JimSraj 511 #26 Posted June 3 10 minutes ago, Wayne0 said: Those Red taters I put in early are almost 2' tall now! Hilled them twice. Planted some Russets and Blues several weeks ago. They are coming along fine, about 6" tall. Beans are up. Tomatoes and Green peppers are slow. Can't seem to grow a cucumber to save my life. Seeds never sprout. Hate to buy plants, but if I want cukes, I have to. Try starting them in flats or cell packs and then transplant them to the garden after they have a set of real leaves. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #27 Posted June 5 Lo and behold, have 2 cucumber sprouts! Planted a short row of green onions behind a row of Potatoes. (have those in 3 places) Took down the only tree that shades the garden the other day. 130 foot White Pine. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 72,658 #28 Posted June 5 I mentioned this to Trina the other day. We have had trouble getting cukes too. Last two years they bought em from the local Amish or Mennonite stores. Maybe this year too. 21 minutes ago, Wayne0 said: only tree that shades the garden Nice. We've been doing the same by watching the sun angles from early AM to about 4 PM. Selected the trees to be downed over the last several years. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #29 Posted June 6 (edited) I've got two more that shade the deck mid day. Both 120+ feet. They're next. Only issue is $$$. Funny, I live on Pine St. It's a curse. Edited June 6 by Wayne0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 72,658 #30 Posted June 6 Pine trees...... not a fan. We cull them in favor of letting the hardwood grow. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #31 Posted June 10 (edited) Things are going good in the garden now except the peppers. They're doing nothing. Don't know the problem. Spuds are taking off, but have to keep picking off the potato beetles. Three varieties, Norland Reds, Russets and Blues. I was going to plant Yukon Gold, but ran out of space. Broccoli is coming along nicely and the cukes are doing well. Only 1/2 my beans came up, so I had to plant another pack. I actually have a tomato on! Probably won't last. Put some green onion sets in the other day. The woodchuck hasn't been around so far. Edited June 10 by Wayne0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gasaholic 294 #32 Posted June 11 15 hours ago, Wayne0 said: Spuds are taking off, but have to keep picking off the potato beetles. Tater bugs. Ew. Did the pick and crush for years , hands stained yellow with bug guts. Then I came across an excellent solution: "Conserve Naturalyte with Spinosad" - It's concentrated so it gets diluted with water in a small sprayer (Mine's 1 quart) and I spray my tater leaves at first sign of bugs or larva about once every 2 or 3 weeks and my potato bug problem is non-existent. Easy to find on Amazon. Nice thing about it is it's fairly natural and doesn't hurt the beneficial insects like bees and etc. It's a natural substance made by bacteria in the soil that's toxic to the bugs and caterpillars. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #33 Posted June 12 On 6/11/2025 at 8:08 AM, Gasaholic said: Tater bugs. Ew. Did the pick and crush for years , hands stained yellow with bug guts. Then I came across an excellent solution: "Conserve Naturalyte with Spinosad" - It's concentrated so it gets diluted with water in a small sprayer (Mine's 1 quart) and I spray my tater leaves at first sign of bugs or larva about once every 2 or 3 weeks and my potato bug problem is non-existent. Easy to find on Amazon. Nice thing about it is it's fairly natural and doesn't hurt the beneficial insects like bees and etc. It's a natural substance made by bacteria in the soil that's toxic to the bugs and caterpillars. Ordered some. We'll see how it works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
c-series don 10,024 #34 Posted June 13 Back in high school there was potato fields across the street from the school that stretched for about as far as the eye could see. The building has big sliding windows with no screens and no air conditioning. It might by now? I’m not sure, but it’s only a mile and a half as the crow flies from the ocean so that kept us cool. Anyway, we had the windows open a lot and when they would disc the fields, if the wind was right and it was dry the dust would pour in the school. Then later on as the potatoes grew the potato bugs would get blown into the building. I mean like thousands of them. I remember trying not to step on them in the hallway and flicking them off the desks! I also remember not paying attention