The infamous SNE lawn thread

[CoastalWx]

We had tomato hornworms invade my plants while we were away., We salvaged about a dozen tomatoes that still had not ripened and found 3 of the nasty buggers,

They are so gross when you squash them

I had the same thing! That's what those are? Mother f*ckers, they are disgusting. I've never seem them before.

[skierinvermont]

We had tomato hornworms invade my plants while we were away., We salvaged about a dozen tomatoes that still had not ripened and found 3 of the nasty buggers,

They are so gross when you squash them

I squished one a week ago and it squirted all over my arm. I HATE those things. Get em every year around late July.

[CoastalWx]

I squished one a week ago and it squirted all over my arm. I HATE those things. Get em every year around late July.

They are one of the most vile things I have ever seen. They even have a hook at the end of them....I presume to help them stay on the plant stem.

[skierinvermont]

Some pics from around the garden today:

Recent harvest:

Some of the tomatoes harvested the last few days (Brandywine, Early Girl, Old German, German green, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple and I think a Big Boy that must have been mixed in by accident when I bought them):

Bag of cukes to be given away:

Basil and parsley pots, lettuce on the right, and my prized ghost pepper plant (world's hottest pepper) in the front:

Tons of raspberries about to ripen, tomatoes in the back:

Front to back... beets, brussel sprouts and broccoli, swiss chard, cabbage, leeks, peppers, eggplant, zucchini.

Corn in the back, part of my big pumpkin plant in the front:

My pumpkin just started growing Aug 1 already 55" circumference, 50 LB. I failed to hand-pollinate the first pumpkins in early and mid July so it won't have as long to grow unfortunately.

This is all 1 pumpkin plant all the way back to the wood post and it continues on a little bit under the camera view. It's around 40' X 15'.

Some of my other tomato plants:

[Mr Torchey]

That harvest is beyone chronic

[Baroclinic Zone]

That harvest is beyone chronic

must be using some serious tonic on that.

[HoarfrostHubb]

I had the same thing! That's what those are? Mother f*ckers, they are disgusting. I've never seem them before.

We had them a number of years back, and then this week. They grow from about an inch to about 4" almost overnight. Their **** was everywhere and they ate about half of our tomatoes.

I killed a total of about 8... Skier is right. If you squish them their guts fly... grossest bugs ever. You can hear them chew.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Wow, Skierinvermont... I am ashamed at my garden. That pepper and the plant look awesome.

Huge pumpkin plant. Our plants have gotten big but have no real fruiting bodies. Better luck next year I suppose

[skierinvermont]

Wow, Skierinvermont... I am ashamed at my garden. That pepper and the plant look awesome.

Huge pumpkin plant. Our plants have gotten big but have no real fruiting bodies. Better luck next year I suppose

Maybe there are low bee populations this year or something? Usually my pumpkin plants pollinate just fine, but this year it didn't pollinate until the 5th female (optimum would have been 2nd or 3rd). In the future I'm going to hand pollinate.

Usually my peppers dont do so well but this year there are lots of big bells just starting to turn red already. I think hardening them off better than I normally do (none) helped them get an earlier start.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Maybe there are low bee populations this year or something? Usually my pumpkin plants pollinate just fine, but this year it didn't pollinate until the 5th female (optimum would have been 2nd or 3rd). In the future I'm going to hand pollinate.

Usually my peppers dont do so well but this year there are lots of big bells just starting to turn red already. I think hardening them off better than I normally do (none) helped them get an earlier start.

I was wondering about pollination being the factor. We had huge numbers of bumblebees when our hostas were flowering. Not sure if they like pumpkin flowers... did not see too many honeybees, but did see some bees (not sure of the type) in the pumpkin flowers yesterday.

We got plenty of zucchini... zzzzzzzzz

[nzucker]

Those pictures are pretty amazing...my garden sadly got (mostly) destroyed by a very hungry raccoon and the flocks of deer that graze in the lawns of Westchester County. I'm amazed at people who can just leave stuff out like Skier's pictures shows...that would be toast here in the first night. I have a pretty sturdy fence, and a raccoon still managed to sneak in and devour half the garden one night....I spent five hours digging a trench around the garden and burying the mesh fence after this happened, but it didn't save the plants as the raccoon found another way to ease his lithe frame into the garden. It is really sad as I had a ton of nice vegetables and my plants were doing the best I'd ever seen this year. I still am getting tons of arugula, eggplants, and some corn (and should have a bunch of cucumbers and tomatoes soon), but the gardens here have gotten absolutely hammered. Same story across the street where a neighbor lost half a dozen broccoli plants overnight....not much to be done when you live in an area with no natural predators to cull the population of smaller mammals, and your house backs onto a 70-acre nature preserve teeming with this stuff..

