Lighting (reference)

Came across this excellent video to understanding what to look for when buying lights.  Various notes while watching the video are below.

Website link:  https://therustedgarden.blogspot.com/2019/12/starting-seeds-indoors-video-series-how.html

Direct video link:  https://youtu.be/z1pM_JfLWhM

He recommends 6500K, with 2500 to 3000 lumens. "Try to get close to 6500K for daylight and well over 2000 lumens (2500-3000), you'll be good to go."

You want 5000 to 6500K. That's what daylight is.

The higher the lumens (3000, 4000, 5000), the 6500K can move down to 5000, 4000.

Lumens is the intensity/brightness of the light.

Make sure it has at least a 2-ft cord, maybe 4-ft cord (so they can be plugged into outlet).  (Without a cord is meant to be hard-wired into ceiling.)

12, 14, 16 hours of daylight.  Have at least 8 hours of darkness.

Get a fixture too.

A couple of specific examples from the video:

Hyper Tough, 4-foot led shop light, with pull chain switch, 250, 45, daylight, 5000 lumens, 45 years of life.  This one doesn't give the kelvin, but it says daylight, which will be ~5000-6500.

Philips Deluxe Daylight High Color Rendering Lamps, 32 watts, 48 inch, T8, 2600 lumens, color temperature 6500k.  Other Ts work too, but when you buy the bulbs, make sure you buy a T8 fixture.

Peas self-sprouting

Noticed a bunch of peas have sprouted near where the peas were this summer.  I wonder if they'll survive winter and grow fully next spring?

First frost was last night

Or at least, there was heavy frost on the grass and everything around.  I pulled almost all the zinnias etc. already, so I don't know for sure but pretty sure.

Planted garlic

Planted the garlic today.  (Was a little late due to being busy with many OT hours at work)

Two kinds:

- German White.  These cloves were nice and big, so I wonder if they'll produce nice big cloves.  13 cloves planted in total.  All are along the front edge of the north wall.

- Duganski.  These cloves were on the smaller size.  ~19 cloves planted in total.  They're in a few places:  Most are along the back edge of the north wall; 2 behind the air conditioner; 1 in in the broken pot; and 3 in each of the terra cotta planters.


Also -- while doing this I found two cloves in the soil that appear (smell) to be garlic too.  I split them apart and put then in the NW corner of the north wall, right next to the compost bin.  They'll get zero sun, nothing else growing there so figured it could be a little experiment to see if they do anything.

Malabar put away and didn't eat any of it :-(

The Malabar spinach grew very well but I never got around to eating any of it, and the leaves had those rusty specks all over them which was a bit off-putting.  So, I removed it, to get ready to dig in the horse manure soon.

Just too much harvest of everything combined with not enough time to cook things due to working 25 hours a day, 8 days a week since late August.

Still has not been frost yet (again) -- and saw praying mantis again today

More cold nights, but the zinnias are still intact so I know it hasn't been frost here yet.

Saw the praying mantis again today, still in that corner.  By later in the afternoon she was hiding / out of sight again.

Also, my hopes are pretty guarded about her eggs hatching.  It seems they lay eggs regardless whether they were fertilized or not.  I would be surprised if she had run into a male to mate with.

Harvested all remaining beets and carrots

Harvested all the remaining beets and carrots, because I want to empty the beds so I can do this once-per-5-or-10-years injection of horse manure + grounded up dried leaves.

Carrots are usually a disappointing harvest, same as this year -- a lot of very short/stubby carrots.  Some nice ones too though.

Beets were good, some huge ones, a lot of nice size and some teeny ones.

Pot potatoes = success!

Emptied out one of the container potatoes today (the experiment started August 4th with a mega-sprouted grocery store potato).

Wow!  More potatoes than I thought!  I nice double handful.  I will definitely try this again next year, with an earlier start / longer season.

This might have been the one in which I put two potatoes.   So, I won't be surprised if the remaining container produces fewer potatoes.

It's nice to not be poking holes into potatoes digging them out with a fork.

I found the praying mantis AND her egg sac!!!!

While starting to put the garden to bed today, wonder of wonders, I found the praying mantis AND her egg sac!!!

First I spotted her, at the very top of the bamboo stake at the sorrel (NE corner).  A few minutes later, I looked downward along the stake, and ------ voila!!!!  The egg sac!

So cool.

I had been worried that in my cleaning up I would have accidentally removed her and/or her sac.

Now, I know exactly where the eggs are so can keep an eye on them next spring! Woo!

Still has not been frost yet

Some cold nights right down to around 0 degrees, but no frost yet.  Zinnias, Malabar, etc., everything still un-touched by frost.

Has been warm fall; now some cold nights, but no frost yet

September was really nice, warm and sunny.

Lately we've had some cooler nights, single digits.  And the forecast now is more seasonal, cooler.

No frost yet...

Lots of ground cherries, making pies

Harvesting lots of ground cherries, yay.

Borers in a butternut and banana!!

Argh, a borer got into the top of one of the nice butternuts, right near the stem.  Removed him/her; provided I eat the squash soon I think it will be fine.

And, a borer got into the stem of one of the banana squash (the stem close to the fruit).  I think it was only one (removed).  Will have to eat this one too sooner than later.

All zucchini and almost all squash plants pulled

Pulled the two remaining zucchini because they were clearly not going to produce anything else.

Pulled the squash except for the vertical vine.  The vines were dead in a lot of spots, including the butternut, not sure if because of the cold, or borers, or something else.

Apples at CM

Peak time for apples at CM! 

Many varieties/trees had already fallen to the ground, but many others will still loaded up in the trees.  I took almost exclusively from the trees, rather than the ground.  A lot in really nice shape!

Brought home a big bag, for apple sauce.

Next year, try going a few weeks earlier than this, to try to catch the earlier ones that had already fallen to the ground today.

Praying mantis in backyard!!!

Jasper found a praying mantis in the backyard!!  He was standing on the back step looking into the window well.  So, curious, I looked to see what might have caught his attention.

It was a huge, brown praying mantis, stuck in a spider web!!

Used a stick to retrieve the mantis, placed him/her on the zinnias.  Took a bunch of photos.  Later I moved him/her in the north back bed, just east of the cucumber trellis where I don't harvest anything and there's probably a nice diversity of critters. 

I've only ever seen a praying mantis once before (while walking dogs in west greenbelt).   So neat!

Hopefully I won't accidentally kill the mantis while moving about in the yard, harvesting, and putting things away... 

Harvested a zucchini today -- and more on the way (slower growing now)

Like the title says.  Neat!

Weather has been really nice, warm sunny days.  Nights go down to ~5 to 10 degrees.

Green zucchini succombed to SVB -- harvested its last zucchini today

Amazing it lasted so long, given I never used any btk or did any intervention at all on this plant.  Harvested the last of its zucchinis today.  I wonder if the ridiculous amount of leaves helped protect it, by making it harder for the moths to land closer to the stem?  Who knows...

So, down to 2 zucchini plants now:  The yellow by the air conditioner (harvested one from this today as well), and the last yellow in the west bed (some small ones on the way, we'll see if they make it).

Reference: Squash vine borer-resistant varities / links

Here are some varieties to try, which are supposed to be resistant to SVB:

• Ronde de Nice summer squash, similar taste to zucchini
• green-striped cushaw
• Canada crookneck
• Trombocino
• Butternut
• article with borer-resistant squashes:  http://uncgarden.web.unc.edu/files/2013/01/Squashing-the-Squash-Vine-Borer-by-Chelsea.pdf
• this article has a long entry with details of most to least attractive to borer: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2106981/squash-vine-borers

Harvested a zucchini on Sep 1st! From a plant that I've not intervened re: SVB!

Wow, my goal of harvesting a zucchini in September was achieved!

Ironically, it came from the green zucchini plant that I never intervened at all re: SVB (no btk etc).  The one by the kitchen door.

Two other zucchini plants are still around, have been harvesting recently although seem to be slowing down.

