Hello DFW SFGers!

Hello all SFGers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. In case you didn't know it, the DFW are falls in the Lower South region according to the National Gardening Association - http://www.garden.org/regional/report/description/full/10

So, any of you that have SFG questions that need answers or ideas to share please post them here. Nothing like help from people in your own climate. Might be hard for someone in the Pacific Northwest to understand how difficult it can be to grow veggies when it's 105 degrees in July.

I know there are some SFG certified instructors in the DFW area. If so, please introduce yourselves and tell us about your experiences.

As for you newbies and lurkers (those that read but never post), don't be shy. We're all here to learn and there are no stupid questions. Even the most seasoned gardener was once a novice.
- Tim

I am a first time square foot gardener (well, any kind of gardener actually). I've been so proud of how my garden has been growing. I am pretty devestated that I have been finding aphids galore on my plants and what appears to be mites throughout my Mel's mix. The aphids have been attracting ants and I'm getting discouraged. I've used some soapy water several times on the aphids. They seem to love the newly sprouted peas and my eggplants. There are significantly lower amounts of the aphids, but these little buggers that I'm guessing are mites are crawling around everywhere.
Is there a place in the DFW area that sells ladybugs? I'd love to try to introduce them to my new found "friends."
What can I do to get rid of the ants before they try to take up permanent residence?
I would appreciate any help. Thank you!
Jennie

trustingHim wrote:snip ....The aphids have been attracting ants and I'm getting discouraged. I've used some soapy water several times on the aphids. They seem to love the newly sprouted peas and my eggplants. There are significantly lower amounts of the aphids, but these little buggers that I'm guessing are mites are crawling around everywhere.... snip
....What can I do to get rid of the ants before they try to take up permanent residence?
I would appreciate any help. Thank you!
Jennie

Aphids do not "attract" ants. Ants "farm" aphids. Control the ants and you can control the aphids. That said, I have never tried to control the aunts, aphids have been an irritation rather than a problem for me. I am told that arsenic laced sugar stakes that will be fed to the larva and queen (is it called a queen?) which will kill the next generation. I do not know how you feel about that option though.

I do not know what the white bugs are.

Deborah ....who also trusts Him, welcome Jennie.

Hi trustingHim,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm going to repost your post in the General SFG forum so you will get more responses. The only time I had a problem with ants I solved it with Andro (or is it Amdro?) I've never purchased ladybugs but will put out some feelers and see what turns up.

I too would use ladybugs for aphid control so finding a local source would be helpful. In the meantime, you probably already read these Aphid threads, but if not they are:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/general-sfg-talk-f5/aphids-t926.htm?highlight=aphids
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/general-sfg-talk-f5/oh-noaphids-t549.htm?highlight=aphids

I did read those posts already. I was hoping that since you were from my neck of the woods that you might have a solution. I don't remember any answers in those posts about ways to get rid of the ants. I wish I knew what the other bugs were. I've tried to look up images online, and nothing seems to be the right match. They're so tiny I can't take a picture of them.
Thanks for your help.

i have used this around the house to take care of most ant problems we have and down here we have the nasty Fire ants this stuff work awesome but if its going to be outside you might want to cover it with an old plastic cup or something with a hole cut in it to protect it from rain
http://www.lowes.com/pd_188371-54989-300_0_?productId=3018801&Ntt=ant baits&Ntk=i_products&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=ant baits

Hi Trusting Him,

Last year, I had problems with Ants and I sprinkled Cayenne Pepper, but what was most effective was a spray I purchased at H.E.B. in the garden section called Orange Guard Its active ingredient is d-Limonene (orange peel extract)) it worked pretty good on the Ants, I tried it on a few other critters as well. I hope this helps!

In His Grip,
Char....also trusting in Him in All ways. :queen:

If you're still looking for ladybugs - I think Green Mama's on Davis Blvd. in North Richland Hills has them.

Thanks for all of the advice! I think that I'll just have to make a trip to NRH. I'd love to find some ladybugs!
The aphids seem to be under control and the mites don't seem to be doing any damage. I'm trying some cinnamon powder to drive the ants away. I read that they hate the scent of cinnamon. We'll see how it goes.

I'm also thrilled to find fellow believers! Happy Easter all!

We had a few ants in our kitchen, cinnamon in small piles on their paths stopped them within an hour. Just never thought of using it outside. Good find!

Lavender Debs wrote:We had a few ants in our kitchen, cinnamon in small piles on their paths stopped them within an hour. Just never thought of using it outside. Good find!

Cinnamon! We have had a time with ants this year & I'm headed to the cabinet right now.

Good info here!

What about rabbits though? We have quite a few in my neighborhood

My sister lives in Allen and has lots of rabbits too. She doesn't garden. She gave up trying because of the critters. I wish I had a solution for you. I guess that you would need to build the cages out of chicken wire like Mel suggests in the book. I hope that you can get the best of them.

By the way, the cinnamon didn't work in my case. The ants were too far ahead of me. They were fire ants. We also had odorous ants, argentine ants, and carpenter ants around the perimeter of our house! Due to the infestation, we had a family friend, who is a pest control specialist, come and treat for us. He used Termidor, which is non-systemic, so it shouldn't get into the plants' systems. I so wanted to grow everything organically, so it was a huge disappointment to have to spray them. So far, the ants seem to be gone, but those pesky aphids are still at it. Johnny told us that we do have spider mites. Now that I know what they are, I'll have a better chance at controlling them. (hopefully anyway)

Who ever said that gardening would be easy? It's all part of the game. Every stumbling block leads to knowledge. I WON'T let this get me down!

