DANG!!!
There’s so many vermin that want to eat my crops more than us.
Looks like I have ANOTHER batch of asparagus beetles. I thought they were a spring only insect but we have had a warm summer.
I found those white butterflies landing on my Brussel sprouts. I put spinosad on them and am just watching the weather. It’s looking inclement to the west and feeling oppressive during the day. If rain threatens, I’ll cover them up.
I think I have a vole infestation. I planted more peas and all the seeds are GONE. I found one lonely little left over sprout laying on the ground with no seed attached, Time to get the Top Gun out and make more bait stations and take care of those vermin. That probably explains why all the beans I tried to direct sow never came up.
I’m going to do another planting of carrots in buckets but this time I’m putting a piece of hardware cloth down and then planting them. Lost too many carrots this summer.
Those owls and foxes need to get busy.
As for the peas, can I start them in seed starting trays and transplant them? I might try that next spring. It’s the only way I’m getting beans this year. The two plantings of pole beans I put in never came up either.
Also, I found MORE female asparagus plants were I am SURE I planted allegedly male only from Gurney’s I’ve got to give them a call. All the female ones are coming up this year when the rest of the garden dies back.
My onion crop bombed. Garlic was fair. As usual the Great Northern White did the best.
My tomatoes are coming in and there are no more flowers so whatever I get I get. They’re romas and determinate anyway. The late blight is starting on them, and this week of upcoming heat will guarantee no more blossoming. TO protect them from the sun and dew, I hung a length of floating rows covers over the tops of the tomato cages and clothes pinned them on.
No idea how my potatoes are doing. I don’t recall seeing them flower but that could have happened while we were gone for those couple weeks. Hopefully the voles aren’t eating them as well.
Interestingly, NOTHING seems to bother turnips and they did great.
This has been a pretty poor year overall between the weather and vermin.
“As for the peas, can I start them in seed starting trays and transplant them?”
Yes - but they HATE being transplanted, so if you have enough TP rolls stashed, cut those in half and use them as your ‘starting pots’ and then deeply plant the whole thing, leaving no tiny bit of the TP Roll above the soil - it will wick away moister from the roots. (That’s the only draw-back to using that method for peas.)
If not, make sure they are in deep cells or containers so the roots have VERY LITTLE disturbance when planting out.
“I am SURE I planted allegedly male only from Gurney’s...”
I don’t know HOW that company stays in business! They are absolutely the WORST I’ve ever seen - and with 18+ years of Garden Center/Catalog/Seed experience under my belt - that is saying a LOT!
Buy your Asparagus crowns from Jung’s this coming Spring. Seriously. Not just saying this to pad my retirement, LOL! Our products always were, and always WILL BE top-notch. I am going to expand my 8x4’ Asparagus Bed into a second 8x4’ bed. I’m going to post some articles in the near future about making gardening EASIER for me, as I age.
You ‘youngsters’ can ignore it for now...but your day will come, LOL!
“This has been a pretty poor year overall between the weather and vermin.”
Yep. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been whining all season long about my tomatoes...and I ain’t done, yet! ;)