I've been very busy with work so haven't been monitoring closely anymore, so they might succumb soon.

Harvested the first butternut squash

The one from the vertical structure.  This was the first butternut to set, and the first harvested.

It sure is huge...

What will I do with all this squash!

Butternut vines have signs of SVB trying to get in, but couldn't! Yay!

I've noticed several places along the butternut vines where it looks like a SVB tried to get in, but couldn't make it in beyond half a millimeter or something like that.  Yay!

Pickling website

Good info on quick/refrigerator pickling, including flavour variations to try.

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2019/08/quick-pickled-vegetables.html

Harvested second pink banana squash, but underside has holes

I was sad to see on the second pink banana squash that I harvested, that the underside has some holes in it.

The smallest hole/damage was clearly a SVB -- it was sort of frassy, and featured a tiny dead SVB caterpillar, I guess starved to death after not being able to bore all the way in.

Two larger holes are a mystery, not sure what caused them.

All of the holes are in the section closer to the stem.  So, I will try cutting into it half-way, to see if the other half is usable.

Two cucumber plants wilted/died, don't know why; have harvested ~10-12 cukes total so far

Not sure why the two right-most cucumber plants wilted and died. Not a huge loss, as there's only so much greek pasta salad and pickles I can enjoy.

Hoping the green butternut squashes will finish maturing...

Hmmm, most of the ~9 butternuts that have set/grown are still green.

Only the one supported on the vertical plant looks very close to mature.

The one on the SE corner of the central bed will mature in time, I think.

Maybe the two along the north edge.

But the others are all still SO GREEN.  I hope this is normal, and that first frost will be a ways away... although going down to 8 tonight!

Powdery mildew: Applied a more-diluted baking soda mixture

Today's application:

8 cups water
2 Tbsps baking soda
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Let's see if this works... or, if it's again too strong...

The remaining zucchinis are really starting to get hit with the mildew.

Pulled several zucchini plants

Pulled several zucchini plants / off-shoot vines.  Found one or two small to medium-sized SVB in each, but certainly not an infestation.  Hadn't applied any BTK in several weeks and had stopped monitoring particularly closely other than the main remaining ones.

Still looking great are the one north of the air conditioner, the good one in the west bed, and the green one near the kitchen door which I must say has really come around and produced a nice amount (and is my ONLY green zucchini plant this year, just because none of the other green ones took).

Powdery mildew: Oops -- too strong of a baking soda mixture -- leaves burnt!!

Last night I applied the following baking soda mixture since the apple cider thing hasn't been working.

Well!

Today after work I came home to find the leaves burnt through!  OMG!  On the bright side, it certainly addressed the powdery mildew in those spots! 

This is what I used --
DON'T USE THIS RECIPE BEC IT'S TOO STRONG.
- 4 cups water
- 6 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil


NEXT TIME, try putting at least twice as much water as this, see if that works better:
- 8 cups water
- 6 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Harvested 13 pound jumbo pink banana squash!

Finally decided to harvest the first of the jumbos that had set, in the NW corner.  Weighs in at 13 pounds!

Hoping it will store well since zuke/tomato harvest continues strongly and freezer is verrrry rapidly filling up!

Berry alley: Thimbleberries, blackberries, a few raspberries

Thimbleberries:  Not sure if quite at full peak, but close, had quite a few.  Plenty more on the way, so will try to go back in a couple of weeks.

Blackberries:  Similar as above, though I think it's another week at least before peak.  Learned how to tell the good from the less good:  Give a squeeze -- if it feels juicy, good; if feels firm, leave it be.

Raspberries:  Wow, there were a few raspberries and they were delicious, so flavourful.  The bushes looked different so I wonder if this is a different type that blooms late.

Flies: No flies in berry alley itself, Jasper was fine.  However, some triangle-flies getting to and from there, but not bad at all.

Good potato harvest / curing / storage article

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2019/08/storing-potatoes.html

Potato update (in pots)

The two pots of potatoes started on August 4th are coming along, with nice growth coming in.  I've been nearly-covering the new growth and will continue until reaching the top of the pot, which will probably happen within a week.

Still no idea if there will be enough time for actual potatoes to happen.

Powdery mildew persists despite repeated apple cider vinegar treatments and cutting leaves

As the title says. 

Occasionally removing the worst-affected leaves, and, repeating apple cider vinegar solution applications.  But then a few days later, more leaves look terrible.

Zucchini: Remaining plants doing well; 8 zukes in fridge right now

Might even have some zucchini production beyond Labour Day!  That would possibly be a first for me, certainly in recent years at least.

Lost 2 minor zucchini plants to SVB

Pulled 2 of the minor zucchini plants because their vines were fully done with due to SVBs.

Powdery mildew worsening... applied cider mixture yesterday and today

Powdery mildew worsening... Applied cider mixture yesterday (fresh batch) but today it still seems worse, so re-applied.

The central winter squash have it the worst by far, but some of the zucchinis are also starting.

14 spot lady bird larvae found (beneficial) (ladybug)

Found a 14 spot lady bird larvae today, among the ground cherries.  A type of ladybug.  The internet says they're beneficial.  Yay!

Signs a borer(s) tried, but failed, to get into butternut stem

Noticed one butternut stem with three spots within a few inches, which look to me like a borer tried to get in but failed.  Yay!

Spotted asparagus beetle found in asparagus patch next to compost bin

Spotted aparagus beetle found in asparagus patch next to compost bin.  Red/orange, with black spots, and two long black antennae.  This type of asparagus beetle apparently lays eggs near berries, so will have a look soon.

Powdery mildew has returned and spread

The powdery mildew in the central patch of squash has returned, and is in more leaves, as well as a few zucchini leaves.  So, sprayed more apple cider vinegar solution.  (left-over from original batch)

It rained hard a few minutes after I applied it, so may need to re-apply tomorrow.

Tomato harvest ramping up

Tomato harvest ramping up these days, especially the cherry tomatoes.  Good timing with the cucumbers being ready, enjoying sandwiches and greek salad.

Cucumbers starting to produce well

The cucumbers are finally starting to produce well.  Have harvested 2 so far, and several more nice ones on the way.

Three-lined potato beetles have been breeding and laying more eggs (on ground cherry plants)

Starting about a week or two ago, I started seeing larger numbers of three-lined potato beetles again.  I didn't do anything about it, in the hopes that maybe their breeding season had ended a while ago.

But today I happened to see some babies feeding, and then found a ton of eggs on the undersides of the leaves.

Giant green zucchini missed! Baseball bat!

While inspecting stems for borers, found a baseball bat sized green zucchini I had completely missed!  And another nice sized one next to it!  That's why I like the yellows better -- much easier to see the zucchinis.

Borers found in several zucchini stems!!! Pulled 1 plant & 2 sideshoots; injected btk in most other zucc vines

Oh no!  Despite what I thought was careful inspection over the past few weeks, today I had a closer look because most of the zucchini plants have stopped producing or the new zucchinis are white instead of yellow.

Sure enough, borers confirmed with visual identification in the main vines (low, close to ground) of...:
- one of the useless plants in the west bed that never produced anything and never looked like it was ever going to
- a side-shoot of the southmost one south of the air conditioner
- a side-shoot of the southmost one near the kitchen door

And, when I had a closer look at the other plants that still seem healthy -- borer evidence in their vines too!!!! (also low to the ground)

So, injected btk in the vines of all remaining plants, except the green one near the kitchen door because there are SO many leaves/stems which hamper inspection, and the bits of the stem I can see look fine.

Even the plant that still looks vigorous/productive, right next to the living room door, also had clear borer damage evidence near the ground!  And I had reallllly been monitoring that plant closely since it's been so healthy, wanted to keep it that way.

Now to wait and see if any of these plants manage to make it to first frost.

Zucchini: White instead of yellow means plant failing -- look for SVB

Several of the yellow zucchini plants had their new not-yet-pollinated fruit come in white (or very pale yellow) instead of bright yellow.  After a few weeks of noticing this, I finally figured out it really does mean there's something wrong -- in my case, SVB in the vine.

