I got a bunch of slugs in my beer traps last night

5/28/2013 1:55:37 PM

no one reads the last post on a page repeat post:


Anyone have a good resource (book, website, etc) for apple trees? Got a Pink Lady a couple of weeks ago and need to know the best care techniques for this area (NC); primarily pest/disease control.

Also thought about getting another apple tree to aid in cross-pollination. My neighbor has 2 unknown-type apple trees, but those may be a bit far to really ensure success. I'm hoping to find/order (any ordering sources preferred?) another type I like that has the same blooming window.

Also, can anyone confirm if Pink Ladies are self-fertile or self-sterile? My web searches have turned up both answers.

--------

Any recommendations on landscape design software? I'm clueless when it comes to spacing/growth/climate/placement/etc.

5/28/2013 2:44:25 PM

I have 2 apple trees that are about 25 yards apart. 1 is a Granny Smith and the other is an unknown red variety. Both do very well each year. Other than that, I can't be much help. The trees were here when my GF bought the house.

5/28/2013 9:16:05 PM

My legs after bited by crazy bugs in the garden.

5/29/2013 11:45:07 AM

you need to learn how to resize images

5/29/2013 11:59:23 AM

What he really needs to do is learn to identify poison ivy......

5/29/2013 4:39:57 PM

also, shower soon after finishing

5/29/2013 4:42:44 PM

and wear socks that aren't circa 1992

5/29/2013 5:06:57 PM

Poison ivy or mosquto?

5/29/2013 5:27:17 PM

This dude can't be for real

5/29/2013 5:53:27 PM

Why? I'm serious. You think I'm talking about x-men or batman?

5/29/2013 6:06:07 PM

[Edited on May 30, 2013 at 12:28 AM. Reason : .]

5/30/2013 12:27:49 AM

Today's pic, looking good:

5/30/2013 11:38:31 AM

here's my pics, taken yesterday evening





tomatoes in the front, broccoli in the back





my radishes need to be harvested:





[Edited on May 31, 2013 at 10:18 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on May 31, 2013 at 10:19 AM. Reason : ]

5/31/2013 10:17:57 AM

I was under the impression you lived in Philly for some reason.

Either way, garden looks great. I moved after last summer so all I have is a box with a few random herbs and a tomato plant.

5/31/2013 2:39:32 PM

I live just outside the city

[Edited on May 31, 2013 at 3:33 PM. Reason : it's just easier to say the city, everyone knows where Philly is]

5/31/2013 3:28:15 PM

Going to maybe add some tomato plants in garbage cans today... I don't know, the ones I planted in the ground have NOT taken off. Starting to grow now, but sooooo small by comparison to others.

[Edited on June 1, 2013 at 2:44 AM. Reason : f]

6/1/2013 2:35:20 AM

So I turned on my soaker hose Wednesday night. Left for Nashville Thursday morning. Got in late last night. Go out to see if the garden needs watering. Oops! Flooded garden

[Edited on June 1, 2013 at 10:57 AM. Reason : .]

6/1/2013 10:56:12 AM

damn, you guys have some sweet gardens.

makes me really want to find a house somewhere that has any yard (to rent, obviously).

6/1/2013 11:26:07 AM

^Honestly the only thing keeping me in my shitty place on Athens in Raleigh... not the greatest place to live but I have some room to garden. I haven't put a lot of money into it though, pretty much for that reason.

6/1/2013 11:16:46 PM

wow minka, your raised beds looks great!!



I live in a townhouse complex where we own our yards, but use a communal lawn service. they've been very negligent, mowing down barriers of metal fences, red flags and upturned colored plant pots. They even weed wacked a couple of plants in pots I have yet to plant. I'm getting pissed off at these jerks.


a bunch of my little annuals and perennials in 4" got heat stressed yesterday. I have been ill this weekend and asked my husband to water them on friday but he claimed it was going to rain and declined to do so. It didn't rain until this morning and I was outside yesterday evening watering everything that was terribly wilted and sniffling a bit. but a day in the shade and most of them have come back well, though my double red avens lost a lot of leaves.
everything went better than expected.png

I have to finish these damn bed and get everything planted this week! and call the lawn baboons and threaten them.

[Edited on June 2, 2013 at 8:58 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2013 8:57:29 PM

I have little bugs all over my soil in the containers I have on my railing. And I don't know what they are!

