The 2011 O/R Gardening Thread!

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I picked the last of the peas until we replant this fall.

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Everything looking great! What do you do to control the insects? (or do the praying mantises take care of your bug problems?). The trouble about spraying is you kill the good with the bad

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Originally Posted by Pinki

Everything looking great! What do you do to control the insects? (or do the praying mantises take care of your bug problems?). The trouble about spraying is you kill the good with the bad

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Thank you Pinki !

Yes insect control can be tricky. We use sevin dust and liquid. Most insecticides are victim specific unless you are using malathion. If you use that, then you are messing with a two edged sword. You not only kill all, but you are introducing a bad chemical to the environment.

I have sat out back, enjoying a masonjarita and watched wasps hovering around and under collard leaves. They zero in on the caterpillars and carry them off. Many birds hang out and grab a meal or two here too.

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Originally Posted by IMGreat101

Thank you Pinki !

Yes insect control can be tricky. We use sevin dust and liquid. Most insecticides are victim specific unless you are using malathion. If you use that, then you are messing with a two edged sword. You not only kill all, but you are introducing a bad chemical to the environment.

I have sat out back, enjoying a masonjarita and watched wasps hovering around and under collard leaves. They zero in on the caterpillars and carry them off. Many birds hang out and grab a meal or two here too.

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It looks like your method is working very well :thumb:

Picked two 5 qt buckets of beans.

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Being stringed and processed

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More squash and zucchini (and there are about 10 more ready to pick.)

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zucchini

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Yellow squash. Note the "siamese twins"

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And a couple of cucumbers (not a good year)

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Baby spaghetti squash

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Mutated day lily

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We cleaned up the tomato plants. Cutting off the lower branches gives the plants better air circulation and helps prevent fungus.

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Dorothea

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Keeping track of our babies

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I want some fried green tomatoes now :Cry:

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Originally Posted by Ducky

I want some fried green tomatoes now :Cry:

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trade ya some rosemary?




:p



hehe

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Originally Posted by IMGreat101

trade ya some rosemary?




:p



hehe

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Don't tease, because I can ship you some. Hubby was talking about having to trim the damn thing back, it's close on to 8' across and interfering with the gate.

Time to catch up what has been going on in the garden.

Yellow squash and zucchini. These have been some of the best producing plants ever.

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Much thought and consideration must be taken when working long days in the garden.

To start the day right!

Mullets - Des Moines, Iowa

A few of these.

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And a Breakfast meatloaf (meatloaf benedict) with hashbrowns.

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Now I am ready for a full day of harvesting!

This has been a great year for the beans.

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We grew a new variety called rattlesnake. They have a variegated purple look to them.

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All total after giving to my folks and neighbors we blanched and froze 16 qts.

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My gf came in and was in a panic. There was something wrong with our okra plants! She swore there were multitudes of bug eggs all over the stems of the plants. I told her I was sure it was some type of sap.

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These are natural for the okra plant. The clear little balls are normal for an Okra plant. They are a sign of a healthy plant.These are sap produced by the plant to attract beneficial bacteria to the leaves for better disease resistance and plant nutrition. :)

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clear gell like balls on bottom of okra leaves - UBC Botanical Garden Forums

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Datura - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Hibiscus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Definitely going to have a garden next year! Thanks for continuing to post these pictures!