As of today...

No, Aliens didn't bother me - too Hollywood. But those long-legged, army bugs - something about them just did a number on me. (And now you all need to do your due diligence and FIND THAT FILM!)

As an aside, it IS interesting that the "real" bug is more scary than anything Hollywierd could make up!

After I got home from the movie, I had to stay up the whole night with every light in the house burning. And all my sisters were still up yapping in the kitchen. No one would come sleep with me...I was mad at them for weeks!

I was punch-drunk I was so tired...but I was terrified and saw creatures every time I dozed off!

Serves me right, huh, Sequee?

I can watch it now, no problem, I think...

This message was edited Jun 20, 2010 12:09 AM

"I think..." LOL!

Funny how we each have our very own "skeeve-zone", isn't it?

Kelly, thanks for the information. I too have torn off leaves, but as I said, they go - very carefully - to the chickens. I didn't use to be able to squish things with my bare hands but I've gotten to where I do, in desperation. I'd rather not. I wouldn't squish a hornworm, though. At least not so far....

Well, I'm not squeamish about squishing things with my bare fingers. I saw "frass" on my tomatoes this morning, and hunted down a few caterpillars. At least they were easy to spot - dark with a couple of yellow-ish stripes. Maybe the wasps will get any I missed. Anyways, the tomatoes are large enough that a few caterpillars are not going to kill them.

LOL I need to go check for 'critters' now. Haven't seen any yet, thankfully, or else I just haven't looked hard enough.

I won't squish hornworms - gotta draw the line somewhere - lol... I usually cut the stem off they are on and drop it in a bucket of water, or if I'm feeling particularly mad at the bug world I'll snip 'em in half with my garden shears.

Sequee, hope you didn't have nightmares last nght;o)

Kelly-We had a much colder and longer winter then normal and the bugs are unbelievable. I'm not squimish at all, all though I do keep an eye out for snakes.

I guess the weird weather all over threw the bugs into high gear - lol...

I have been harvesting Sweet Chocolate Bell peppers from the seeds you sent. Jupiter is also loaded with peppers. I need to check and see what color the Jupiter are supposed to be so I can pick them fully ripe. They are nice sized peppers;o)

Kelly, I use two sticks like chopsticks, and pull the hornworms off that way. Works.

Jupiter is red when ripe. Did I send you Eggplant seeds?

Oh Good Lord just pull them off and squish them. The stick method sounds great but it would take me forever! LOL

You have that many? Those things can be nasty, too. They bite if you hold them in your hand. So I'd rather have a bit of distance between us when I'm trying to pry them off a branch. And I've gotten pretty good at it; so has my granddaughter.

LOL on the hornworms - I just can't touch them unless they are tiny tiny tiny.

Cool - I will wait for Jupiter to turn red then. I have a pepper called Jackpot that another DG friend sent me. Those are the longest biggest peppers I have seen outside a supermarket - lol. They are at least 8" long and are almost as big as my poor plant! Waiting on them to turn yellow.

http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5278/

Nope, you didn't send me any eggplant seeds, probably because I had 3 kinds I was going to grow already;o) Got 'em coming out my ears right now...

Lucky you. I'm not too good at growing eggplant. I should just give up on them since it;s one of the few things that really doesn't taste any different home grown or store bought.

I didn't know tomato worms bite. I just pull them off and squish them.

Eggplant loves our heat. It will produce slowly all summer then kick into high gear in the fall. I usually direct seed them in mid February... We had such a mild winter last year I actually picked eggplant at Christmas before I pulled the plants to put in something else.

I didn't know they bite either - lol. They're just creepy - that's why I don't touch them...

It must be too hot for all of you to be out in your gardens or something -- I just came in for a break, after putting up my pole bean trellis, and here you all are exchanging ideas for squishing various bugs! Funny how we can be happy to see a Monarch caterpillar muching away, or even a swallowtail cat on the dill, but hornworms -- yuck. I don't know if we even have them this far north, I've never yet had one in my garden, although I remember seeing them in lower Michigan as a young'un. No squash bugs to date (in like 30 years) either. You should all move to the upper peninsula!

I'm pretty sure they bite; I think I had some in my hand and got a little nip. But I may be thinking of cutworms. This was last summer.

I finally figured out the eggplant. I raise the seedlings on our upstairs balcony until they're fairly large and stocky, and only then do I put them into the ground. They're a bit too tough for the flea beetles at that point. My eggplants are looking better than they have in years!

It's ninety-four outside, which means it's probably over a hundred in the garden. No way am I going out there right now! I was reading the new Big Green Egg Cookbook that I got DH for Father's Day and thinking about cooking all that yummy garden produce. Usually I do the garden stuff at around six in the morning right after I feed the chickens and check on the chicks.

Currently 97° in the shade - lol - on it's way to 101° today. That's cool for us. But it's too hot to be outside for too long.

My parents live in Maine where I grew up and I sure don't remember all those bugs in our gardens. Aphids maybe and Colorado Potato Beetles, but that's about it.