They're so freakin' little, I couldn't capture them on a picture, you've gotta see the moving to see them: http://youtu.be/fQYl_TZfdMY

What are they, and are they dangerous to my plants?? This container has got some strawberry plants in them with some marigolds. I see more of these little buggers on the strawberry plants as opposed to the marigold.

[Edited on June 3, 2013 at 2:37 PM. Reason : And yes, I was stupid and filmed it the wrong way - sue me!]

6/3/2013 2:36:59 PM

Can't tell from that video. But I found kudzu bugs all over my Queen Anne's Lace flowers

6/3/2013 8:50:34 PM

i'm super excited

my husband whacked our gardenias (and azaleas) b/c he thought they needed trimming last fall. not a pruning, but a whacking with a electric hedge trimmer. nevermind that I like the wild look of them, but if you're going to trim it was the worst possible time to do so. my azaleas weren't great this year, but should be fully recovered by next year.

but i was most upset over the gardenias. i've been watching them this spring and was beginning to think they wouldn't bloom at all. so i was really happy when i opened our curtains this morning to see a few buds on one of my bushes yay!

i know they won't be covered in flowers as usual, but i'm happy nonetheless. i LOVE the smell of gardenias



also...all is not lost on my early blooming tomatoes. they aren't as big as last year by any means, but they've grown a lot more since i did prune them one, and we'll have plenty for me to make marinara and can. very excited.

[Edited on June 7, 2013 at 12:11 PM. Reason : s]

6/7/2013 12:06:51 PM

finally watched the tiny bug video. it would never work on my phone.


I think they are likely mites. Since we were observing them in the soil, it was hard to see any details about their anatomy or behavior. There are 50,000 species of mites, so it could have been any number of kinds of mites that do not feed off of plants and are simply present there for other reasons. However, I've noticed some red spider mites on some of my greenhouse-grown plants, so it's possible that you have some species of these.

Spider mites can cause the plant to decline, with bronzing or browning foliage being the major indicator, fine webbing is possible in large infestations. you can hold a piece of paper under the leaves of the plant and shake the branch or tap it, if a lot of tiny, almost imperceptible bugs come out, it's likely spider mites. Also look for the presence of Ladybugs and Pirate bugs, as they eat mites. so if they're already there and your plants aren't suffering too much, consider leaving the predators to their work.

There's quite a number of chemicals for mite control, but insecticidal soap should be effective. It's pretty much the only thing I use in my own garden and houseplants for pest control.

6/7/2013 1:31:42 PM

I'm about to start getting some tomatoes from my "celebrity" plants, some chilli peppers, and a few squash. Still waiting on all the bell, jalapeno, and Italian peppers, the other varieties of tomatoes, the eggplants and okra.

(sorry i forgot to post the rain barrel irrigation system pics)

6/10/2013 2:06:04 PM

I have little cherry tomatoes growing!!

but, something is eating my lima bean plants

[Edited on June 10, 2013 at 2:49 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2013 2:49:05 PM

I'm pretty worried about the stupid amount of water that's fallen in Raleigh this weekend. Hoping my plants are okay.

6/10/2013 7:22:15 PM

I hate slugs!

6/10/2013 8:36:48 PM

We have slugs everywhere. I put coffee grounds around my plants and it seems to work OK.

6/10/2013 10:41:29 PM

does anyone know where I can get some breathable fabric pots in the Raleigh/Cary area? Doing some patio gardening and need some bigger pots ASAP.

6/10/2013 11:14:03 PM

Beer traps! I've drowned dozens of baby slugs this spring. I need to refill the traps after all this rain.

[Edited on June 11, 2013 at 9:55 AM. Reason : ]

6/11/2013 9:32:15 AM

My garden is doing great, other than the spaghetti squash. I have lost all but 1 of them, and the one remaining isn't looking too great. I am going to head up to the prison far to see if they have any that are already a good ways along.

6/11/2013 9:47:23 AM

a bunch of leaves on my tomato plants started turning yellow with brown spots. most of it was on lower branches. I tried to removed most of the branches and leaves that were diseased. hopefully it prevents it from spreading too much.

6/18/2013 4:07:54 PM

Same just started happening to my tomato plants that are bearing fruit. So far it's just a few leaves with spots, then a couple more where it's larger and the leaf has curl a bit, but no whole dead leaves. Not really familiar with these afflictions.

