California - What are you doing this month?

sanderson wrote:Audrey,  Do you have a blue colored bladder tank?  Or a galvanized tank with a pressure gauge?  Any drips?  Is the well pump cycling on and off every few minutes (or 2)?   

Rosina,  That's one of the perks to be on a community water system   

Blue bladder tank that was replaced about 3 years ago. However, our water problem is resolved.  It had slowed down drastically the past week.  We looked for leaks, checked the well etc. etc.  We found out that the issue was we have too small of a micron filter on the house.  It was a 2 micron and up here in the mountains it needs to be much larger.  It's supposed to last 3 months and was changed a month ago.  Guess we'll be buying different filter!

Thank goodness it was an easy fix.

Here are some photos of the garden today.  I know, I know, I need to clean it up.

Winter and summer squash on 8' trellises.  There is a large spaghetti squash hanging over the lattice but the sunlight washed it out.  One of 2 Butternuts is visible:

Five cantaloupes:

Eggplants and squash in their new area:

3 Tomatillos in 2 large pots.  Plants are 3' high and 4' wide.  Thanks to the Syrphid flies, they have lanterns:

Sanderson,

That is a really nice garden.  I particularly like your trellis system.  Keep in mind I'm the new little chicken on the block so don't have a lot of experience with plant diseases.  The problems you had with your tomatoes...is that something all gardeners go through?

Please take a look at this picture of my beet leaves.  Does that look like disease, over watering, too late in the summer?  Any ideas what it might be?  Any ideas as to a cure?  Should I just pull out all the beets and toss them?

Mazzy

Mazzy

You've got leaf miners.  Read all of this recent thread

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t18098-something-bad-with-the-spinach#198874

This is the leaf in the lower middle of your picture.
The arrow points to the 'trail' left by this particular type of miner.

Thanks for the information.  The link suggested BT.  Is that the best safe organic pesticide I could use?  Any other suggestions?

Mazzy

My beds have had leaf borers that invade both beets, spinach, and chard and seem to run in cycles. They don't like cold,over-wintering crops much- but go like gang busters in the early summer.You can try to mash the little worms in the leaves by pinching the tiny maggot in it's leaf borrow. Spynosad will deter any re-einfestation, but the ground around the plants need to be treated because the tiny maggot completes it's life cycle in the soil. I wouldn't worry about the beets- they will drop their leaves and start popping out new ones again- just keep watering them. With the spinach and chard, I pull them because once they are invaded by borers the plants seem to trigger a secondary assault by aphids, who move in and take over.

Mazzy, I have used BT when necessary to save the plants, like beets, cabbage, Brussels sprouts.  Using tulle material to keep the egg layer off is the first line of defense, then mechanical removal or squishing or hosing or soapy wash, then the mildest pesticide.  BT, Neem oil and Sluggo Plus are my big guns.

The tomato disease was curly leaf which is transmitted by infected leaf hoppers. It also took out all but 2 tomatillo starts and something else, which I have forgotten. I'm on my 3rd round of tomato plants and they are 3 volunteers that still look pretty good! One is in a very large rose pot! If I can get some more organizing and cleaning done today, I will take a photo later.

Whew!!!  I got some great advise from you guys just in time.  I was about to pull out my flame thrower. 

Mazzy

My granddaughter this morning suggested I jet spray the leaf hopper babies that she could see on the tomato stems. (I sure couldn't see them, but I did it and the steams were a whole lot greener looking.)  Good to have young eyes.  Interesting the role reversal.

We've been reluctant to use Spinosad (Monterrey Green) as we understand that it is not good for the bees.  Anyone know more about this?  Like our bee people?  I think I'll post this question for our bee keepers.

kauairosina wrote:My granddaughter this morning suggested I jet spray the leaf hopper babies that she could see on the tomato stems. (I sure couldn't see them, but I did it and the steams were a whole lot greener looking.)  Good to have young eyes.  Interesting the role reversal.
.

I have yet to "see" a leaf hopper. Oh, to have young eyes again.

Sanderson I wanted to tell you I was at OSH today (on shaw in clovis) and they have their veggies 50% off.  They aren't very pretty looking but if you wanted to try to resurrect some tomato seedlings now is your chance   They will be faster than seeds but will need some TLC.  I bought a brandywine and I'm going to see if I can get it productive.  Since my chicken keeps stealing my tomatoes I'm going to try 1 more plant.

I got my new cucumber, cantaloupe and spaghetti squash seedlings in the ground this morning.  I have 3 watermelon seedlings left but I'm going to give them another week or so in the little cups.  I also haven't prepared their squares yet.  

