Halloween Costume

The bogeyman of the year in our garden was the spotted cucumber beetle. To me that would be a frightening costume. One could also go as a deer or a rabbit. These creatures may not be scary to non-gardeners, but they strike fear into the hearts of anyone who has gone out in the morning to find everything eaten or trampled. Maybe a wolf or coyote costume would be good. It could be stuffed and put in the garden next spring as a scarecrow (scaredeer).

The greens are really coming in well. We have eaten them 4 times and given them away once. Yesterday I told my mother I would bring her some on Tuesday. She dreamed about them last night. They are that good. The onions are almost ready to start pulling. What do you call spring onions in the fall? The spinach has true leaves. The mesclun is growing, but it came up a little spotty. It may need replanting. The arugula was planted late, but is coming in pretty well.

This weekend saw the last available raised bed filled and mulched. There is only enough wood left to build one or two more. That will be next weekend’s project. It is raining now and is supposed to continue tomorrow. If the ground gets good and wet, I may transplant a few little trees.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

The Lima Mystery

It has been mentioned several times in this blog that the Lima beans are making great vines and no beans. Two possible reasons have been discovered through internet research. The first is that Lima beans take a long time to set beans. Several articles have mentioned that lima beans are very late to produce. The second reason is that they are very intolerant of low soil PH. They like the soil PH at between 6 and 7. At the time they were planted the PH was 6.8 in the spot they were planted. The vines have been sprayed with sulfur to fight the cucumber beetles. This could have acidified the soil.

The cucumber beetles seem to have disappeared. There are no cucurbits left either except for 4 cucumber plants from the late planting. If they make cucumbers, seeds will definitely bee saved for next years planting. Cucurbit seeds are hard to save because they are so promiscuous. There are no other cucurbits around so these should be rather pure.

The greens had a fairly good germination despite the warm weather and the drought conditions. They have to be watered every day. The cabbage and broccoli plants will need to be replanted, but the weatherman is calling for continued high temperatures and no rain until next week. There is no reason to plant lettuce, spinach or onions until things cool down some.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

The Just and the Unjust

The Bible says that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. I’m not sure what I am in that case, because it is not falling on me or my yard. At my office in Charlotte it rained all afternoon. At my house, there was not a drop in the rain gauge. The grass is brown and there are huge cracks in the yard. It is a good thing we have a leash law, or someone could lose a small dog in the cracks.

The garden is being watered every day except for the speckled lima beans. They are staying green and healthy, but they have no beans. There is no sense wasting water on them. The crucifers, except for the little plants I bought, are doing great. Of the bought plants, 3 out of 16 have survived. All of the ones from the greenhouse are flourishing.

About 4 cucumber plants survived the spotted cucumber beetles. They are growing pretty slow, but if they make cucumbers they will be ideal candidates for saving seeds. They are either resistant to the beetles or they don’t taste good to them. Either way works for me.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Three Days is Not Enough

The spotted cucumber beetles in my yard are developing a resistance to BT and to Sulfur sprays. For three days in a row they have been sprayed. There are still a few there. They got sprayed again yesterday. Who knows if that will work? The only cucurbits left are some new cucumbers and some new yellow squash. They may make it. They may not.

Rain has been threatened all week, but the garden is dry enough that it will need watering tonight. The upside down tomatoes are the canaries in the coal mine. When they wilt, it is an indication that the soil is getting dry. Soil in pots dries fast. Soil in raised beds dries almost as fast.

The vacant raised beds are ready for the fall planting now. The official time to plant is Labor Day. Our garden may get planted this weekend. The weekend is supposed to be cool and dry. Good for the gardener.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

A Different Way to Fix Eggplant

My wife has invented a new eggplant recipe. The eggplant is peeled and sliced in about 3/8” slices. These are chopped into pieces no more than 2” in any direction and stir fried in olive oil until they are done. Onions are sautéed very slowly. The onions and eggplant is put together and olives, capers and anchovies are added. A few hot or sweet peppers could be thrown in as everything is heated. This is poured over any pasta of your choice. The taste is a little strange, but very tasty.

The spotted cucumber beetles seem to be resisting the sulfur spray. The BT is getting rid of the larvae; but the beetles themselves are hard to defeat. Today will be the third day in a row to spray them. In the past three days in a row of spraying has worked until the next rain. Yesterday when the bugs were sprayed the infestation did not seem any less than the day before.

