Dig-in composting

This summer I started burying compostables directly into the garden soil.  When my fridge bin is full, I dig a hole and dump it in, and recover it with soil.

This is to avoid odours from the bin which I seem to get every year.  I don't mind the smell, but I'm sure my neighbours do!

I've put a rock over the spots, with a note in a little Ziploc bag showing the date it was buried.  Will be interesting to go digging later on to see how it's going.

So, the compost bin isn't getting much contribution this year.

The most promising cushaw didn't take :-((((((((((

The one along the east edge... that flowered and looked beautiful... now has clearly not taken, turning yellow.

wahhhhhhhhhhh

Might not get even a single cushaw, to at least know what a cushaw is like!  Crazy.

Explosion of three-lined potato beetle (x7 caught today)

Where did they come from all of a sudden?  On the central ground cherries.

(The ground cherries still look fine, I think they're healthy enough to tolerate some leaf-eating.)

Lady bug eggs hatching, outside ones getting eaten by something!!

The lady bug eggs on the asparagus ferns are hatching!  Both inside ferns hatched today.  I set one outside for a bit, but then it disappeared, I think it fell from the wind because it wasn't secured very well.  Darn.

And, one of the outside ones, within a few hours after hatching almost all had disappeared!  There was a larger grey/mottled beetle hanging around nearby, who I assume ate them.

So, I brought in another of the unhatched ferns inside.  Total of two batches inside, with the plan to raise them for a few days until they're bigger, to give them a better chance of survival so they can get busy eating those asparagus aphids!

Reference: Cucumber diseases

A good article, but I still can't find what's wrong with mine.

https://dengarden.com/gardening/Plant-Diseases-that-Affect-Cucumbers-and-How-to-Treat-Them

Mystery disease affecting bean, squash, cucumber, ground cherry, tomato, sunflower

Took photos today of a cucumber leaf, a ground cherry leaf, and a bean leaf.

For the life of me I google and google and google and can't find quite what this is.

I assume the bean thing is something different though based on leaf appearance.

Arghhhh the mystery!!  >:(

OMG!! A butternut!!!!!!!!!!!!! (vertical)

How did I miss that!  A clearly-taken butternut is on one of the vertical plants!!!  It's a great size, clearly has set and looking fantastic!  Hopefully I will have at least one butternut this year!

Tomatoes: Container Scotia stinky, removed it; Container cherry gross-tasting, removed most of it

An unpleasant odour from the yard this evening, can't put my finger on where it's coming from.  But it seemed to come at least partly from one of the container Scotias.  So I harvested its green tomatoes, and removed the plant (for yard waste pickup).

The container cherry was so diseased (pale etc.) and its latest tomatoes were foul tasting (sharp/bitter) -- so I removed it and discarded its tomatoes.  Well, I left a few inches of stub at the base in case it wants to grow back healthy.

Garlic harvest: 0.6 lb total (well a few heads still in garden)

Harvested most of the rest of the garlic.  Disappointing harvest... The Duganski are so tiny.  The German White were certainly bigger overall, but still several of those are on the smaller side.

0.6 lbs total, including the ones I pulled a few weeks ago.

Container carrots good (first carrot harvest)

Harvested two carrots from the hanging-basket-type-container.  One had reached the bottom of the container as it started to bend to the side :-) 

Flavour was kind of meh but edible.

Potato harvest: Eramosa

Decided to go ahead and harvest the Eramosa potatoes since it was the first to die.  Probably should have waited another week or two, but whatever,

Modest harvest :-(  1.25 pounds.

Hopefully the others have done better...

Planed potatoes (in fridge, from last fall's harvest)

Used the pot freed up by harvesting Eramosa, to plant potatoes that had crazy long eyes, from one of the bags of small white potatoes harvested last fall.

Garlic harvest: Yup do not plant Duganski again (too tiny) -- German White decent size

^^^

Powdery mildew is resuming again (after vinegar spray a few days ago)

Sprayed with the same mixture again this morning.  Worst in central patch.

Lady bug eggs & asparagus aphids found on asparagus ferns

Bright orange eggs drew me to look closer at the asparagus ferns along the NE wall.  Turns out there are a bunch of aphids!!!!  Not totally infesting the entire plant, but, certainly hundreds/thousands in particular areas.

Cool though that lady bug eggs were laid there!  I have been seeing several lady bugs in the garden including on the asparagus.  Hadn't noticed the aphids until now.

Brought these two ferns with eggs and aphids inside, in a jar with cheese cloth cover.

