Friday, June 20, 2008

Attack of the Potato Bugs

Aye, it's true - the little orange eggs are Colorado Potato Beetles. I've now initiated a Daily Potato Beetle Patrol - turning over each tomato and potato plant (and there are an awful lot of them) in search of little orange eggs, and then squishing them. So far I've only found one adult, and it bit the dust, too.

Meanwhile, we've had a little rain the last couple of days, greatly needed. It's amazing to me how much difference the garden shows when it rains. Drip irrigation and watering with a garden hose just aren't the same as rain. They help, but rain must just come with all the right ingredients for plant growth. Could be cholorine that is in the town water is absent from the rain. Or it could be the nitrogens coming with the rain that is craved by the plants. Who knows. The bottom line is, rain makes plants grow.

Caught some corvids in my sunflower patch the other day - could explain the empty spots. Hm. So, I found one CD that was a mail advertisement for something and have tied it out there to scare them off. Don't know if one will make any difference, but at least it is a try.

I'm not too sure about the whole dried milk and epsom salt thing with tomatoes. I know some folks swear by it, but my tomatoes that got dosed are looking pretty sickly. Now, it could be that because I didn't know the correct proportions and just dumped the stuff in the holes when I planted the tomatoes, I may have put too much in and the plants are suffering from overdose. That could very well be it. I hope they recover. I may have to dig down and try to remove some of the stuff. Will keep you posted.

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