Posted on 06/15/2018 7:34:01 PM PDT by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds.
From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed any time-and don't have to be about gardening.
Moving is exciting, but a LOT of work - sounds like you’ve got the worst of it done!
SQUASH BUGS - how much do I hate them? Let me count the ways ....
These darn bugs are pretty much the worst thing to hit my garden & my SIL’s, who is next door. They ruin the squash plants in no time flat & really reduce the yield. I was looking on the internet for solutions and found an article which initially gave me great hope - using duct tape to pull off the eggs & young hatchlings (look sort of like spiders which grosses me out!). I tried the duct tape one evening, but the eggs often get laid in the “V” formed by the leaf veins & it is very hard to get the eggs out.
Article link: https://www.reformationacres.com/2012/07/how-to-kill-squash-bugs-squash-bug-eggs-and-nymphs.html
The article also mentioned that for killing adults, biodegradable dish detergent smothers them quickly. I got some detergent & since I could see no adults, I got a paintbrush & smeared a slightly diluted mixture on any eggs I could find. Wonder of wonders, the eggs did not hatch!! The only downside is the leaf turns white where the detergent is brushed, so that’s not so great. I need to use something smaller & get just the eggs - tried a Q-tip this morning, but the leaf is rough enough that the cotton on the end doesn’t last. I’m going to the store later & will get small sponge brushes, used for painting small areas - that should work. I did find some juvenile squash bugs & sprayed them with a watered-down detergent mix (had to thin it enough to spray) and from their reaction, they are not ‘happy campers’ and hopefully will be dead campers soon. The squash plants are looking really good right now and producing well and I’d like to keep them that way.
My “pepper patch” is producing well - Big Berthas, Poblanos, Jalapenos & Hot Hungarian Wax Peppers. I planted Burpless cukes this year for the first time and like them a lot - the vine is full of babies & I’ve already harvested about 6 larger ones. The tomatoes are blooming so that’s good - initially, they were just putting on lots of green foliage (heavily fertilized the beds this spring).
Squirrels .... we have quite a few this year as opposed to years past (we thinned out the population about 3 years ago). So far, they’re not in the garden, but I’m sure they’ll be in it at some point. We’ll have to do some more “thinning” when that starts to happen. Our resident hawks, who greatly help with squirrel control & intimidation (the squirrels are afraid to cross the open field to the garden) evidently nested somewhere else this year - I hear them at times when out walking so I know they’re around, just not patrolling my garden area.
Crows - aside from “Hoppy”, the crow with only one good leg, the murder of crows that hangs around our place haven’t been around much .... until the last week or so. They always know when there are “goodies” in the garden. My fencing will have to go up soon .... the downside is that a lot of the zip ties holding the netting to the pvc frame have finally succumbed to the weather, gotten brittle and broken so I’ll have to do some panel repairs.
Made my first batch(es) of basil pesto Thursday. Cut all the plants back and ended up with 6 batches (two packed cups of leaves per batch). Pulling pesto out of the freezer in the winter is like having a little ray of summer sunshine visit for a brief while - love the stuff.
So far, it’s been a good garden season, even if we got a late start due to lingering cold nights - plenty of rain since May was an all time record with 10 inches plus.
My succulent garden is doing well. I keep breaking leaves off and starting new plants with them. They then get plugged into bare spots. I’m considering a passionflower vine for a sunny spot.
Oh how I empathized with you about the computer problems!
I currently do all my FReeping on a 9-year-old Mac Mini using a Firefox server. Both are SO OLD that both Apple and Firefox have “written me off as a legacy geezer” and no longer send me updates, notices, or ads. HUZZAH! I’M FREE AT LAST! HAHAHAHAHA.
I did, however, recently get a Dell Laptop with Windows 10 and am getting the same “crap” you are, even when I am just playing solitaire.
I have a succulent garden too. One side of our white house faces south. Everything I planted there would die after awhile. Guess the afternoon sun blasting off the white house broiled everything. Succulents seem to be the only thing that works in that 20 ft long bed. I’ve been doing the same. Breaking off stems and replanting. And when I see one I don’t already have I buy it and plant it. Has worked out well for that bed. Good thing I like succulents.