I've given up on gardening in Dobbs, as have most of my neighbors, but luckily I'm moving to NH where they have some nice vegetable gardens that I can help cultivate. They have some sturdier wire fences and also less of a deer/raccoon problem, so I should be able to make a pretty successful garden up there, expanding what they already have.

[skierinvermont]

Oh my gardens are surrounded with chicken coop fencing to 3' and then wires above that to 7'. The chipmunks and baby rabbits still get in though (what's not shown is about 25% of my tomatoes get partially eaten by the chipmunks, and earlier this year rabbits ate my onions and carrots). If I didn't have fences.. my garden would be gone overnight.

[nzucker]

Oh my gardens are surrounded with chicken coop fencing to 3' and then wires above that to 7'. The chipmunks and baby rabbits still get in though (what's not shown is about 25% of my tomatoes get partially eaten by the chipmunks, and earlier this year rabbits ate my onions and carrots). If I didn't have fences.. my garden would be gone overnight.

Yeah I think I'd need a metal fence for this area...but it is hard to fit one since I have such a narrow space. I feel like it's time to stop worrying about it though because I'm moving, just start fresh up on campus in NH. The problem with the mesh fence is that chipmunks squeeze through the holes, and the deer can jump over any sections that sag, which often happens as wind and rain change the alignment of the fence. I'm having a terrible time with animals though, planted a bed of petunias and coneflower on the side of the house, half that has been eaten, red dahlia has been chomped, plants on the porch are getting hit. I think I am ready to let the grass take back over and just go to the farmers' market. It should be better in Rindge though since they've got proper metal fences and fewer small animals.

[nzucker]

It is weird, I didn't have this problem the first two years I gardened here, the animals left the fence alone. It just seems they've "found" the garden this year and are doing everything possible to ruin my property, from the vegetables to the flowers. Even the poisonous nightshades like tomatoes and eggplants are getting eaten. Even plants on the porch steps and including up on the porch are being hit. It is like "Where do you run?" LOL.

[skierinvermont]

Yeah I think I'd need a metal fence for this area...but it is hard to fit one since I have such a narrow space. I feel like it's time to stop worrying about it though because I'm moving, just start fresh up on campus in NH. The problem with the mesh fence is that chipmunks squeeze through the holes, and the deer can jump over any sections that sag, which often happens as wind and rain change the alignment of the fence. I'm having a terrible time with animals though, planted a bed of petunias and coneflower on the side of the house, half that has been eaten, red dahlia has been chomped, plants on the porch are getting hit. I think I am ready to let the grass take back over and just go to the farmers' market. It should be better in Rindge though since they've got proper metal fences and fewer small animals.

It's incredibly frustrating to lose things after spending so much time caring for them. I'm disgusted every time I go into the garden and have to chuck 25% of the ripe tomatoes in the woods.

I'm convinced the only way to keep them out is plant in an open field and use fine mesh fencing buried below the ground up to 7'.

I can't keep them out of my old garden.. there's no way to make the stone walls rabbit/chipmunk/groundhog/squirrel proof.

[nzucker]

It's incredibly frustrating to lose things after spending so much time caring for them. I'm disgusted every time I go into the garden and have to chuck 25% of the ripe tomatoes in the woods.

I'm convinced the only way to keep them out is plant in an open field and use fine mesh fencing buried below the ground up to 7'.

I can't keep them out of my old garden.. there's no way to make the stone walls rabbit/chipmunk/groundhog/squirrel proof.

Yeah, I spent hours every day after work planting and caring for the garden, and I've lost most of it to this raccoon. I was referring to the old garden, I was thinking the stone walls would be difficult to protect against animals. I was amazed you could grow anything there; if you had my animal problem, it would be gone from there too in a matter of days. We have deer grazing in front lawns and along the Saw Mill Parkway, it's insanity here in Westchester.