Tomato harvest now in full swing

Oh boy!!! Going to be LOTS of tomatoes this year, what with 6 full-size big-tomato plants (plus the two younger scotias in pots), plus the two cherry tomatoes!

All varieties are having ripened tomatoes now.

Young rondes once again looking yellow :-( and zucchinis also not looking great

That one ronde harvested yesterday was great, but all the other new ones are back to looking pale / will die before blooming.

The zucchini will have at least one more ready to harvest in a day or two, but not sure about the other upcoming ones...

1 zucchini (kitchen window) + 1 ronde (air conditioner) harvested

A rebound after whatever happened to all the summer squash plants.

Green and Red Shield (Stink) Bug

Found climbing living room patio screen.  Re-released.

First beet harvest

5 good sized ones.  The others need more growing.

Reference: Hollyhock seed saving

https://dengarden.com/gardening/Quick-Guide-to-Collecting-Storing-Hollyhock-Seeds

I'd like to try these next year in the front bed.  They're gorgeous in the bed next door; I'd like to collect some seeds from those ones (they're pink).  So nice and meadowy.

Powdery mildew (squash family)!!!!!! Applied treatment, and pruned more leaves; pulled west ronde completely

Argh, 2 weeks earlier than last year's start of PM season!

The last week has been hot and humid with some thunderstorms and a few showers.  Maybe this weather contributed.  But yes, alas this evening noticed it on several of the squashes, primarily the two vertical zucchinis but also most of the other squashes including the central patch just starting.

So, applied this mixture using my sprayer (recipe from this page:  https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/dealing-powdery-mildew/)

- 4 cups water
- 1/2 Tbsp regular vinegar

Will try this mixture for a few days.  If it doesn't seem to be doing much, then I will go back to the baking soda mixture I started trying toward the end of last season -- BUT MUST BE VERY CAREFUL TO DILUTE IT PROPERLY.

Pruned a bunch of lower leaves from the two vertical zucchinis, and several leaves from the air conditioner ronde and both kitchen window zucchinis.

Completely pulled i.e. removed the west ronde de nice.  It was still just a gaggle of leaves, nothing productive on the way at all, so why have all those PM-spreading leaves for no reason.

Potato leaves dying back

Only the Cherry Red are not quite dying back yet.

Looks like I need to wait 2-3 weeks after all leaves are dead before harvesting.  I did feel around in the Bellarosa (the most quickly dying one) and found a small baby potato or two, hoping there are more in there!

Broccoli harvest ongoing!

Fun, getting a nice little decent harvest of broccoli given all the struggles in the early days with the seedlings doing terribly while inside. 

A lot of side shoots come up after the main head.  They're definitely smaller, but the volume adds up to nice amounts.

DELICIOUS raw in the Green Goddess salad dressing!!

Haven't seen any more cabbage moth worms since the first ones a couple of weeks ago.  Inspecting harvests very closely before eating.

Black Seeded Susan lettuce flowers appearing, though still green

The flower buds started appearing ~ a week or two ago.

The Ruby Leaf lettuce is growing a tall stalk too but no flower buds yet.

Zucchinis / rondes rallying?

The new fruit coming in on the zucchinis are looking normal (nice yellow rather than pale), as are the rondes (green rather than pale green).

If they are in fact rebounding, my theory is either...

... the extended hot weather and/or drought affected them

or

... they didn't appreciate the pruning of all lower leaves.

Winter squash update: Nothing has taken yet (neither butternut nor cushaw)

There had been several promising ones, but they all either fizzled before flowering, or, in one case fizzled after flowering.

All but one were in the central patch.

Looking back at last year, I wrote a very similar update on July 18th about the butternut, and ended up with a great crop by the end of the season.

Sunflower update -- huuuuge flower! Really drooping! Still just the one flower.

^^^

Many of the others are sooooo tall...  With any kind of wind storm I don't know if they'll survive.... (windy today, but not too bad, and they really bend/sway)

Duganski garlic -- first havest -- bulbs very small

The Duganski garlic is further along than the German White in terms of leave browning/dying.  Some looked quite ready to harvest based on the number of dead leaves, so, I went ahead and harvested those -- 5 look healthy but soooo small, and, 1 also small but seems to lack outer covering and saw a tiny black insect wandering in/out of the cloves.

The harvested ones are from the back (north) edge of the back wall, and one from the terra cotta planter.

Last fall when planting, I remarked that the Duganski cloves were smaller than the German White.  Indeed, it looks like small cloves = small plant = small bulb.  (I had noticed these plants were about half the width of the German White.)

Didn't harvest any German White yet because they don't look ready quite yet.

