Weekly Garden Thread - July 1-7, 2023 - [Worm Composting 101 Edition]

July 1, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

There have been a lot of thunderstorms in the KC area in the last few days. They mostly seem to pass to the north or south of me. We did get about a 1/2" of rain 2 days ago. (I generally do not water my lawn but I did so for a while just to keep it alive until it rains again.)

Sound like you sort of benefited. (Hope your county gets it power back. No fun facing heat without A/C! )

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Everything looks lovely! I envy you all that FREE pine needle mulch!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m so glad you’re settled in, now - thought you managed to grow a LOT on your balcony, as I remember. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When I worked for my In-Laws and we did a Farmer’s Market and grew for local restaurants, the only tomato we grew was ‘Celebrity.’

It’s hard to beat for flavor and looks. ;)

[Qiviut]

“Free” $$ wise, but plenty of labor! I ‘round up’ the needles with the mower - start a large circle around a big pine that is shedding needles, blowing needles inward & keep circling smaller until the needles are deep enough to start coming up over the mower deck. Then I rake/fill 33 gallon bags & store under the pole barn. From experience, I need 12 bags to have plenty of mulch. Additionally, sometimes I will fill up the trailer we pull with a golf cart & just pile loose needles between the raised beds - can only do this very late fall when I am through with working in the beds.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I did not use Celebrity this year. I am trying a number of other varieties, Annanas Noir, Jaune Flamme, Old German, Thorburns Terra Cotta, “42”, Homestead, Black Krim. The “42” and Sweet 100 began producing in June. The Homestead is a variety that grows well in the southern heat and humidity and is continuing to set tomatoes and grow while most of the other varieties are slowing down.

The temperature needs to get lower for some of the other tomatoes to produce the Lutein to ripen. Perhaps this week.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks, Pete!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“We were gifted with 4 flats of flowers.”

Did you post a pix and I missed it? If not, got a link?

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

BB Interesting home page! PBS level traditional stream of consiousness folk brag! :0

What do they say Pollard? Never new what Missoury was till I hit ole Arkansas! (My brother lives in Mtn. Home! I need to call him. )

50 tomatoes = serious gardening, serious canning.

Off to do stuff!

[Qiviut]

I had allergy testing as a teen & was told I was allergic to tomatoes. This I ignored for decades, until a couple of years ago when I embarked on an elimination diet as part of recovering good health. The test was correct: allergic to nightshades, which just ‘kills’ me because I LOVE tomatoes, eggplants & peppers. Sigh.

I grow tomatoes & peppers for the folks, although it’s now just for mom, thus only 2 Celebrities & that’s too many for mom to eat. In past years (will be this year, too) I have given away excess produce to the fire/EMS station just up the road & the neighbor across the street gets some as well.

Two or 3 times a year, I bite the bullet & make a batch of jalapeño poppers which I thoroughly enjoy, despite any repercussions. I also make jalapeño pepper jelly that is very popular with certain family members.

[EinNYC]

Here are a few of my plantings.

Dig Defense at bottom of privacy fence keeps rabbits OUT

Milk can (half price at Hobby Lobby!) suspended from shepherd's hook with broken clamp. Featuring dianthus, lantana, calibrachoa, and marigolds.

Alfred Sisley rose

[GaltAdonis]

A few years ago I was standing on the driveway, waiting for somebody,
and a young, but almost full grown, male deer came over to
my (then) side yard vegetable garden for a look-see.
(I had that garden enclosed by a six foot fence.)

After 10 minutes standing there drooling over my lettuces, etc,
that deer crouched down and SPROING!!! - extended it's legs
and jumped almost directly straight upwards, clearing the
fence, and landed right in my beds of romaine lettuce.

This happened shortly after dawn - breakfast time for whitetailed deer!
And breakfast ensued - right there for the deer - but I and a friend went to IHOP.

.

[MomwithHope]

Sorry everyone, I thought I added it.

[MomwithHope]

We were gifted with all of these, I know the rest are begonias. I am going to hit up the dollar store tomorrow and look for 4 wide plastic bowls and drill some drain holes. But if the white ones will come up next year I have a place I can plant them.

[Augie]

There was a lot of rough weather across Misery last night. We escaped the racetrack about ten minutes before the deluge hit.

