What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[turbo]

Yay! Assassins are back! This one is not at big and menacing looking as last year's model, but that's probably a good thing because he'll probably leave the bumblebees alone.

 

[Moonbear]

Is that what those bugs are? I had one like that out on the tomatoes the other day. I couldn't figure out what it was...it sort of looked like a mutant wasp. Since it didn't look like a tomato-eating worm/fly, I left it alone. Glad I did now if they eat the tomato-eating bugs!

Brewnog, those tomatoes look wonderful! I like how they hang all on a vine so neat and orderly and British-like.

 

[baywax]

Ok! These are called "Supersweet 100". They're 2-3cm across, and are very sweet. I've just got them in growbags on the patio.

Those are great! Cherry tomatos are so good. If you get some sun they warm up and taste outrageous!

Turbo... does that thing actually help out in the garden!?

 

[turbo]

Turbo... does that thing actually help out in the garden!?

Oh, yeah! I'd like to find a place where I could order a couple of dozen, like you can order mantises. I'll have to look around to see if someone sells them. Last year, I had at least one assassin big enough to tackle bumblebees. Pretty impressive critter.

 

[turbo]

BTW, assassin bugs have pretty painful bites. Their venom is strong and assists in liquefying the innards of its prey. So don't go handling your garden buddies.

 

[Evo]

Ok! These are called "Supersweet 100". They're 2-3cm across, and are very sweet. I've just got them in growbags on the patio.

Very nice Brewnog!

turbo and MB, there's nothing nicer than seeing one of those assassins with it's fangs in a tomato horn worm.

 

[baywax]

BTW, assassin bugs have pretty painful bites. Their venom is strong and assists in liquefying the innards of its prey. So don't go handling your garden buddies.

I had no idea man!

It is a whole other way to protect your garden. I was surprised to find that the Okanagan has a natural population of Praying Mantises. They are very cool bugs.

Some farmers in India use ants to wipe out the larvae and adult pests. They spray their fields with Pepsi or the equivalent and the ants come for dinner and dessert. I think we've covered this already.

 

[Evo]

After several weeks of no caterpillars on my tomatoes, they returned with a vengeance. I have picked off almost a dozen today and I'm sure there are more. The suckers are really hard to find.

 

[turbo]

After several weeks of no caterpillars on my tomatoes, they returned with a vengeance. I have picked off almost a dozen today and I'm sure there are more. The suckers are really hard to find.

Some caterpillars/moths can go through several generations per season. Even the bigger ones like horn-tails and cutworms can plague you at least twice a season. I want MORE assassins!

 

[turbo]

Another likely garden-pal! I saw this tiny wasp today eating from a goldenrod. If you have goldenrods where you live and you look at the size of the florets, you know this wasp is minuscule. But look at the length of that ovipositor! I hope this nice lady plants her babies in herbivorous caterpillars, cutworms, grubs, etc.

 

[rewebster]

that has got to be one of the nicest pictures of a bug you've posted, turbo

 

[turbo]

that has got to be one of the nicest pictures of a bug you've posted, turbo

Thanks, rewebster! Luckily, she was busy with that tiny floret, and I got pretty close and snapped away. Then she raised her tail (possibly to gain leverage to get deeper into that bloom) for the "money shot".

Edit: It may not be such a helpful wasp after all. It seems that this family of parasitic wasps parasitizes solitary-nesting bees and wasps.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/208164#289957
http://www.tolweb.org/Gasteruptiinae

 

[Evo]

That's an awesome picture turbo!

 

[baywax]

That's an awesome picture turbo!

Yeah!

Killer stinger on that baby! Which planet are you on?

 

[turbo]

Thanks you two. That's an ovipositor that the wasp uses to inject eggs into her prey, which unfortunately is solitary-nesting wasps and bees. I'll have to let her alone, even though she is likely to parasitize some of my solitary mason bees and other pollinators.

 

[baywax]

Thanks you two. That's an ovipositor that the wasp uses to inject eggs into her prey, which unfortunately is solitary-nesting wasps and bees. I'll have to let her alone, even though she is likely to parasitize some of my solitary mason bees and other pollinators.

Why not get out the glock?!

 

[turbo]

Why not get out the glock?!

Don't want to knock down the bees with pressure-shock. Have you ever fired a model 20? You'll need ear-plugs AND muffs - no kidding!

 

[baywax]

Don't want to knock down the bees with pressure-shock. Have you ever fired a model 20? You'll need ear-plugs AND muffs - no kidding!

Nah! All my firearms were confiscated... but that was
just the tank and the ones with silencers on them.