[ski MRG]

Those pictures are pretty amazing...my garden sadly got (mostly) destroyed by a very hungry raccoon and the flocks of deer that graze in the lawns of Westchester County. I'm amazed at people who can just leave stuff out like Skier's pictures shows...that would be toast here in the first night. I have a pretty sturdy fence, and a raccoon still managed to sneak in and devour half the garden one night....I spent five hours digging a trench around the garden and burying the mesh fence after this happened, but it didn't save the plants as the raccoon found another way to ease his lithe frame into the garden. It is really sad as I had a ton of nice vegetables and my plants were doing the best I'd ever seen this year. I still am getting tons of arugula, eggplants, and some corn (and should have a bunch of cucumbers and tomatoes soon), but the gardens here have gotten absolutely hammered. Same story across the street where a neighbor lost half a dozen broccoli plants overnight....not much to be done when you live in an area with no natural predators to cull the population of smaller mammals, and your house backs onto a 70-acre nature preserve teeming with this stuff..

I've given up on gardening in Dobbs, as have most of my neighbors, but luckily I'm moving to NH where they have some nice vegetable gardens that I can help cultivate. somThey have e sturdier wire fences and also less of a deer/raccoon problem, so I should be able to make a pretty successful garden up there, expanding what they already have.

You have winged deer in Westchester county? You'll be dealing with bear and moose now.lol Sturdier wire fences. That's a good one.

[ski MRG]

Oh my gardens are surrounded with chicken coop fencing to 3' and then wires above that to 7'. The chipmunks and baby rabbits still get in though (what's not shown is about 25% of my tomatoes get partially eaten by the chipmunks, and earlier this year rabbits ate my onions and carrots). If I didn't have fences.. my garden would be gone overnight.

Spend less time in your garden and fix the sink.lol

[skierinvermont]

Spend less time in your garden and fix the sink.lol

Nice catch

[snowNH]

Holy crap at that pumpkins skier! My watermelons are growing great now! have around 7 growing

[snowNH]

Fooking Pepper I pulled off today... Its pretty much perfect. First one too

[Baroclinic Zone]

Time to start thinking about Fall lawn care.

[snowNH]

Time to start thinking about Fall lawn care.

shovels?

[Baroclinic Zone]

shovels?

More like Fertilizer, lime, aeration, topdressing, over-seeding, etc....

[Baroclinic Zone]

Hey Joe. I've been researching lawn seen and I found the NTEP site for ratings. I researched the site for the closest location to me and it was URI. The best seed that was a Tall Fescue is made by Lebanon Turf. I have been unable to find any local retailers of the product. Do you know of any. My plan is to do my over-seeding next year so I have plenty of time. I want to address my soil first before throwing money at seed.

http://www.lebanonturf.com/products/items/2854619/index.aspx

[S&P]

not to but in, but URI makes a great seed, URI #2 designed for this area. I use it with great success (not sure what grass seeds are in it) Benny's and Ace (locally on aquidenck island) carry it. haven't seen it in the big box stores

Hey Joe. I've been researching lawn seen and I found the NTEP site for ratings. I researched the site for the closest location to me and it was URI. The best seed that was a Tall Fescue is made by Lebanon Turf. I have been unable to find any local retailers of the product. Do you know of any. My plan is to do my over-seeding next year so I have plenty of time. I want to address my soil first before throwing money at seed.

http://www.lebanontu...4619/index.aspx

[Ginx snewx]

not to but in, but URI makes a great seed, URI #2 designed for this area. I use it with great success (not sure what grass seeds are in it) Benny's and Ace (locally on aquidenck island) carry it. haven't seen it in the big box stores

I was in an intern program at URI when they were testing it on the Turf fields in the early 90's, good stuff.

[Damage In Tolland]

I was in an intern program at URI when they were testing it on the Turf fields in the early 90's, good stuff.

How about when they were testing Lesco?

[Baroclinic Zone]

not to but in, but URI makes a great seed, URI #2 designed for this area. I use it with great success (not sure what grass seeds are in it) Benny's and Ace (locally on aquidenck island) carry it. haven't seen it in the big box stores

Thanks

What I'll be looking for is a TTTF. They are becoming more popular as we become more eco conscious. They require less watering, are more drought tolerant, bug resistant. I've been researching seed for the better part of 2 months and I saw that the Tall Fescues being made/marketed from Lebanon have some of the highest ratings.

[Baroclinic Zone]

How about when they were testing Lesco?

If you know the names of the seeds that Lesco uses, you can check all the data here.

www.ntep.org

URI just happened to be the closest site to my location that is on the list of testing sites. Also LESCO may not have any seeds that they have as part of the ongoing testing but you can check to see. What a great site. The test seed for all kinds of stuff.