6/18/2013 5:01:05 PM

All of my tomatoes are awesome. And it looks like it's going to be a pepper year for me this year. Cucumbers, not so much. Which is odd, usually I never have issues with those. I still have 2 plants that look good though, which should be plenty for pickling.

6/18/2013 5:05:11 PM

^^supposedly you need to remove the branches/leaves as soon as possible, while trying not to spread it with your hands too much, and dispose of the diseased leaves far from the garden (don't put them in your compost pile)

[Edited on June 18, 2013 at 5:12 PM. Reason : ^so far i've only got a few chili peppers. still waiting on the bell, jalapenos, and bananas]

6/18/2013 5:11:30 PM

^ my peppers are usually slow like that too. But this year they are off the chain.....all of them.

6/18/2013 5:27:49 PM

i see one ripening better boy out there. and i've got our first banana pepper.

6/19/2013 8:16:13 AM

I removed the diseased tomato branches just in case, since these were from some transplants that are crazy good bushes right now, and I don't want to risk anything.

My pepper plants are DISMAL. I bought them from seedlings because my seeds-to-seedlings were weak little things. Now my peppers... all three varieties are tall, thin, and have all their foliage at the top of the plants. They just look a bit down without any really specific sign of ailment. I've seen people with pepper plants that are truly bushes... these aren't even close. One of them is starting to grow serrano peppers, but the plant looks so tiny to be doing that. Not sure what's up, will get a picture soon.

6/19/2013 9:23:43 PM

I have about 7 varieties of peppers, some wintered through last year (pequin/bermuda).

Most are doing fine, though I am finding that the hotter peppers are taking a little bit longer to find their stride (ghost and habenero). They are looking just like you describe. Upon repotting, mine usually lose the large shade leaves and have to grow a bit more to form sun leaves. I've found this process to be fairly typical with seedlings.

The father in law declares that his hottest peppers don't really take off until late summer anyway.

6/19/2013 9:50:21 PM

I'm only growing Serrano, Poblano, and Anaheim. I kind of expected more development by now. I will say that though they don't have much foliage, their central shoot is VERY stable, like way more than it looks. It looks very spindly, but I have no concerns about them tipping over like I do... oh, every other plant.

My corn stalks got reduced to only seven after all the storms, but they're still thriving. Cucumbers and zucchini are finally starting to produce. Potted cherry tomatoes are coming in.

My cauliflower and brussel sprouts got slugged to death and beyond, though. THey're just husks. No way they'll recover.

6/19/2013 10:06:07 PM

Just walked out to the garden. Everything looks great, so I figured I'd post some sample pics. Already harvesting cucumbers, squash, jalapenos, and banana peppers. Everything else is getting real close.

Full Garden:


Tomatoes (16 plants total, various types):


Bell Peppers:


Banana Peppers:


Jalapeno Peppers:


Cucumber:


Cantaloupe:


Squash:


Spaghetti Squash:


Okra:

6/24/2013 11:31:33 AM

Fucking rednecks!

6/24/2013 11:35:45 AM

6/24/2013 11:46:40 AM

Looking good dj!

A couple of my bell pepper plants suddenly wilted and died, I'm not sure why. I remember that happening to a couple last year too.

6/26/2013 11:26:28 AM

I've already harvested a dozen cucumbers. My bees are all over the cucumber flowers, so I guess that's why they are doing so well. I'm ready for tomatoes, those bitches need to hurry up and turn red

[Edited on June 26, 2013 at 11:34 AM. Reason : a]

6/26/2013 11:32:39 AM

The only thing I've really had come in full-force is my squash. I've got too many to eat. I got one tomato to turn, some jalapeno and chili peppers that should be ready soon, and one okra pod. Should be getting more real soon.

6/26/2013 11:35:37 AM

Yeah, it's getting to be about that time where everything will blow up. I'm going to have to check it every day now, especially the cucumbers. If I ever miss a day, I always end up with cucs that are too big to eat. Same with the squash and okra. I find that all of those taste better if you pick them when they are way smaller than the ones you'd find in the store.

6/26/2013 11:41:06 AM

One of the advantages of Beekeeping if you have a garden. My bees are loving the cucumber flowers this year.

6/27/2013 11:05:07 AM