Here are the 3 pumpkins / winter squash I have pulled off (besides 4 spaghetti squash).  On the left is the one that was in a mislabled seed packet.  I'm thinking it is a variety of Long Island Cheese (it is 13.8 lbs!) but I don't really know.  Any ideas?  The middle is a jack o lantern pumpkin but it is small!  On the right is a cinderella pumpkin aka  Rouge vif d'Etampes.  I have a Marina di Chioggia still on the vine (still growing) and the cinderella plant put on a new baby and that one is about softball sized now.  Funny thing about that one is that it put out 3 female flowers on the same day and I had zero male flowers in my yard.  But one of them took!  So some bee got pollen from somewhere and pollinated my flower. The Long island cheese plant has some female flowers to open in a few days so crossing my fingers for another one miracle baby since I see no males in sight. 

Oh, gosh, that jack-o-lantern is cute! and I just read about the Disney Cinderella pumpkin.

I also have an immaculate conception    fruit, a cantaloupe! Either the lone black bumble bee or the surphyd flies.

Thanks for the OSH alert.

I just tried planting 12 tomato seeds directly into the ground without starting inside first.  Every instruction I've read says to start inside.  Yet "volunteers" start up outside from seed all the time.  What's my chances that I'll be successful with having planted outside?

Mazzy

mazzy wrote:I just tried planting 12 tomato seeds directly into the ground without starting inside first.  Every instruction I've read says to start inside.  Yet "volunteers" start up outside from seed all the time.  What's my chances that I'll be successful with having planted outside?

Mazzy

The problem is not that you will not get good plants, but that the plants will not have time to bloom and ripen before first frost. Most of the varieties in my seed catalog seem to say 80-100 days.   All my early May sprouting volunteers are blooming now and I have high hopes, especially since they all seem to be cherry types.  I was hoping for some of the big ones.  Rooting a sucker from an established plant is another way to get more tomatoes without waiting for seeds.   I am in zone 8 and average first frost is in early Nov. so I have time.  Good luck and maybe be prepared to protect the plants from the first frosts with a hoop house.  Hope it works out.  

Kay

FYI, even green tomatoes will ripen in the window sill if you have to pick early, fried green tomatoes are still a great veggis  and green tomatoes make great dill pickles.   

+1 Tomato plants grow like weeds. Getting red tomatoes is the challenge.

We live in a unique part of Northern California.  Frost generally occurs between Dec 20 and Feb 10.  So we have a long growing season.  If all goes well, the tomato seeds I planted out will have the necessary time to bear fruit.  This year is a big experiment for me.  But there is always fried green tomatoes  :>)

Mazzy

DH is going to OSH today. I will have him pick up 2 sale tomatoes. That will make it 4th round of trying to get tomatoes. Darn, darn. Edit: The only one alive was a cherry.

Mazzy, are you in the "fog belt" or the sunshine belt? First frost in Fresno was Dec 2, 2013, and it wasn't a frost, it was a killer freeze! I'm betting you will get a few red ones, a few blush, and lots of green that you can store and ripen in the window as you need them! Lucky you.

I'll be in Missouri Thursday-Monday. I'm setting up sheers as shades so my potted peppers, tomatillos, borage, carrots, onions and herbs can survive as they can struggle through my absence. Everything will only be watered twice while I'm gone.

I'm in a strange micro climate of El Sobrante.  Usually I pick up the fog but when we have a hot spell I will be 5 degree hotter than the weather report predicts.

Ah, north of Richmond. Now I have a visual.

My DH said, "Next year, you might as well put your beds on that dead area of the grass."      I calmly said that a couple of lawn sprinklers need to be added to the remaining lawn to make sure it gets good coverage.  He agreed.      

That area is 8.1/2' x 9 1/2' and has 2 sprinklers that can be converted to 1/2" tubing.  I'm thinking 2 long beds 8' by 2 1/2."  Or four 2' x 3'  or . . .

I'm in hog heaven.

PS  I do want grass in the back yard.  I love walking bare foot, especially when I hang the laundry under the cover.

Dead grass area:

What a nice back yard!

Thank you. The photos are from last June. Grass is a little worse this year, especially where the new beds will go.

your  beds with trellises are two footers.  We blocked ourselves out from the close squares when we trellised our four foot wide bed.

I will probably be disappearing for about a week or a little more.  Our daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons will be here as they have just left their duty station in Korea where they were for 3 years.  They'll be visiting family for a month and resettling in the Seattle area for his next post.  

This grammy has never gotten to pinch the baby's cheeks and he's going to be 1 on the 25th, so I'll be playing in my garden with the boys, LOL!