Topic: Gardeners

[TwoTired]

Any ideas on killing what eats my kale that won't poison me if I eat it?

Insect larva.
Get some Rotenone and sprinkle the affected areas to control the population.  Rinse the leaves before eating, as it doesn't taste too good.  But, it will kill the larvae and help control the offending population of insects.
Its a moth or butterfly species that lays eggs on the leave's undersides usually.  Rotenone ruins their digestion and they die from starvation, but is very poorly absorbed by humans.  Rotenone kills fish, too. So, be mind full of runoff.  But, you can eat the fish it kills or find lolling about the surface in distress.

Another deterrent is to distract the insects that like to eat plants.  The color yellow is attractive to bugs.  And there is a sticky glue that entraps them.
I just paint some cardboard with yellow paint, and then spread the sticky glue on them, then hang them up near garden perimeters where bugs see them while enroute to the garden goodies.
Or you can buy sticky traps, if that's more convenient to you, like these...

http://www.gemplers.com/sticky-traps


I've not yet found an effective cure for powdery mildew, which takes out half my garden in late summer and & fall.  Actually, I can kill the mildew, but the plants die off anyway with any method I've tried.
Anyone?

[the technological J]

any body use diotenatious earth to get rid of pests?

[faux fiddy]

Any ideas on killing what eats my kale that won't poison me if I eat it?

  Rotenone kills fish, too. So, be mind full of runoff.  But, you can eat the fish it kills or find lolling about the surface in distress.

http://www.gemplers.com/sticky-traps


I've not yet found an effective cure for powdery mildew, which takes out half my garden in late summer and & fall.  Actually, I can kill the mildew, but the plants die off anyway with any method I've tried.
Anyone?

I used to see posters that some fishery students from New Orleans had advertizing the rotenone extravaganza.  Bring a cooler of beer to fill with fish as the beer empties out.  Never heard of it on plants, I guess.  I have some optomistic delusion that things wil just grow without pests and competition without hours a day of digging, weeding  and picking.

[faux fiddy]

The Garlic Crane.

[TwoTired]

I have some optomistic delusion that things will just grow without pests and competition without hours a day of digging, weeding  and picking.

It's important to know where you sit at the food chain table, or with whom you are competing within the circle of life.

How long would you have lived without nurturing after birth (or inception, for that mater)?  As humans (just one species of living thing on this planet), we can effect the life cycle of many living things, toward our own selfish gains.

A garden is a perfect example of this.  We, "weed", and try to optimize the environment within which our "preferred" plants thrive.  We, intrude into the natural competition for resources of our plants against other plants and other living things, including insects, which would use them us a means for propagation, in competition with the gardener.

An earth life cycle requires that some things will prosper while others wither.  We, as humans, have some intelligence to aid or thwart the life cycle of living things.  Insects, on the other hand, mostly just eat what they encounter.  But, even they have "favorites", and will often develop a larger colony in vicinity of those "favorites", until the resource is no longer available.

Does anybody else hate oxalis as much as I do?  Talk about your pesky competition!

[faux fiddy]

Does anybody else hate oxalis as much as I do?  Talk about your pesky competition!

I never knew what that was, thought it was a legume, so I let it go as friendly volunteer. Easy enough for me to pick out when I want, but I guess it does take over.


My Brother the  (_*_)   was calling complaints to the city because of "weeds"  in my yard so I especially like things that look uncultivated, and hopefully they get his panties in a bunch.  Can't wait to have the city code inspector out again!

My fennel made it through the winter, so It looks huge, unkempt and out of control.  Other good weedy looking things are lavender, garlic, sage and salvia, which does well without much care or water.
 
A friend of mine's mom said plant garlic near roses, they do well together. Though the test was not real scientific and has no control, I have found that my roses actually did better if they had garlic around them.


Purple heart is easy to propagate, as well as colancho which I have spread around to compete with the Burmuda grass along fence lines.  They both do well [survive]  when it dries up, especially colancho which is like a succulent.

One of the city guys didn't like the few buckets I had around, told me it is illegal to have empty buckets around the yard (mosquito abatement), but buckets of dirt are okay. Hence buckets full of dirt and elephant ears to shade the house, I pretty them up a bit with cedar pickets.

[demon78]

All things being equal we're putting in the tomatoes this weekend 67 varieties and 19 peppers I hope the goddam snow and frost are past.
Bill the demon.

[faux fiddy]

All things being equal we're putting in the tomatoes this weekend 67 varieties and 19 peppers I hope the goddam snow and frost are past.
Bill the demon.

I've had summers
(last year) that I didn't get a single tomato because plants went in late and it got too hot for blooms to set.   The plants got nice and big though.

[cookindaddy]

67 different kinds of tomato!!?? wow!

[TwoTired]

Only 4 kinds of tomato.  Lots of blossoms, but no 'maters yet.  Got the first batch of zucchini last week.
As of 5-9-12 the veg garden looks like this:

[cookindaddy]

"Only" four kinds of tomato here also.

