2019 Mid Atlantic Lawn, Garden, Pool, etc. Thread

[Eskimo Joe]

It's June and it's wet or dry depending on where you live.  Post your pics of outdoor success or fail!

[nw baltimore wx]

1 hour ago, poolz1 said:

Slugs are still an issue even with the wood chips idea this year. Tried yeast traps, crushed up seashells (don’t tell my kids) and a few other natural repellents with no success. The only thing that has worked is manual removal over the past 10 days. I’ve probably removed 50+ slugs so far but each night there are less and less. They have damaged half my cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels. Pretty frustrating. Think I’ll go with netting next year.

Someone should start the annual lawn and garden thread.

 

3 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Try a frisbee with some beer set in the ground. They love it and drown.

Moving from the obs thread.

[poolz1]

Man! I have tried the beer in shallow dishes with no success.  I did read that different beers produce different results....they dont like any Flying Dog beers, thats for sure.  Would have thought the high yeast content would have attracted them. Fortunately they just like the dark greens...summer veggies aren't affected.

[nw baltimore wx]

I did a little more searching and this bottle trap claims to be far more effective. Also watch the embedded video. That's a hardcore gardener there!

https://www.earth-ways.co.uk/resources/slugs/

[nw baltimore wx]

1 minute ago, poolz1 said:

Man! I have tried the beer in shallow dishes with no success.  I did read that different beers produce different results....they dont like any Flying Dog beers, thats for sure.  Would have thought the high yeast content would have attracted them. Fortunately they just like the dark greens...summer veggies aren't affected.

Ha! I'd never put good beer out for slugs! Natty boh or nothing for them!

[showmethesnow]

8 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

I did a little more searching and this bottle trap claims to be far more effective. Also watch the embedded video. That's a hardcore gardener 

In the old days farmers would catch Snipes and release them into the fields to control moths and other garden pests. They are somewhat elusive so they would send their young and agile children to catch these critters. If anyone is interested I can PM you the specific directions on how best to catch them. Another method employed was to try to attract them into the fields. Snipes love candy corn, so quite often farmers would strew it liberally throughout the fields. But this method had its drawbacks as it attracted another pest, the neighborhood children. 

[MN Transplant]

Everything is growing really well in my yard, except the raspberries, which seem to have finally bit it. 

One thing that I am going to do this fall is do a pre-emergent.  This was absolutely the worst winter weed situation we've had, despite an otherwise healthy yard. 

[poolz1]

Any fruit growers in here? From what I gathered from researching this look like “apple scab.” A fungus that starts in the early spring but has recently just reared it’s ugly head on 80 percent of our apple tree leaves. My question is, is it worth treating with a natural fungicide now or is it too late? That’s the question I a, having a hard time finding the answer to.

[Eskimo Joe]

5 hours ago, poolz1 said:

Any fruit growers in here? From what I gathered from researching this look like “apple scab.” A fungus that starts in the early spring but has recently just reared it’s ugly head on 80 percent of our apple tree leaves. My question is, is it worth treating with a natural fungicide now or is it too late? That’s the question I a, having a hard time finding the answer to.

Everything you need to know:  https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-1-W.pdf

[poolz1]

Everything you need to know:  https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-1-W.pdf

That’s a great resource...much appreciated. I don’t think I have anything to lose by applying a sulfur based fungicide throughout the summer. If I can limp them along until fall I can then be proactive next spring. Apparently, it affects peach trees as well...which I have 3 new peach trees in close proximity. No sign of the fungus yet though. Thanks again...

[CAPE]

Finally got around to actually building a firepit to go with the surround I did back in the Spring. 

I built a couple planter boxes to put trees in, and I will make a bench once I figure out exactly what I want.

 

 

[Eskimo Joe]

Lost our two watermelons plants this week due to cold, wet ground.  Somehow our tomatoes, beets and pumpkins and squash are doing very well.

[mappy]

scaled back a tad in the garden this year. only one cucumber plant, one tomato, two peppers and then went with lettuce instead of squash and/or zukes. 

have already harvested a handful of cucumbers, and did a first round of harvest on the lettuce. my lunch is fresh from the garden today! 

peppers are doing great, tomatoes seems to be struggling tho. 

[showmethesnow]

3 hours ago, mappy said:

scaled back a tad in the garden this year. only one cucumber plant, one tomato, two peppers and then went with lettuce instead of squash and/or zukes. 

have already harvested a handful of cucumbers, and did a first round of harvest on the lettuce. my lunch is fresh from the garden today! 

peppers are doing great, tomatoes seems to be struggling tho. 

Best time of the year when the garden first starts producing. After a month or so though it becomes, 'Who can I foist this stuff off to so it doesn't go to waste'' as you get burned out eating veggies every day.

Probably have some cucumbers (3 plants) to harvest in the next 7-10 days. Pepper plants (1 red, 1 green) are looking healthy. My tomato plants (3 plants, 1 grape tomato) are going gang busters and they are the best they have looked in years. Probably have some tomatoes to pick in about 2-3 weeks. Yellow squash look sickly and yellowish. First I had thought it was because it was to wet but the last week or two it has dried up a good deal so I am probably looking at a fungus in the soil. Overall I am happy with the garden, it looks the best it has in the last 3 years.

[mappy]

Just now, showmethesnow said:

Best time of the year when the garden first starts producing. After a month or so though it becomes, 'Who can I foist this stuff off to so it doesn't go to waste'' as you get burned out eating veggies every day.

