Lindsaylew's 2014 Garden - Upstate, SC

[lakngulf]

Fruit and produce in all shapes and sizes. And healthy plants. Job well done.....well, job being done well.

[Lindsaylew82]

Thanks y'all!

[Lindsaylew82]

SOOO. Many. Caterpillars. 1 newly hatched hornworm can eat a whole late tomato leaf in 1 day! Found about 6 small hornworms today! I actually mashed 2 real small ones quickly with my fingers. Still grossed out....

Found a HUGE grasshopper! I caught him, stomped him, the put him in the suds.


Thought that these were clusters of eggs, but when I tried to scrape them off, I realized that they were roots! Btw, this plant has ZERO tomatoes on it. Old German Pink.


The weather here must be ideal for cucumber plants! These are on a 2"x4" trellis. The leaves are HUGE! I've never grown cukes with such large leaves!


Last night, I noticed there were several bees just kind of hanging out in both the cuke blossoms and on the tomato brossoms. It got really hot yesterday. I wonder if they were just resting and waiting for the temps to cool off.



I lost my cat of 15 years on Thursday from a 2 year battle with lung cancer. She was very special to me. We planted a little memorial bed over her grave.

[hendi_alex]

Get chickens! No more squishing bad garden critters. The chickens just love them. Three to four chickens don't take much space or much care, plus give lots of eggs and a bonus of manure for the compost pile.

[Lindsaylew82]

I want chickens! Soooooo bad! I live in the county, too. But the man says no. I'm slowly chipping away at his reserve. We eat at least 5-6 eggs everyday, and I could definitely use 6-10 chickens. I have done extensive research on them! I know what breeds I want, and I even have a local organic hatchery that can provide the breeds I'm interested in.

There several other issues...

Lack of fencing or runs, and neighbor's free roaming dogs that like to jump fences. Right now we don't have a connected fence surrounding the back yard. ( It's in the budget for next spring!!! Privacy fence! Woohooo!)

We have a very healthy hawk and falcon population as well. I was on a run one afternoon and saw a hawk dive bomb a chicken 1 mile from my house! It was like a white powder bomb went off! I've seen them catch catbirds in our yard with the same results.

I worry about them scratching up my mulch, too. I have a no till system and I rely heavily on my mulch.

Wait..........am I talking myself out of this...?

I do have a pretty large cricket factory. Plus fleas and ticks from the dogs that my neighbors carelessly and irresponsibly own.

Caterpillars!
Do they get the wee little ones in the top of the canopy?

Do they mess with your plants?

I'm actually considering BT, but I doubt I will go through with it. It was definitely a passing thought as I pulled even more caterpillars off my plants this evening, along with 14 rotten and partially consumed green tomatoes. They go through and ruin a whole truss of tomatoes...

IDK... I told my husband (after this week) I didn't want anymore pets... I could never eat them if I got them, and I tend to get really attached to animals and charming children.

I probably WILL continue to chip away at that reserve. Mine and his.

[applestar]

So sorry for your loss.

When my last cat died he was 18-1/2 and I had him since he was 10 weeks old. I had planned to attend a workshop that week but canceled because he was declining (thyroid), and he did pass... and completely changed our lives.

It does take a while. The memorial bed looks lovely.
Here is a flower

[Lindsaylew82]

It's very hard. Someone had put her in a taped up box in the trash at the hospital I worked at. She was 4 weeks old and had to be bottle fed for a couple of weeks. I miss her. My other cat is a year older and bonded tightly with her. She's very depressed now.

Thank you for my flower. I relish in the fact that she didn't suffer. I'm glad I had the strength to follow through.

[Lindsaylew82]

Pretty Sungolds!

[Lindsaylew82]

I thought my squash were done, but they've put out new growth. They have pretty extensive SVB damage. Got a nice mess of squash and zucchini this morning.


The plants are so big this year!



Still no squash bugs. I saw one fly in, then fly right back out. ( I've never seen them fly before!!?! )
I'll be interested to see what the situation is on pumpkins and later planted cucurbits! We shall see... They're comin.

Still boomin everywhere else!











I've taken up sweet talking these bottom two yellow brandywines. They still refuse to blush! I need you to BLUSH!!!



Beneficial populations are growing as well!
(Brown chicken, brown cooooooooooooow!!!)

[suegardener]

Have you ever used milk spray for fungal disease on cucurbits? From what I have read, there is good evidence of effectiveness using 10% milk spray. This will be my first year doing it so I cannot speak from experience.

[Lindsaylew82]

I use neem oil. I use it weekly. I have used a combo milk spray. It tends to funk up my sprayer, though.
IME, I've only seen it slow things down in my climate. Nothing prevents fungus here, just slows.

[suegardener]

Yep, continual problem here in the humid South. From what I gather, using it religiously starting before there is any evidence of trouble is the way to go. Maybe after this year I will have some idea. Of course if everything is dead from svb before it is sick from fungus then I will never know. I am using it alone not in combination and no problems with gunking up. I may end up alternating with neem.

[Lindsaylew82]

Yep, continual problem here in the humid South. From what I gather, using it religiously starting before there is any evidence of trouble is the way to go.

I agree. You can stave it off for a bit, but it take a rigid schedule. I'm usually a lot more rigid if I have squash bugs. Bug control also helps stave off plant disease. Lots of bugs carry disease. Plant injury and stressed plants are also more prone to infections.

This year I've not seen much in the way of powdery mildew or downy mildew. Squash have a spot. Just 1.

Nearly every plant has a SVB. I've been battling chlorosis in the squash, but not the zucchini. Idk...it's kinda weird. I think maybe because the SVB damage is more advanced in the squash? Just a theory... This whole growing season has been kinda weird... No squash bugs, very few tomatoes, LOADS of hornworms and fruit worms, HUGE plants.

[Lindsaylew82]

I am using it alone not in combination and no problems with gunking up.

No gunking, funking! It stinks of soured milk.

[applestar]

I like using milk spray because it's pretty harmless, and I don't have to worry about getting the spray on myself (skin). But it's true the mixture should be freshly made with good milk (and whey), used up completely, and the sprayer should be thoroughly rinsed and make sure to spray out the nozzle. Wash clothes immediately, but your hair and skin can benefit from the leave-on masque/beauty treatment.