What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

I inject the BT. Sounds crazy but it works! Mix it up and use a larger gauge needle with he big syringes so you can put a lot in mixture start at base do every three inches or to about a foot up. Now I have zucchini etc all summer. I know some people may not be comfortable with this but it works for me. I do it every week or sometime seven more if the SVB is bad that year. Good luck!

I checked my spaghetti squash this afternoon and, sure enough, there are SVB eggs all over it.... I even think I might have a few larva already in it... I'm going to check them tonight with a flashlight. If I find any larva, I'll definitely inject the BT.

I did spray everything really well with a couple of coats of kaolin clay, after also spraying them with horticulture oil. I figure the oil works well for smothering overwintering eggs, why wouldn't it work against SVB eggs? Of course, I did remove any I could find... The oil was just in case I missed any... I'll continue to check them for larva in the next few days. Plus it's going to rain AGAIN next week so I'll have to redo the kaolin clay afterwards...

 

[Sylvester017]

Hey! All you talking about your gardens & trees! Pictures If you can plz! plz! They say a 1000 words!

The volunteer plant that sprouted in the garden bed got transplanted by DH to a container & he's pretty sure now it's a cuke ~ what variety, who knows? Either Japanese Palace King or Sweet Success from last yr.

May 24

May 31

His potted Basil is thriving so he better start cooking w/ it soon!

 

[cj2024]

Anybody use paper bags on fruit? They claim it drys out after a rain and is fine
View attachment 4137662

I used to use paper bags on tomatoes before I discovered nylon fruit bags.

 

[TJAnonymous]

This morning I woke up with a sore throat. I haven't had a sore throat in several years so I was a little surprised, but I've had a couple of family members battling some illness recently so I figured it likely came from one of them. Anyway, I had collected some chamomile flowers this past week which I was drying. I made some green tea, added some of the chamomile and some honeysuckle cordial. It was sooooooo yummy! And my sore throat was gone by the time I finished the cup!

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Got the cattle panel cut up. Hopefully I’ll get to the herbs tomorrow, today was all rain!

 

[chickengr]

my mother weeded my small garden then we transplanted a few strawberry plants and sowed some bush beans between strawberries. after that I transplanted feher bell peppers (last seeds as they don't sell them anymore).

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

after that I transplanted feher bell peppers (last seeds as they don't sell them anymore).

You don’t save seeds or are they a hybrid variety?

 

[chicken opey]

I believe the tomatoes know when you are waiting for them to ripen.
When you don’t need them 200 ripen at once
This coming Monday and Tuesday I will be able to get in my garden!

 

[Nym]

These pokers are heading for the sky!

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

Sooooo.... Since the BT is unlikely to work on SVB larva, I've moved on to experimenting with another option... I sprayed the stems, stalks, and underside of leaves with All Season Horticultural oil (i.e. Mineral oil) and then coated the stems and stalks with kaolin clay.

My HOPE is that the horticulture oil will smother any eggs that I failed to find... And the kaolin clay slathered on the stems (adhering with help from the oil) will deter SVB from laying any more eggs.

While I was out there, an SVB was determinedly and furiously laying eggs on sections I hadn't gotten to yet... I tried spraying her away but she was very quick. I did find 2 or 3 squash bugs which I ended. I will be checking on my plants frequently to see if this new plan is working at all...

I have a different area where I have 2 more zucchini plants next to some spaghetti squash growing on a trellis... I haven't yet gone out to check that area over for SVB or squash bugs. It might be harder to treat because of the trellis...

Oh! Almost forgot... I read that you can go out at night and shine a flashlight into your stems to locate SVB larva inside. Anyone ever done that?

I haven't done that but have taken a razor where I see a small hole, I go up and inch split and peek..if I see one I run a needle through it. I went to war with them a couple years ago and I do this and inject. I hope your oil works! Would love another "tool" in the toolbox of fighting those things.