A former Thai chili plant
And then this...
A slug-eaten strawberry
A dried out parsley plant
A (bird?)eaten dragon fruit cactus
My advice to you: Grow extra plants in case this happens to you! And practice integrated pest management...
-E
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Gardening Woes
As a first time gardener, I thought growing edible plants would be easy. Sunshine + water = food, right? Little did I know that destruction waited around the corner...
And then this...
My advice to you: Grow extra plants in case this happens to you! And practice integrated pest management...
-E
And then this...
My advice to you: Grow extra plants in case this happens to you! And practice integrated pest management...
-E
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Oh No!! Have you considered companion planting to keep pests away? I started doing that to avoid using pesticides and so far, I think it's been working. I planted marigolds with my parsley and thyme. I thought I had killed my parsley when I first transferred them to the outdoors. As soon as I added marigolds, overnight, they were growing like crazy and no signs of insect damage! I added nasturtiums to the garden as a sacrificial plant. They're supposed to attract aphids away from other plants. I don't know what to do about birds except netting. My friend who is an avid gardener is growing strawberries and they're growing beautifully! But she has them netted and it seems to keep the birds and slugs away.
ReplyDeleteo.k. I take it back. It's been raining a ton over here and it finally let up this weekend. Lo and behold, all of sudden, I have a gnat problem. I've been reading up and apparently, Miracle Grow soil, which all my plants except for my radishes, lettuces, and carrots are planted in tend to be gnatty. Sucks! Now I have to get a drench or re-pot all of my plants. I still think companion planting is helpful though. Maybe not so much with gnats. :-(
ReplyDeleteOh no! Don't worry about fungus gnats though. They'll disappear once the soil dries out a little. They always drive me nuts when I overwater my indoor plants. But they never do permanent damage. Btw, this is Jen writing this right now. Hi :)
ReplyDeleteI actually just sent Erin home with a pot that had among other things, a flowering parsley plant. I noticed the parsley flowers and cilantro flowers attract good bugs like crazy. Hopefully that will help her garden a bit. I can't speak to anyone's strawberry situation though. Mine keep getting eaten before I get to them too. I don't think it's birds though. I think it's earwigs. Barf.
As for soils, I've had such issues with so many potting soils. I think I've finally found a couple brands that I like. E.B. Stone for just regular stuff in pots. And for seed starting, or if I'm just feeling luxurious, I splurge on a bag of Fox Farm soil. They're both working out for me. Do you have those brands out there?
Hi Jen! :-) It would be great if the soil would dry out, but it's supposed to rain again basically all week!! Ugh!! My parsley is doing really well, and my cilantro is just starting to grow. My thyme is actually blooming right now. I really hope they attract beneficial insects soon. I've also added dill, and mint and right now, I'm hoping my chives will flower soon. Anyway, I'll have to check around for the brands you've mentioned. I haven't seen them around here, but I'm sure if I go to one of the local garden centers they'll have some other brands besides Miracle Grow. In the meantime, I went to Big Lots yesterday and bought some of the cheap stuff, called Black Magic ($1.50 per bag!) and re-potted yesterday; I haven't seen the gnats come back in the newly re-potted plants.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks it's been raining so much! It's so hard finding good potting soil. I've finally given up on cheap brands. After my master nursery bumper crop fiasco where the potting soil tested zero for nitrogen but positive for lead and cadmium, I just shell out more money for soil that costs more. Apparently pot growers love the Fox Farm stuff. I figure if they're using it for a serious cash crop like that, my veggies ought to do okay in it too :)
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely have to look for the Fox Farm brand or mix my own potting soil. So far, my plants growing in the Black Magic soil seem to be quite happy. We're supposed to get more rain again today. I think it's been a while since we had this much rain around here. My plants love it though!
ReplyDeleteThat's great they're doing well now :)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious now about this black magic soil...
It's a Big Lots brand. It actually lists what the soil is composed of: sphagum peat moss, compost, forest products and perlite. I haven't found any weird unnatural junk in the soil when I was using it. In the beginning of Spring, they sell if for $3 a bag and in late spring, they sell it for $1.50 per bag!
ReplyDeleteOooh! I have to check that out now!
ReplyDelete