Gutter Gardening

An interesting idea for those with limited space or bad soil.  Would also be a great idea for people with bad backs.

http://juneauempire.com/stories/072508/nei_309624417.shtml

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Second Dispatch from the Insect War Front

The Good:

Flowering mint covered in pollinators 

Herbs that are allowed to flower are generally very attractive to beneficial insects.  Earlier in the year, my flowering basil was inundated with beneficials.  Now it's the mint that is bringing them in.

Syrphid fly on flowering mint

Large syrphid fly (wasp mimic) on flowering mint

The mint is loaded with butterflies and syrphid flies (bee and wasp mimics) that serve as pollinators.  Some syrphid flies also have predatory larvae.

The Bad:

Black blister beetle eating tomato leaves

About a week ago, I found about 20 of these black blister beetles on the lower leaves of my tomato plants.  Blister beetles eat leaves and can defoliate a plant if their population is left unchecked.  They are called blister beetles because, when disturbed, they release a chemical blister agent that can cause chemical burns.  Because of this, I am not hand picking them off the plants.  This is the first time I've ever had a problem with this pest.  I've stalked them each morning and given them a quick shot of the organic insecticide NeemII.  That seems to be taking care of the problem just fine.

Cut worm beneath tomato plants

While volunteering at the heritage gardens at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, I hoed up this cutworm beneath the tomato plants.  Cutworms encircle plant stalks and can cut them off at the base or eat the outer layer which will cause wilting and death.  If you have a cutworm problem, wrap a small skirt of aluminum foil around the base of your plants and that will exclude them.  I don't have many cutworm issues, because I let my chickens dig through my soil at the end of the season and eat anything they find.  If you don't have chickens, removing any organic material such as mulch and turning the soil over will help.

Squash bug eggs on the underside of a butternut squash leaf

Two mating squash bugs on a butternut squash vine

Closeup of a squash bug on a butternut squash leaf

Squash bugs can be a real problem.  They reproduce rapidly and in large numbers can suck a vine dry.  In the picture directly above, you can see the piercing mouth part with a drop of plant juice on it.  Despite the pictures, squash bugs haven't caused a huge problem for me this year.  I haven't seen any nymphs (small, gray versions of the adults) and the most adults I've seen at one time is two.  I regularly check the undersides of the leaves for eggs.  When I find them, I scrape them off with my thumbnail.  I spray any adults I see with NeemII.

Tomato fruitworm on a Roma tomato plant

Tomato fruitworm

I found this tomato fruitworm on one of my plants this morning.  I picked it off and smashed it.  I haven't found any of the characteristic fruit damage or any other caterpillars.  If I start to find more, I will use a treatment of Bacillus thuringiensis (BT).  BT is an organic treatment of bacteria that only affects butterfly and moth caterpillars.

Japanese beetle on an okra leaf

I find 4 or 5 Japanese beetles eating my okra leaves each morning.  A quick spritz of NeemII and they are gone.

The Good and Ugly:

Wheel bug on an okra leaf

I have two of these rather large (1.5") insects living in my okra.  They are called wheel bugs and are easily identified by the spiky wheel on their backs.  These are GOOD insects to have around.  They are related to the squash bug, but instead of sucking juices from your plants, they use the large piercing mouth part to suck the juices out of other insects.  They are voracious predators of crop damaging insects, but if disturbed, they can deliver a painful bite.  So if you find them in your garden, leave them alone and be thankful they are there.

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Need ideas from my readers on cooking with okra

Meager first okra harvest

Yesterday morning I harvested these first okra pods of the year.  They will need to be harvested daily now because the pods form so quickly.  The four pods on the left are only a day older than those on the right.  Unfortunately, experience has shown that the pods on the left are likely to be fibrous and inedible.  If I experience any resistance when chopping up an okra pod, it's probably too far gone.  They should be very tender and the knife should glide right through.  Optimal size for the Perkin's Long Pod variety that we are growing is 4-5" like the pods on the right.  Yes, the ones on the left are 7-9" long!

We love the taste of okra, but are trying to eat less fried foods.  So my questions for my readers.  Other than battering and frying, how do you cook and eat your okra?  How do you avoid the "slime" that they produce?  I'd love to hear your answers in the comments section or the Facebook page.

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