So, remember this next time, so can investigate sooner.

Have been injecting btk in central squash vines where suspecting borers

As title says.

So far the central patch, and the vertical butternut, look good except for that one jumbo pink banana vinelet that died August 4th.

Powdery mildew update: Apple cider vinegar recipe seems to be working

I applied/re-applied the solution as needed Saturday and Sunday.  Today (Monday), wow, everything looks pretty great.  (Didn't apply any today.)

Carrot harvest started: Nantes and Touchon

Harvested three nice sized carrots.

Did a taste test.

Nantes:  Ok, but not sweet.

Touchon:  Kind of spicy, like a radish.  I liked the Nantes better.

Pea harvest has been ongoing (spring planting)

Still getting a small handful of peas every day or two or three.  Haven't pulled the plants because the vertical butternut are intermingled with them.

Potatoes: Planted sprouted kitchen potatoes -- some in pots, some in ground

As an experiment, planted eating potatoes that had mega-sprouted in the kitchen drawer. 

One pot has two potatoes; one pot has one potato; planted two into the ground along the north wall, east of the cucumbers.

Planted the potatoes intact (didn't cut them into pieces).

Never tried pot potatoes before, plus, it's late in the season but this cost me $0 so why not.  Used the leftover soil from the condo to use in the pots.

Didn't fill the pots up -- just enough to cover the potatoes/buds.  Will fill as the plants grow.

JPB sub-vine lost to SVB!!!! 3 worms found in vines/stems including one with 2 biggest bananas!!! Started BTK. Another moth.

Despite all my vigilance, I missed the damage on one sub-vine until it was too late.  Fortunately, that sub-vine (W side) didn't have any fruit on it.  Removed it.

Unfortunately, that sub-vine joins up to the main vine that leads to the two biggest/oldest banana squash!!!!!!!!  And one of the worms was right in the crook/joint of that sub-vine, so I really had to dig him/her out (which I did -- positive i.d.).  Covered this wound with a bunch of wet soil which I tried to "wrap" onto the area.

Hopefully the fact that the vine has rooted at many places will keep those squash going enough to ripen at least.

Caved and finally went to the store for BTK.  Injected some inside the vines at today's location as well as others that had been issues (SE corner, and SW north of the big squash).

Just as I was finishing up with all of this...  Saw another moth flying around.  Sighhhhhh

Zucchini harvest in full swing; zuke plants looking strong, although production slowing somewhat

Getting lots of things into the freezer now.  Although most of the zucchini plants aren't prolific producers, combined (9 plants! although two haven't produced anything yet) there is a steady flow.

New zukes seem to be slower to come along, but all of the plants are looking healthy and strong so far, although the northmost of the three at the kitchen door still has a gaping wound.

3 more butternut seem to have taken

3 more butternut seem to have taken.  If I'm lucky, I could have several to harvest...

These newest three are here:
- vertical "patch" along the ground vine
- vine that climbed up on the south ground cherry (so look up into the wire cage for it)
- east edge

Powedery mildew on central squash patch (butternut and jumbo pink banana)

This morning, noticed large patches of powdery mildew (I assume that's what it is) on a few leaves.

Will apply apple cider vinegar solution, using my old pump sprayer from misting down Walter many years ago.

Recipe for the powdery mildew brew:

- 5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 gallon water

Don't make it too strong!  And, apply AFTER sun, not before/during, because burns the leaves!


Here are some other recipes I found, but I didn't try these:

Potassium bicarbonate recipe:

- 3 Tbsp potassium bicarbonate (where does one get this?)
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp soap
- 1 gallon water


Neem oil recipe:

- 3 Tbsp neem oil
- 1 gallone water

The jumbo pink banana fruit on the south edge west side seems to have died

The jumbo pink banana fruit on the south edge west side, which I thought had set and had taken off a fair bit, seems to have died -- the end feels hollow.

The only reason I can think of is this is along the same vine that I had to dig into the other day (and again tonight).  I thought it would be ok though, since the plant roots along the vine.

Hmmm...

SVB: Finding more eggs, but haven't found worms yesterday/today

SVB:  Finding more eggs, but haven't found worms yesterday/today.

Yesterday was a cursory inspection but today was nice and detailed.  The only possible thing was there might have been frass/tiny hole right at the junction of a vine at the SE corner.  But it's on the underside of the vine, so very hard to see.  So, didn't do anything about it.  Will check it out in the coming days to see if it progresses.

Hot peppers (forgot to post about these until now)

This year I bought two hot pepper plants, from Hottawa:

- Antilles Red Caribbean
- Bahamian Goat

Unfortunately, I planted them in what ended up completely shady areas overpowered by tomatoes, zinnias, basil, and zucchini, so they hardly grew at all.

However, just the other I day I noticed that they both have a few small peppers growing!  The internet says the Antilles will turn from the current green to orange and then red when ripe; the Bahamian, to peach/orange.

Hopefully something will come of these after all!

Few females opened this morning

Only two females opened this morning, both zucchinis.

Hopefully it's only because there was a rash of females recently, not because the plants have started to die.......... augh

SVB update: Found WORMS in some stems, and in some vines!!!

Oh boy.......... despite all that egg monitoring in recent weeks, some escaped my gaze!

Removed about 5-6 worms today in total.

This includes the following locations (not a comprehensive list):

- central patch:  NW quadrant (base of stem)
- central patch:  SE corner (vine -- two entry points fairly close to each other -- suspected, no visual confirmation)
- air conditioner south side zucchini:  leaf stems (two I think)
- kitchen door zucchini north-most one:  suspected in base of leaf, might have already gone inside (and after inspecting the plant so closely!!)

And others...........

Feeling anxious that all of this will have been for nothing as I'm sure to miss some of them, and I'm not sure how many SVBs it takes to kill a plant...  Wondering if continued vigilance will suffice to save the growing squashes...  If the zucchini goes kaput, oh well, at least I already harvested a relatively decent amount, but the winter squashes, would be so sad to lose them all before any of them are harvestable...

Green stink/shield bug

Found a green stink/shield bug, young in the green/black stage.  Doesn't fly.  Very cute!  Rehomed, just in case.

Took photos of garden from upstairs window

Took photos of garden from upstairs window, now while everything is in full force.  Hopefully the SVB won't destroy it all!

SVB: Found a worm inside bruised leaf stem (central patch)! and removed more eggs

Found a worm inside bruised leaf stem (central patch, so either butternut or pink banana)!  Took photos of the stem to remember what it looks like.  The stem of the leaf looked bruised -- pale green / light brownish/orangish, with frass right there, and the stem was "dented" at that location.  Took the whole stem off but next time should probably just do it as an intact dissection.

Also removed more eggs from various stems -- all in the central patch I believe. 

Saw a SVB moth laying eggs today :-(((((

Saw a SVB moth laying eggs this morning during the morning rounds.  Witnessed her laying eggs (i.e. she wasn't just flying around for the fun of it).

Garlic harvesting is underway (started ~1 week ago)

About a week ago I started harvesting the occasional garlic here and there, several more today.  The cloves look decent -- not huge by any means, and some smaller than others, but healthy-looking.

Butternut: Pollinated the one in the SE area, inward, close to ground cherry plant

Butternut:  Pollinated the one in the SE area, inward, close to ground cherry plant.

Bees galore in the mornings (not bumblebees)

The squashes and zucchinis are abuzz with bees every morning when I do the morning rounds.  They aren't bumblebees, they're much smaller.  Pretty sure they're bees, not wasps.

I assume they are the reason why the males have no pollen left on them.  The pollen tends to have fallen into the bottom of the flower.  So I've been having a harder time doing the pollination, using whatever pollen I can get.  Hopefully the bees are doing it anyway, but I'm continuing, just in case.

Several more butternuts on the way

Wow, after the slow start the butternuts are really rolling in now.  Exciting!

Hopefully the dread pirate SVB won't ruin the day.