“Nothing will help....I’m resigned to the fact that I’m growing produce for some a-hole squirrel.”
Get a cat for outside duty.
Back on the farm we kept cats at the barns and never had problems with squirrels, moles or possums.
Only thing the felines wouldn’t tackle was the occasional skunk.
At my present residence we had a resident ground hog.
The lady living in the house (I rented the built on apartment) wouldn’t let me kill it. Every year that hog raised Cain on the garden.
December four years ago the lady passed away.
That spring I introduced Mr Hog to Mr Mauser. Problem solved.
The mole problem we had was solved later that summer when we got a new neighbor whose cat free ranged each evening.
The squirrels...I just gave up and started feeding black oil sunflower seeds year round.
Nice looking maters.
I’m growing BeefMaster tomatoes in 10 gallon containers for the first time.
Planted late but they seem to be doing fine, saw the first blooms two days ago.
Also trellising for the first time.
Going to use some old five foot yard fencing and T posts behind the containers.
I never cottoned to cages but yours look interesting.
What brand are they?
Looked up the Squirrelinator .... exactly what we need around here ... will be ordering one shortly. We use other traps, but the squirrels have to trigger the door to shut & that doesn’t always work, you have to reset after each squirrel, plus the trap is big enough to catch things we don’t want to catch ... like skunks (oh yes, I’ve had to deal with releasing one of those!). This Squirrelinator eliminates of all of those issues - can’t wait to get one. :-)
Perhaps a stupid question, but ...
For squirrels caught in the squirelinator who do not die from stress, what is the humane way to deal with them? Relocating them a few miles away is one option, but I’d be interested in something which ... requires less gasoline. But I wouldn’t want to be a monster.
Those tomatoes belong to Eric in the Ozarks that I posted for him...
if you’re going to catch-release ground squirrels check your local and state laws. Some say min of 5 miles away some say no dumping live squirrels anywhere.
The most humane way is a BB air pistol or kid’s Daisy bbgun behind the ear or at the base of the skull/spine. Use a stick through the cage to nudge the critter into a corner and hold it down if it’s not fear-frozen already. And use eye protection since you’ll be shooting at close range. Or, you can dunk the cage in a water barrel and come back in 30 minutes. They drown pretty fast. After finding a drowned one vertical in the corral water barrel (he couldn’t climb the wet surface) we figured drowning must be pretty terrifying so we prefer the bb’s. One shot (hopefully), one kill, one second.
And if you’re feeling squeamish about the above, just remember that hawks, owls and ravens eat them alive and so do rattlers, boas and feral cats, which we also have our fair share of, so a quick death really is the most humane.
Thanks
My aunt does something similar to catch ground mice where she doesn’t want them.
She doesn’t want me to kill it(them)...so I’ll just have to treat it as a friendly rivalry.
I’ve already taken to peeing outside. Not sure if it’s going to help, but I’ve been seen once by the neighbors and found it amusing. Will continue.
Speckled Sussex are terrific hens, but not prolific layers. In warm seasons they do well, with a small light brown egg per day. Once the season cools, they go slower and in winter, nearly stop laying. They are smart, fun hens to have. I loved mine.
Hubby has done that in the past for deer, we had a doe coming up into the garden a few years ago. It seemed to work.
Ok, thank you.
I saw the pictures tubebender posted for you.
Nice maters.
I planted four tomatoes in 10 gallon pots this year. First time I’ve done that.
Those cages look interesting. What brand/type are they?
The cages were bought from Menard’s, a Wisconsin based regional “Home Depot” type store. Like most things in a hardware/lumber outlet, they were likely made in China.
They’re heavy wire and well painted.
Beautiful setup you have.
Just a few questions:
What are your night time lows?
Do you use grow lights?
Are those 20 gallon pots you’re using?
Does the greenhouse hold up well against wind?
I’m experimenting a bit and trying different things.
BTW, I looked up Humboldt Bay.
Beautiful place.
Fishing for halibut and leopard sharks from the beach? Must be a fun place to live.
The only problem I can see with it is its in California.
I don’t hate California, just the liberals there.
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