What can I do man?... I live in Canada. Side arms are severely restricted.

I wouldn't want to disturb any bees either actually.
Anyone that does deals with my bazooka.

 

[rewebster]

Don't want to knock down the bees with pressure-shock. Have you ever fired a model 20? You'll need ear-plugs AND muffs - no kidding!

the bees have had a hard time the last few years with that virus/mite or whatever has killed off, what, over 50%----I don't think its from bazookas and model 20s though----

SAVE THE BEES!


(donations taken at the PF lounge)

 

[rewebster]

we had (another) storm roll through the other day--branches, trees, power down

 

[Moonbear]

More storms here too. My "safety net" for the tomatoes didn't completely prevent them from tipping, but they rested gently against it instead of falling to the ground, and no new broken branches this time. Yay!

 

[Evo]

More storms here too. My "safety net" for the tomatoes didn't completely prevent them from tipping, but they rested gently against it instead of falling to the ground, and no new broken branches this time. Yay!

I am so glad to hear that!

What is with you getting bad storms!?

Right now I am battling caterpillars, I found two more today.

From all of the rain we've been getting, a lot of my tomatoes have split, I just knew it would happen. Oh well, I can see a lot of salsa in my future.

 

[Moonbear]

What is with you getting bad storms!?

I have no idea what's going on. This time of year, a brief late day thundershower isn't that odd, but we've been getting fairly severe storms quite often with torrential downpours (yesterday, I was home in the afternoon when it started and I couldn't even see out the window the rain was so hard...it was like someone was spraying a garden hose at the window; the ditches that drain the rain water from the roads looked like whitewater rapids there was so much water running through them afterward). It's just insane. The storms just don't seem to want to let up!

It's going to be a mess in two weeks when students return to town. Most of the road construction done over the summer is far from complete with all the storms slowing down work, and the roads are only getting worse from all the heavy rain water undermining sections where the ditches along the road are turning into ravines from the force of water running through them.

 

[Evo]

I have no idea what's going on. This time of year, a brief late day thundershower isn't that odd, but we've been getting fairly severe storms quite often with torrential downpours (yesterday, I was home in the afternoon when it started and I couldn't even see out the window the rain was so hard...it was like someone was spraying a garden hose at the window; the ditches that drain the rain water from the roads looked like whitewater rapids there was so much water running through them afterward). It's just insane. The storms just don't seem to want to let up!

I'm just glad it's not me for a change!

It's going to be a mess in two weeks when students return to town. Most of the road construction done over the summer is far from complete with all the storms slowing down work, and the roads are only getting worse from all the heavy rain water undermining sections where the ditches along the road are turning into ravines from the force of water running through them.

That's not good, cold weather we be upon us sooner than we realize and if they aren't finished, that's going to be a mess!

 

[rewebster]

we were within an inch of breaking the all time record for rain for the month of July

(global warming/climate changes)

 

[Evo]

I want to go to Alaska, they are about to break an all time record for the coldest summer ever. But I don't want to be there for winter.

We had several years of severe drought, really severe, but the past couple of years have been back to normal as far as rainfal, with cooler temperatures than normal (very nice!). And I don't want to jinx it, but the weather has not been as severe as usual. It seems Moonbear is getting hit instead.

 

[rewebster]

or any of the earthquakes


I hear they have mosquitoes the size of dragonflies

 

[Moonbear]

And I don't want to jinx it, but the weather has not been as severe as usual. It seems Moonbear is getting hit instead.

You can have it back! I think turbo has been getting some of the same storms I have. It seems he gets hit the day after me pretty regularly, which is about how long it would take a storm system to get from here up to Maine with these slow-moving, torrential-downpour-soaking storms. Of course, I'd have thought the clouds would be wrung out by the time they got there they're dumping so much out here.

And, yeah, it's not just rain, it's the winds that go with it. This is the first summer where I've had to worry about keeping my patio umbrella closed. In the past, even if I forgot to close it and a storm came through, it was sheltered enough between the house, the hill, and the privacy fences that any wind was usually blocked down on my deck.

At least we've mostly been spared the hail here. That has been hitting PA just over the border, though.

 

[rewebster]

we haven't had as many tornadoes, but we've had a lot more strong straight line winds--that's what has knocked down trees the last few times

 

[baywax]

we haven't had as many tornadoes, but we've had a lot more strong straight line winds--that's what has knocked down trees the last few times

Nice shot of the clouds rewebster. Those are some of my favourite because they change so rapidly and often emit electricity, like a wonder of nature. Thank you!