Put the vertical butternut into a sling

Put the vertical butternut into a sling, just in case, to help out the vine.

Next year: Grow potatoes in pots

Didn't grow potatoes this year because they haven't done well for me and there wasn't room.  (Except for a few volunteers near the compost, leftover from past years.)  Next year, try growing them in pots.

Very good video:

https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-successfully-grow-potatoes-in-containers/


Some key points from the video:

- choose early varieties (70-90 days)

- minimum pot size of 3 gallons / 10 litres

- ensure pot has good drainage

- don't cut the potatoes; instead, trim all but the strongest 2-3 eyes, then plant intact, eyes up

- cover with 4" soil; once leaves grow 4" above soil, add more soil, leaving tips of plants above ground each time

An onion had leek moth, but no caterpillars found in dissection

One of the onions in the garlic patch clearly had some leek moth eggs/caterpillars hatch and enter the "leave"s.  Pulled the onion, sliced it apart carefully -- and didn't find any caterpillars inside.  Bottom-most stem seemed totally intact.  Re-planted it.

Pollinated the butternut near the giant jumbo

Pollinated the butternut near the giant jumbo.  If it takes, it will be the third butternut.

A cucumber surprise!

Yay, a second cucumber has taken!  Found it by accident.  Will be another week or so before harvestable.

Small black beetles found in squash and cucumber flowers

Argh, yet another insect wanting to eat my cucumbers and squash plants.

Started noticing these a few days ago.  They look the size of flea beetles.  I haven't tested to see if they jump, to see whether they are flea beetles, or something else.

A second butternut appears to have taken

The one right at the SE wooden post of the central patch.  Pollinated it a few days ago, and it's looking very good so far.  Today, it measures 4" tip to tip (excluding flower).  Curious to see how many days it takes to grow and mature, will like to know this for future, for example to know if the ones just appearing now have a chance...

Berry alley seasonal status

Raspberries:  Some normal red raspberries and black raspberries, but not a whole lot.  Some were on the main stretch, others scattered throughout the trails.  The main alley has a bit stretch of what look like off-year bushes -- maybe next year will have lots.

Thimbleberries:  Two!  Just starting.  Many more on the way.  Will come back in a couple of weeks.

Blackberries:  Definitely not ripe yet, but lots on the way along the main alley.

Ground cherries:  Didn't see any plants at all.

Removed 15 SVB eggs, all from central patch

Removed 15 SVB eggs, all from central patch.  Did this by sitting down and just looking, then moving a few feet and repeating.

Didn't see any on zucchini plants.

Fewer cucumber beetles now

Seems to be a lot fewer cucumber beetles now. 

Four zukes hand-pollinated today -- will they all set?

Four zukes hand-pollinated today -- will they all set?

On the main four plants:

- northmost of the three at the kitchen door
- air conditioner south side
- air conditioner north side
- solo by the tomatoes

A lot of gorgeous male flowers in the central patch this morning, mostly without beetles though it was only 6:20am.

Ground cherry update

Central patch:  Both tall and vigorous, forced tall to outgrow the giant squash leaves surrounding them.  The south one continues to be a bit bigger than the north one.  Lots of flowers.  No harvest yet (other than a few sporadic ones in earlier days).  Hoping the shading of the lower leaves/fruit by the squash leaves won't be an issue.

By the compost bin:  A nice size, coming along though not as big as the central patch.  Have harvested a few here and there.

Container:  Growth remains stunted following its initial surge.  Harvested some today.  Not many more fruit/flowers on this one.

Air conditioner:  The smallest of all.  No idea why it didn't thrive. 

Container tomatoes rallying!

On July 4th I posted that all three container tomatoes officially looked terrible.

Now, they're rallying!

- The worst-looking one (in the biggest pot, which has not yet produced anything, whose leaves have all turned mega-purple and which hasn't grown an inch in the past month or so) suddenly has a few flowers.  Not sure if they'll take, but it's a sign of life...

- The cherry, which I re-potted into a slightly larger container about two or three weeks ago now looks great!  The leaves have come back to life, and there is new growth!  Have harvested about 10 cherry tomatoes so far.

- The other one, from which I've harvested two or three tomatoes so far, also seems to be coming back to life.

Only one cucumber has set so far

Jeez, so far only one cucumber has set.  It will be ready in a couple of days.  Actually, this is on par with 2017, when the first cuke harvested was on July 25th.  (Not sure how 2018 went.)

I wonder if they have been more susceptible to the cucumber beetles...

Still lots of cucumber and japanese beetles (relocating them)

I'm out there morning, noon, and night (well, noon only on days off), still finding quite a few cucumber and Japanese beetles.

Next year I will be on those cucumber beetles from day one!

Winter squash update: Butternut and jumbo pink banana

Butternut:  The only fruit that has set so far is a beauty on the vertical frame.  It set a few weeks ago and is looking great so far, though has a ways to grow still.  The central patch one has some promising looking new not-yet-flowered ones on the way, and also one on the SE corner that flowered today, hope it took (I'm pretty sure I helped it out this morning).

Jumbo pink banana:  One huge one!  Wow!  Ginormous!  Very cool.  Also another one that's halfway to hugeness.  Also another one that seemed to have took, but then seems to have stalled out on the NE corner.  Several recently flowered in the past few days, not sure yet if they took.

All zucchini plants have slowed production

Not many more promising-looking juvenile zucchinis around.......................  I hope this isnt' the end for all of them!

Wild raspberries

Wild raspberries don't seem to have had a great year.  Just not a lot out there.  Things look dry and shrivelled.  Some clusters of good berries here and there, though.

The patch behind the mall seems to be on its no-fruit year.  Hopefully next year will be a bumper crop!

SVB found inside zucchini leaf stem!!!!!!!!!! (tiny worm) -- and found another SVB moth in central patch

The nice late start zucchini north of the air conditioner had a tiny SVB worm inside a leaf's stem!!

While inspecting the plant I noticed some moist green bits on a leaf stem, down low close to the main "vine".  So I wiped the most bits away and felt the stem, and it was soft there, and it collapsed under my pressure.  So, I used scissors to cut the leaf off.  Sure enough, there was a tiny SVB worm right near the hole.

It begins.........  the clock is ticking.

Also, around 7:30pm while watering the garden I found a SVB moth hanging around down in the central squash patch.

More three-lined potato beetles (adults)

Have been seeing more three-lined potato beetle adults on the central patch ground cherries the past few days.  Have been relocating them. Haven't seen larvae from this round yet, though it's hard to see the whole plants because of all the squash leaves surrounding them.

Uh oh -- best zucchini plant's new leaves look wrong. SVB damage already?

Uh oh -- best zucchini plant's (the most productive one north of the gas meter) new leaves look wrong.  They look like they're curling inward, not healthy.

SVB damage starting already?  It would be on par with the timing of last year's demise starting...

Looked at the stem but couldn't see a hole, but it's big and twisty and full of cut-off zuke stems, easy to miss.

Another SVB moth seen today

Saw another SVB moth today, sitting on the ground cherry in the central patch.  Boooo.

Cucumber beetles galore

So many of them, mostly on the squashes but also some on the cucumbers.

Noticed the occasional one a few weeks ago.  Hadn't done anything about them until today when I realized they're killing the flowers so there won't be much fruit.  So, now am relocating them.  Harder to catch, but not that hard.

Swallowtail butterfly seen

Saw what I'm pretty sure was a black swallowtail butterfly fluttering around the garden, from one plant to another, staying nowhere longer than a second or two, even the parsley wasn't that interested in.

Japanese beetles in full swing

Japanese beetles have been in full swing the past week or so. 

Their favourites are:

- peas
- beans
- zinnias

They don't seem to be interested in anything else.

Capturing and relocating.

Saw two more SQB moths flying around

Saw two more SQB moths flying around.  Didn't have time to look for more eggs.

Self-seeders

These are some things that have popped up on their own this year:

- a Malabar spinach!!

