We came from "feeding the soil first," over here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1029448/
feeding the soil first - PART 2
Linda, thanks! It was taking too long to go down the whole thread to be able to read the new ones, this definetely helps.
Well, I have to say everythings looks fine, lettuce, broccoli and such.
I did go to Lowes today and bought the stuff to make hoop house. The pvc pipe is in place, and plastic is cut to size, I also bought some platic clamps to hold the plastic in place, thankfully I think it is not going to freeze tonight so no need to set it up just yet, but now it will be a lot easier to cover the plants than before.
Yes hornworms are kind of cute but I still have to take them off with gloves when I see one, except the ones that are very small, those ones I don't mind grabbing with my bear hands. I usually carry a glass of salty water with me and start popping them in the solution, then I flush them in the toilet.
I do not mind worms so much but the stink bugs or assasin bugs really gives me the creeps, I so hope not to get any this year they can really do a lot of damage and almost nothing can kill them.
Carminator1,
Uh, you've never "FLICKED A BIC?" Get yourself a long Bic fireplace lighter and when you see those nymphs, either tap that tomato and mash em in the palm of your hand (easiest for the young ones), or, if it's a larger mature stinkbug, sneak up behind it and flick your Bic under his butt.
At the least you'll burn off some of his wings, and he'll not fly again to your tomato plants. They don't crawl real well. But that doesn't matter, cause if they've fallen to the ground and CAN'T fly, some predator will be having a nice Stinkbug steak for dinner!
^^_^^_^^_^^
LOL! that's very funny I'll have to remember that. Right now I have a spider mite problem so I am either trying to shake them off of the plants or spraying with neem oil, I really hope the frost killed them as well, they are so tinny that they are very difficult to controll.
I know they are only bugs, but I assume they can feel pain, so when I kill one, I do it as quickly, and as painlessly as possible.
I actually don't feel a lot of sympathy for the bad bugs expecially when I know that they are devouring my plants that I worked so hard to grow, it is either them or me. I do love good bugs though such as bees and compost worms, and I wish I had more night crawlers on my raise beds, the only thing I seem to find when I dig a little bit on the dirt is cuttleworms or ants, and I do have tons of organic material for the good guys to eat so why in the world cant't I find a single good worm? Is it because of the cold?
Carminator1,
The worms don't eat your good stuff -- they eat the stuff that EATS your good stuff -- namely, the microorganisms. So, the more your organic material is broken down for the microorganisms to munch on, the more your worms will munch on those microorganisms. I usually keep my veggie peels in a bucket to let it break down into a slushy mess and when I'm ready to feed my compost pile I pull a trench down the center of my pile and pour a good measure of slushy stuff, then cover my trench back up so the scavengers don't get a whiff of what's under the dirt.
Voila!
Also, ask your neighbors who have worms if they'd be willing to share a few. Throw em in your pile and keep it fed, moist, and turn it every once in a pink moon. If your worms are happy with the meals and conditions, they'll start setting up house.
Godspeed and Good Harvest!
Linda
Assassin bugs are the good guys, aren't they? They eat other bugs, so they help keep control of the bad bug population. They're about the only thing that will eat Japanese beetles. I know it's true because I watched them eat them!
I took a picture of some unknown (to me) nymphs last summer, and suunto in the Bug ID forum identified them as wheel bugs. It was fun to look out for them over the summer and watch them change. Seems like it took forever for them to get the wheel, though.
They do eat bees, which is unfortunate. I kept moving them from the sunflowers to the pole beans, which were infested with JBs.
We had a huge hatch of assasin bugs a couple of years ago and they were everywhere. Had one sting me in the index finger with that very long proboscis and the finger tip nearly double in size in just a few mintues. Possibly and alergic reaction, but I would advise care in handling them. They didn't get their name for nothing.
Yeah, they're said to have a painful bite. I guess you found that out first hand! They do inject a toxin, so I'm sure that made it even more painful. Bugs are so gross but so fascinating.
Gymgirl, thank you for the explanation, I was not sure what the worms ate, but if this is the truth I have to say that my raise beds are filled with microorganisms expecially since I've been making worm compost tea every couple of weeks and watering my veggies with it, the compost tea is supposed to have tons of microorganisms, plus my second raise bed is part home compost and part compost bought in the store. Maybe the wormies are there but I guess I jus can't see them.
dividedsky I think you are right I think assasin bugs are good for the garden but I still would not want to get stung by one. I think I was thinking of this ones, this wonderful bugs destroyed my beautiful tomatoes a couple of years ago, at the time I panicked and did not do anything so I lost my whole crop, this time I will not give my tomatoes up that easily.
Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww carminator! Those are some creepy crawlies - lol...
Carmen that herd of bugs looks to be Stinkbug nymphs. Assassin bugs usually are found by themselves. They don't travel in groups. The palm slap or the Bic would've kept that population in check. Buy a box of rubber gloves for this upcoming season! Linda.
Aaah, squash bugs. I have a feeling I'll have quite a few to deal with next season.
Yep, those are Stinkbug nymphs!