When you don't have a long season (hot), I would start eggplant inside too. Last year I had flea beetles to beat the band - this year not a one...

I think hornworms are kewl...and, last summer I was visiting a DGer who pulled a large one off his tomato plant with his bare hand. I knew it was going to be my first and last opportunity to hold one with a bodyguard standing by. So, he put it in my bare hand. No biting at all. In fact, he could've won an Oscar to that "playing dead" role!

It also helps if you give them a name. All mine are named "Harry." I'm up to about Harry6. Oh, and remembering that cartoon hornworm from the movie "Madagascar" definitely puts their appetites into perspective. He got a bad rap for being hungry all the time!

I've found that personalizing the garden life helps me deal with the garden life. Just like dealing with real people!

And, yeah, it's much too hot out to be doing anything other than discussing garden bugs...

Gymgirl, ROFL!

Hope you all found a shady spot and a cool beverage today. Right now it's 67 F in my greenhouse...

Going to look for a sweatshirt!

Definitely hot and HUMID icky.
I wish I was in the UP about now, looking for a sweatshirt. I'd much rather put clothes on than take them off.

I'm with you, Jan. I moved up here from Florida and have NEVER regretted it. (Though it TOTALLY ticks me off when we are hotter than FL!)

OK what is "UP"?

Upper Peninsula...

Weedwacher's location.

I KNOW its Weedwackers location I didn't know it meant Upper Peninsula.

I shoulda known you knowd already. I thought we were back to the EP, YP, who's on first?

Never mind - I'll just go back to the garden. My plants love me anyway...


Edited because I can't spell even when it's just 2 letters!

This message was edited Jun 21, 2010 1:51 PM

Now, see, there is something just totally wrong about a cat lounging on top 'a the EBs...

Forgive me, but I have stray-cats-pooping-my-yard issues...

That IS a pretty animal, though.

Sequee: Is that a rooted cutting you're trying to grow into the fall, or is that your spring crop just now taking off?

Well, Jan, you might like it here as well, as we had a high temperature of 70° yesterday, and 48° for the low last night, as I checked the hi/lo thermometer. I willl have to check the hygrometer, but I think the humidity was quite low as well since it was breezy for most of the day.

Usually the weather is quite warm, and at least in the upper 70's. My cool-season veggies are doing great, (broccoli, lettuce, radishes, potatoes, beets and carrots) but the tomatoes and stevia are just sitting there waiting for it to warm up. So nothing is usual about this weather here. On the plus side, with the exception of the mosquitoes and ants, I have sieen little evidence of bugs, though I did have to squish a couple of cutworms while cleaning out the square foot gardens. They were at the very bottom, so I am glad that I cleaned them out though the task was difficult and time-consuming, but the soil now is absolutely wonderful , so I think it will pay off in better veggies.

I just have to look at the positive side however, as if I planted those cool-season veggies in February, it may have been a different story as we had snow this year as late as May, and hail even later in the month. I planted everything quite late since I could not (or would not) due to cold, and wet conditions.

This is the evidence from May 23rd...though the snow was heavier on May 11th. Most times the rains and snowfalls stop towards the end of March

Sequee-I know I SHOULD be able to get two letters correct. I just thought everybody would know what I meant, even if I didn't.

This message was edited Jun 22, 2010 8:52 AM

Oops, sorry -- I keep forgetting not everyone knows UP stands for the Michigan Upper Peninsula...

(sometimes it doesn't even get put on maps, lol)

Sandy

Weedwhacker's a Yooper! And Yooper candy bars are awesome!

ROFL, Stephanie -- now people will be wondering what the heck is a "yooper" !

I think it started as a somewhat derogatory term for the inhabitants of the UP, but yoopers, being somewhat contrary in nature, took it in stride and call themselves that. People in lower Michigan -- who live "below the (Mackinac) bridge" -- are called "trolls" by the yoopers. I'm actually a transplanted troll but I've lived here so long (since 1972) that I guess I've become an honorary yooper!

I agree, the Yooper Bars are delicious -- as is all of the candy made by a factory in Escanaba, called Sayklly's !! (now I need some chocolate...)

I have a cross stitching friend who lives in the UP and she sent me candy bars one time in an exchange we were in. OH MY!! Yummo! I worked with a guy who was from Detroit, a self-admitted troll, and he was actually the first one to clue me into the Yooper/troll thing.

E_ITG, that weather sounds deeeelightful as well.

I was a troll transplant for a little while in '73-74. Our oldest son was born in South HAven. I'd never heard the yooper/troll thing before now.

Now, that I have sons all over the country I'll be visiting Houston and Portland, OR, Annapolis, and around the corner. ^_^

We NEED rain badly. Things are still looking okay in the garden, only cuz I'm, watering.

Yeah, same here, Jan! We've been doing a lot of watering and everything's okay, but it would be great to get some rain.

Jan23 -- it's great to have friends/relatives to visit in different parts of the country (or world!)

;-)