- tomato plants

- cilantro

- several ground cherries (so far still tiny)

Winter squash fruiting update

Jumbo pink banana:  One definitely took, and it grew quickly at first, but now it seems to have really slowed (stopped?).  Two or three am waiting to see if they took.  A good number of other fruits getting ready to flower.

Butternut:  Will it be a flop crop?  So far, only one that is looking decent:  One the vertical frame; hasn't flowered yet.  Three or four others were very early fizzlers (pre-flowering and while still tiny).  The vines in the central plot are very prolific but nothing looking very promising at this point.

Pea harvest pretty much over

Just a few last peas on the vine to grow a little more, then it will be over.  Vines have started dying.

It was a good harvest.  Scooter enjoyed it too.

SVB eggs!!!! and worm!!!! and mystery hole!!!!!! and 2 more adults!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Argh!!!!!

Spent close to an hour diligently inspecting the zucchinis (mostly the younger, less bushy ones) and parts of the winter squashes, picked off about 20 eggs.  Most of the eggs were on the stems of the leaves.  One or two were on ... a flower; a main vine; a baby zuke.  I don't think any were on leaves.  Removed them.  Most were solo eggs, though there was small spaced out "cluster" of ~5.

Then, I arrive at the old zukes and what do I see:  not one, but two adults flying around, laying more eggs!  At least I was able to have visual confirmation that what I thought were the eggs, were indeed.  They are very tiny, size of a pinhead.  The adults fly around high and low, right to the low stems/vines under all the leaves.  A single adult lays many eggs :-((((((

And, while looking for eggs, I happened to find a tiny worm (on top of a leaf or stem, can't remember which), which I can only imagine is an egg that hatched.

And, noticed an actual hole but no frass, on the solo bigger young zuke near the air conditioner.  Used a knife to slit and try to find a worm, but didn't find one.  Will the plant survive my knife?

Found some good articles:

http://groweat.blogspot.com/2015/07/squash-vine-borer-educational.html

https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/squash-vine-borer-vegetables

https://blackgold.bz/beating-squash-vine-borers/ (good photo of tan frass)

Some varieties that may be less susceptible, for next year (https://homeguides.sfgate.com/squash-resistant-squash-vine-borer-77620.html):

- yellow crookneck

- Waltham butternut

- green-striped cushaw

- hubbard

- cucuzzi

-

Squash vine borer wasp seen among squash!!!!!

Oh no!  Saw an unmistakable squash vine borer wasp flying in and out of the squash today (central patch).  Red/black with those three dots.

I had removed the floating row cover from the other central part several weeks ago,

and,

the zucchinis near the kitchen door had outgrown their floating row cover in the past week or two so the cover had been loosely flying over it with many leaves coming out from under it.

The only benefit I can think of from my late start zucchinis is that I'll be able to much more easily inspect the stem for damage, since those plants are so much smaller / less bushy.

What can I do now for the bigger plants though?  Way too many leaves/stems to inspect for eggs.

Pea harvest in full swing

Pea harvest has been in full swing the past week or so.

Seems to be two different kinds of snap peas:  a lighter green which is less sweet (icicle?) and darker green more sweet (typical sugar snap?).

Container tomatoes officially look terrible

All three of them.  Leaves rusted, yellow-tinged, shrivelly.  Booo.  Even the one in the really big pot.

Two of the three planted tomatoes are looking great.  The other isn't thriving.

Small black/mottled non-jumping beetles found on underside of tomato leaf

Small black/mottled non-jumping beetles found on underside of tomato leaf (one of the potted tomatoes).  Can't figure out what they are.  An equal number of tiny white eggs were also on the underside of this leaf, presumably they hatched from the eggs.  They don't seem to be actually eating the leaf.

A few ground cherries harvested

Have harvested a few ground cherries so far.  Two or three every few days.

Removed floating row cover from west "row" of center bed

Went to adjust the row cover from the west "row" of the center bed, and it broke all over.  Couldn't even hold onto it without it breaking apart.  Pretty sure this was the dollar store variety.  So, just removed it.

For now, still have cover over the eastern central bed, and over the three zukes by the kitchen door.

Found three-lined potato beetle larvae eating ground cherry plants

Aha!  On June 10th I had found a three-lined potato beetle adult and some eggs on a nearby leaf. Today, I happened to notice some chewed leaves on a ground cherry plant, looked closer, and sure enough found several larvae eating leaves.  Found them on several of the plants, particularly the southern central one, and some on the north central one and the one by the compost.  Can't remember if I found any on the other two plants.

While looking for them, also found more eggs on the undersides of leaves.

Relocated all larvae/eggs found.

It's definitely this species, as they clearly were carrying their droppings on their back.  I don't think I've ever seen this type of insect before.

The plants look only minimally affected, should hopefully make a full recovery.

First zucchini harvest

First zucchini harvest of the year:  One nice size yellow zucchini as well as a smaller yellow one that was a bit older but whose growth had stopped.  Both on the same plant, the northern of the three by the kitchen door.

Harvested garlic scapes

Harvested most of the scapes today, and made scape pesto with them.

- scapes
- walnuts
- nutritional yeast
- walnuts
- salt, pepper,
- lemon juice

Just getting over a cold so couldn't taste the full flavour.

Squash plants looking much better

I think all of the squash plants may produce.  Even the wimpiest of the butternut plants are coming around.  The jumbo pink banana plants have always looked good and continue to do so.

The two butternuts uncovered at the vertical structure look fantastic, healthy and vigorous.

Squash bug (NOT borer) found on zucchini

Found a squash bug on the yellow zucchini closest to the step, while peeking under the floating row cover.  Didn't see any eggs but didn't check the entire plant.

Found another leek moth caterpillar/worm on garlic

Found one today, but haven't found any in recent days so hopefully the "season" is almost over. 

Ground cherry flower-snipping update

The only ground cherry that's looking great is the one in the big pot (which I hadn't snipped).  Did not snip it today either, will let it be.

The north one in the central area (which I hadn't snipped) looks pathethic.  So, today I snipped off all of the flowers/immature fruit.

The one next to the air conditioner (which I hadn't snipped) looks pathetic.  So, today I snipped off all of the flowers/immature fruit.

The south one in the central area (which I snipped on May 21st) is only just now starting to look like it will grow -- leaves starting to look darker and coming in more fully.

The one next to the compost (which I snipped on May 21st) is also only just now starting to look a little better. 


------> So:  Regarding my snipping experiment:  Overall, it seems that snipping the fruit/flowers helped promote growth, but not very quickly.  And, the potted one is a huge exception -- it looks fantastic, and I hadn't snipped it.

Scapes coming out on most garlics

Scapes have come out of most of the garlics, though not all.  Still preliminary stages.

Some of the scapes I had to dig into to remove worms.

Harvest: Swiss chard well underway

Have been harvesting the swiss chard since a week or two ago.  The fordhook is still the stronger, more prolific of the two varieties, but the Italian version is catching up and producing nicely as well, just the leaves aren't as big.

Amazing how quickly the plants are ready for the next harvest.

- Mongolian Vegetable-Tofu Stir-Fry
- Noodle Soup
- Salad

Transplanted last zucchinis

Put in the last of the vermiculite zucchinis today.  They looked so strong and good, couldn't bear to get rid of them so tucked them here and there.  Might be a lot of zucchini this year.

Also shuffled around the three out-door plants near the compost bin to put the nicest looking one in the best spot, and kept the other two there as backups for now, just in case.  Oddly all of their root systems looked small despite how good two of the three plants looked.

More garlic worms found today and past occasional days

Found several more leek moth worms in the garlic today as well as occasionally during the past several days.  Some plants are still completely unaffected.  Will see if the affected ones will produce.

Leek moth caterpillsars found in garlic!!!

Oh no!  Armed with the knowledge from yesterday's video, I had a closer look this morning.  Sure enough, about 6 or 7 garlics had the telltale signs, and when I looked closely I found a caterpillar in each.  Relocated them.