There are little tomatoes on the upside down tomatoes that were planted mid-season. They haven’t required tying up yet. When the fruit gets heavy they will probably need tying. That is going to make it very difficult to move them into the greenhouse when frost threatens.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Unproductive Weekend

In the last month 2 weekends have been spent traveling. This weekend was the weekend to get the garden ready for fall planting. It did not happen. The wet weather made the grass grow so fast that it needed cutting. I managed to cut down one of the Arbor Day trees that survived from spring. Now there are only 2. There is also a little crepe myrtle that survived transplanting from the back yard.

The tomatoes are coming along nicely again. They don’t come fast enough for canning though. The fig trees seem to be between crops. They are loaded with figs, but they are not ripe. The lima beans are the biggest disappointment. They have lush vines and almost no beans. The hot peppers are producing very heavy. We don’t eat them, we just give them away.

The squash bugs and spotted cucumber are eating the squash, cucumber and cantaloupe plants faster than they grow. They don’t seem to bother the watermelons. The rain washes the sulfur off of the plants almost as fast as it gets sprayed on. It takes about three sprayings to wipe out the cucumber beetles. One spraying seems to have destroyed the squash bugs.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Cucumber Beetles Almost Defeated

The sulfur and BT have almost eliminated the spotted cucumber beetles. The rain keeps washing the spray off of the leaves, but I would rather spray than water. The problem is that the yellow squash and zucchini are pretty much destroyed. The yellow squash has been replanted and is almost ready to bloom.

The yellow patty-pan squash has little squash on the vines. They seem really small. I hope they don’t turn out to be the little medallion sized squash. Cucumbers and zucchini will need to be replanted. There may be time for a crop before first frost. The tomatoes are doing great and we are still getting mesclun. The mesclun is looking ratty but maybe it will last until the fall planting comes in.

The figs and hot peppers are the real stars of the garden right now. We are getting 3 to 5 pounds of figs a day. Yesterday Ana made preserves. We will probably have to make more tonight. The birds are eating a lot of them, but there is plenty for them and us. The tomatoes seem to have slowed down ripening a little in but there are still plenty on the vines. The upside-down tomatoes are growing rapidly and should be producing before frost. They are going to be heavy for the rafters in the greenhouse. They may need some special support structures.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Finally Figs

The first figs were picked yesterday finally. The production from the two trees was kept separate to see whether pruning or not pruning makes a difference. One picking, of course, will not be definitive. The un-pruned tree produced 1# 8 ounces of figs. The pruned tree produced 8 ounces. There are other considerations besides production. The un-pruned tree is much harder to pick. It also shades the garden more.

For the last 3 mornings the garden has been sprayed with sulfur spray. Unless it rains today, that should finish off the spotted cucumber beetles. I only saw 1 this morning. The plants will get a good examination this afternoon. Hopefully the beetles will be gone. The other pest is birds in the tomatoes. It is not fair to complain too much since they are planted by the birdbath. If the problem continues a bird net may be necessary.

We had a complete salad last night, but the mesclun is looking really scroungy. It may be time to go ahead and plant a fresh crop. The soil temperature is still pretty high, maybe we will have to plant bib lettuce or something more heat tolerant. It is almost time for the fall garden anyway. Labor day is supposed to be the day, but need can be an important influence.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Mystery Solved

The “mystery bugs” are spotted cucumber beetles. During the research phase, I found striped cucumber beetles. These are the same thing with a different pattern on their uniform. Mr. Blackley at Renfrow’s Hardware identified them. They can be defeated with neem oil, pyrethrums or sulfur. Pyrethrums are considered organic because they are made from daisies. They are still a poison. This limits a true organic solution to the sulfur or the neem oil. I already have sulfur.

When sulfur is used in a garden spray one must pay careful attention to the PH of the soil. Even a little bit of sulfur will acidify the soil. The best time to spray is early in the morning to avoid damage to the foliage. If watering is required as well, that should be done first.

The first cantaloupe and the first watermelon came off this weekend. The cantaloupe was very sweet. We haven’t eaten the watermelon yet. The tomatoes and okra are coming in well. The cucumbers are looking shabby. The summer squash is done, but new patty-pan squash and yellow squash have been planted and are doing well. Most of the butternut squash and all of the spaghetti squash has been picked.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/