This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.
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| Aphids on a bean vine |
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| Aphids on a blueberry bush |
I noticed an unusual number of ants on my bean vines, blueberry bushes, and squash vines. I looked closer and found that aphids were beginning to infest my crops. Aphids are small, soft bodied insects that suck the juices from plants. In small numbers, they aren't a problem. If not nipped in the bud early though, the population can explode and harm crops. The reason the ants alerted me to their presence, was that ants are known to "farm" aphids. The aphids secrete a sweet liquids from their anus' called honeydew, which ants feed upon. In exchange, the ants protect the aphids from predators. Quite the system.
A low tech, organic treatment is to spray the aphids off with a stream of water. They are fairly immobile and if knocked off the plants, cannot return and will die in the soil. I did that this morning. If they continue to be a problem, a treatment of an organic pesticide called
NeemII (Neem oil + pyrethrin) will take care of it.
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| Squash bug eggs on a butternut squash vine |
While spraying the aphids off of my squash vines, I also found these squash bug eggs. A stream of water and a scrape of the fingernail and they are gone too.
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| Squash bug on a butternut squash vine |
The water causes any adult squash bugs present to climb to higher ground where I smashed them by hand. This is a good way to flush them out. If necessary, a treatment of the previously mentioned NeemII will knock them back.
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| Turnips |
The turnips have finally poked up above the mulch. They do quite well planted four per square foot, but we don't eat a ton of turnips so I planted only one per square foot. As they get pulled, I will replace them by
succession planting radishes.
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| Immature cherry tomatoes |
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| Immature Roma tomatoes |
Tomatoes are coming! Can't wait.
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| Coriander (cilantro seeds) |
Herbs are just so easy. Most originated in the Mediterranean area and will tolerate poor soils and somewhat dry conditions. It's a lot of fun to bring in fresh herbs for cooking with. There's no reason why a person shouldn't have them in the garden. The oregano continues it's spread through the bed. It will be time to harvest the coriander soon.
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| Swiss chard |
Chard is another one of those plants every garden should have as a spinach replacement. Young, tender leaves are good in salads. Older leaves are good for cooking anywhere you would use spinach. It grows through the hot summer and well into the fall. It will grow through the entire winter if surrounded by a cold frame.
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| Pole bean vines |
The pole beans haven't been too affected by the aphids. They are usually a big target of the Japanese beetle when it emerges. They will be treated with NeemII when I see the first beetles of the year.
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| 5 gallon buckets serve as makeshift nesting boxes |
The chicks were getting crowded in their space and began pecking at one another leaving small, bloody spots. To give them more room, I took the divider out and gave them free run of the entire top of the chicken house. The only problem is that that cut off access to the nest boxes for the hens. Clean 5 gallon buckets are serving as temporary nesting boxes for the hens during the next few weeks. We had been getting 4-5 eggs per day. It will be interesting to see how the hens adapt to this change. Generally, environmental changes will temporarily diminish egg production.
-Cooling down, with highs in the mid 80's through the week. 30-40% chance of rain every day, with a 60% chance early next week.
-Watch the amount of rain received and water accordingly. A popup rain shower, usually doesn't water the garden much.
-Herbs
-Serrano and jalapeno peppers
-Green, yellow, and purple onions
-Blueberries
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