Last year a similar thing happened, but later in the season when the scapes were longer, and those plants ended up surviving/producing.  So, fingers crossed.

Good video about leek moth (re: garlic)

Have been looking at garlics daily and haven't noticed anything, though I wasn't sure what I was looking for.  Now having seen this handy video, will know what to look for.

https://slideplayer.com/slide/1739028/

... and a moth

... and then found a moth on the living room patio door (outside).  Not sure what kind:  maybe a clover looper moth? 

Insects -- and eggs -- found today:

Insects found in garden today:


three-lined potato beetle, Lema daturaphila -- found on ground cherry leaf (the potted one) -- and then found two or three "piles" of eggs!  two on the same cherry, one on another.

and

squash bug or stink bug (not sure which) -- can't remember where found

Zinnias not doing particularly well

None of my home-sown zinnias are doing particularly well this year.  Most have flowered, and many are on the way to having new blooms, but they still don't look lush and vibrant.  Maybe the cold spring?  Will see how they fare for the rest of the year.

Floating row cover for all central squashes and the older zukes

Decided to put all, not just half, of the central squash under floating row cover.  Got great nice airy FRC from Lee's today.  Used this also over the zukes to replace the too-thick stuff I had bought from the dollar store this year.

Placed plastic sheets onto east half of central bed

Maybe the presence of the grass is part of the reason the central bed plants don't look very vigorous.  So, cut up the empty bags from recent soil/compost purchases and laid them out, using rocks/pots to weigh them down.  Hoping this will help kill the grass.  Will be interesting to compare to the west bed which I didn't have enough plastic for.

Drilled holes and repotted the long planters

Nothing in the long planters has been thriving, all looking stunted.  I'm sure it's because their soil is so wet -- they don't drain properly the way they were made.

So, repotted them all:
- drilled 8 holes into each (except the first, with chards/parsley, which have only 4 holes)
- put the tray back onto the bottom
- put an inch layer of vermiculite
- then layers of new potting soil from Home Hardware, and mushroom compost, and into some I put back some of the (soaking wet!!) soil

Hopefully they'll perk up now.

Central patch looking kind of meh, but oldest zukes looking great

The central patch plants (butternut squash, pink banana squash, and ground cherries) are all looking kind of meh.  The ground cherries are still quite small -- the one in the pot is looking the best.  The butternut are yellowish and haven't grown very much.  The pink bananas look better than the butternut, more growth and less yellow.

In comparison, the butternut in the main bed also look a little yellow but better.

Today I decided to uncover half of the central squash and see if there will be a difference.

The three oldest zukes by the front door are looking great!  Some tiny yellow zukes have appeared.

Started more zukes -- indoors

The zukes I started outdoors a while back -- one of them disappeared.  The other is growing, slowly, not sure if it will make it (no leaves yet).

So, started a final batch, inside in vermiculite, on heated mat.  Only had yellow left, so sowed 6 in the hopes of two plants.

Cold spring!!!

It has been such a cold and damp spring.  Nothing looks particularly happy except the peas and chard which are doing great.

Snipped the basils to encourage bushier growth

The basils are looking lanky/spindly, not to mention with some trying to go to seed, so I googled and learned it's good to snip the main growing branches throughout the growth of the plant, to encourage bushier growth.

So, I did this to almost all of the plants.

However, for the two potted non-purple purple basils, one I snipped, and the other I didn't, as an experiment to see how they each will do.

Sowed late-start zucchinis

Sowed five yellow zuke seeds in front of the tomatoes and four green zuke seeds by the air conditioner today.  If more than one sprout will then to one of each.  Curious to see if these late starts will be affected by the squash vine borer or not.

Snipped flowers off some of the ground cherries

All of the ground cherries started producing flowers (and some full on berries) while still in pots, several weeks ago.  Today I decided to do a bit of an experiment, by cutting off the flowers from some of the plants and not others, to see if there's any difference in future growth / plant size.

The plants I snipped the flowers from are:
- the south plant in the middle garden
- the plant next to the compost

The plants I did NOT snip the flowers from are:
- the north plant in the middle section
- the plant next to the air conditioner
- the plant in the pot

Malabar spinach transplanted

Finally bought a T-post (at TSC in Rockland) so was able to get that in place with string, then transplant the Malabar.  What a big difference over last year when it was so small, likely due to whatever had stunted everything.  This year the plants look strong and vigorous, so far at least.

Everything is outside

Nothing left inside now.  The only things not yet transplanted are the last shelf which were the "punies" -- a few puny basils, cukes, zuke, and a puny pink banana squash.

Zinnias not true to seed -- unexpected colours etc.

How interesting -- the zinnia seeds I sowed from seeds saved last year are not at all as expected.  I had carefully saved the seeds form each colour/size into their own little bags.  But the results are all over.  Colours are different (e.g. my "favourite" orangish are pink); even size is off, with some of the short-plant seeds coming up as tall as all the others.  (but other shorts were short)

And there's the matter of the mystery plants that came up in a few of the pots I had labelled as zinnias.

The wonders of hybrids!

Transplanted/planted almost everything

Transplanted today:

- butternut squash x 6 (!!) (from packet)
- jumbo pink banana squash x 4 (from packet)
- zucchini x 3 (from packet)
- tomatoes x 3 (the other three I'll give to Ray) (from my 2018-collected seeds)
- cucumbers x ~6 (from packet)
- zinnias x ~25 (from my 2018-collected seeds)
- black-eyed susan x 1 (from my 2018-collected seeds)

Sowed:

- beans (the west-most pole has "Tenderfreen Improved" from foil packet (spotted seeds); the others are the ones I saved from last/past years.
- beets -- to finish up the bed (from packet)
- carrots and beets -- to fill in gaps of no-shows (from packet)
- poppies (alternating "batches" of dark centre and neutral centre -- really should have done this a month ago but kept forgetting) (from my 2018-collected seeds)

Peas recovered from insects

Almost all of the imperiled peas recovered from their insect damage.  Planted their peat pots into the ground today.

Almost everything is outside now

Almost everything is outside now, mostly still in pots waiting to be transplanted.  This includes the tomatoes, zinnias, basil, can't remember what else.

Still inside are the final plantings:  zucchini, pink banana squash, butternut squash, and cucumbers.

Frost advisory for tomorrow morning

Frost advisory for tomorrow morning.  Haven't put sensitive things out yet, so hopefully what's out will be fine.

Same tiny insect found on one of the questionable kitchen zinnias

Noticed that one of the zinnias that's been kept in the kitchen the past week or two in case it was contagious, has started to have stunted leaves once again, in its newest growth.  Had a very close look and sure enough, saw one of those same tiny long white/pale insects on top of one of the leaves.  So, put the plant out with the green bin today.

The other questionable zinnia that's been next to it in the kitchen still looks strong in terms of its new growth.

Removed a shelf from lighting unit

Removed a shelf from the lighting unit and adjusted the heights of the other two shelves, to make more room for the tomatoes etc.

Potted the cucumbers and the various squash, and the purple basil

Potted up the cucumbers (lots sprouted), the zucchini (only 1 green sprouted, and 3 yellow), the butternut squash (~4-5 sprouted), and the jumbo pink banana (2 nice ones sprouted and 1 odd one).  Looking good!

Thai basil already going to seed, so repotted slightly larger

One of the thai basil is already going to seed.  They were in the tiny flexible four-packs.  So, repotted into slightly larger "pots" (the brown joined ones).

Repotted tomatoes into the big black pots

Repotted all 6 tomatoes into the big black pots.  Haven't used those pots in several years, but these tomatoes are looking great and will be much happier in these big pots. 

Found a small flying insect in computer room

Found a small flying insect in the computer room.  Possibly a thrip, i.e. possibly the kind of insect who damaged the plants?

I remember noticing a small flying insect in the computer room about a month or so ago but didn't do anything about it.

My theory is that these are thrips and that they came from the second bag of Pro Mix.  But I'll surely never know.

