Devv's Dirt Grow-Almost done..

Weekend March 2-3:
I’ve been working on the garden for years; it was dormant for a few years (like 10) while I changed careers. The base soil if you want to call it that is sand. I added heavy black dirt to the upper 2/3 years ago; I’ve since added heavy red dirt (clay ) to half of the lower 1/3. For two years straight I’ve added 4”s of compost to the upper 2/3 and this year 4”s to the bottom 1/3. I clean horse pens for the free manure; kitchen waste is added to the compost. Our property is on a slope and heavy rains cause erosion problems. Above the garden the land is heavily terraced to divert water runoff.
Finished concreting the base of the fence, used 22 80lb bags, the Waskily Wabbits should be done, until they find another way in. They have been a real menace! I tried a hot wire system, it was not too effective and killed birds and squirrels; I didn’t like that.

Planted the Onions January 15th, Garlic was planted September 15th. They took a beating with the 30mph winds, 55 mph gusts last Monday.

Tilled and my wife planted corn, cukes, watermelons, bush beans and cantelope.

Bush Beans above

Cukes, and Melons behind the Rosemary above.

Corn below.

I started these the first week of January; I think I got carried away.

The Potatoes, planted February 15th are coming up. I planted then 8”s deep and I keep covering them up, and will do so until the ground is level where planted.

Never ending mulch pile.

Hmmm.. too many images...

 

[stc3248]

My wife wants us to go to Texas, El Paso or maybe San Antonio (I have family there).

Lived in El Paso twice...even went to UTEP. Hope I never have to go back! Ha...SA is much better, or anywhere in the surrounding area.

Nice harvest shot! +1 on the Happy Mother's Day!

 

[WalkGood]

Awesome harvest brethren and happy mama day back at your wife & family ^_^

 

[stickman]

Man, I can't believe it's been a couple of weeks since I checked in here last. Nice harvest Scott, looks like things are ticking over nicely for ya. Cheers!

 

[Devv]

[/size]
Lived in El Paso twice...even went to UTEP. Hope I never have to go back! Ha...SA is much better, or anywhere in the surrounding area.

Nice harvest shot! +1 on the Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks, and it's getting ready to get crazy. LB started canning maters yesterday.

Awesome harvest brethren and happy mama day back at your wife & family ^_^

Thank you sir!

Man, I can't believe it's been a couple of weeks since I checked in here last. Nice harvest Scott, looks like things are ticking over nicely for ya. Cheers!

It's starting to come in, the hotties are even starting to flower.

Worked in the garden for a few hours this AM.

I was quite pleased to see these little guys. It's about time!

Lady bug porn.

They were all over the place!

Another predator. And these guys are everywhere. I think Mr. Naker was hunting them...

So it's good to see some balance finally.

Have a good one!

 

[WalkGood]

Great shots, love dat ladybug porn ... hope they leave some eggs for ya! What king of lizard is that, very cool strips on it?

 

[Devv]

Great shots, love dat ladybug porn ... hope they leave some eggs for ya! What king of lizard is that, very cool strips on it?

I don't know? But they're all over the place. And they hunt I haven't seen the green ones in a while. We used to have horny toads too, they're a rare sight nowadays..

I'm thinking the ladybugs finally figured out that I have a feed bag for them in the garden.

 

[DesertChris]

Yay on the lizards! We have that type here too, and they are starting to hang around the garden
And Yay on ladybugs!!!!

 

[stc3248]

That there is a Texas Spotted Whiptail...not to be confused with the Six Lined Race Runner! Fun stuff...when I was a kid I would catch horny toads all day long. Sad to hear they're dwindling. Those lady bugs are gonna put a hurt on the nasties out there for sure! Wait till their little bundles of joy bada$$ arrive!

 

[DesertChris]

Ahhhh... that was it... whiptail !! I was racking my brain trying to remember...lol

Growing up in San Diego, we would spend endless time catching lizards and snakes
Horny Toads were one of the most sought after species we looked for! Love those guys

 

[DocNrock]

Dude, so glad that storm missed you. Hand-ball sized hail, really?  Damn.  That would cause some serious damage. 
 
That Cayenne looks loaded up!  The other annuums look good, too.  Love the shot of the Poblano, it looks better than a store-bought one.  Same with the bell.  Looks like you are getting some good harvests with the nons, as well.  Not that I have looked, but I have never seen potato seeds anywhere ever.  Those red potatoes look great.  You could open your own Farmer's Market with the diversity you have growing there.
 