Probably have some cucumbers (3 plants) to harvest in the next 7-10 days. Pepper plants (1 red, 1 green) are looking healthy. My tomato plants (3 plants, 1 grape tomato) are going gang busters and they are the best they have looked in years. Probably have some tomatoes to pick in about 2-3 weeks. Yellow squash look sickly and yellowish. First I had thought it was because it was to wet but the last week or two it has dried up a good deal so I am probably looking at a fungus in the soil. Overall I am happy with the garden, it looks the best it has in the last 3 years.

that was the problem i had last year, way too much produce and not enough time/desire to eat it all. so we scaled back. i can hand things off to coworkers as needed (we all share our home grown stuff, one of my coworkers right now is bringing in strawberries like crazy, my kid is in heaven!). my cherry tomatoes just seem to be struggling. was doing a little pruning yesterday and branches were splitting at forks along the stem and falling off in my hand. blah. 

[showmethesnow]

5 minutes ago, mappy said:

that was the problem i had last year, way too much produce and not enough time/desire to eat it all. so we scaled back. i can hand things off to coworkers as needed (we all share our home grown stuff, one of my coworkers right now is bringing in strawberries like crazy, my kid is in heaven!). my cherry tomatoes just seem to be struggling. was doing a little pruning yesterday and branches were splitting at forks along the stem and falling off in my hand. blah. 

We have a senior community a couple of blocks away so often times I will drop some produce off there. Might look into the local food bank this year as well. Of course neighbors and co-workers get their share as well. 

Splitting at the forks? First I have ever heard of that. If the tomatoes are struggling you might want to try some calcium nitrate on them. Of course you probably already know that.

[mappy]

3 minutes ago, showmethesnow said:

We have a senior community a couple of blocks away so often times I will drop some produce off there. Might look into the local food bank this year as well. Of course neighbors and co-workers get their share as well. 

Splitting at the forks? First I have ever heard of that. If the tomatoes are struggling you might want to try some calcium nitrate on them. Of course you probably already know that.

oh thats a good idea! i have a VFW American Legion up the road, i wonder if they take donations.

i had the same issue last year with an heirloom plant. later in the season tho. 

[poolz1]

With leopard slugs like this roaming around it's no wonder I don't have any cabbage plants left.

On a positive note, it's been a banner herb season so far. Drying oregano, parsley and dill. My wife also made a large batch of pesto to freeze.

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[WxUSAF]

Started watering my lawn tonight. Looks like very little rain over next 10 days.

[frd]

Grass has gone brown, who knows how long it will last, except to say it looks dry for a while. Tonight's storms be a drop in the bucket.  This time of year the sun can wipe out soil moisture in minutes.  Meanwhile, all the straw is out of stock in my area, wanted to add more to the garden, now have to wait. 

And,  for the Crepe Myrtle may try neem oil.  I really don't want to use anything on it,  but at this rate all the buds will be gone, I hate Japanese bettles. 

[mappy]

garden is doing great now that the heat is here. tomatoes finally coming around with lots of green ones on the plant. 

[frd]

10 minutes ago, mappy said:

garden is doing great now that the heat is here. tomatoes finally coming around with lots of green ones on the plant. 

Same here, eggplants finally getting bigger with a few flowers.  All in all, so far, so good.  

[mattie g]

We're totally redoing our garden area, but I only got a chance to build one of the two raised beds I'm planning on. Even so, the half-garden I planted is doing really well. I planted late, but tomatoes are really starting to fruit, so we should be in the goods within a few weeks.

I just need to get the second raised bed built in time for the late-summer/fall seeding period.

We've had enough rain at the right times, so the lawn is doing just fine. I rarely water it even if it really needs it, so getting the rain we have has been really nice to keep everything green and growing (though not too fast).

[showmethesnow]

8 hours ago, mappy said:

garden is doing great now that the heat is here. tomatoes finally coming around with lots of green ones on the plant. 

Having our first tomato tonight for dinner with BLT's. 

[MN Transplant]

Only mowing on the longest setting this summer to see how much that helps. 

 

[WxUSAF]

11 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

Only mowing on the longest setting this summer to see how much that helps. 

 

I think it helps. I did that last year. Of course we also had 80” of rain last year so YMMV.

[mappy]

14 hours ago, showmethesnow said:

Having our first tomato tonight for dinner with BLT's. 

yum! i had fresh green peppers, cucumbers and what cherry tomatoes that were ready, in our salads yesterday! 

[nw baltimore wx]

The birds here aren't picky but, out of convenience, in March I picked up a bird seed from a "bird store." Unfortunately, within a few weeks, a bunch of seeds sprouted under the feeder and I thought that's the last time I'll use anything other than the cheap box store seed. But, out of curiosity, I thinned the "weeds" and let them grow to see what they might look like. Now I've got a nice cluster of sunflower stalks growing under my feeder. The squirrels took the tops of a few, but the heads have set on about 10-15 so it should be a good show in a month or so.

[showmethesnow]

On 7/5/2019 at 8:36 AM, nw baltimore wx said:

The birds here aren't picky but, out of convenience, in March I picked up a bird seed from a "bird store." Unfortunately, within a few weeks, a bunch of seeds sprouted under the feeder and I thought that's the last time I'll use anything other than the cheap box store seed. But, out of curiosity, I thinned the "weeds" and let them grow to see what they might look like. Now I've got a nice cluster of sunflower stalks growing under my feeder. The squirrels took the tops of a few, but the heads have set on about 10-15 so it should be a good show in a month or so.

Had the same problem. But not only did I see growth under the feeder we were also seeing plants shooting up 10-15 feet away as the squirrels were stealing the seeds and taking them elsewhere to eat. The other problem with the feeder was the fact that my dogs considered their own personal  buffet with the animals it attracted. Finally took it down after a year's trial.

[frd]

On 7/2/2019 at 5:28 PM, WxUSAF said:

I think it helps. I did that last year. Of course we also had 80” of rain last year so YMMV.

Some folks scalp the grass when they cut it , and wonder why it browns and causes stress on the lawn.  I always cut on the highest settings.