Gardening

[Vicaroo1000]

[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]....where was that pic when the springtime bully pic contest was going on?!

That's a SUMMER TIME picture! hahahaha

Ooooh, I am loving everyones' garden pictures! And [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION] - LOVE that picture of Bea in her Home Depot cart!

We have asparagus that is growing like the weed it is and our strawberry patch is getting fruit and finally some lettuce is sprouting. But I have been struggling a bit with adjusting to the weather here and it has been a little inconsistent lately. But finally got tiny plants popping up a week ago!

Yes you do! Looking good too!

I've been gone for a few days putting in a perennial garden at my ex-mom in law's (we are very close) and having a BLAST. I should have taken pictures but the beginning is never that impressive. It takes a good couple of years for a perennial garden to really settle in.

Here's my little seedling garden (this is about half of it)...soon i will need to put it in the ground though! Most of it anyway. I am having mint issues, it hasn't started yet.

Oh girl...do be careful! I planted mint one spring --- just a teeny bit, you know --- and then spent the next five years trying to UNPLANT it. It took OVER! Mint is aggressive stuff here!

Here's another great shot for you garden girls....it took me three years to find the perfect bench for this spot. This is last year. Wait till you see how it looks THIS year! But you gotta wait until June/July when everything's come in around it..... I promise, it will be worth the wait, girls! (and [MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION])

 

[Biogirl71]

I have a question for everyone in the gardening thread. What are some of your methods for preventing your bullie from "helping" garden? Frank loves being outside with me when I garden and is usually pretty good but too many times I have turned around from planting or hoeing or weeding to see him standing on plants or sniffing tiny seedlings while his droopy lips squish them.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Just in from slug patrol: only TWO! I'm gaining on them!!!! (I always say that, regardless of the body count....LOL)

Bo likes to "help" in that way too. Bea learned by just being told where she could/could not go. In the area behind the bench, it's all vinca, wild geranium and ferns...so they can plow around in there and not hurt much. But in the cutting beds, where all the snaps, cosmos, petunias are, etc.; it's OFF LIMITS. Sniffin' is ok but the second a foot goes up to be placed down in the bed, I make my "EHHH" sound of displeasure and they stop.

If I'm really going to seriously get anything done, I put them in their yard so they can enjoy the sweetness of nature (and the fabulousness of hives related to grass allergy) without my constant worry of cars, etc. on my street.

 

[bullmama]

Okay I got these tiny white fuzzy things on my pepper leaves. They are a bug of some sort. Help!!!! I google and all I get is white fungus, but it's a insect of some sort!

 

[LariP]

Spider mites?

Or aphids are tiny white or sometimes green.

 

[bullmama]

Spider mites?

Or aphids are tiny white or sometimes green.

They kinda remind me of tiny catapillars..... very very tiny


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[Vicaroo1000]

They kinda remind me of tiny catapillars..... very very tiny


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I was going to say spider mites too - but caterpillar bugs aren't spider mites. Suggest: make a solution of common dishwashing soap and water and put it in a spray bottle. Generously spray the leaves with this solution. It won't hurt your plants or the environment and it will hurt the bugs. You can also move each of the potted plants (I know yours are in pots) to an area away from your garden and "Wash" them off with a strong spray of the garden hose. Not too strong to injure the plant - but just so WATER SCRUB those buggies off.

 

[BruceP]

DDT would kill em

 

[LariP]

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r604300211.html. This may help.

 

[bullmama]

I finally found my answer! They are meely bugs! Thanks for the link [MENTION=983]LariP[/MENTION] but I hate those guys, but don't see them around. They creep me out and I actually get startled when I see them on tomato plants!

Here is a pic from the net that looks very similar to what I see, mine is not this bad I don't think.

Sucking Pests
The most common sucking pests that can attack your chillies are aphids, mealy bugs, scales and mites. These pests appear on the leaves, stems and fruit in clusters and feed on the sweet sap by inserting a needle-like sucking tube into the plant and drawing out the juice.
After the sap has been used by the insects, it is excreted as honeydew, which forms the base on which a black fungus grows. This fungus is known as sooty mould and its presence reduces photosynthesis and discolours affected fruit.

Honeydew is used as a food source by ants, which will actively transport the insects (aphids, mealybugs and scales) to position them on the plant (‘farm’ them). Ants may spread sapsucker infestations between plants via underground tunnels. As aphids, mealybugs, scales and mites congregate in hidden places or on the lower leaf surface, they may initially not be obvious. Affected plants appear water-stressed, and leaves turn yellow and fall. In some cases leaves and flowers curl up and wilt.

There are a number of chemicals that you can use to get rid of these parasites however, I am not going to go into these as they are a specialized field and fairly toxic. I don’t like them.
What I use is a mixture called White Oil which is basically a petroleum based oil emulsion and works on all three pests by covering them in oil and suffocating them. You can buy it from nurseries and garden centres and is simply mixed with water and sprayed on. The below is a recipe for making your own at home.

Home Made White Oil.
It is simple to make your own white oil from vegetable oil and liquid soap. Prepare the concentrate using the proportions below. Store in a suitably labelled container, making sure to include the dilution instructions on the label for quick reference.

Ingredients:

½ cup washing up liquid (you were right [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]!)
½ litre of vegetable oil

In your food processor, blend the vegetable oil with the dishwashing detergent they’re until well mixed. This is your concentrate and can be stored in any sort of container, though be sure to label it and include the dilution rate. This concentrate will separate over time, however all you need to do is give it a good shake just before you use it.

To prepare the concentrate for use, dilute 1 tablespoon in a litre of water, mix it well and spray the pest as well as both sides of the foliage thoroughly.

It’s important that you stick to this dilution rate, because you can burn the foliage if it’s too strong. Also, don’t apply it in hot weather and avoid using it on plants with hairy/furry foliage as well as ferns, palms and cycads as this can also cause leaf burn.

Regular applications of this easy to make oil based spray will help protect your plants from many common pests found in the garden. Simply spray thoroughly over both sides of the foliage and onto the offending pest. The contents of Spray as often as required.

 

[MamaAndi]

We had squash bugs last year...totally killed off most of my pumpkin plants!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

[MENTION=983]LariP[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] - **applause** I'm so glad you found your solution! I have sugar ants and red/black ants around my garden too and while they cause some damage, I know they are also food for the Salamander and the Lizard (only one type of lizard resides in Western Washington yanno! Exciting!) so I leave them to do their work. :D My little urban lot is a certified wildlife habitat.

 

[BruceP]

Our worst pests a rabbits....... grrrrr..... Lari bought a new spray for them yesterday and sprayed this morning already.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Our worst pests a rabbits....... grrrrr..... Lari bought a new spray for them yesterday and sprayed this morning already.

RABBITS? Once again, I am jealous. I live in the city. So when a Pilated Woodpecker flies over I go into a dither. Seeing wildlife in my yard is better than....well, most anything.

If I had [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] 's fox and your rabbits, they'd cancel out each other and keep everyone under control and I'd have more ZOO!

 

[BruceP]

RABBITS? Once again, I am jealous. I live in the city. So when a Pilated Woodpecker flies over I go into a dither. Seeing wildlife in my yard is better than....well, most anything.

If I had @JAKEISGREAT 's fox and your rabbits, they'd cancel out each other and keep everyone under control and I'd have more ZOO!

We live right in the city as well. We also have chipmunks, raccoons, coopers hawks and lots of other animals/birds. Deer too but we don't usually see them in our neighborhood..... need to go about 15 blocks for deer.