Posted on 05/19/2018 9:48:45 AM PDT by greeneyes
LOL! :)
We got some badly-needed rainfall here in Central Missouri over the weekend. Right at 2” by my rain gauge. We’re still ~3” behind for the year.
The rain kept me out of the garden for the most part. I did get out there between showers and put some seven dust on my cabbages to slow down the looper worm invasion.
I’ll need to do some weeding out there over the next few days to stay ahead of that.
I finally got Nanner’s hydraulic system put back together and got him out of my workshop. I need to put the firewalls back in the cab, and reinstall the curb-side cab door and then soon as it dries up I’ll be ready to work on the pumpkin patch and sunflower field.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE)is used in the garden to keep insects (chitin exoskeleton) away from plants.
DE is made up of microscopic pieces of 'glass-like' particles that cut into the exoskeleton, thus desiccating, or rupturing and the insect dies from fluid loss.
Create a band of DE 2-3 inches wide around plants to be effective.
Tomato hornworms are the large green caterpillars generally found around tomato plants; generally located by injured plants and dark fecal droppings on the ground.
Best control is hand gathering the hornworms and drowning in a pail of water; also,there are insects that prey on the hormworms (lady bugs, parasitic wasps,etc.).
If you see a series of sacks on a hornworm leave it alone; it is being colonized by parasitic wasp larvae which will consume the hornworm from the inside out.
There is a naturally occurring soil-born bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis), known as 'Bt', which will kill off various caterpillars (hornworm, corn borers, cabbage loopers, etc.).
Bt affects many members of the butterfly (lepidoptera species) and caterpillar families.
Bt (powder form)needs to be re-applied after any heavy rain to protect plants .
The key to dill from seed is to sow it in the fall or winter. There’s no need for a nicely prepared seedbed, just throw it on top of the ground and ignore it.
Then let some of the seed ripen on the plants and before you know it you’ll have dill coming up everywhere.
We got some badly-needed rainfall here in Central Missouri over the weekend. Right at 2” by my rain gauge. We’re still ~3” behind for the year.
The rain kept me out of the garden for the most part. I did get out there between showers and put some seven dust on my cabbages to slow down the looper worm invasion.
I’ll need to do some weeding out there over the next few days to stay ahead of that.
I finally got Nanner’s hydraulic system put back together and got him out of my workshop. I need to put the firewalls back in the cab, and reinstall the curb-side cab door and then soon as it dries up I’ll be ready to work on the pumpkin patch and sunflower field.
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Same here - couldn’t get much done outdoors. We aren’t sure the exact amount - hubby says at least 3” and possibly 4” - it rained really hard during the night - I slept through it.
Last time I tried to grow sunflowers we had a very cool and damp spring, and they just didn’t grow and produce at all. Hubby is planting some in each row this year.
Gathered a half cup of strawberries yesterday - great dessert -plain with a little cream for dinner. Hubby is really excited over the apples we have finally after years of trying. We have ordered reusable mesh bags to protect them from birds and insects.
Last year I dehydrated some apples that we got at the farmers market - great snacks!
OK. Thanks for the tip. Fall is my favorite time to plant. I really don’t like spring planting here. Too cool and rainy.
I like to work outdoors when the sun shines. Summer though, gets too hot. Fall is just right.
Thanks for the tips.
4.25 inches of rain Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
Looks like more is on the way.
When it rains it pours. Wish we had a cistern - pool is already full of water.
The Lake of the Ozarks came up more than a foot by Monday morning.
The Bagnel Dam is at full roar.
Ameren appears to have reacted in time ...this time.
Thank goodness for small favors.
Hello everyone! Wishing you all a great gardening season from west Michigan. We are off to a good start here. Seed coming up nicely and plants too. So far romaine lettuce, red romaine, shanghai bok choi, better boy tomatoes, san Marzano and camparis. I use seed from the ones in the grocery store. Costa rican red peppers, shishito peppers, kitchen king green beans, chef jeff’s bush pickles, basil, oregano, dill, cilantro, green onions, my favorite yellow radishes from the Ukraine. And I am hoping some of my Boston Marrow squash seed is still good. Not up yet but it’s been cool. Also eating asparagus. I am most excited about my pawpaw trees. I should know in a week or so if they will have blossoms. Also I have a large round iris garden. About 8’ in diameter. Many kinds of iris. And a few other perennials. Last summer I cleaned it out and divided the irises, hauled over 300 pounds (on a tarp) of crap - grass, weeds, violets, some myrtle. Everything was just choked and the irises were not blooming well at all. I have so many buds this year! I expect to have pictures this year to post. We are getting food rain and no late frost this year.
Certainly sounds like a good start. I was thinking about saving some roma seeds from the grocery that I bought last winter, but I never got around to it.
Hubby has decided he’s going to really try hard to save seeds from our garden this year. Should be interesting. When he plants seeds, half the time he forgets what he’s planted and has to wait till they come up. He hasn’t mastered the skill of labeling. LOL
If you ever wanted to see and hear the dam at full dump, this is the week.
LOL. I’d like to see it, but not enough to take the time to drive that far too see it.
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