The 2019 Gardening Thread.

[MoochNNoodles]

Has anyone heard of using Kaolin clay for bugs? I think that's what the orchard uses. It leaves a thin white powdery coat but its supposed to be safe.

 

[foxxycat]

For some reason it won't upload the original picture.

The hostas are all blooming. The rain has made everything lean over but it's good to get some rain finally. It's been about 10 days since we got a good soaking rain.

 

[foxxycat]

Has anyone heard of using Kaolin clay for bugs? I think that's what the orchard uses. It leaves a thin white powdery coat but its supposed to be safe.

Sounds like the same idea as DE diatomaceous earth. I have to look it up.

Edit-interesting..putting that on my Amazon order. I think that will work to keep beetles off the plants.

 

[foxxycat]

Ok found it on Amazon

Cheaper than walmart and fast shipping.

Says to mix it in your sprayer. Ive got that converter nozzle thing. Will have to figure out how to mix it or just mix it in watering can and dump on that way. It probably mixes better with hot water first so will make up a gallon jug of it mixed then dilute it with water after.


Thanks for mentioning this MoochNNoodles

 

[GaryT]

The tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, and it looks like we are going to have lots and lots of them.View attachment 293627 And here is what the Japanese beetles have done, even with the traps in place.

the traps do NOT work! They bring more into your yard. The attractant travels farther than your yard and calls them in. With traps, you will never win the battle

 

[NY cat man]

I guess the trick is to put the traps as far as possible away on the downwind side of the garden to intercept the bugs before they get to the good stuff. I switched out the bags this morning because there were so many bugs in them, and at least I thinned the herd a bit. Also, we had our first home-grown tomatoes today, and there is still what looks like hundreds remaining on the vines.

 

[rubysmama]

And here is what the Japanese beetles have done, even with the traps in place.

How horrible. I just noticed today one of my sunflowers is looking a bit chewed. Hopefully whatever was eating it won't be back for the others.

rubysmama i guess it is..dont live in the city but in a community. Our yardsare larger than the new construction homes of only .18 acres. My particular lot is one of the largest ones. We just branched out in common land which was just getting overgrown anyways.

My house is in an older suburb, so I have a larger lot than new construction, but would love to have enough space to really divide the property up and create garden rooms, including a secret garden.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Ok found it on AmazonView attachment 293642

Cheaper than walmart and fast shipping.

Says to mix it in your sprayer. Ive got that converter nozzle thing. Will have to figure out how to mix it or just mix it in watering can and dump on that way. It probably mixes better with hot water first so will make up a gallon jug of it mixed then dilute it with water after.


Thanks for mentioning this MoochNNoodles

I ordered the exact same one. I'm praying it works! I need to go find my sprayer but I think a spray bottle might work in a pinch for a small area.

My house is in an older suburb, so I have a larger lot than new construction, but would love to have enough space to really divide the property up and create garden rooms, including a secret garden.

That sounds heavenly!

 

[foxxycat]

Well I planted some more flowers tonight. I also put 5 tomatoes in the ground. I was going to make this area a raised bed, but it's now too late to move the flowers in the way...so raised bed frame will go in this fall.

Will take pictures in the morning. The rain brought mosquitoes and I've got to spray wondercide again to get rid of them.

 

[DreamerRose]

the traps do NOT work! They bring more into your yard. The attractant travels farther than your yard and calls them in. With traps, you will never win the battle

They might do that, but the traps keep them from laying eggs. Next year, you won't have so many beetles.

 

[posiepurrs]

Grub-Away Nematodes - Pest Control from Gardens Alive!
While fairly expensive this product is great! I used it for fleas (larva live in the soil) but it also helps with beetles of just about any kind. It is environmentally safe since it is not a chemical. My treatment lasted for several seasons too so if you factor that in, it isn't as expensive as it sounds.

 

[foxxycat]

Grub-Away Nematodes - Pest Control from Gardens Alive!
While fairly expensive this product is great! I used it for fleas (larva live in the soil) but it also helps with beetles of just about any kind. It is environmentally safe since it is not a chemical. My treatment lasted for several seasons too so if you factor that in, it isn't as expensive as it sounds.

Wonder if these would be ok to apply in the middle of summer. I definately will apply this in the fall. And get those nematodes to kill the ticks. Thanks for posting this..I have noticed these weird tan beetles all over the place-I squish each one I find-they seem to love marigolds. Saw some on my bee balm last night. buggers. I will get one of those attract traps and put it deep in the woods far away from my land-but should help.

