23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Yes, leaffooted bugs -- ugh. I have them, too, for the first time ever. They arrived just since it got really hot here near Los Angeles and are making hash of my few remaining tomatoes. I have one pine tree -- could that be the culprit? The tree has been in for 6 years, but I've never had these bugs before. Any preventive measures?
I had a "herd" of Assassin bugs the first year I gardened. (Although I say "herd," note that they are solitary creatures, traveling alone, and putting space between themselves..Very territorial creatures...)
They were living in the border of milkweed around the perimeter of the yard, where I had all my tomato plants growing in eBuckets. I kept wondering why there were no bugs on any of the tomato plants. Then, I realized there was not so much as a bug even crawling on the buckets! Before I knew milkweed was their dinner of choice, I had cut it all back, and my "herd" dispersed itself - aaarrrgggghhh!
Just now getting it to grow again, and have seen a couple Assassins patrolling the yard again. I'll take these predators any day of the week.
There's exactly ONE Assassin Bug in my 4x8' bed of eggplants, and I haven't seen a bug yet on any plant (except for the flea beetles that have riddled the leaves with pinholes - no damage to any fruits)
And, while the Assassins will not back down from ANYthing (even bees), they have not had to attack any of my other bennies (beneficial insects).
And, my lizards are returning -- a very good sign!
Linda
My Gretel eggplants from last summer went gangbusters on me this summer! I refreshed the potting mix, feed them regularly, and pick the fruits very often. The sooner you pick them fruits, the sooner it throws off new blooms.
Also, my "Pot Black" eggplants (perfect for containers) continue to produce. I pulled what I thought was my last harvest this past weekend, and today, the plants are full of blooms again!
Linda.
That's actually an important point, that for eggplants, you need to pick them to start more fruit. With a small plant, trying to grow a fruit, the plant won't increase in size, nor will it generally flower again, until you pick that fruit. Then, BLAM! the plant starts growing fast, and lots of flowers appear.
This particular one I harvested early (when it's still green) and cooked it like a zucchini - thin slices, sauteed. I like it better than zucchini because it's sweeter. I have also harvested one that had just started to turn tan. It's more like a butternut and at that time the seeds and skin were still edible. I just cook another one that the stem has started to turn brown. I guess it's a butternut squash after all. I saved the seeds. Can't wait to see what comes out next year because it's being grown with another type of squash next to it.
I found out one thing: the stem that holds the squash is SO strong. I tried to pull it off the vine and broke the vine instead. (I let it climb the chain link fence.) I could barely cut it off with my shears.
Just a quick follow-up report. A month ago I took the tulle netting off to see what would happen. Today I just harvested two normal-looking, full-sized butternut squashes that got started after the tulle came off. So I think the lesson here is that for this particular variety at least, if you allow normal fertilization, you'll get normal fruit. If you don't, the plant will go parthenocarpahtic, and try its best to do something, fruit-wise.
I have not yet cut open the new squash, but I suspect they'll be full of seeds.
OK, here's closure. We ate the normally pollinated squash (actually a week ago, but I just got around to this post today), and the squash were PERFECTLY normal butternuts. Large size, and full of seeds. See photo.
So the same butternut squash plants that will go parthenocarpathic, if you keep the pollinators off (small size, no seeds), are quite happy to produce normally (large zie, lots of seeds) if you let the pollinators back in.
Pretty neat. Let that be a lesson to those using row covers, without pollinating manually.
I agree about too much water, but am not sure they need high nitrogen fertilizer. Too much Nitrogen now will just put on rampant top growth and it's really too late for another fruit set anyway. I'd recommend some well balanced fish emulsion on a light dosage (I prefer organic fertilizer). And let the soil dry out just a little between each watering.
Go ahead and pick the peppers that are fully orange, that's what you are going for. All peppers ripen from green to red/yellow/orange sooner or later. Thats when they are the sweetest and the best to eat. Once you pick some peppers the plants will likely grow a bit more.
As far as the ones that are rotting, you can cut them off and eat any salvageable pepper from them. It's common to lose some peppers from blossom end rot.
Good luck,
-Mark
Has anyone used the scarecrow sprinklers against squirrels? I can see frightening a deer, raccoon, possum, or cat with one. But squirrels are pretty resilient to water. In their tree-top nests, they get rained on all the time. So I have to wonder if they'd just laugh off a scarecrow sprinkler. Bath time!
I'm not sure, but in the linked article it sounds like they are talking about "flower sprouts", the somewhat new veg that Johnnys seed company is pushing.
The only reason why you would cut the tops off regular brussels sprouts is to promote even sizing of the sprouts for full stem harvest.
Of course, you can eat some leaves if you want but I personally think kale is much tastier....
-Mark
No, Mark, I assure you they talking about Brussels Sprouts. They are so ubiquitous here that you only need to say 'sprouts' and everyone knows you mean Brussels Sprouts. The tops are cut off after the sprouts have been harvested. As I said, they are sold as a separate green vegetable in their own right here in the UK. There is no tradition here of cutting off the tops to promote growth, only to harvest them as greens.
Until you have tried sprout tops I would not dismiss them. We eat them a lot in winter - they are tender and delicious, not tough like the lower leaves, which we do not eat. If you Google 'Sprout tops' you will get a lot of hits for recipes.
Here is a link that might be useful: More on sprout tops
we leave all roots in especially legumes, it all adds and all helps.
len
Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
Well like I said, I haven't tried using tulle. I was just giving a suggestion based on old posts.
disappointed in row covers/will netting work for cabbage moths?
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0422501923825.html
French Tulle Netting
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0505305828412.html
Help me kill the Flea Beetles eating my Eggplants!
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0620524021153.html
The last two links say that using tulle keeps out flea beetles.
Rodney
What do you consider "harm," seysonn?
Aphids and whiteflies don't look like they're creating harm, because they don't chew foliage. But they carry diseases that can wipe out your crop. There are thousands of insects that don't look like they're causing harm, but do. And vice versa -- there are tons of bugs that are very beneficial.
Yardninja did the correct thing -- identify, then react.
I have no idea yardninja. I'm still a noob when it comes to insect I.D. At first glance, they look like nympphs of leaf-footed bugs. But I'd definitely listen to Dave and nc-crn... they know their stuff.
I just learned something myself... that assassin bugs are a leaf-footed species.
Kevin
That is a congregation of STINKBUG nymphs. Leave them alone and they will be the bane of your tomato season when they grow up to become pests...
They are NOT my friends....
Assassin bugs do NOT have the black bump on their butts. It's how I remember the bad stinkbug nymps. "BAD Bug Black Butt Bump..."
And, the final clue: Stinkbug nymphs assemble in congregations, like they're praying in church over whatever they're destroying at the moment.
ASSASSIN bugs travel just like their names. Singular. Solitary. You may see a number of them in your grass, but they put distance between themselves as they patrol. They don't hang out as a gang...They're assassins....
I take care of my assassin bugs.
As soon as I get home, I'm gonna snatch up that congregation of stinkbug nymphs I noticed just yesterday, sitting on an eggplant, just like yours. I sneak up on them with a plastic bag, and capture them and that one eggplant, all at once...
P.S. The eggplant in your post seems to have grown dull. Pick your eggplants when they are very shiny. Pick them regularly to encourage production. The sooner you pick them, the sooner you'll have new blooms.
Remember: "A dull eggplant = a bitter eggplant..."
Linda
This post was edited by gymgirl2 on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 16:12