Posted on 05/13/2016 3:14:54 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.
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I ran across some tips for pests while reviewing some notes and articles:
WEED KILLER - 1 Gallon of Vinegar, 2 Cups Epsom Salts, 1/4 cup Dish Washing Liquid - Kills everything-Spray in the AM, and dead by nightfall
PEST strategies: Parasitic-non-stinging Wasps, toads, floating row covers, sticky traps, salt spray, and Neem oil.
Salt Spray-Use Himilayan Salt-2TBLS/gallon, Do not drench -leaves only
Neem Oil- 1/2oz oil, 1/2 tsp organic soap, 2 qts. water, use quickly-looses effectiveness with time.
REPELLENTS to fight Zika Mosquitoes: In addition to Deet products, Consumer Reports tested other types including plantlike ingredients.
Most effective: Sawyer Fisherman's Formula Picaridin and Natrapel 8 hr. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus was effective for 7 hrs.
Also, Victoria's Secret Perfume, and Avon's Skin so Soft worked to keep mosquitoes away.
Hope everyone is doing well. Prayers up for all. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Going to Cleveland’s Chinatown tomorrow for seeds. Will get Bok Choiy, Shanghai Bok Choy, and Daikon. Daikon is wonderful for snacking, and with a master broth, makes a great soup!
Pinging the list.
Wish we had an Asian Market here. My daughter used to pick up some really good stuff, cheap at the one in St. Louis. She moved out of state, though, so I don’t make a 150 mile round trip to get the stuff.
I have been looking at some things on line, hoping to find some replacement sources at cheap prices.
Skin So Soft is AWESOME for keeping Skeeters away. Some years they are so bad that you need to tie down small dogs and toddlers, LOL!
I am enjoying my ‘new’ smaller garden this season. I know once Beau is retired this August additional beds will be going in, so I’m loving this small garden while I plan the bigger one.
I have planted lettuces, spinach, beets (lots!) and radishes so far. It’s raining today, and then is going to get clear and COLD tonight (36-ish) so I’ll be covering some potted herbs and Geraniums on the porch.
Birding has been phenomenal this Spring season. There were FIVE Male Grosbeak and 3 females duking it out at the feeder a while ago, and lots of Orioles. The Indigo Bunting has come and gone.
Rhubarb is AWESOME this season - plentiful and VERY red, so this week I will be making sauce and pie and freezing more for later pies, breads and muffins.
Asparagus (at my old house) is producing nicely - picked 44 spears today, alone. We’ve moved some to the new farm and it’s taking off well.
Chilly this upcoming week, but then warmer and continuing warmth by this weekend - which is GREAT because I’m having my big Estate Sale May 19-20-21. Everything must go!
I have a notebook that I started, and put them in there for future reference too.
It’s supposed to get down to 35 degrees tonight here in NW Iowa.
Sure glad it isn’t getting any lower. I’d lose an acre or so of the best potato patch I’ve ever had going. Along with about 300 tomato plants, 200 pepper plants....not to speak of the five acres of sweet corn and other goodies.
I usually use Skin so Soft, if I use anything other than long sleeves, since I don’t like Deet stink. Mostly, if we don’t go outdoors at dusk, we don’t have to worry too much.
We put mosquito dunks in the rainwater we collect, and if I am out of that, I put a spoonful of cooking oil to float on top-seems to work. It is sometimes hard to keep other containers dumped-empty flower pots etc.
I still have 3 small (3x4 ft)beds to plant. Two beds of 3x8 ft. are going to serve as compost for leaves and lawn clippings. This winter, I’ll plant hairy vetch and clover there, because the soil needs a lot of work.
When the soil is better, I will plant a winter crop such as winter wheat, because the area is too shady in the summer to get really good results for most veggies, so it will be a reverse garden- winter time crops instead of summer. LOL
Avon skin so soft is great but
old fashioned lavender water is really good for keeping mosquitos and other bugs off you too. I love it for keeping the gnats away.
3 ingredients to make it
lavender essential oil
vodka
water
How to make Lavender Water with lavender oil
http://www.marthastewart.com/911041/how-make-lavender-water-lavendar-oil
My tomatoes are stunning. Beautiful! Thriving wonderfully.
I have to plant some my backup okra seedlings as our very cool spring has killed 1/4 of my plants.
Shishito peppers and Korean peppers are blooming. Happy!!
I pulled a Monika cuke yesterday. The jury is out as to this variety being a keeper. (I’m going to HD tomorrow to start some hybrid cukes for bread-n-butter pickles this year - I still have some 50 quarts of kosher dills from last year - ha)
Skeeters laid two huge hits on me yesterday *through my sleeves*.
I’ve decided to start a seed-tape business, selling companion planting seed tapes at our new farmers’ market. And single-seed tapes, too.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to move my rain barrels out here!
Mosquito Dunks are awesome, and the oil trick works wonders, too.
I’m trying to convince Beau that a portion of the back deck needs to be enclosed as a screened porch. Of course, we’ve had three ‘cool’ summers in a row so the Skeeters haven’t been too bad, so my argument is falling on deaf ears. For now! :)
Oh my! I am hoping everything comes through ok, and the temps aren’t too low. That would be heart breaking to lose all that.
We had a great garden a couple of years back, and had to let it burn up due to extended summer drought. That’s when we decided to buy a swimming pool to store rainwater for our gardens in case we needed it.
Even though we hauled water for our perennials, I think they were really stunted, and are just now starting to come back to health.
Brilliant! I did all of my beets with seed tape this season. My first attempt, but I’m expecting good results!
Put my veggies in ground today; raised beds; had to wrap them in black plastic mesh to keep out deer...I live in Cincy city limits, too. My sling shot works great.
Of all the plants, my seeds yielded yellow squash, zucchini, basil...my others, didn’t spout so I bought the small plants at a local plant place. I did buy bhut jalokia..the ghost pepper. Should be fun. 2 tomatos, 4 peppers (2 sweet, 2 hot); zucchuni, eggplant, spaghetti squash, yellow squash.
Thanks for the tip, and the link!
My burgundy okra are ‘get away from me, I don’t want to live’ while, 30ft away, a volunteer okra sprouted in my neighbor’s newly-planted Oak sapling hole has three pickable pods and went from mystery seedling to SuperOkra in one week.
I have about 24 jars of various pickles and 36 jars of pickle relish, about 2 years old. Totally out of the dills and the zuke pickle spears though.
Glad to be a useful reminder. Yes, I’ve noticed that sometimes one must choose a more opportune time, in order for people to listen.
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