Scotia tomato first harvest

Scotia is the first of the non-cherry tomatoes to ripen, despite being the last of all the tomatoes to be sowed.

Had the first two today with in a sandwich with cucumber and basil.

It was fine, but not bursting with flavour, nothing to write home about.

Common red soldier beetles (seen on sunflower leaves)

Apparently they're beneficial in both juvenile and adult stages.  That's good, because I saw several, including a couple doing their thing.

All seen on leaves of the sunflower plants.

Birds at feeder! -- and a chipmunk too!!!

Ah, saw the first birds at the feeder today!  Small brown bird, I guess a sparrow?  Saw one bird at a time, several times throughout the day.

And ---- saw a chipmunk there too!  So did Jasper and Scooter.  Jasper is now on guard...  I'd be fine feeding the chipmunk(s) too if I knew they wouldn't also start eating *my* food...  Fingers crossed.

Wild raspberries in full glory at CHM

Very nice!  So many patches, such as along the west edge of the parking field, and various other spots throughout.

Birdfeeder installed

Went out shopping looking for a bee bowl, came home with a birdfeeder post and two bird feeders.

Set it out next to the compost bin.

Hoping it won't draw squirrels/chipmunks who will then also start messing with my harvests.

Aha! Yellow-red perennial is perennial gaillardia

Came across the wildflower packet I sowed in the fence-front bed in 2018.  Image searched all the varieties listed on the packet and learned that the yellow-red perennial, from which I collected seed last year and started a new plant this year, is perennial gaillardia.  Will go back and add this label to previous posts.

I only wish it didn't grow so tall, needs all kind of support and you don't fully see the flowers because it's so tall.

Zucchini update (two of five plants producing, doing well)

The west bed zucchini continues to be the best producer.

The south one in the hydro meter bed is starting to produce, looking good.

The two air conditioner vertical zucchinis continue to be small only leaves / male flowers / nonviable teeny tiny females that turn pale and fall off.

The north one in the hydro meter bed is still small, not producing yet.

Ronde de nice by air conditioner's new fruits are yellow (ie not viable) -- likely no more rondes for a while

Oh no!  This morning I harvested another great ronde from the air conditioner plant (it's been quite productive), but, all the new fruits on it have that yellow tinge and hollow feeling.  So, I cut them off, no sense wasting energy on those.  This plant developed a second "arm" (still small/immature), I wonder if that's draining the energy?

So, there won't be another ronde for a while, it seems:
- air conditioner plant's fruits are yellow
- hydro meter plant still very immature/small
- west bed plant still only a bunch of leaves

Mall raspberries having a great year!

Lots of berries on the mall patch this year!  Last year wasn't much, so, maybe it is an every two year thing?

Quite a drought and heat wave this year, otherwise I bet the bounty would have been even greater.

Reference: Squash diseases

Handy website with descriptions and photos of various squash diseases:  https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/pumpkin-and-squash-diseases.html

(still not sure what's wrong with my vertical squash that looks diseased)

A sunflower has opened!!!! But it's facing the wall! >:(

Noticed all of a sudden this evening that the west bed sunflower, which is the most advanced / best looking of all, has opened!  Not fully open, but definitely those yellow petals are out for the world to see!  Or, they would be, except... the darn flower is facing the west wall!  Sigh.

Of the other sunflowers, the central one in the central patch is huge and tall but hardly any flower head whatsoever, interesting.  The NW one in the central patch is the second best (after the one that flowered today), decent flower head forming (not yet open).

Oh no! Something very wrong with squash, bean, and ground cherry leaves in west bed! (maybe sunflower too)

First noticed it maybe ~2 weeks ago, on the northmost vertical squash in the west bed.  Didn't do anything about it.  Now whoa, those leaves are quite yellow, and speckled all over with something, top and bottom.  I don't see mites or aphids or anything like that.

And, what looks like the same thing is also expanding in the west bed beans, the west bed ground cherry, and possibly the west bed sunflower.  All those things are all close together.  The beans have it the worst, along with the squash.

Additionally ------ now the central ground cherries are also starting to show signs!!!!!!  Just starting, though.

So, today I pruned a bunch of leaves off that one vertical squash, placed in yard waste bag immediately.

Took photos of the leaves, will post to Edible Gardens tomorrow in the hopes of a diagnosis as my internet search wasn't successful.

Ronde de nice in west bed is heavy on many small leaves but where are the fruit?

I can't remember if this one has produced any harvested fruit yet.... I thought it did, but, now it's just a mess of thick small leaves everywhere.