 

[posiepurrs]

Just got back from Lowe’s where they have a lot on mark down. I got a 4-5 foot red twig dogwood for $5.00! I was at 3 different stores today and bought plants at each one. I ended up with the dogwood, 2 pots of daisies, 2 different day lilies, an anemone and a huchera.

 

[NY cat man]

I would love to plant something like that, or what I really want- a snowball bush. My problem is that we simply don't have the room for one. When your entire lot is only 50 by 100 feet, you have to pick and choose carefully, and a lot of nice-to-haves go by the wayside out of necessity.

 

[posiepurrs]

I am lucky that I have just under an acre. When we moved in in 1992 there was nothing in the yard- not even a tree. Now if I don’t stop buying/propagating I am going to have to make a new garden. Not sure where the red twig dogwood will go yet.

 

[NY cat man]

I am lucky that I have just under an acre. When we moved in in 1992 there was nothing in the yard- not even a tree. Now if I don’t stop buying/propagating I am going to have to make a new garden. Not sure where the red twig dogwood will go yet.

Decisions, decisions

 

[foxxycat]

I am lucky that I have just under an acre. When we moved in in 1992 there was nothing in the yard- not even a tree. Now if I don’t stop buying/propagating I am going to have to make a new garden. Not sure where the red twig dogwood will go yet.

Thats how I ended up with I think at last count, 12 separate gardens. Some are only 2x2. Some are 20+ feet long.

Got some pictures of the tire garden and a Honeybee photo bombing the pictures.

Opps it submitted before picture..

The tire garden isn't doing as well. Some of the tires were in too wet dirt so the plants are not happy. I moved a few but now that they are getting bigger, not going to move them anymore. 3 of them are looking soso and deer ate them. .the other 3 are ok. Tomatoes are mowed down so they are growing new leaves. Lol. Next year I will build a fence. This year was just an experiment. Honeybee likes walking along the tires when it's boggy down there.

Standing on the deck. Roma tomatoes are in the rock garden....the tire garden is down below....

Tomatoes in that patio picker. Mountain strain is rhe variety here. I counted 20 full size tomatoes with more coming. There's 4 tomato plants in this box with marigolds.

Got to find out why the leaves are curling. This is watered from underneath. Holds 2 gallons of water. It didnt like it when I kept it full all the time. Leaves turned yellow so now I fill it every other day instead but tomorrow I've got to fill it. It was 90 today. Also we haven't had much rain other than the monsoon we got last week monday night...so maybe that's why it turned yellow. Also there's fertilizer in the center so today I watered the top to help release fertilizer. I may just make up a diluted mixture of the tomato liquid fertilizer that I use on regular plants.

The latest addition. It was dug up in 2010 but since then it's been a weed infested mess. I dug it all up, tossed clumps of dirt and dumped in new dirt from that 3 yards of dirt. I've got about 1 yard left to move. Which will get done when we get cooler weather.

That's the neighbors kitty. Chubs. He loves to be petted but hates to be picked up.

Not a garden pic but Bee staring down Chubs.

Just part of the rock garden that was shown earlier above. This is supposed to be a strawberry bed but these sprang up so I let them grow.

 

[Mia6]

foxxycat Love the pink chair!

This is the only second time I've planted tomatoes. The first time I planted Early Girls and they turned out amazing except Julian, my groundhog, ate almost all the ones that I had planted in a container but I had another plant in he ground,

This time I planted Cherry and they are doing fine. The other plant is Heirloom.
They were planted late because of the rain and the growing time is 80 days so they should be ready about 6 September. Nicole said it would be later than that.
They get a lot of sun. They are just starting to flower and form tiny tomatoes.
Does this sound normal?

 

[NY cat man]

We only bought 2 tomato plants this year, and a good thing it was only 2, as they are ginormous, and loaded with tomatoes- and that without fertilizing. I guess all that prep work I put in on the new planting bed has paid off, because as large as the plants are- and I have pruned them several times now- there have been no signs of wilting or leaf yellowing.

 

[posiepurrs]

We only bought 2 tomato plants this year, and a good thing it was only 2, as they are ginormous, and loaded with tomatoes- and that without fertilizing.

Sounds like you got indeterminate varieties.