In the meantime I'm definitely not using any more of the Pro Mix bag.  Might do some kind of test later after everything has been moved safely outside.

All indoor plants looking great

Thank goodness, it seems everything left growing inside hasn't been affected by the insects I found on the stunted zinnias.

Will be running of grow room VERY soon for the tomatoes, and even some of the basil.

Hail!!! But things look good (they were mostly under cover)

Hail and freezing rain today, May 1st!

Last night I covered most of the things up.  A great idea (not mine) was to use pots as covers!  Brilliant!  So I used a bunch of pots, and other things were covered with plastic sheets.

Looks like things are doing ok.  Will leave the pots on tonight since the night will be cool (again).

Most of the April 27th sowings have sprouted

Up:

- cukes (lots!)

- zukes (yellow and green -- only one of each so far)

- butternut squash (several)

- the jumbo pink banana isn't quite up yet, but it looks like one is about to poke up

Sowed more peas because the last round look puny (likely the insect problem)

Sowed more peas today, in the new soil, in two six-pack peat pots.  Each compartment has two seeds, except all of the end ones have 3 seeds each.

The original round that's now in the ground looks good and strong.  But much of the subsequent rounds will probably be garbage because they look terrible / aren't growing, which I assume is due to the same insect problem with some of the zinnias.

Bought new soil

Bought new soil to use for the rest of the indoor planting. This stuff came from Metro.  I can't help but think the insects came from that second bag of Pro Mix.

So, fingers crossed for smooth sailing from here on in!

Tossed the affected zinnias :-(

Decided to play it safe and got ride of the affected zinnias by putting them into the curbside green bin pickup.  Adios... 

On the bright side, everything else is still looking great.

Beets and carrots round 2 sowed

Sowed the rest of the carrot bed (again with two halves, Nantes Scarlet and Touchon, in alphabetical order i.e. Nantes further west of Touchon).

And, sowed the rest of the first row of beets (again with two halves, Cylindra or whatever it's called and Detroit, in alphabetical order i.e. Cylindra further west of Detroit).

Chard and parsley into the ground

Transplanted all of the chard and parsley today, into the ground. 

Fun to have two kinds of chard and see how they'll differ.

Sowed more purple basil

Hmmm, I know I sowed purple basil, but what happened to it?  I think it never germinated.  Or, maybe the mystery four-pack plant is it and since it's a hybrid this came out like this?  But the mystery plant has zero smell to it so that can't possibly be.

So, anyway, sowed more purple basil today.  Way late, but why not try.

Insects found on deformed zinnias!

Well what do you know.  Pulled a couple of the smallest, most stunted zinnias and examined them in my hand, one at a time.  Found a critter on my palm for each of them:  tiny, long-shaped (but itty bitty) pale green or off-white in colour. 

So, I've removed all of the affected-looking plants (zinnias, one chard that looks a smidge suspicious, and one mystery four-pack that I have no idea what I planted and doesn't match any of my other seedlings.  I put all of these downstairs, on the kitchen table.  Will decide later on what to do...

I assume the same situation is the cause for the stunted peas, but haven't checked them out yet.  Guess it will be another paltry pea year, but at least several are looking decent.

What might they be?
- Thrips?  Photos on the internet seem to resemble these the most, but, they don't seem to be flying, and, the damage looks different from some of the photos I'm seeing.
- Broad mites?  But those seem to be football/pudgy-shaped, whereas the insects I found were quite long and skinny (but tiny).
- ??  what else could they be?


Where might they have come from?
- New bag of Pro Mix?  Everything I potted up earlier looks great so far -- it's the newest transplantings that used soil from the new bag that have this issue.  Actually, a few days ago I repotted the second batch of tomatoes -- and placed them on the same shelf as all the other good looking plants --------- will have to keep a close eye.......  I'm wondering if the newest tomato leaves are looking kind of curly....

- From my overwintered thyme/oregano?  But this doesn't seem likely, because those are sitting on the table, whereas the damaged plants were mostly on the uppermost shelves.

Sowed cucumbers, green zucchini, butternut squash, and jumbo pink banana winter squash

Sowed into vermiculite:  cucumbers, green zucchini, yellow zucchini, butternut squash, and jumbo pink banana winter squash. 

Never grew the pink banana squash before, but my Seed Vault multi-package from several years ago included some seeds, and I decided to expand the garden this year, so why not! 

Oh no! Some of the zinnias and peas are runty and weird

I spoke too soon with that last post.  I had vaguely noticed some of the zinnias were small, but they're on the top shelf so I wasn't looking too closely.  Upon closer inspection today, whoa they're very bizarre.  They're not only very small, but their leaves are crinkled and just very mis-shapen.  It's only some of them, though, and it includes some of the ones from last year's seed packet, so it's not a glitch from saving seeds...

And, some of the newer pea sprouts too, look mis-shapen with hardly any leafiness.

What the!!

Interestingly, it was around this time last year, on May 2nd 2018 that I wrote about everything stunted.  However, a major difference this year is that everything else looks awesome, whereas last year nearly everything was majorly stunted.

This year I did not re-use any vermiculite or soil (recycled the used stuff into the backyard beds).  And, I sterilized all containers (bleach water bath) before re-use.  So, that can't be the issue...

Curious to see if this will affect the final sowings which will be done soon (cukes/zukes/squash).

Knock on wood -- everything looks good

So far everything is looking good and normal, no sign of whatever cause everything to be stunted last year.  The only exception is some of the zinnias, some of them are small and puny but I'm not worried about that.

Chard set outside to harden off

Put most of the chard outside to harden off.  (Still in their containers.)  The smaller chards are still inside.

Onions went into the ground today

Like the title says :-)

Peas round one in the ground

The peas had been sitting outside since Wednesday.  They look good.  Put the peat pots in the ground today. 

Sowed beets and carrots (round 1)

Sowed the first round of beets and carrots in the new beet/carrot bed.

Growing two kinds of each this year:

- Beets:  Cylindra Formanova (west square) and Detroit Dark Red (leftover package seeds from before) (square east of the Cylindra)

- Carrots:  Nantes Scarlet (west square) and Touchon (square east of the Nantes) (both are from new seed packets -- didn't use any older seeds due to bad / poor tasting results last year)

Put several seeds into each hole of the square foot spacing so will need thinning if everything takes.

Started more peas

Started 12 more peas today.  Mostly the last of the Aster Lane packet, plus a couple of sugar snap.

Tomorrow will start hardening onions and round-1-peas

Tomorrow I'll set out the onions and the round one peas.  Forecast is for above 0 days and nights.  Sunny tomorrow, then lots of cloud/showers/rain.  But the round one peas are several inches tall now, so time to get them out, and the onions are looking great too.

Started round 3 of peas

Started 12 more pre-soaked peas into peat.  These are the ones from Aster Edibles bought last year.  (The others this year were store-bought typical snap peas.)

Ate the last of last year's garlic today

Had the last two cloves from last year's harvest.  They stored perfectly well just sitting on the counter. 

(I didn't have a huge harvest last year -- just the usual procrastination in finishing it up)

Onions seem to tolerate small pots

The onions are in various size pots, including the smallest little four-packs.  All seem to be happy, doing well.

Pea update, and started more peas

The peas sowed April 7th have mostly come up now, so they're under the lights.  The only room for them is under the old lights.  Still very short, just barely up.  The peat/soil looks good and healthy.  Dug around looking for the no-shows, and they're all actually started, just slow.  So poked a few replacements in those, just in case.

Started another peat flat of peas today, on the bathroom counter again.  Would have started a second flat, but ran out of soil.

(All peas are in peat flats (6x2 type), same as the last year or two due to suspected mole issues)

Indoor over-wintered thyme and oregano doing well

Knock on wood, but the thyme and oregano that I overwintered inside by bringing in their planter and putting it on the table at the window, and that had only natural sunlight until the last few weeks when I started using the grow lights for the other plants, are doing well.  Especially the thyme, looks very happy and smells so nice.

