GA: SQUASH BUGS!!!!!! MATING AND LAYING EGGS ON EXPOSED ZUKE AND ADULTS FOUND ON NETTING!

Hooooo boy!  Last year I only saw a couple of squash bugs, only on one plant, only once.

This year looks to be a different story!  Found about 4 or 5 mating couples, on the one un-netted zuke and on the netting of several zukes.  And the un-netted zuke had several eggs on the underside.

Sigh!

GA: More sweet corn started in PTs (for succession), and more beans started in PTs (to fill in gaps)

^^^

Where are the scapes?!?!? Garlic not looking very healthy

Oh no!  Why do only 2 of the garlics planted last fall (bought from Ritchie's, so good stuff) have scapes, and those scapes didn't even look normal?  And the leaves of all the garlic looks -- just not great.  It's all been covered for quite a while.

The missed garlic from last year, that sprouted this year, all have beautiful scapes that I harvested today.

Well, que sera sera!

GA: Yikes! Even compost layer is like concrete over the recently planted bean seeds!! I hope they can push through!

Argh!!  I was hoping to avoid the concrete surface issue by putting compost as the top most layer!  I wonder if the compost layer maybe wasn't thick enough (was running low on it)...  Hopefully the beans will be able to push through eventually!

GA: Another carrot patch sowed today using basic method (no gel, no holes)

Here's what I did for this patch (the northmost patch, close to the roadway):

- No prep to the seeds.

- A few days ago loosed the soil and added the free compost.

- Day of scattered random amounts of kelp, mrp, and az.  (No alfalfa)  Used hand to gently mix them in with the soil.

- Added fresh thin layer of the free compost.

- Scattered carrot seeds randomly over the area.

- Covered with a fresh thin layer of the free compost.

- Placed burlap over the area.

- Watered.

Here's hoping this easy peasy method will work.  The first patch with the vermiculite seems to have decent germination too but could be better.

Unfrosted the freezer for the first time

It was very easy.  Put everything into the fridge freezer, took out the baskets, unplugged it, let it thaw, drained it out the bottom (first unscrew the inner plug, then unscrew the outer plug).  Let it dry totally off, then plugged it back in the next day.  It cooled down quickly.

GA: Sweet corn soaked in bowl for ~ an hour, now into PT. Once germinated, will sow.

Also I'm doing a first half now then a second half a week or two later to spread it out a bit.

GA: Beans (pole and bush) soaking overnight, then into soil next day (NO VERMICULITE / NO WAITING FOR GERMINATION BEFORE SOWING)

^^^

GA: Beets R2 started -- this time in paper towels

^^^

GA: PT-started popcorn seeds have now been transplanted

The R2 popcorn seeds that this time I started in paper towels sprouted great in a couple of days and have now been transplanted to fill in the gaps.  This time I put them on and under the GA compost rather than vermiculite.

GA: Oh no! Half the watermelon kaput already!! Too windy/hot?

Oh no!  About half of the watermelon seedlings transplanted yesterday look dead today!  They're all wilty and dead-looking even though it was late evening.  The other ones look good.  I'm guessing maybe yesterday's insane wind + heat was too much for the less strong ones.

Started 3 more Blacktail watermelon seeds tonight but now the pack is empty so I'll buy more.

GA: Using frost cover with clothespins worked well to give some shade to recent transplants

This actually worked quite well and everything stayed on despite crazy wind today.

For some of the groupings of peppers and tomatoes, I wrapped a piece of frost cover (the opaque stuff) around the groupings, using clothespins to anchor them to the tomato cages or support sticks.  Didn't cover the top, just aimed to give most protection to the south side and west side.

Removed them today since the two days of blazing sun are over.  Then used those frost covers as some of the temporary zuke/squash covers.

GA: FOY Colorado Potato Beetle!!

Well that didn't take long!  While transplanting zukes, suddenly I saw a CPB crawling on the soil.  Not sure if s/he had been under the soil and recently emerged or had flown in from elsewhere.

