Summer Gardens 2014, Part 3

We came from here (pt 1): http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1357593/
and here (Pt 2): http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1364860/

Harvest from a few days ago, but good nonetheless. Making pickles and salsa with my haul.

boy, i wish my tomatoes were rolling in like you guys are getting, lol.

and this may explain why my veggie garden is not quite as big and lush as last year. the PH (green cap) borderlines on being too alkaline. and either the Nitrogen (purple cap) part of the test was defective, or its just that pathetically low, lol, but the phosphorus (blue cap) and potash (orange cap) is great at least

We've never done a soil sample test. Maybe we should.

although i am taking these test results with a grain of salt, as i have heard many complaint reviews about this specific brand i used being too inaccurate, BUT it was all i could budget, so i guess thats better than nothing

I'm curious to see what my soil would test also. I added a lot of amendments to this first time veggie bed but it's going to require a whole lot more again next year!

The Fels Naptha soap recipe works well as an insecticidal soap. Here's my recipe:

1 quart boiling or very hot water
3 tablespoons grated Fels Naptha soap
1 quick squirt of liquid dishwashing detergent

Mix together in a large bowl. stir until well mixed. Soap should be completely dissolved in liquid.
Let cool, then put in sprayer bottle (I used an old spray cleaner bottle)

I used this on both japanese beetles and those pesky stink bug nymphs as well as a mealy bug. All of them died within 5 minutes after spraying, most died much quicker. I did not spray the area afterwards with water as I want to see if this stuff adversely affects the plants in any way. The pollinators, and other beneficial bugs totally ignored me and were not affected ( I didn't spray them directly and tried not to get any of this soap on them).

Unless this somehow hurts my plants, this bottle will go out with me every morning from now on. I am wondering if it would be safe to increase the amount of Fels Naptha soap to perhaps kill the bugs faster.

Thanks for the recipe Lois! And keep us posted, if it works I'd be willing to do this.

jmc1987 - This is the best year for tomatoes we've had in quite a while. I'm thinking that it is the addition of lime to our very acid soil. We have pine trees near our garden spot. I've always put down a bit of lime (teaspoonful) when I planted, but this year we followed package directions and limed the heck out of our soil. Of course, the temperatures have been cooler and we've had good rain. Yet, we always watered adequately before, and had poor tomato harvests. The only real difference is the lime. Mixed it well into the soil before planting.

SVB arrived with a vengeance while I was out of town; far too many larvae to operate on the plant. I also caught a small hornworm.

No pickleworm yet. Maybe they all died in Florida this winter. :)

That SVB is relentless! Sorry it attacked you.

getting an infestation last year is what turned me off from growing them, i actually caught sight of an adult flying by that year--although i was too slow to catch him. they dont seem to bother the cukes.....at least not yet

Here's a question: is there any way to trim a zucchini without just providing a giant straw to all the baddies?

Turtles, you could trim your zucchini foliage if you need to. I think if SVB is around, it's going to attack no matter if he has a doorway or not ;) I would use a clean instrument, I like fresh razor blades. And I'd be prudent with how much I cut, check the plant out over the next few days and make sure it's not showing any signs of stress or disease. If all looks good, I'd feel safe cutting a few more leaves if they need to go. What's your rasoning for wanting to prune?

Nicole don't get me started on the hornworms.. Lol I must have killed 20 in 2 days! I haven't seen SVB here yet, but I sympathize nonetheless. Been having MAJOR issues with grasshoppers eating my sweet corn. Such a bummerrr 😩

Thanks Becky. I haven't seen any SVB, but that doesn't mean they're not there! We'll see how they do.

Technically, any cucurbita is at risk, but SVB needs a thick stem to complete the larval life cycle, so they usually only attack summer squash. If your winter squash is far enough along they will attack that, too.

I did a video for the blog (lemons -> lemonade) with plant dissection. I ended up finding 9 larvae in about 3" of stem. That plant never had a chance.

If I liked zucchini more, I'd have another batch of young plants coming up behind these, but really I don't. I'm not sure why I grow the stuff every year.

