What Did You Do In Your Garden Today?

[897tgigvib]

Hidatsa Red are usually among the first to ripen, so this year they and the Habachuelas Rosadas got planted last in places to tuck into. So, today I finally got to pick some Hidatsa Red. Habachuelas Rosadas have no ripe pods yet.

 

[digitS']

I have been doing a lot of harvesting. The 1st planting of snap beans are essentially finished and the 2nd hasn't started. However, over in the cucumbers and zucchini . . ! The 1st planting of each is doing fine and the 2nd planting has started really producing! Heavy buckets! Hopefully, I can find homes for these things .

I know that we are supposed to be as green as the driven grass clippings coming off my lawn, which hasn't been treated with herbicide, insecticide or even fertilizer for the last 15 years, however - I am battling spider mites in the dahlias! &*X%@^%&! They have literally killed one plant :/. They may be weakening others so that their tubers can't make it thru the winter. Mostly, after spraying with Bayer 3-in-1, I have been able to keep them off the flower buds - for a few days!

Washing the plants with a strong stream of water really helps knock them down. No doubt, I am killing hundreds when I return that evening and the spray drifts down to the soil surface. Still, I can't get under every leaf! If'n I could, I could kill them with insecticidal soap. It is just what I get from growing them close together in about a 1500sqft garden - else, I really could just use the soap.

I learned that the old formula for the Othro Isotox that I used 5 or so years ago, has made a reappearance under the Bonide name. I didn't think it was real effective but I just gave the dang mites a one-two punch this week with the Bayer & then the Bonide. Now . . . I'm going over and wash the plants with some Miracle-Gro . . .

Chemical Steve

 

[so lucky]

Spider mites are so hard to get rid of! If you had enough rain, you most likely wouldn't have that problem, would you? What you need is a long-handled soft-pressure sprayer to get under the rows of leaves, and spray up. I bet they don't make one of those that has a moveable spray head, though.

 

[bobm]

I baught a hose attachement spray wand with an on / off and adjustable spray + tilt angle head at Lowes a few months ago. works great ! :watering

 

[digitS']

I have a Dramm watering wand and I attach a nozzle to it, lock it to "on," and it works fairly well for getting down low on the plants. There's a tilt to it but I can't adjust that. I should check out Lowe's since both wand and nozzle is gettin' old.

Here is a snapshot of the battle zone:

Rockets' red glare . . . bombs bursting in air. Things were just getting rolling good for the season but I couldn't see hide nor hair of the mites when I was out there an hour or 2 ago!

Yes, they show up in hot & dry weather. I am really not sure what it would be like to grow dahlias in a more humid climate. I think they'd like it better.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm digging spuds today. Been at it for about 3 hours now ( including a few iced tea breaks ) and it's lookin' good!
I'll weigh them later this week and see what the actual production is. I'm hoping for better than average.

 

[ducks4you]

FINALLY planted the last two tomato plants that I bought....in July.

 

[digitS']

Looked at a lot of frost at 7:30am!

Chopped down (& up) a bed of sunflowers. Gathered the pumpkins in the center of their patch and covered them with the vines to protect from any severe frost.

Picked all the bigger green tomatoes! I think they are fine! Allowing them to sprawl seems to have protected them from the frost. Even the vines weren't completely killed - I think it is about 10 days of near-frost since a light frost of the 26th that toughened them up so that they just didn't keel-over in the cold!

Looked with sadness at the dahlia garden . . :/

Then, remember this from earlier on this thread? http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=353062#p353062

Here's a little of what has come out of what was the potato bed:

Oh and, I got the first pea pods today! That last day of July sowing of snow peas is just a little too late. Note to self: go for the 20th of July from now on!

The latest bok choy that I've transplanted won't be large enuf to harvest now that we are having frosts. This is a prompt to get that old bench out of the greenhouse and move that bok choy in there in a bed! I hope it won't just bolt to seed from a double transplant. It isn't anything that I've ever done before that I can remember but I'd planned on it for that greenhouse bed for some reason.

Steve

 

[bj taylor]

frost!? what a crazy concept. to think someone has frost this time of year. this morning it was about 77. ugh. if that cool front coming Saturday doesn't hurry up and get here - i'm gonna bust. supposed to be the lows in the 50's and high's 70's. how exciting! cool weather! yep yep yep

 

[journey11]

It was in the 80s here today, but it won't be but another 2 weeks and I'll start looking for frost.

I am sad to think of your dahlias gone too, Steve!