The Reaper looks pretty good.  Mine too has been dropping flowers left and right, but has finally set a few pods.  It remains to be seen if they are the Reaper phenotype or the Red Hab phenotype some have gotten.  It sucks that you are having problems with your chinenses.  I had one plant infested with spider mites.  I plucked the involved leaves and sprayed it down good with sulfer and it bounced back well.  I think I was lucky.  Another option is predatory mites.  They are kind of pricey, but Gasificada used them with great results.  Just Google for them. 
 
I haven't forgotten about the powder.  Just got tied up this past weekend.  It should be going out today.

 

[WalkGood]

I love the lizards here, I feed them all the bad worms I catch. I do it near the plants and eventually they just hang around them eatting bugs ... wish they'd stop all the nasties but there's just somethings that are too small for lizards, thus the added need for ladybug or mantis ....

 

[Devv]

I got on for a few minutes last night and they started an update...sure did seem to take awhile.

Yay on the lizards! We have that type here too, and they are starting to hang around the garden
And Yay on ladybugs!!!!

 
Those little guys don't sit still well for a picture, usually when I see one it's going a hundred miles an hour.
 
 

That there is a Texas Spotted Whiptail...not to be confused with the Six Lined Race Runner! Fun stuff...when I was a kid I would catch horny toads all day long. Sad to hear they're dwindling. Those lady bugs are gonna put a hurt on the nasties out there for sure! Wait till their little bundles of joy bada$$ arrive!

 
Most around here won't admit to having any Horny Toads, they're worried about having their land declared. I'm hoping those Lady bugs have their kids and grandkids in the garden! It's a bout time they kicked in.
 
 

Dude, so glad that storm missed you. Hand-ball sized hail, really?  Damn.  That would cause some serious damage. 
 
That Cayenne looks loaded up!  The other annuums look good, too.  Love the shot of the Poblano, it looks better than a store-bought one.  Same with the bell.  Looks like you are getting some good harvests with the nons, as well.  Not that I have looked, but I have never seen potato seeds anywhere ever.  Those red potatoes look great.  You could open your own Farmer's Market with the diversity you have growing there.
 
The Reaper looks pretty good.  Mine too has been dropping flowers left and right, but has finally set a few pods.  It remains to be seen if they are the Reaper phenotype or the Red Hab phenotype some have gotten.  It sucks that you are having problems with your chinenses.  I had one plant infested with spider mites.  I plucked the involved leaves and sprayed it down good with sulfer and it bounced back well.  I think I was lucky.  Another option is predatory mites.  They are kind of pricey, but Gasificada used them with great results.  Just Google for them. 
 
I haven't forgotten about the powder.  Just got tied up this past weekend.  It should be going out today.

 
That storm had me worried, did the flashlight check, you know, ready for the lights to go out. We were definitely lucky!
 
I used the word seed, when I should have said seed potatoes. I guess I'm a lazy typer...
 
I can't wait for the Chinense to look like the Annuums, they'll get there. That Reaper looked better (less funk) yesterday. I did pull off the lower and damaged leaves in preparation of a sulfur treatment, I'm hoping the ladybugs did their job.
 
I hope it sets the gnarly looking pods! I think it will, It has a real upright growth pattern. I have 5 growing and the others are more bushy.
 
 

I love the lizards here, I feed them all the bad worms I catch. I do it near the plants and eventually they just hang around them eatting bugs ... wish they'd stop all the nasties but there's just somethings that are too small for lizards, thus the added need for ladybug or mantis ....

 
I wonder if the lizards would eat the lady bugs given the chance?
 
Hopefully they're hitting the grasshoppers.

 

[koskorgul]

Looking good Scott
love the lady bug porn, how to get a few of them on my peppers. I had seen a few earlier but havent seen any for a few weeks now. Might have to buy some if necessary.

 

[DesertChris]

I wish we had Horny Toads around here..their preferred food is ANTS!!
And we have way too many ants....lol

I think those lizards would prefer larger food...cricket size...but if hungry might eat something ladybug size...
Although bright red usually means danger, so i'm not sure ladybugs are on the menu

 

[Devv]

Looking good Scott
love the lady bug porn, how to get a few of them on my peppers. I had seen a few earlier but havent seen any for a few weeks now. Might have to buy some if necessary.