Interestingly I don't seem to have tags for thyme or oregano until this post.  So for the record, these plants are from seeds I started last winter (winter 2018).

Begonias both doing well

Both of the begonias are looking great.  The pink one, which appeared first, has even started having flower buds.  The yellow one, which appeared substantially later, is catching up quickly, great healthy leaves.

Asparagus nowhere to be seen...

No sign of any of last year's asparagus plantings yet, in any of the three beds.  I would have thought they'd be coming up by now... hopefully soon.

New beet/carrot bed prepped; garlic and onions are up, moved some of them

Sunny warm day today, and all the snow in the yard has been melted for a few weeks.  So, got my hands dirty today.

- Prepped the new beet/carrot bed.  Didn't sow anything yet though -- will wait a couple more weeks.

- Garlics are up!  Including not only the ones bought/sowed last fall (of which five are speedy growers whereas most are just little tips), but also -- a bonus one near the hydro meter!  It must be one I accidentally missed last year.  It had four big, healthy looking cloves , each with big, healthy looking green shoots!  So I split up the four cloves and planted them elsewhere since zukes will be going in that bed this year.

- Several onions appearing as well.  Two or three look like grannies that I would think will have seed heads this year.  So, I moved them into a better place.  Some smaller ones here and there throughout the yard, which I also moved.

Favourite zinnias have appeared!

Yay!  How strange that the very day after I dug around finding no signs of life, all of a sudden there are 3-4-5 that sprung up.  But I'll take it!

Oh, and several of the seed-packet zinnias spring up too -- they seem to have better and quicker germination.  Still I prefer my own collected seeds.

Sowed the nice orange-red flower (unknown)

Sowed the nice orange-red flower that was growing in front of the fence last year, from my collected seeds. Not sure what kind of plant it is.

Sowed last year's store-bought zinnia

Given the dreadful germination rate this year from my collected-seed experiment, went ahead today and sowed a bunch of seeds from the "Zinnia Lilliput" packed I had bought last year.  Wonder if these will take better than my collected seeds.

Sowed peas and Malabar spinach

Sowed 10 Malabar spinach (on heat mat -- they're sure to love that)
and 20 peas (on bathroom counter, in case last year's stunting could have been related to dampness of the peat pots / disease).

Favourite zinnias not doing anything :-(

Dug around in my tub of favourite orangey/red zinnias, and no sign of action from any of them.  Sigh.  Will keep them on the heat mat for a few more weeks.

Translated the zinnias that have appeared and will keep those tubs also, hoping for more germination. 

Zinnia germination is slow/sporadic

Not a particularly impressive germination among the zinnias.  None of my favourite red/orange colour have germinated yet... hopefully soon.  Most of the other tubs have only a few sprouts so far.  Oh, they seem to like the heated map (I turned it on for them a few days ago).

Ground cherries appeared

Ah good, the ground cherries have started to appear.  They had me worried there for a bit!

Haven't been using heat mat at all

Just a reminder that I haven't been using the heat mat at all.  Used it for the very first batch of things on February 16th, then not again.  (Just trying to avoid the stunted growth issue from last year... no idea if it could have related somehow to the heat mat)

Where are the ground cherries?

Tomatos appeared several days ago and have since been transplanted, but, no sign yet of the ground cherries...  Haven't used the heat mat at all, maybe they'd prefer more warmth.  Will give it a few more days.

Sowed zinnias

Sowed a bunch of zinnias, all from seeds collected last year, in vermiculite tubs.  This is three weeks earlier than last year when I found the blooms started later than I'd like.

- 12 of my favourite reddish/orange tall
- 12 yellow tall
- 12 light pink tall
- 6 each of red, orange, pink, pink/purple tall, mixed in two tubs
- 10 each of short pink and short yellow

Sowed second round of Italian chard o

Sowed a second round of the Italian brand of chard, since I got only 5 plants out of the first.  Hope to get another 5.  Put this second round into the same container / same vermiculite as the first round.

Sowed tomatoes, ground cherries, basils, black-eyed susans

Sowed in vermiculite, placed under dome but no heat mat:

- tomatoes large (beefsteak?) collected in 2018
- tomatoes medium collected in 2018
- tomatoes cherry collected in 2018

- ground cherries collected in 2018

- thai basil collected in 2018
- normal basil from seed packet bought last year
- purple basil collected in 2018

- black-eyed susans collected in 2018

Potted celery, fordhook chard, and more parsley

Potted:

- celery x 4

- parlsey x ? for total of 5

- fordhook chard x 10

Of note, the fordhook chard germinated ~2 days before the Italian variety appeared.  Will wait a few more days before transplanting the Italian chard.

Paper towel germination test results -- and transplanted some of the parsley volunteers

On March 1st I began a paper towel / sandwich bag germination test.  Stupidly, I stored them in the fridge for the first week or so.  After that they stayed on the kitchen table for the rest of the test.

Results as of today, after which I'm ending the test:

Celery:  80% germination rate

Parsley:  50% germination rate

Since I only have two good looking parsley going, and unsure if the round two parsleys are going to amount to anything, decided to try transplanting some of these parsleys.  So, put four of them into soil, with two per pot and will thin to one per pot later if they take.

Sowed swiss chard -- two varieties -- NO heat mat

Two varieties of chard sown today.  Decided NOT to turn on the heat mat for these, just not necessary.  Simply put the dome over them.

1 - fordhook (from old seed packet) -- 8 seed clusters

2 - something in an Italian package -- the photo on the package has very smooth leaves which is what I want (flat leaves = much easier to see insects), so hopefully this one will have nice smooth leaves -- 8 seed clusters

General update

General update:

All of the current vermiculite pots have sprouted now, although not the best germination rate overall.

Celery:  Several have appeared, so I should be good now for celery

Parsley:  Two from the original sowing are now in soil and look to be doing ok.  Two from the second sowing have appeared, but are still tiny and look very wimpy.  Haven't repotted them yet.  Time will tell.

Onions:  Lots of them, looking great, which I potted into soil about a week ago.  Some I put into smaller containers, and some I put four into a single container, so it will be interesting to see if they all do well.

Lupins:  Only one of the lupins sprouted, and is looking good.  (It was sowed in soil, so hasn't been repotted.)

Tuberous begonias:  The one that sprouted (the pink one, sigh) looks great -- hope it will slow down its growth though!  I just now dug into the other tuberous begonia, thinking it was a dud, but found a sprout growth thing.  So, covered it back up.  Hopefully it will turn into something, especially as I prefer the yellow.

Sowed more parsley and celery

Sowed more parsley and celery.  This is because so far only two of the parsley first round have appeared, and they don't look well.  And, I think my celery first round will be a total flop because I think the seeds got all tossed about and ended up deeper in the vermiculate due to some clumsy watering.

Paper towel germination test

For the first time, decided to try the paper towel test.
-  Moisten a paper towel.
-  Place 10 seeds on it. 
-  Fold it up.
-  Put it in a ziploc sandwich bag.
- [edited to add:  Place it in a warm spot, like the kitchen table (not in the fridge).]
-  A week or two or three later, count how many have germinated.

Did this with celery and parsley.

Onions have appeared, and one tuberous begonia

Many onions have appeared, and one of the tuberous begonias.  This happened within the past few days or so.

Still no sign of tuberous begonias

Still no sign of tuberous begonias, but that seems to be normal.  In 2017 it took 3 weeks to see growth; in 2018 it was closer to 6 weeks.

Started celery, parsley, onions, lupins

Started these today:

- celery ("Tall Utah Improved" from foil pack)

- parsley ("Single Hardy Italian" - heirloom)

- onions (collected from last year's onions!)

- lupins (collected from last year's lupins) (an experiment)

All are in vermiculite, scattered seeds, except the lupins, which are in soil, two each in a little pot.  All in a mini "greenhouse" on the heated mat.

Used the last of the beets today!

Wow, beets store great in the fridge.  Used the last beets today, for a pasta recipe.

Started tuberous begonias

Started the two tuberous begonias saved from last year.