What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

On the side, my chicks won’t eat these. I wonder why? Would help a lot

Weird. Mine love them. We call them protein peas - for the chickens, otherwise rolly-pollies.

 

[chicken opey]

One run is around a huge pecan tree and full of rolly pollies. I sat and watched them pick them up then drop them! Mine can’t be spoiled already

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I played w them as a kid too! Didn’t realize they are a pest in garden!

I think it depends. They are not pests here. There are a lot around the foundation of my house & around the chicken coops but everything planted there does great, so they aren't harming my gardening at all. In those areas I have Lamb's Ear, Petunias, Marigolds, Hosta, Mint, Tiger Lilies, shrubs, Black Eyed Susan, Clematis, Nasturtium, Lavender, Hibiscus, Daffodils & Tulips & wildflowers...all are thriving. I see a bunch underneath of large flower pots, but the plants in the pots are doing great. I don't see Roly Poly bugs in the veggie garden area, just a lot of earthworms there. They like moisture & we've got plenty of that. I wonder if they're more of an issue in dry climates, seeking the moisture, maybe going for moisture in roots of plants? I really don't know.

 

[Sueby]

@NanaK I love foxglove. I had some in DE when I lived there. Came back every year. Cannot grow it here in 9A it would just melt after a day or two.

Hubby picked these beauties this evening. Cannot wait to taste them.

Lovely eggplant! I can't wait for mine, first time growing them.

I ordered a bunch of new dahlia bulbs this spring since all my bulbs from last year rotted in the storage box to dust.

Well this morning I noticed that one bed had still not sprouted. I had 3 bulbs in that bed. I decided to dig them up to see what's going on with them. Guess what? They've ROTTED in the bed. Assuming because of how much rain and heat we had. I'm so disappointed. In the other raised beds I've noticed that there are easily 1-2 bulbs in each of those beds also haven't sprouted... Those probably rotted too.

About to give up entirely on dahlias.

Dahlias definitely do not like to be wet. I haven't dug mine out yet from storage, they're probably all dried up but if not I'd be happy to send you some. I'm not really able to plant them this year, but maybe I can get DH to dig a hole or 2.

Are you talking about these bugs?
View attachment 3840047

We call them Tubs, Tubbies or Roly Poly bugs...we've got gazillions of them, but I never minded them. They seem to just hang out, aerating soil, preferably in moist shade under rocks, etc. They haven't really done anything destructive here, as far I know...or am I wrong? I'd rather see those fire ants, ear wigs, black widows & hobo spiders gone more than anything. While watering the seedlings after work yesterday, Something crawled up inside my pant leg & bit me on the butt cheek, right where the underwear line is. Probably a fire ant, got a painful, darn welt on my butt cheek now.

My understanding is they are fantastic at eating up the old decaying stuff & turning it into compost, much as worms do. But if you get an over-infestation they will go after your plants. So very good in normal numbers but can be destructive if they get out of control.

Thank you!
I have lots of big pine trees so I use pine needles for mulching the flowers. Love free mulch!

I wish I had pine trees for mulch for my strawberries! All I have are giant oaks.

Morning all. Hot here today, supposed to be 90. I set up the soaker hose for the tomatoes yesterday. I put up some shade cloth on the beans, it got too hot & sunny too quick for a couple of them. Looks like some cloudy/rainy/cooler days ahead. Good for transplanting the last 2 eggplant & rosemary starts that are in the aerogarden. Then I can turn it off.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Are you talking about these bugs?
View attachment 3840047

We call them Tubs, Tubbies or Roly Poly bugs...we've got gazillions of them, but I never minded them. They seem to just hang out, aerating soil, preferably in moist shade under rocks, etc. They haven't really done anything destructive here, as far I know...or am I wrong? I'd rather see those fire ants, ear wigs, black widows & hobo spiders gone more than anything. While watering the seedlings after work yesterday, Something crawled up inside my pant leg & bit me on the butt cheek, right where the underwear line is. Probably a fire ant, got a painful, darn welt on my butt cheek now.

Yep! Those bugs! Since I have been trying to garden down here they have been my biggest enemy. I have seen them on the plants eating them. If I hadn't seen them I would blame something else.

Roly polies mostly hide during the day, so they do most of their eating at night. If you have ever had seedlings mysteriously get their stems "chopped" like a mini beaver done it, that was a roly poly.

I planted 17 jalapeno seedlings outside. All of them were eaten by the roly polies. I planted 23 tomato plants outside as well, only about 6 remain. I planted a raspberry bush start, they ate it everytime a leaf came up. They have been the bane of my existence.

Oh no! I have yet to be bit by a fire ant and I would like to keep it that way.

 

[GlicksChicks]

On the side, my chicks won’t eat these. I wonder why? Would help a lot

Neither will mine! I have offered them to my chickens many times and they didn't care for them.

 

[GlicksChicks]

I think it depends. They are not pests here. There are a lot around the foundation of my house & around the chicken coops but everything planted there does great, so they aren't harming my gardening at all. In those areas I have Lamb's Ear, Petunias, Marigolds, Hosta, Mint, Tiger Lilies, shrubs, Black Eyed Susan, Clematis, Nasturtium, Lavender, Hibiscus, Daffodils & Tulips & wildflowers...all are thriving. I see a bunch underneath of large flower pots, but the plants in the pots are doing great. I don't see Roly Poly bugs in the veggie garden area, just a lot of earthworms there. They like moisture & we've got plenty of that. I wonder if they're more of an issue in dry climates, seeking the moisture, maybe going for moisture in roots of plants? I really don't know.

That is what I am thinking. Where I used to live there was no shortage of rain and we never had problems with the roly polies. Now that I am in Texas, where it is pretty dry, they just won't leave my plants alone.

 

[Smokerbill]

Battling another mole that has taken up residence in the tunnel of the one I got last week. Never ends.

I have some mole activity in one of my raised beds. I take a more "live and let live" attitude with the little diggers. They've never really done much damage, other than occasionally tunneling under rows of newly planted seeds, and the seeds usually still come up where they were disturbed.

My take is that the moles' tunneling aerates the soil, plus they excrete fertilizer deep under the garden. They eat grubs that may eventually do damage to plants. To me, that's worth having a few things in the garden being disturbed.

https://plantura.garden/uk/garden-wildlife/moles-in-the-garden

If you have ever had seedlings mysteriously get their stems "chopped" like a mini beaver done it, that was a roly poly.

Or a cutworm.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Or a cutworm.

That could be it too, but from my experience it has always been roly polies. They have become the hardest part of starting a garden in Texas.

 

[chicken opey]

Between the bugs, rolls pollies and cut worms; animals - voles moles mice rats and squirrels; and general health issues (mold, poor soil etc) it really is God’s grace when veggies from garden make it to our mouths!!