Your garden looks great Lloyd. Like mine might look in early July here in the frozen north - but not as far north as Demon with the 67 varieties.

George

[TwoTired]

Thanks George,
 We can actually grow stuff year round here as our ground never freezes. Brassica family actually like the cold and will withstand a bit of frost.

I started back in the mid 70's with two 5 x 25 plots in that area.  One of them I covered with a plastic sheet greenhouse made from a PVC pipe frame.  I was still getting tomatoes from the garden in December/January.  I gave away a LOT of veggies, as it's always been just the two of us.

In the early eighties, I switched to eight 5x5 raised beds w/drip irrigation using the Square Foot planting method, made popular by Mel Bartholomew.  I gave even more veggies away, as the plant density greatly increased.

Then I realized I had the 4 of the beds were too close to the house and were shaded from sunlight completely in the winter months, So I reduced the beds to 4 total, 5 by 5 ft dimension.  As the wood side rails rot out (Redwood takes a while to rot.  The picture shows 3 remaining of the originals).  Anyway, I started using fence post 4/4 as retainer wall, non-pressure treated, all "found" wood.  A 4/4 raised bed is far easier to tend.  5x5ftsq made that center square tough to access.  I must say that the 4x4 make for a better "seat" while weeding than the 2by edge.

I let the garden go fallow the last three years, due to illnesses, lack of interest, and a bit of laziness.     Back in production now, and back on the drip irrigation timers.

Now, if i just could figure a way get automatic weeding, it would be paradise!

Cheers,

[the technological J]

did the square foot method give more veggies than the "reccomended" spacing?

[TwoTired]

did the square foot method give more veggies than the "reccomended" spacing?

You mean compared to package label directions?  Yes.
In one square foot:
16 onions
16 radishes
16 carrots
16 beets
4 lettuce
4 spinach
4 swiss chard
9 pole or bush beans  (climbing)
9 spinach
2 cucumber (Climbing)
1 Corn plant
1 tomato plant climbing position in back row
1 broccoli
1 muskmellon/cantalope plant (climbing)
1 bell pepper
4 parsley
8 pea plants (climbing)
1 cauliflower
Squash takes 3 square feet.  Mine always overflow the beds, though.


http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

There' a new book out now.    I have the 1981 printing of it.  Its a good book for beginning and "seasoned" gardeners. imo

Cheers,

[Mcwilliams570]

What started out as a 'shade' garden patch (we had a lovely apple tree there a few years back but sadly it succumbed to some sort of fungal issue I wasn't able to cure ...  Matt makes fun of me as I have major issues pruning perennials back, as is evident from this insane hosta, I've nicknamed 'Chernobyl'.  I really need to learn how divide these guys without being terrified of hurting them.. lol.  Anyone near DE want a segment of that beast? haha.. clearly there is PLENTY to go around ... Next year we're going to have to charge it rent!

(meg)

[faux fiddy]

  I really need to learn how divide these guys without being terrified of hurting them.. lol.
(meg)

I didn't get the scale until I realize that's a gas meter back there?

I would think splitting them up as soon as it goes dormant.

[the technological J]

you dont need to wait, hostas will do fine splitting them this early in the season

[the technological J]

hopefully i will see chives, grapes, asparagus, blue lake beans, cantalope, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, green peppers, squash,  zuchinni, onions, garlic, lettuce, brocolli, blue and red popcorn, goose beans, painted pony beans, basil, dill, mint, banana peppers watermelon,tobacco, pumpkin and sunflowers

[Grnrngr]

If you're gonna grow mint, I'd recommend putting them in a big tub or bucket, but not in the ground. I've got lemon balm and spearmint slowly working their way thru the lawn and garden. I've pulled out and thrown away way more than I started with, still have huge clumps, and new ones popping up everywhere. Kinda like bamboo or ivy.

[the technological J]

the mint is off site of the garden

[78 k550]

Now I need to go buy plants.
The Hail wiped out the complete garden last night. Still hail on the ground when I woke up.

I'm bummed.

Paul

[cookindaddy]

Ouch.

[Bob Wessner]

you dont need to wait, hostas will do fine splitting them this early in the season

+1 Grow like weeds here. Do take as much root/soil as you can and water them well for a while.

[72500john]

keep a medium sized garden.parsnips taters,greens, spinach and broccoli planted in early spring. beans,squashes and peppers, cucumbers planted latter on. have 2 asparagus beds and a nice red raspberry patch. between the bike and garden i stay sane..good stress relief



.

[jstfkndi]

Geez! That's medium!?? Huge compared to mine. I try to make the most of my space, but my property slopes and leveling really takes some time. I need ot take some pics, but there was a section we didn't quite get anything started in, but I have a back row that I have dedicated to hops. This is the first year they have been put in and are doing about as well as expected for first year, but two of the rhizomes didn't take. Have some romas and big boys, zucchini, cantaloupe, lettuce (which we have gotten quite a bit of!), potatoes (in a separate box) and cucumbers. I wonder if it is too loate for peppers. I am in the southeast if anyone knows how late I could go with those. Would really like some!