Vegetable Update

Zucchini is almost ready to pick.

 Squash and cucumber is almost ready to pick.  Ben and Nicki will come over to pick while we are gone for three weeks.

Caterpillar on dill.  Probably a Black Swallowtail.

Cactus in Full Bloom

Too bad the blooms on this cactus only last a few days!
The squash are show blossom rot.  After investigating on line I learned that this is caused by a calcium deficiency most likely brought on by  over fertilization.  High amounts of nitrogen cause the leaves to grow rapidly and suck up the calcium from the tips of the squash fruit.  I bought a calcium enriched foliage spray and applied to the squash  and cucumber.  Lesson learned about fertilizer.  You can over do a good thing.

Favorite View from Kitchen Window 2

My vegetable garden is looking good.  The cherry tomatoes and the celebrity tomato are setting fruit as is the zucchini squash, the summer squash and the cucumbers.  The pole and wax beans have sprouted and are growing rapidly.  It's taking the lima beans longer than 10 days to sprout so I planted more seeds yesterday.  The bell pepper and eggplant are growing tall and straight but are behind the tomatoes in height.  In time I know they will be producing.  I've set the drip for 3 times a week at 30 minutes a session.  I've also set up the drip system for the potted plants on the deck.  The insects are still chomping on two of my pepper plants so I got more aggressive by using sevin and a bug bait.  Aphids are after my hibiscus so I sprayed them with systemic???  The cactus are blooming a bright magenta.  This week I'm fertilizing the vegetables before we leave on our trip through the south.  I'm sure I will come home to a jungle.

Insects Chewing Leaves on Pepper Plants

Something is eating the pepper plant leaves.  It must be a nocturnal chewing insect.  I did an internet search and found a natural solution:  Mix 3 T hot pepper sauce with 1 T veg. oil and 3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Let set overnight.  Mix with 4 cups water and 1 t dish soap.  Strain mixture.  Spray on plants, being careful to spray both the tops and insides of the leaves.  Store left over solution in the refrigerator.  I tried it today to see if it will work.  Also I had dusted with sevin last week but I didn't want to continue using a chemical.  Let's see what happens over the next week.

My Favorite View From the Kitchen Window

This is my favorite view from the kitchen window.  Yesterday we had almost 1.5 inches of glorious rain, the most since early January.  Overnight everything greened up.  The veggies are growing so fast.  We even have squash setting and tomatoes blooming.  The rain caused tons of pollen to dump and we have been spending the afternoon sweeping the walks and the deck.

Trophy Iris

It took cutting down trees to get enough sunlight for our iris to bloom.