Killed a few more japanese beetles this morning with my new sprayer soap. Saw a bug I've never seen before. It was about half an inch long, black with three bright red stripes in a disconnected triangle. Made me wonder if it was some kind of new "insect drone" LOL. I sprayed it and the japanese beetle it was looking at and moved on. Came back in a few minutes and it was gone although the beetle was still there dead as a doorknob. Gonna head for the "bug files" here to see if I can identify it.

So far there is no damage to the leaves that I have sprayed, but I will wait until tomorrow to make a final judgement.

Green beans are coming back! Putting out more leaves and flowers. I am picking about one pound of beans a day which is much better than the handful I was getting.

NicoleC - SVB here also. Have devastated my zucchini. However one of the plants is putting out new leaves and it looks like another one is trying. I don't know if I should just pull all of them up anyway.

So... it is a "twice stabbed" or "black and red" stinkbug. I'm very glad I sprayed it and I sincerely hope it is deceased. I wonder if this one was the "mom" of the red nymphs?
Lots of problems everywhere with the darn bug population this year!

Been cruising around the web looking to see how others use the Fels Naptha solution. I've seen several sites where you use the recipe I gave to make a concentrate, then when you want to spray with it you dilute it down by mixing 1, 2 or 3 teaspoons of the concentrate with 1 quart water and then spray the plants with this. I'm using the concentrate to spray the bug directly. So far no withered leaves or anything, but the amounts I'm using are really small and targeted.
I don't think I would spray the undiluted concentrate all over the plant. Anybody got any more information on this?

NicoleC - You're right. I think just planting new zukes is the best idea. Thanks!

Great job with the soap spray Lois, hope it continues to work for ya! My MIL is out of town for the week so I harvested some of her cantaloupe and a zucchini. Mmmmmmm!

Pic is today's pickings, I had to play with my food LOL!!! Sorry I'm a little silly today :))

Looks like you've got a happy garden :D !

looove vegetable faces !

Only had to spray about 5 japanese beetles and two stinkbugs. No signs of any "burning" of leaves due to spraying in the past two days. I think it's working!

Here's my "pickings" from this morning.

wow ! very nice !

Thanks drthor!

We saw two hummingbird moths this evening sipping on my large bee balm flowers. I've never seen anything like them before! We were convinced that these were tiny hummingbirds until I got nose to nose with one and saw the antennae. They are so fast! I will attempt to get a photo, but I'm not sure that I can. Honestly, I never even heard of these bugs before! They are lovely, unafraid, and fun to watch. They would come right up to us and buzz around before flying back to a blossom.

Finally made the buttermilk cake with blackberries tonight for my grandchildren. It was a BIG hit! Really good recipe!

Nice haul Lois!

I could be wrong, but I thought hummingbird moths are the adult hornworms? I always liked those moths until I heard that. Now I see them and dread finding their "babies" eating all my food in the garden! It's mine, all mine! Lol

Had the best tomato of my life today, the weird looking japanese black trifele. Gonna Dmail the person I got the seeds from and see if he knows what it might be crossed with.

Yikes! Becky, say it ain't so! Gotta go back out there and find more information! Even if it's so, I don't think I can kill these bugs..... they are so like a hummingbird in actions and looks that I just couldn't do it. Besides they are.... well, charming! They will get nose to nose with you.

How did your black trifeles taste? Are they acid, sweet, spicy? All of you who plant all these lovely exotic tomatoes are fascinating to me. I know how to grow things like mortgage lifter, big beef and big red tomatoes, and a few select hybrids, but I can't seem to grow anything else to save me! Planted a boatload of Cherokee purples last year and didn't get a one to eat. What's your secret?

Becky, I found a good article on these moths which also talks about the tomato and tobacco hornworms. Says that the hummingbird type moth worms will do some damage to plants but not anything significant. Unlike their ugly, meaner cousins, the tomato hornworms. Here, 'tis,

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05517.html
Let me know what you think! Thanks!

