What did you do in the garden today?

[Birdsong 82]

I agree I will try just about anything except chemicals to keep those evil things off of my squash and cucumbers. Every year it’s a battle. This year has probably been the best it has been usually the plant is half eaten Before any actual fruit grows on it. This year the attack has just started and it has it gotten too bad but I did plant some things that are considered trap crops just not as big with some various other plants they say that deter them
I used mint , CatMint, petunias and nasturtiums. I think next year I will try the blue Hubbard to

 

[deepbluesea]

I have some old blue hubbard seeds, actually. Probably too late now, but good to know.

She was still looking pitiful when I got home. She's eating and drinking, but her balance is still a bit off and she's all hunched up and miserable-looking. She can move quickly, though, is drinking the probiotic/nutri-drench water, and she mowed down the watermelon and feed I put in front of her, and snuck back behind the others to eat some of the main watermelon when they weren't looking. She put herself to bed at night, too. I didn't see any of her poops last night, but I had to go and pick up my son, so I wasn't out there the whole time.

Her feet are fine, but I do need to check her vent. Poor chickie.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I may have worked late but I need to push myself to stay up this morning. I see other tomato plant leaves showing small signs of the same problem. I got some bone meal so I’m going to spread a small layer of my compost Manure mix between the rows and then add the bone meal

 

[Birdsong 82]

Poor thing. Hate knowing they are sick when they’re so young. Especially when it’s hard not knowing what exactly it could be. Sometimes I wish my animals could tell me like a human what’s wrong

 

[lazy gardener]

If the tissue is more purple than brown, it's related to nutrients. Give them a dose of epsom salts, and perhaps a balanced fertilizer. In spite of my heavy mulching, and use of compost, I also give the plants a kick start of Miracle Gro TYPE of liquid fertilizer. I also give them epsom salt. The dose of ES is 1 tbsp/gal, but amount is not terribly critical. I'd give each plant about 1/2 gallon. You can do it as a foliar feed. Simply saturate the leaves, letting the remainder soak into the soil. I prefer to do it while still cool in the morning so the sun dries the foliage.

If it were blight, the plant tissue would be broken down. Yeah. All the "they say" about tomatoes and potatoes is enough to scare you right out of your socks.

I have never had blighted potatoes. I usually plant potatoes adjacent to tomatoes. I save my potatoes to replant the following year. And, plenty of volunteer potatoes crop up every year. I usually leave them right where they are, and spend the whole season walking around them. I can't figure out why they always volunteer in the paths, instead of the beds where they were planted!

Really, unless your garden is super huge, the idea of crop rotation is pretty much a moot point. You can rotate, and go crazy trying to keep things "according to the "they say" plan. Or you can intercrop like crazy. Or you can just plant stuff where lighting and space works out. I do try to rotate my nitrogen fixers with heavy feeders, and now, I also have to plan rotation for my mushroom spawn.

According to the "they say" folks, my garden should be riddled with disease, especially blight. My take on blight: it's airborne, and if it shows up in your garden, there is little you can do to prevent it. I've had 2 bad blight seasons, as did everyone around me. When blight strikes, remove all infected tissue. Supposedly blight will not survive a hot composting process. But if you do compost diseased plants, I'd do so in black plastic bags. Some one please correct me with an appropriate article pertaining to blight and composting if I'm wrong.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I do not like to compost weeds or plants that I am unfamiliar with. Or no can be invasive. I definitely do crop rotation and actually where I planted them is the brand new area I opened my garden. So that could be the cause of the nutrient deficiency. I actually just gave my bag of Epson salt to a friend who needed it and have it picked any up since then. Store is absolutely nowhere close to me. I do have bone meal and my mix

 

[Birdsong 82]

I did find some aphids on it yesterday. But I don’t think that’s the cause of the problem. Sprayed them down and there was just a couple this morning. A lot less

 

[lazy gardener]

Purple tomato leaves--I think I read somewhere that it's a deficiency in phosphorous. I had it one time on seedlings when I was feeding them a kelp/fish emulsion that was off.

I've got a sick little one. She's hunched over and a little off balance. Still eating and drinking though. I'm wondering if she got into some wet/spoiled feed. With all the rain we've had, I've been coming home to completely flooded feeders. I bring them all in at night to deter creatures, but some she may have pecked up some that spilled and spoiled. She's about eight weeks now; my youngest. A splash marans. I cleaned up everything and got fresh feed, and put nutri-drench in the waterers. Hope that helps, I like her.

Yep, root buds.

It could be, I guess, but I haven't seen any blood in her poop. Nor is anyone else acting sick. I don't want to treat 'em if they don't have it. I'll see what she looks like tonight after I get home. Thanks guys!

It's just something I always have in my fridge for my personal use as I'm really susceptible to yeast overgrowth, but I don't mind sharing. I know some people don't use human probiotics for their chickens because they believe if it's not a poultry specific product, it might be harmful, but I haven't had any trouble from human probiotics with my girls.

I have some old blue hubbard seeds, actually. Probably too late now, but good to know.

She was still looking pitiful when I got home. She's eating and drinking, but her balance is still a bit off and she's all hunched up and miserable-looking. She can move quickly, though, is drinking the probiotic/nutri-drench water, and she mowed down the watermelon and feed I put in front of her, and snuck back behind the others to eat some of the main watermelon when they weren't looking. She put herself to bed at night, too. I didn't see any of her poops last night, but I had to go and pick up my son, so I wasn't out there the whole time.

Her feet are fine, but I do need to check her vent. Poor chickie.

Re: seedlings: my seedlings in the pot often look pathetic b/c I don't fertilize them enough. but they usually perk right up and look wonderful after getting put into the garden. I really need to pay more attention to a fertilization schedule for my seedlings. Organization is not my strong point!

As for the sick chickie. Has it been wet where you are? Coccidiosis does not always present as bloody stool. I've never used medicated feed, nor have I ever had to treat for cocci. I did have some shipped chicks last season that were acting fine put pooping yellow foamy poo. I had neglected to start them on FF when I got them. Within 24 hours of going on the FF, their poos were of color and consistency that would make any Mama proud. I would have absolutely no problem using probiotics meant for human use. Animal products are ridiculously overpriced. Yes, the chicken gut is different than the human gut. But, IMO, the gut will hang onto the bacteria that their system will support, and the others will die out.

If you've had problems with feed getting wet, you might consider switching to FF. By using FF, it's populated with beneficial bacteria and fungi. So a bit of rain water will not cause it to "spoil". I always move any left over feed into the coop at night to prevent issue with free loaders.

 

[igorsMistress]

Composting blighted tomato plants:

http://www.bigblogofgardening.com/should-you-compost-your-blighted-tomato-plants/

 

[Birdsong 82]

I think deep blue sea is having the same problem I am. It’s not a problem with the feet getting wet All the timebut I think where she lives is like where I live right now. There’s been record-breaking rain fall to the point where there’s actually still tons of road closures because of flooding damage or sink holes Or areas that are still flooding. It has been a rough few weeks for the animals and those who own them. But I have always been curious about fermented feed and what it really is all about