Oops. I saw stink and read squash. Sorry.
Yall. Check this out...and, don't hate...appreciate...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk5RHImxFaY&NR=1
Linda are these related to the Stinkbugs the grey looking ones. I sure hope I don't get these here in Mobile. The picture was from about 4 years ago, I used to live in a small townhouse in pensacola FL with a horrible yard, hardly any sun. Do you recomend any organic pesticide for these just in case they get out of hand.
The video is great, I tried to see if he had more videos but the you tube would not let me. He's got the same size raise beds that I do, except mine have double the height. The hop house looks great also.
I have to say I love gardening in raise beds but there is always a little drawback, yesterday I was looking at baker creeks new magazine and they had a beautiful watermelon called orangelo, the ones with orange inside instead of red, the only problem is that they get pretty big so in a raise bed they would take a lot of room and not be worth the effort.
I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Start cooking some of the wonderful veggies you've been growing!
I hope you all have a merry good Christmas, safe, warm and well fed.
Merry Christmas!
God Bless you, one and all! Merry Christmas!
I thought I might post a picture of what I got today from my garden, some really nice broccoli di rabe and some bock choi( thank you twiggy). It's been really cold these last couple of nights so I've been covering my beds at night, I belive it is going to be below 32's for a week or so, so better be safe than sorry.
I also have a little question only one of my broccoli plants have a little yellowish tones on the leaves, the others are fine, I was wondering if this is weather related of if this particular broccoli has some disease or maybe some deficeincy? Here is a picture.
Here is another one of my healthy broccoli.
Gymgirl why you post that ? Is that your plot?
Ratfood,
Did I do something offensive? I know we're all trying for the best possible outcomes with our sq. ft. and raised bed veggie gardening, so when I saw this I thought it would be helpful to some folks. ^^_^^
Didn't mean any harm...
As a token of my contrition, I offer the following link. ♪♪♫♫^^_^^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdQlANfwUo&NR=1
Oooo aaaah! Maybe one of these days I'll be able to do something like that!
I'd have to do it with more expensive materials, though. I read somewhere that PVC isn't acceptable for organic practices.
We still have freezing temps here, so no gardening for me for awhile. The herbs under lights are doing well, though. And I just put four small pots with lettuce seeds in there as well.
Now that is a nice, simple irrigation system! (wonder why I didn't think of that myself...) I wonder how long you could make the pipe and still have water coming out the far end ? Looks like it could be useful in the greenhouse, maybe on a hose timer. Just what I need, one more project!
Linda it looks like a really cool system the only thing is, wouldn't a soaker hose work better, for what I've been reading the slower drip of a soaker hose makes the water penetrate the ground even deeper than just regular watering or even pipes, therefore making the root structure grow down and deeper, also the only thing that gets watered is the ground underneath the plants and not the leaves or foliage preventing disease as well.
Can I just say that when it's been hotter 'n hades outside for days on end and your ground is cracked and parched, even the slow drip of a soaker hose doesn't penetrate the ground!
DH doesn't like using PVC for anything outside because it gets brittle and breaks. He prefers using AC conduit.
The guy in the SFG video is from the SOUTH! Listen to that accent! LOL
Hey sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was wondering if that was your backyard!
Quote from Gymgirl :
Ratfood,
Did I do something offensive? I know we're all trying for the best possible outcomes with our sq. ft. and raised bed veggie gardening, so when I saw this I thought it would be helpful to some folks. ^^_^^
Didn't mean any harm...
As a token of my contrition, I offer the following link. ♪♪♫♫^^_^^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdQlANfwUo&NR=1
RATFOOD - our Linda wishes it was her backyard - lol... Wish it was mine too☺
I know, it would be nice to see some results, some veggies.
But it sure is best and efficient, huh?
Oh yes I really think it is very efficient and very nice laid out. By the way have any of you checked out this guys videos. username is growingyourgreens. His whole front yard is covered with raise beds and he grows really cool veggies too. I subscribe to all his videos, very informative.
dividesky, can we back up here a moment...What is this about PBC not being acceptable for organic gardening? My take on this is since PVC is a petroleum based product, it would not be acceptable for a watering system? If that is correct, then are you refferring to perforated PVC pipe being used like a soaker hose, or are we talking about connections as well. I'm planning an extensive alteration to my garden watering system and am planning on doing both.
Good question. I'm not sure of the details on that. I think it was that PVC releases harmful chemicals. I'm not sure if it would be acceptable for one purpose over another.
I just now went to OMRI's site http://www.omri.org/ and ran a Materials search on PVC. And it says that PVC isn't allowed (in organic practices) as a mulch. But it doesn't say why or mention any other uses.
Here's another U.S. source for information on what is and isn't allowed in organic practices: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/NOP
I just ran a google search on PVC dangers and glanced through it. Based on that, I don't think I'd use it for a watering system.
Fun Fact: PVC's recycling code is 3. Which might explain why I don't see many 3s.
Edited to say: I'm really sorry to rain on everyone's parade. I wish it weren't true.
This message was edited Jan 15, 2010 9:12 AM