I'm with you on the not being able to kill the adult moth, I am a sucker for hummers too! But I've had so much hornworm damage to my plants, done seemingly overnight, that I squish em (the larvae) on sight now. I've only seen tobacco hornworms (white stripes, reddish horn) in my garden and they do MAJOR damage!

This is my first year growing tomatoes. I did them from seed, had over 200 seedlings sprout and after giving most away, I have 34 plants in the garden. Most of my research was done on DG and got lots of help from the friendly folks here also.

The JBT tomato was picked last week when it finally turned red on the vine (I had read that if you leave it on the vine too long it gets mushy and mealy, so pick when shoulders are still green and let it ripen indoors). What a great tomato! It had the earthy taste of a black tomato but was still sweet and juicy. I made a sandwich of it with Swiss cheese and I could have eaten another but had to control myself. Lol!

boy does that look great! STILL waiting for my first tomato of the season (doesnt even look like they are even TRYING to get any bigger, lol)

That is one beautiful pic of the JBT, Becky.

So far I've only picked peas and lettuce. Still getting a few peas, surprisingly. And at least now I can SEE loads of green tomatoes. I have 12 or 13 varieties -- I want to taste one!

Wow, Becky! A beautiful ruby red tomato! And your description of it's taste makes me hungry!

I haven't seen any hornworms of any type yet. Keeping my fingers crossed. Haven't been out to the garden yet. Hoping for rain today.

I have to put up tomatoes and green beans and make pickles today. No goofing around. My grandkids are all here and want fresh bread. Looks like a day in the kitchen lol!

Regarding the tomato horn worms. They are a fact of life, and Harry lives to eat, LOL!

However, there are ways to help reduce the population explosion.,,

Last year, I invested in a bolt of tulle fabric from onlinefabrics.com? I got a gazillion yards of 108" wide fabric for about $60 (shpg included -- I have enough for the next 10 years, LOL). I used the tulle over last year's fall/winter raised beds, and, I tell you, I had the prettiest leafy greens you ever wanna see! There were practically no holes in any of the cabbage or beet green leaves, or in the mustard, turnip and collard greens.

What happened was, the covering was put down just before the Luna Moths, Cabbage moths, Stinkbug moths, and Hummingbird moths began to search out places to lay eggs. All they did was hit the tulle and bounce off. And, since they're so stupid, they don't think, "Oh, let me go to the end of this tunnel and just fly in -- they just stay where they bounce on the tulle. Since they couldn't get to the plant stems to lay eggs, I had only a minute population of cabbage loopers once the weather changed. If I had to guess-timate, I believe I had about 2 horn worms, and 3 or 4 cabbage loopers for the entire spring season...and 2 cutworms...

In addition to thwarting the moths, the tulle (or any protective covering) gave me some of the healthiest seedlings I've ever had. They were protected from the whipping winds, which do more harm in my yard than the heat and frost combined! My plants stayed covered almost the entire season, and I was rewarded for protecting them.

So. Try covering your seedlings, and see if you get some good results.

i do find it quite comical that bugs will keep on bumping the same surface trying to fly though it, with the opening to get inside literally being just inches away, lol!!

Speaking of tulle, i finally got my filtered sun roof rigged over top of my veggie garden. not the most prettiest set up, but hey im not out to impress better homes and gardens magazine, lol!

also forgot to post todays morning harvest, and couldnt resist another shot of the cosmos

NICE!

so ive been wondering why ive only been getting like, 1 cucumber every couple of weeks, despite having 8-10 plants. turns out that moms rose of sharon bushes are hogging nearly all of the attention from the honey bees that are around here, lol. decided to set out a couple of dishes of sugar water nearby my cuke vines to see if that would lure some over to them

jmc - That is a very pretty garden! And your pick today looks yummy! Are those wild berries? You should try the buttermilk cake recipe, I made one yesterday and watched as it disappeared in minutes!

Went outside in hopes of seeing the hummingbird moths again, but alas, no luck.

i actually posted a photo of that cake that i made in the last thread that we "migrated" from, seems to have been overlooked though, lol ;)