storm and 0.8" of rain last night, which was sorely needed. Wind was high and I'm getting ready to go out and see what kind of damage might be in the garden. Here are few recent photos:

Cantaloupe on a trellis

Close-up shot of the cantaloupes

Peppers are doing well

Newest trellis of cukes