in class because I was glued to watching them plow, disc, plant and eventually harvest the potatoes and then plant the cover crop. Faculty and students there now know nothing about this as all those fields have been gone for over thirty years and have been turned into homes that sell starting around three million. Sad really when I think about it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #35 Posted June 16 On 6/12/2025 at 7:29 PM, Wayne0 said: Ordered some. We'll see how it works. So far, so good. We'll se how it holds up over time. Maybe it will work on the Broccoli worms too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimSraj 511 #36 Posted June 17 2 hours ago, Wayne0 said: So far, so good. We'll se how it holds up over time. Maybe it will work on the Broccoli worms too. The broccoli caterpillars can be controlled with BT (bacillus thuringiensis). It too is a naturally occurring bacteria found in soil. My understanding is that the caterpillars eat it and it paralyzes their guts. Doesn’t harm anything other than caterpillars. Here’s a shot of a jumbo broccoli from last fall. IMG_3495.mov 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #37 Posted June 17 (edited) THAT'S what I call Broccoli!! Hoping mine get that big. It's my favorite veggie! I have BT in the arsenal. Edited June 17 by Wayne0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #38 Posted June 18 I know it's early in the season, but my Russets are flowering! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darb1964 1,119 #39 Posted June 18 On 6/3/2025 at 12:59 PM, Wayne0 said: Those Red taters I put in early are almost 2' tall now! Hilled them twice. Planted some Russets and Blues several weeks ago. They are coming along fine, about 6" tall. Beans are up. Tomatoes and Green peppers are slow. Can't seem to grow a cucumber to save my life. Seeds never sprout. Hate to buy plants, but if I want cukes, I have to. Cucumbers do not like cool soil or air temperatures. I always put them in last and force myself to wait until the first or second week of June. This year in the Berkshires of Massachusetts it has been very cool. My cucumbers are about three inches now. They should jump with the temperatures that are coming. It's time to treat them against bugs and to prevent rotting, it's been very wet and not much sun. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darb1964 1,119 #40 Posted June 18 On 6/6/2025 at 4:34 AM, ebinmaine said: Pine trees...... not a fan. We cull them in favor of letting the hardwood grow. They also make the soil very acidic, lots of lime will bring up the PH. Blueberry, now they like acid soil, strawberries also. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darb1964 1,119 #41 Posted June 19 Another trick my grandparents showed me was to dry your egg shells and crush them up into small pieces. Spread them on your vegetables, if keeps the bugs off because it cuts them up, and adds to soil health. Crushed sea shells work good also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HyperPete 872 #42 Posted June 21 On 6/18/2025 at 8:00 PM, Darb1964 said: Another trick my grandparents showed me was to dry your egg shells and crush them up into small pieces. Spread them on your vegetables, if keeps the bugs off because it cuts them up, and adds to soil health. Crushed sea shells work good also. Bake those egg shells to make the calcium more readily available to your plants. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #43 Posted July 1 (edited) Well, thanks to @Gasaholic , the tater bugs are under control. Took a few applications, but things are looking good. All 3 varieties are doing well. Kinda funny, but the worst infestation was on the Norland Reds. A couple bugs on the Russets and none on the Blues. Last week we had a few blistering days of heat and 4 out of 6 broccoli plants bolted. I'm hoping to get some secondary crowns out of them. Peppers and tomatoes aren't doing crap. They were both great last year! Cukes are rockin' it! Edited July 1 by Wayne0 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,195 #44 Posted July 7 (edited) I have Potatoes in containers as well as in the ground. I went out this morning to feed the chickens and check out the garden. On the overnight some critter tipped over one of the boxes and dug through other two! Holes I could fit my fist in all the way to the bottom. Whatever it was is heavy enough to tip over a 15" X 20" tub. I suspect trash pandas but not sure if they like taters. I'm going to put the critter cam out tonight. Edited July 7 by Wayne0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
