Whip out the row covers!

Wow, the same bugs that feed on the depleted dying plants go for the young fall seedlings. Makes sense. So sorry EG. Let's hope you catch them suckers in time.

Row covers help, but last year they just provided my leaf miners a place to stay warm and dry.

I tell you, this makes me want to build around all my plants and put permanent screens in that don't allow bugs in at all. Kind of like a green house, but a screen house instead.... ugggh.

~Angela

Holly - I don't have any row covers to "whip out" lol. I will definitely look at doing maybe one section, and see how that works - vs. Neem and BT. It'll be a little experiment, I guess!

Sinfonian - your past experiences with row covers is good to know. I would have never thought it would actually be beneficial for the leaf miners.

Angela - I'll get them under control, they just don't know it yet. If they mess with me, i'll even put them in that blue truck! lol

EG

I use little cages around my seedlings when I plant them. I have a rodent of some kind that likes to eat entire new plants shortly after they are put in the ground. I use fine mesh hardware cloth shaped into little boxes. They work well - don't keep out the little flies, though, I guess.

Well, today I stopped by the seed and feed store, and asked the guy there if he had any fall transplants yet. He said that the Bonnie Plants rep hadn't brought any by yet - because it wasn't time to plant them. I thought to myself, " Now that's just great"! Apparently, they already knew something that I didn't. So, I went home and soaked every little plant in the garden with Neem. I'd really like for the current seedlings to make it...I mean, I brought them to life. You know what I mean? Oh well, when I get my DELUXE HOMEMADE EG SEED STARTER built, it will be a breeze. They might be buying seedlings from me! Heh.

EG

I'm going to take the advice of Cynthia, who writes a blog called "Brambleberries in the Rain", and use toilet paper rolls as seed starting pots. I already use them as cutworm collars, so by filling them a little less than full of soil when I plant the seeds, they should work both as pot and collar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brambleberries in the Rain

Okay, EG, I give! What is the "DELUXE HOMEMADE EG SEED STARTER"?????????????? Well, who cares, now that I think about it... I'll just buy my seedlings from you! hee hee... okay, just kidding... I want the secret, blast it!

Granny, I checked out those toilet paper pots... hmmmmm... that's starting to sound like a good idea especially since it helps ward against the cutworms....

~Angela

I just use Safer's Insecticidal Soap for the bugs, but I have no idea if that would work on grasshoppers.

About 2 years ago, Gonefishin' was discussing using a ratio of 50% water to vanilla extract in a spray bottle to ward off the cabbage moth. I picked up a big bottle of it from the Bulk Barn for about 3 bucks and gave that a shot. Surprisingly, it seemed to work. Smelled purdy too!

Granny - I visited Cynthia's blog, very nice....

Angela - the seed starter is a contraption that i've designed, that will be used to start my seeds in around February, for the early spring crop next year. The starter will definitely get it's own thread.

Holly - I'm hoping the Neem will ward off the grasshoppers. If not, i'll be trying something else for sure.

EG

Found 3 little green worms on my tiny cabbage plants today. Boy, they sure didn't waste any time! Anyway, I squished them - then soaked the entire garden with Neem. I'm gonna start using BT on my leaf veggies - once they start growing well. The 7 broccoli seedlings that were apparently eaten by grasshoppers have been replaced with store bought transplants. My local seed and feed store had some dandies - at 9 for $2.99. That sounded like a good deal to me!The rest of the seedlings are growing nicely. Perhaps I will take a few photos tomorrow!

EG

This morning, I was able to get a few pictures of the fall garden. I placed them on my garden blog. Feel free to visit.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: EG's Garden Blog