Good luck to the rest of you!

MikeN wrote:Good info here!
What about rabbits though? We have quite a few in my neighborhood

Dog? Gun? Call Elmer Fudd? I agree with trustingHim that a cage may be the way to go if dogs and shotguns aren't options.

My yard is patrolled by two tiny dogs that bark at all who enter.

... This is the first time I've seen you in the Forum Mike. Welcome, and how long have you been SFGing?

Well its been a couple of weeks and I think i'm doing great with the garden. It just starting to sprout but I'm getting excited. Red Onions and Yellow Onions havent sprouted yet nor has the Lettce. I still have a couple of things not sprout yet. I'm trying to be patient. On good side my mother has started her own SFG and also my Aunt. Also In Zone 8 is it possible to grow year around? I heard that during the cooler weather a cool idea that use a tent and cut out the bottom to protect their plants. heres a link to my blog of pictures of my SFG
http://livingpassionate.blogspot.com

newbieplanter wrote:Well its been a couple of weeks and I think i'm doing great with the garden. It just starting to sprout but I'm getting excited. Red Onions and Yellow Onions havent sprouted yet nor has the Lettce. I still have a couple of things not sprout yet. I'm trying to be patient. On good side my mother has started her own SFG and also my Aunt. Also In Zone 8 is it possible to grow year around? I heard that during the cooler weather a cool idea that use a tent and cut out the bottom to protect their plants. heres a link to my blog of pictures of my SFG
http://livingpassionate.blogspot.com

Congratulations on your success. Glad your SFG is doing well. As for growing year-round in Zone 8 my experience has been that it's tough to do anything in the winter without a greenhouse. Depending on the microclimate of your yard you might be able to get by with just a cold frame / cool frame but I've never bothered to try. Freezing cold is freezing cold and a sheet of plastic can only do so much in January. Other than the dead of winter however you can plant spring, summer, and fall.

I might try, your blog look's awesome. I added you as a follower. I guess I get confused on when to plant for the seasons. I know I started late for the spring. But at the rate my garden going its gonna go thur the summer. I know I read to plant lettce every couple of weeks but my lettce hasnt even started sprouted?!

timwardell wrote:
Dog? Gun? Call Elmer Fudd? I agree with trustingHim that a cage may be the way to go if dogs and shotguns aren't options.

My yard is patrolled by two tiny dogs that bark at all who enter.

... This is the first time I've seen you in the Forum Mike. Welcome, and how long have you been SFGing?

We have a dog, but we are far from leaving him outside all the time. Wonder how raising the garden a bit would help keep them out?

Yes, newbie here Haven't SFG'd at all just yet... currently researching, etc. Would love to know what items seem to grow well here in the DFW area however.

For those newbies / first time gardeners out there I strongly suggest looking up your local county extension office. They can be a great resource for specific gardening information for your area. For example, the Collin County office - which includes McKinney, Frisco, & Allen - has some great resources including a link to their Master Gardener site which has a planting guide for regional gardeners - what to plant when, recommended varieties, etc.

You can find many useful links in the blog entry I wrote about this:
http://www.timsbackyard.com/2010/03/finding-your-usda-zone_07.html
Check out the "Quick Links" section at the bottom of the page.
Hope this helps!

I have had good luck controlling aphids using Liquid Seaweed spray. It is an organic foliar fertilizer, but controls aphids (along with some other buggers) pretty well, too - make sure you spray the undersides of the leaves.

Someone told me at North Haven Gardens (my FAVORITE nursery and I live only about a mile from Green Mama's, they're my 2nd favorite) that heavy applications of worm castings will get rid of aphids. I haven't tried this yet.

I was able to grow lettuce, carrots, beets and broccoli raab in the cold frame this winter. Lettuce and carrots did the best.

Sharon

If only worm castings weren't so expensive...
That would be nice. Extra nutrients in the soil plus aphid control- a double whammy!

newbieplanter wrote:Also In Zone 8 is it possible to grow year around?

for sure! Leafy greens, broccoli, etc will grow all winter (most years)

Refer to _local_ planting calendars made by experienced people. I have a collection of them on northtexasvegetablegardeners.com (can't post a link--- forum won't let me do that yet) --click on Citizen Gardener, then resources, then planting calendars link....

timwardell wrote:You can find many useful links in the blog entry I wrote about this:
....
Check out the "Quick Links" section at the bottom of the page.
Hope this helps!

Tim, the website doesn't seem to work? Temporary issue?

kb5won and MikeN to the forum
for adding a link go to the link's web page(in another window) copy the address(first highlight the address then hit ctrl+"c") then come back to this "post" window then ctrl+"v". It will not look like a link till you "send" the link. I usually "preview" the post to make sure all the links and pictures come out right before posting.
Here is how to post a picture already on your PC https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t129-how-to-post-a-picture-located-on-your-computer
opps sorry trustingHim I did not mean to leave you out with the ; I had not read the first page. Mike----- also "trusting Him"