Spotted cucumber beetle! On ronde de nice in west bed

Lots of striped ones around, but I think it's the first time I've ever seen a spotted one except in books.

Found on a low branch / near the ground while pruning this ronde de nice.

Recipes to use up lots of tomatoes

https://www.growjourney.com/recipes-to-use-up-lots-of-tomatoes/#.Xv5qgxJ7lVc

Blue flower in front yard must be cynoglossum amabile (Chinese Forget Me Not)

I luvvvvvs it!  Small blue flowers with blue centre, self-seeded from some past year when I sowed a wildflower seed mix.  Looks so nice among the zinnias.

Will try to collect the seeds and start inside next year. 

Seed-collecting:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMp61WtKKM

If I need to buy seeds, be sure to get the ones with the blue centre, not the yellow centre.

https://shop.floretflowers.com/products/chinese-forget-me-nots

https://www.floretflowers.com/flower-focus-chinese-forget-me-nots/

Another SVB netted

Second one today.

Also saw one yesterday but didn't catch her.

They always seem to be there around lunchtime, or maybe that's just because I'm buried away at the computer for the rest of the day :D

All of the ones I've seen have been in the central patch.  Haven't seen moths nor eggs on the zucchinis or rondes de nice yet.

Vertical squash not thriving; central squash growing like crazyyyyyy

Hmmm, despite their rapid early start, the vertical squash have fallen way, way behind the central squash.  The central squash look amazing, soooooo many side shoots as I continue to wrap them around, around, around again in their little area.

Cucumber first harvest

Two nice cucumbers for the first cucumber harvest of the year.

Bellanita potato wimpy in the heat? The others look much better

Bellanita is the first one to look all droopy and unhealthy in this heat wave.  It perks up after being watered, but, still, should consider passing on this one next year.  Will see what the harvest looks like first, of course.

Pea harvest coming to an end soon? No new flowers

Yesterday and today were very good harvests, and there will be a few more days are more come to maturity, but it looks like the end is near given the lack of new flowers.  Prior to this harvest was just a few here and there, so, this seems to be a shorter harvest than last year.  Last year I wrote that harvest was in full swing July 6th, then by July 18th harvest was mostly over.

Maybe I haven't been watering enough during this dry weather.

Sunflowers are host to so many different insects

Very cool to see all kinds of insects hanging around on the sunflowers.  Sunflower maggot flies are always around, and just a variety of other things that I don't necessarily know what they are.  The huge leaves offer nice shade.

Sunflowers are ~7' tall! (some are shorter) Flower heads starting to form but not yet open

Wow, the most vigorous sunflowers are about 7' tall!  All the tall ones are in the backyard.  The front ones are still fairly short, maybe 4 or 5 feet tall.  There is a shortie in the backyard too, one of the ones that lived in a tiny "pot" for a long long time.

Squash bug

Oh no!  An actual squash bug, found on top of a sunflower plant.  Definitely not a shield/stink bug, much narrower shape.  That's the first/only one seen so far.

Beautiful Wood Nympth (moth)

What a funny name for a moth!  Google was very helpful for identification, definitely a Beautiful Wood Nyph.  Apparently the moth doesn't do any harm, so left alone.

SVB moth seen!!!!!!

First one of the year, seen over the central patch.  Used my new kiddie net to relocate.

2nd Japanese beetle

Only two so far, but it's early days yet................

Cucumber beetles in full force starting a couple of days ago

Easily 10+ per day being relocated.

The bees (squash bees) are back in town!

Woo hoo!  Every morning there they are, buzzing away.  No more hand pollinating!

Cabbage moth worms on broccoli leaves (back-filled post)

(16 July 2020:  Apparently I forgot to blog this at the time.  I think it was around July 2nd or so.)

Found several cabbage moth worms on the broccoli leaves.  I looked where there were holes and/or chewed edges, and found them on the underside of the leaves.  They seemed to be only on the fairly large/mature leaves rather than the small new leaves.

Found some eggs as well, very small but easy to see on the underside of the leaves.

Haven't seen any on the actual flowers or edible parts of the stalks.

Some are very small, others a bit bigger.  Didn't see any huge ones.

Stinky smell from beets gone to seed

Gross, I couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from at first, but I'm sure I've identified the source as the re-planted fridge beets that are well into seed now.  Google suggests it's due to their methyl content.

3rd zucchini harvested, also from the same plant

^^^

Trimmed vertical zucchini leaves

Removed the lowest leaves, mostly from the front one.

Young brown stink bug (I think)

Very cute and small.  Grey colour overall, dark patch on each shoulder and dark spots down the "spine".  Will relocate.