Got 7/10” at the house overnight, and it’s been raining off and on again today. I had intentions of getting some work done in the garden today, but we need the rain so I don’t mind putting it off. The weeds will still be there tomorrow.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Yeah, I think Lily the Dog has more to do with the keeping the garden safe then the fence.

She is getting up there but chasing deer and bunnies is still one of her favorite past times.

She has presented me with two ground hogs so far this year.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Vermiculture: Why adding worm castings to your garden is a good thing!

Besides minerals and increased bacterial activity, one of the things that worms eat in their passage through the soil is chitin, the exoskeleton of bugs. To digest them they produce chitonase, and enzyme, which is found in worm castings. Plants absorb this from the soil and it has positive benefits on a plants defensive mechanism. This enzyme weakens insects exoskeletons and makes them more vulnerable to disease or predator attack, a good reason to use worm castings.

If you have a worm farm include crab or lobster or crayfish shells in your feed. Also consider including crab shell fertilizer in your worm farm and garden to increase plant vigor. (Note that sow and pill bugs are land crustaceans covered in chitin and there are tons of them alive and dead in compost bins! The cooler bottom of the pile is a great place to live if you are a worm!) From:

Chitan and Chitosan

"So how many of you organic farmers are using chitonase as and amendment to your soils and crops?
You know the derivatives from crab or shrimp and lobster shells. Insect frass is also a great source as well.
Studies have shown that chitonase can induce your crops SAR response by juicing up its immune system. It has also been shown to be a pest and fungal repellent.

Chitosan is derived from chitin, a polysaccharide found in exoskeleton of shellfish such as shrimp, lobster or crabs and cell wall of fungi.

Chitosan is a one of the most abundant natural amino polysaccharides extracted from the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insect, from fungal cell walls, etc.

Chitosan effects on plant response were first characterized as an elicitor. It was shown to be able to activate plant defensive genes through the octadecanoid pathway [70]. According to the defensive gene induction activity, chitosan was proved to induce disease resistance in several plants, with pathogen and plant cultivar specificity"

https://medcraveonline.com/APAR/APAR-01-00006.php

"Our review revealed that chitosan and COS have a potential to develop an alternative bactericide to prevent plant infections. Interesting theoretical and applied findings were gathered in recent years, whereas more are needed to examine the mechanisms governing the mode of action of these compounds. In the case of antimicrobial mode of action, future work should aim at clarifying the molecular details of the underlying mechanisms and their relevance to the antimicrobial activity of chitosan. In addition, participation and collaboration of research institutes, industry and government regulatory agencies will be the key for the success of the antimicrobial mechanism when applied in large scales. Therefore, future research should be directed towards understanding their molecular level details, which may provide insights into the unknown biochemical functions of chitosan and COS as well as help to accelerate their future and might assist in the goal of sustainable agriculture... snip"

More than you want to know at link!

(One of Frank Herbert's Sand Worms....No! Eats Spice, NOT Chitan!)

[GaltAdonis]

'Daisy' (my Black lab) would chase the bunnies too.
She never caught one and presented it to me as a gift though.

My big ole Maine coon cat was the one for presents.
She would give me an occasional field mouse -
but her favorite prey was moles. Yes, moles.

Fluffy would lie out on the lawn and wait until she felt a
mole burrowing underground nearby. She then would jump up
and start furiously digging until she came up with the mole
in her mouth.

She would then present me with the dead (or not) mole.
It was fascinating to watch all this unfold.

[Pollard]

The farm store has those 15 gallon tank sprayers on sale again and I’m thinking I should get another because as the seasons change, so does store stock and pricing. They have a bunch now but towards winter will probably only keep a couple in stock but never go on sale, until next Spring. By then, the base price will probably be higher.

Reg price now is $80 and sale price $60. Next year? Reg $95 and sale $75 ??

[Diana in Wisconsin]

They’re all annuals - three flats to the right are all Begonias - shade lovers/partial morning sun.

The white looks like Nicotiana, but I don’t think that’s quite it; the leaf doesn’t look right to me.

Since they were all given to you at the same time, and they all have small leaves, I’m thinking they’re ALL shade lovers.

Nicotiana likes sun, so I think I’m wrong on that call...