Upsized two zucchini patches' netting/hoops

Wow, this tulle I bought a big bolt of last year is fantastic, it can really cover a nice big and tall area.  Used it to upsize the west bed / south two zucchini's home, and the central bed / south two zucchini's home, along with newly cut higher hoops.

For example, the central beds' new digs has the tulle/hoops 37" high, and the square area is 76" x 41".  Hopefully the plants should now have lots of room to keep growing well and maintain some air flow.  Next year I should do this from the get-go, no matter how bizarre it looks when the seedlings are tiny little things!

Three-lined potato beetle on main potato batch

Just one so far.  Removed.  Won't kaolin at this point bec sooooo many leaves.

Two bought flowers put into fence front bed to fill gaps

That bed out in front of the fence is looking awful this year now that the poppies (planted last year, flowered this year) finished.  The perennial on the west part of the bed is dying this year, looks awful.

So, from the $0.98 table at CT, one of each:

- Impatiens:  "Part shade; annual; downy mildew resistant; remove spent blooms to promote flowering"

- Angelonia (oh! it's snapdragon):  "Full sun; annual; flowers June to August".

Where have all the birdies gone (including the house finch couple)

Awww, the house finch couple who had their nest in the neighbour's porch shrub seem to have moved on.  Haven't seen them in a while.

Saw just the one goldfinch last week and no others, so bought and installed a new mesh feeder that's meant for nyjer but I'm hoping will work with the fine sunflower pieces.

Freshened up all of the seeds in the big platform.

Un-tulled central kale/chard

Noticed today that the tulle had been lifted up at a spot, by the tall kale.  This piece of tulle is just not big enough to contain the tall plants, so I decided just to un-tulle it and use these ones for mulching, since there's more than plenty in the west kale bed for eating.

Fertilized (and watered) the potted potatoes to see if helps with yellow

The east-most pot, which has the most yellow received 2 Tbsp kelp meal and 2 Tbsp MRP, no alfalfa.

The middle pot received that, plus 1/4 cup alfalfa.

The west-most pot, which has no yellow yet and is the big terra-cotta-colour pot, received the 2 Tbsp kelp + 2 Tbsp MRP, no alfalfa.

And all received a good watering.

Cucumber beetles: 2 more on cukes; 1 (first) on tulled zuke!!!

Removed these 3.  For the one that was on a zuke, can't remember which plant -- either the shaded one in the central broccoli area, or the north of the two south ones in the central area.

Buckwheat seeds from R's -- $1.99/pound in bulk!! Bought 1 pound (= 2 tall mason jars)

Crazy price -- how does the farmer make any profit, I wonder.

They don't have organic, just regular.

Aphids (black) on tomato plants! Will leave alone.

Wow, not sure how these escaped my attention -- a bunch of what I think are aphids (many adults, black with wings, but they don't fly around, they just hang out on the plant) are all over one branch of the SW-most tomato in the central bed, and they're scattered around in lower numbers on other tomato plants too.

I think I'll try just leaving them and see how it goes.

First time I've had these on tomatoes, I think.

Bluejay

Saw a bluejay today eating from the main tray!  Likely ate peanut pieces, and/or the cracked corn.

First batch of Zucchini Basil Pasta Sauce!

:-)

Aphids on mystery flower plants in hydro bed

I'll leave them be; hopefully they'll stay on this type of plant.

Some teeny tiny brownish/reddish ants are enjoying their presence.

First carrot harvested -- not ready yet

One of the carrots (Bolero) in the west bed was peeking up and looked decent size, so I harvested it.  Too soon -- not big enough yet.  Unsurprisingly given the poor nature of this bed, it's not straight -- and it has a few hairs.  Tasted good -- not fantastic, but very decent.

Hollyhocks started blooming ~a week ago

They're gorgeous!  I started them last year, from seed collected the previous year from the neighbour's plant.

So, whatever rusty disease they had last fall doesn't seem to have affected them, and no sign yet of the rust this year.

No sign of cucumber beetles over past several days

After removing those first ~6-7 beetles, and then applying the one coating of kaolin on June 26th (and it has rained several times since then), I haven't seen any other cucumber beetles yet, neither on the cucumbers, nor on the zucchinis (the zukes are all tulled other than the two late plantings which only have a few leaves so far).

Today's harvest

Things are going gangbusters overall!  Today's harvest:

peas (tons)

broccoli (piracicaba) (getting a basketful every week)

zucchini (5th of the year)

kale (tons)

chard (tons)

dill (a few sprigs)

basil (lots)

stevia (good amount(

carrot (a bit too early)

Potato leaves turning yellow, especially potted ones in shade -- lacking something?

They haven't flowered yet, and it doesn't look like the normal aging type of yellowing.  For the potted ones in the shade, maybe the lack of sun is finally getting to them?  Or some other issue?

Fertilizer applications on broc (alfalfa, kelp, & MRP) and zukes and tomatoes (kelp & MRP)

For the zukes and tomatoes, sprinked 1 Tbsp kelp meal and 1 Tbsp MRP around the base of each plant and lightly scratched it into the top of the soil.

For the broccolis, same as above plus 1 Tbsp alfalfa pellets.

No special reason as things are looking good, just figured it can't hurt.

Rot appearing in some kales!

Noticed the stem of some of the White Russian kale, which are supposed to be resistant to rot, are starting to rot!  Pulled those plants and put them in the garbage (didn't use for chop and drop).  Though didn't inspect all of the plants.

Powdery mildew on two Golden Glory zucchini leaves!!!

Oh no!!!  Both leaves are on the GG plant in the west bed, north two, east one.  One leaf had tons, the other had a bit.  There's relatively decent airflow seeing as these leaves are right next to the path, so I'm surprised...

Removed both leaves and put into garbage.

Golden Glory is supposed to have powdery mildew resistance...  with its appearance today I hope that means it can keep growing well despite powdery mildew...  

The weather has been warm in the day and cool at night, which seems to be prime conditions for PM.