Green Dragon's 2023 Grow

[GreenDragon]

The late spring freeze really took a toll on my fruit trees this year. It looks like my total harvest this year (if nothing beats me to them) will be two cherries, two peaches, and three apples! May have to open up a fruit stand.

 

[GreenDragon]

Update - we ate the cherries!

Tomatoes, amaranth, dill, carrots, mystery squash



Potatoes ( never had them bloom before!).


Cucumbers (Wife - you need to build a trellis for the cucumbers. “OK, hold my beer.”


Tobacco


Gladiolus

 

[deluxestogie]

They've got a solid weekend of rain ahead, so they should be happy.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

The year’s first batch of pickles. Had to buy the cuc’s as mine have only just started to flower. But I wanted to utilize my dill plants which are already starting to bolt. Nothing smells as good as fresh garden dill weed!

 

[GreenDragon]

As mentioned in earlier posts, I've been experimenting with using clover as a green mulch in the garden beds. I have consistently seen better results from the beds with clover than without. Here is another example: the garlic bulb on the left is from a bed with clover, the one on the right without. Each was grown in the same soil, fertilizer, water, etc.

The only disadvantage I've encountered so far is that the clover appears to prevent seed germination. I've only had luck where I've started seeds elsewhere (1020 trays) and transplanted the seedlings into the bed. Direct sowing has yielded no results. The only exception was the potatoes, they happily grew up through the clover (but then again, they aren't really seeds either).

If I continue to see good results the rest of the year I will sow clover in my tobacco beds this fall for experimenting next year.

 

[MadFarmer]

If I continue to see good results the rest of the year I will sow clover in my tobacco beds this fall for experimenting next year.

Any particular cultivar of clover?

 

[GreenDragon]

Any particular cultivar of clover?

White Dutch clover. Only gets 6” high so it makes a great lawn too. I overseeded my back yard with it and I really like it so far. So do the bees. It’s supposed to be drought tolerant so we’ll see how it does in the summer. Apparently clover seed was commonly included in lawn seed mixes before WWII but stopped after herbicides were invented - hence our mono-cultured grass lawns of today.

 

[GreenDragon]

Welcome to Japanese Beetle Season!!!! I put out a single trap two days ago. So far 337 beetles!

 

[deluxestogie]

That second image is actually a contract for a shipment of millet, written in ancient Sumerian.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

My mother found this clearing out some old boxes from my grandfather’s estate and gave it to me as a late birthday present. Looks to be in good condition. Will need to find some flint for it.

 

[deluxestogie]

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[GreenDragon]

I know everyone has been waiting anxiously for an update on the beetle war, so enjoy!

 

[deluxestogie]

Southerly wind and rain on 6/11/2023.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

Southerly wind and rain on 6/11/2023.

Bob

Bob, you hit the nail on the head. So far (with 5 whole days of data) there seems to be a definite correlation with the weather - they like it dry and sunny.

Also, to answer the unasked question: I'm equal parts nerd and bored. I've been preserving the little buggers (ha!) in a mason jar of vodka, with the intention of using them as a prop this Halloween.

 

[deluxestogie]

The little buggers need to be able to smell their floral, pheromones. When I smell a floral character coming from my grape vines, I know they will be suffering from Japanese beetle-mania (not to be confused with Beatlemania).

Bob

 

[johnny108]

 

[GreenDragon]

Bettle Update - Total Count 1650



Tobacco



Garden

 

[johnny108]

What kind of trap are you using?

 

[GreenDragon]

What kind of trap are you using?

These pheromone based traps. They fly in, fall to the bottom, and can't get out. I empty the traps each day into a bucket of soapy water.

 

[deluxestogie]

Over the years, I have gotten the impression that the pheromones used in my Japanese Beetle traps tended to lure the beetles from downwind, neighboring yards into my own. That is, the traps increased my problem, while satisfying a deep need for vengeance. I stopped using them a few years ago. If my yard were a closed airspace, then they would lure the beetles away from my plants, but that did not appear to be what happened.

Part of my difficulty in making sense out of Japanese Beetle trap impact is that the natural cycle of infestation varies so much from year to year.

Bob

EDIT: Your data collection, when completed, might be of interest as a "letter to the editor" of an entomology journal, or a gardening magazine.