End of garden post

[DogDiesel]

Hello,

I'm hoping for some input. I'm pretty much done gardening this year. . I've got a few tomatoes and peppers left. My eggplants did awesome. I'm looking forward to next year already and my improvements. Here's my biggest issue to overcome. I cant tell when my veggies are ready to be pulled. I left the corn too long to the point the kernals got a little crinkly and soft. The eggplants were lenient but should of been pulled. Some lettuce bolted then I realized it was time. Some yellow tomatoes got real soft last month. . I pulled some onion sets real early. Then lost the rest to weeds mostly.

I've managed to get the weeds in check . The piles of hay and ground cover actually worked really well. Ruth Stout wasn't full of crap. My work load on weeds. was down about 75% .

Bug issues were not an issue . I only had bugs on fallen tomatoes. Flea beetles early on the eggplants. And Japanese beetles were held in check by sacrificing the grapes for the corn.

I have more trouble with ants in the house then bugs in the garden.

[Bill who putters]

Look into oil of Pennyroyal which deters and sugar with boric acid which kills.

[Martin Riddle]

Terro ant killer is sugar/boric acid, works well. Wallmart carries it. Or you can mix your own.

Cheers

[David Hare-Scott]

Some are ready when immature, some when mature but time isn't very critical, some should be just right. There are "rules" for determining when some are ready but these are not always so easy for everybody to apply. Mainly it's a matter of practice and fitting your growing and eating habits together.

I left the corn too long to the

This one comes up every few months, look through some history of the NG.

When the rate of growth slows nearly to a stop cut them, the size that this will be depends on conditions and cultivar.

Everybody gets caught on this sometimes. One day they look fine, next day bolted. Try continuously cutting the outer leaves, you get plenty of salad and when they come to the end you haven't lost anything. More open cultivars are better for this. Also you will have less problem if you avoid growing lettuce in the heat of summer.

For some fruits like tomatoes colour is a pretty reliable guide to ripeness.

I pulled some onion sets real early. Then lost the rest to

I don't know Ruth but mulch is almost always good.

David

[Frank]

Ditto's with the ants but surrounding the house foundations with the ant poisons got rid of them.

The current bug bothering us is the stink bug. Lower temperatures are bringing them indoors where they hide until spring.

[djs0302]

For corn you pull back the husk a little and pinch open one of the kernels. If the liquid is clear it's not ready and needs to go another day or two. If the liquid is milky then it's ready. If there's little or no liquid then it's too late.

[JustTom]

Yep, and each year it's getting worse.

My shopvac was on overtime last week.

Worse, they are starting to affect the apples and other orchard crops here.

[songbird]

what eats them?

songbird

[Pat Kiewicz]

Some critter they left behind in Asia. These stink bugs are recent (and unfortunate) imports. First they attack the crops, then they move in to houses for the winter and stink up the joint.

to:

[JustTom]

Not much of anything. They are a Chinese import that doesn't have seem to have any natural predators here and they are thriving.

None of my chickens will touch them.

I raise Muscovy ducks, and they seem to eat them from time to time, but don't actively pursue them.

I've heard guineas will eat them, but don't have any to verify.

I had the poor taste to find a log home charming. Unfortunately, so do stink bugs and the endless cracks and crevices are a haven for them.

[Bill who putters]

They seem to like light. The light fixtures in my one room vent to the attic. Once had hornets enter the same way these guys atleast don't sting and move slow.

Been leaving the ceiling lights off.