I'll definitely have to keep an eye on the potatoes since even though they were covered since day 1, always a chance CPBs could pop up from under the soil.

Yard almost all planted! Tomatoes, zukes, cukes, zinnias

This year the yard seems a bit sparse!  Having GA helps a ton.

Here's what's in the yard:

- garlic (planted last fall and looking fantastic)

- stevia (x 7, all in pots) (1 is at GA)

- cucumbers (x4)

- tomatoes (x6 including 1 Jasper whose main growing stem is holding on by a thread due to an oopsie; I used painter's tape today to help support the break)

- zucchini (x6 -- two each of Yellow Fin, Golden Glory, and Scallopini)

- Scarlet runner beans (3 square feet, so ~27)

- A few zinnias and coreopsis

Still to plant:

- Basil

- Potatoes from fridge (to put under roof overhang)

- A few more flowers

Yard carrots a total flop -- won't do another round, will just put something else there

Wow, despite all my effort with the vermiculite under/over and the corn starch gel, and covering with burlap, the yard carrots were a complete and total flop.  Not a single carrot.  So, for the first time in many, many years, I'm just not going to grow carrots in the yard.  GA will be the carrot place this year.

I'll theorize that the corn starch gel was too think and the carrots couldn't break through.  (It was a different batch of gel than the GA carrot sowing.)

GA: Transplanted lots of things. ~80% done. Still a few seedlings and seeds to plant.

All seedlings are now transplanted at GA, except for:

- basil (will wait for a few 12-13 degree nights to pass)

- a few more zinnias / coreopsis / f-m-ns

- cucumbers (waiting for the straw arrival this weekend because the cukes will go in that landing spot)

Here are the seeds left to sow:

- beets round 2 (R1 is looking pretty darn sparse)

- bush beans

- pole beans

- buckwheat

- I think that will be it?

(Sowed round 2 carrots today.  Round 1 carrots actually look decent, but still definitely some gaps in coverage.  But way better than the yard which had zero germination rate!!)

Started scarlet runner beans for yard

First soaked then in water for ~6 hours.

Then placed in damp vermiculite in a margarine container.

Once they sprout, I'll put them out in the yard, using the plastic half-cups from last year to keep the pill beetles from devouring them.

(Will start the GA runner beans later.)

GA: Carrots, beets, and popcorn update

Will preface this by saying there has been tons of rain/showers, and when there hasn't been I've gone to water, so I'm pretty sure no seeds have dried out.

Carrots:  See earlier post for sowing method.  Have been under burlap until today.  Today I fully removed the burlap because I think I see some carrot seedlings.  However, I'm not seeing a lot of carrot seedlings......  So I'll probably have to go back and fill in gaps.  My theory is that the corn starch gel was too thick and they got stuck inside.

Beets:  Quite a few have appeared, so removed the burlap.  Hopeful it will be a good showing.

Corn:  No sign of the popcorn yet.  (Haven't sowed the sweet corn yet.)

GA: Red onions are either very slow to start growing or maybe a bust? Other onions doing well

^^^

GA: Compost! It arrived on Thursday; today I put it on plants

My first time getting the free compost at GA.  So far, I like it!  

Yes, there's gravel in parts of it; yes, I found a first small piece of glass -- but it looks nice and rich.

It took up a solid .... "bed" made by the plow.  I'll measure it next time.

Today I put it at the base of all of the already-planted plants -- after putting some leaves on top for the larger plants.  So leaves, then compost to hold down the leaves.

Potatoes, carrots, beets, and clover are the only things that I didn't give any compost to.  Potatoes because they haven't appeared yet; carrots because %$^&*( I'll probably have to re-seed and anyway would be way too small at this point; beets because they're way too small at this point; clover because I won't bother.

So, today these got compost and leaves:

- The few tomatoes, peppers, and ground cherries that are in already.

These got compost only:

- Onions

- Leeks

- The few zinnias, coreopsis, and f-m-n that are in already.