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Showing posts with label How My Garden Grows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How My Garden Grows. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Die Aphids, Die!
I am absolutely amazed this morning. I am amazed and incredibly happy. My tomato plants are happy too I'm sure.
I have never had a problem with aphids on my plants - lucky me. That is, until this year. I keep a close eye on my plants and I usually pick off any pests before they become a problem. This year; however, it seems my tomato plants had some unwelcome visitors.
I'm talking about aphids. These little suckers were everywhere and it seems they showed up in large numbers overnight. Now, an aphid is a small little bug that kinda looks like a pear. A tiny green pear with legs. They suck the juice from plants and really can do a lot of damage in large numbers. Ants love them and will collect the sticky sweet "sap" they secrete. Ants will even protect the plant vampires. My first clue to the infestation were ants crawling up the stalks of my tomatoes. A careful examination of the underside of the leaves revealed the culprit.
Luckily, I knew all about these critters despite the fact that I have never had to deal with them. I quickly went to work. I watered my plants well and then got to the task of spraying down every leaf (top and underside), stem and stalk and even the ground around the plant with soapy water. Lemon scented dish soap to be exact. The exact proportion would be about 3 squirts to one spray bottle.
I see ladybugs and those creepy looking wasps in my tomato patch daily. They love aphids, unfortunately, the aphids were more than they could handle. I chose not to use chemical insecticides because it's important that my garden stay organic and I don't want to kill off these beneficial insects. My children also play and eat from the garden - straight from the garden - so, dangerous pesticides were out of the question.
Last night I went to bed thinking about aphids and bugs in general. UGH! I woke up unusually early and headed out to the garden to see what was up. I thought I'd go out there and spray off some soap residue from the leaves and maybe pressure wash the plants to dislodge some of the bugs. To my amazement most of the aphids were gone. I found a few and they were easily picked off but the large colonies were gone.
Either my night time prayers were answered or the lemon scent drove them away or they all just died.
I'm not sure but something happened last night. Something wonderful.
I have never had a problem with aphids on my plants - lucky me. That is, until this year. I keep a close eye on my plants and I usually pick off any pests before they become a problem. This year; however, it seems my tomato plants had some unwelcome visitors.
I'm talking about aphids. These little suckers were everywhere and it seems they showed up in large numbers overnight. Now, an aphid is a small little bug that kinda looks like a pear. A tiny green pear with legs. They suck the juice from plants and really can do a lot of damage in large numbers. Ants love them and will collect the sticky sweet "sap" they secrete. Ants will even protect the plant vampires. My first clue to the infestation were ants crawling up the stalks of my tomatoes. A careful examination of the underside of the leaves revealed the culprit.
Luckily, I knew all about these critters despite the fact that I have never had to deal with them. I quickly went to work. I watered my plants well and then got to the task of spraying down every leaf (top and underside), stem and stalk and even the ground around the plant with soapy water. Lemon scented dish soap to be exact. The exact proportion would be about 3 squirts to one spray bottle.
I see ladybugs and those creepy looking wasps in my tomato patch daily. They love aphids, unfortunately, the aphids were more than they could handle. I chose not to use chemical insecticides because it's important that my garden stay organic and I don't want to kill off these beneficial insects. My children also play and eat from the garden - straight from the garden - so, dangerous pesticides were out of the question.
Last night I went to bed thinking about aphids and bugs in general. UGH! I woke up unusually early and headed out to the garden to see what was up. I thought I'd go out there and spray off some soap residue from the leaves and maybe pressure wash the plants to dislodge some of the bugs. To my amazement most of the aphids were gone. I found a few and they were easily picked off but the large colonies were gone.
Either my night time prayers were answered or the lemon scent drove them away or they all just died.
I'm not sure but something happened last night. Something wonderful.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Chasing Cabbage Butterflies
Brussel Sprouts with a tiny bit of cabbage worm damage.
Grrrrr, white butterflies beware, I'm out to get ya.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Coming Soon!
Pole Beans!
and. . .
tomatoes
and. . .
watermelon
and. . .
peppers
and. . .
eggplant
and. . .
blueberries. . .
Compost Woes
It's absolutely amazing how compost can make a garden look so wonderful. I love the stuff and can't get enough. It is also amazing how much material you can throw onto your compost pile and how small it becomes as it breaks down into soil.
My garden has grown and grown and it will get bigger. The problem is my compost pile can't accommodate my garden at the size it is now. Spring mulching has depleted it entirely and I only covered about a quater of the garden. The garden loves the stuff, it eats it up like a well prepared feast and the worms that travel the soil love it too. I NEED MORE!
What to do, what to do? I have been eyeing the leaf piles in other peoples yards that were left out for the city to collect. Hmmmmmm, that's good stuff and it's worth it's wait in gold as far as I'm concerned. Me, a leaf scavenger?
I'll take what I can get and hunt for more. You want somewhere to dump your yard waste? I'll take it! I'll take your kitchen scraps too, provided they are veggie scraps. I'll take it all! Bring it on over and I'll gladly trade it for fresh veggies or herbs.
As for all my neighbors who leave their yard waste on the street to be collected . . . Don't be surprised if you see me carrying it off. : )
My garden has grown and grown and it will get bigger. The problem is my compost pile can't accommodate my garden at the size it is now. Spring mulching has depleted it entirely and I only covered about a quater of the garden. The garden loves the stuff, it eats it up like a well prepared feast and the worms that travel the soil love it too. I NEED MORE!
What to do, what to do? I have been eyeing the leaf piles in other peoples yards that were left out for the city to collect. Hmmmmmm, that's good stuff and it's worth it's wait in gold as far as I'm concerned. Me, a leaf scavenger?
I'll take what I can get and hunt for more. You want somewhere to dump your yard waste? I'll take it! I'll take your kitchen scraps too, provided they are veggie scraps. I'll take it all! Bring it on over and I'll gladly trade it for fresh veggies or herbs.
As for all my neighbors who leave their yard waste on the street to be collected . . . Don't be surprised if you see me carrying it off. : )
Blanket of Flowers
I planted blanket flowers last year about this time and they are just now
blooming! It was worth the wait.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
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