I just got in from watering and hitting everything with ferts, then helped LB can Maters. The Ladies are still working...and that's great news!

I wish we had Horny Toads around here..their preferred food is ANTS!!
And we have way too many ants....lol

I think those lizards would prefer larger food...cricket size...but if hungry might eat something ladybug size...
Although bright red usually means danger, so i'm not sure ladybugs are on the menu

I read they like the harvester ants, cut ants. We still have them here. Never knew about them, bought 50 Rose bushes for the wife, started an orchard, planted shrubs in front. Wake up and say "where did the leaves go?". The good thing is we don't have any dang fire ants!

 

[WalkGood]

Devv, on 14 May 2013 - 1:22 PM, said: … I wonder if the lizards would eat the lady bugs given the chance?

Given the chance they would, I feed them brown beetles and they love them. That said, I’ve yet to see a lizard grab a ladybug.
 

koskorgul, on 14 May 2013 - 2:03 PM, said: … how to get a few of them on my peppers. I had seen a few earlier but havent seen any for a few weeks now. Might have to buy some if necessary.

They come and go for me, if I don’t see them around I take it that they’ve done their job and will return with things get out of hand again. If you have bad bugs (mites, aphids, ect.) then I’d buy some but if you don’t have issues, why not wait till you need them. That’s just my 2¢ …
 

DesertChris, on 14 May 2013 - 2:39 PM, said: I wish we had Horny Toads around here..their preferred food is ANTS!!
And we have way too many ants....lol

I wish we had them here too, that said not all ants are bad. While I’m no expert, some (sugar ants) help pollinate flowers. Here the white footed ants (all black or locally called black ants) are aphid farmers and recently I’ve done some testing with sprinkling ground cinnamon around the top soil and my white footed aphid farmers have move on. I still have the sugar ones hanging around the plants but I’ve yet to see them plant aphids, if they do, dem dead mon

DesertChris, on 14 May 2013 - 2:39 PM, said: I think those lizards would prefer larger food...cricket size...but if hungry might eat something ladybug size...
Although bright red usually means danger, so i'm not sure ladybugs are on the menu

I agree with your logic but I still believe if they get their hands mouth on a ladybug she’s a goner, lolz. The brown beetles the lizards eat here are gross looking, personally I’d eat a lady bug before a beetle, hehe.
 

Devv, on 14 May 2013 - 6:57 PM, said:… I read they like the harvester ants, cut ants. We still have them here. Never knew about them, bought 50 Rose bushes for the wife, started an orchard, planted shrubs in front. Wake up and say "where did the leaves go?". The good thing is we don't have any dang fire ants!

Fire ants are the worst, I don’t see a purpose for them and IIRC they were not native to North America, somehow they got here from Mexico or further south. Sorry to read about your harvester ants, I’ve only seen them in South America, never here but I’m sure they could survive anywhere cept down town in a major city, lols. I’m sure you have plenty of links, this one seemed interesting to me cause they actually say they’re beneficial but I don’t see how if they eat leaves lolz.
 
 
 

 

[DesertChris]

I hate ants!!
One of those buggers stung me on the knee yesterday while planting peppers.
Luckily it didn't swell up.....like it usually does....just itches like heck....

 

[WalkGood]

I hear ya Chris ... I'm not crazy about them either.
 
@Scott, I agree with you that this THP update sucks ... especially on quotes.

 

[DesertChris]

I was trying to post last night, only my phone worked, both computers got error messages???

 

[Devv]

Fire ants tear me up, moving here from NY in '78, I quickly learned here in Tejas everything has thorns, bites, and stings. Not so up North.

Yeah the THP update is way broken, I'm surprised it was released with all the posting bugs it has.

My job is IT, I manage 39 servers, the IP network, firewalls, and the IP phone system. This year has been a banner year for updates that break things. I had one knock down 11 critical servers, of course it was a Monday. They are too quick to release unproven software, and when you call them "it's only you" been doing this too long to believe that line!

'yall have a good one!

Good song coming on..."the cure"..Metallica.

I was trying to post last night, only my phone worked, both computers got error messages???

So with Firefox none of the choices in the tools..you know smile-guys, images etc. are available. I can see them but they are grayed out. In Internet Exploder 10, they don't exist.

Gonna try my Linux box..