2020 Veggie Gardens!

That sounds kind of creepy!

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The world of bugs! I was doing botanical work in a virgin, Peruvian jungle and came across a very large beetle crawling around and ants had eaten its abdomen off. That beetle crawled around for 24 hours!

Many insects inject , slice or eat openings to deposit eggs. Some have rear appendages to drill into hard wood. Cicadas have a sword-shaped ovipositor, and they can do a lot of damage scarring and slicing up branches, especially the 17 year cicadas, which come out in swarms.

Creepy? I guess it depends on how familiar one is with insects. To me, the wasps which paralyze insects and lay eggs next to the stunned, still alive insect are true creepiferousness. The larvae of the wasps eat the poor prey insect alive and it can’t move. Then, there are bot flies. Being a foodie site, I’ll stop here!

Google Giraffe Weevils for some healing humor! Entomology is like visiting another planet sometimes. I’ve been a “bug head” since very young. At one point, when I was living with my folks and going to college, I’d have a gaggle of kids accompanying me on my nature hikes. Word got out that we’d find all kinds of cool bugs and beasties. I met a lot of the neighborhood parents that way, making sure a new child had permission and the parents knew I wasn’t a risk.

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Agreed. Please continue to share, especially as it relates to edible gardens. I especially love to learn about how “good” guys" are “good”.

Entomology is amazing, and wonderful, and so cool that it, and all of “biology” works, but I still think "
bellies that slice and then deposit eggs are still “creepy”.

Creepy as in I can totally imagine it in some movie.

I was a botany, and then zoology major in undergrad, and my college friends remind me how I ate lunch in, and had “sleep overs” in a cadaver lab. Fascinating, good times.

@shrinkrap, agree on the creep factor, I was even imagining an HBO or Netflix series on it!

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This morning’s harvest. Large scallion from a grocery store top of green onion. (Love that, need to plant more)!

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Nice @Lambchop!

First harvest of pobanos (Baron; replacing my beloved Tiburon) , and my new stove top pepper roaster from Santa Fe school of cooking.

I’ve been doing it on the stove, but it’s sort of fiddly, so this was essential. Thats my story and I’m sticking to it.

Shipping seemed a lot (compared to Amazon prime), butI’m telling myself that its more convenient, and less expensive than a real pepper roaster or a shipment from, or trip to New Mexico.


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Blueberries we beat the birds to:

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Great! Each day we need to beat with all types of bugs with the strawberries. They know exactly when the timing is good, like us. They won’t touch the unripe ones, even if the fruits are orange colour. Actually not much slugs this year, but woodlouse and millipedes are partying all the time.

Those dang critters! They know what tastes good @naf.

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@bogman, I caught it!

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So what are the plans now, Shrinkrap? Is “Kate” going to be a new pet? LOL! They have a mean bite.

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Ewww… :persevere:

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Your new pet has only 5 legs.

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oh…did I not post that on the WFD thread? :grin:

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@bogman, a little OT here, but reading about the botanical work you did in Peru, led me to wonder if you happen to know a high profile ethnobotanist by the name of Paul Cox?

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Same here. Not enough sun, not enough heat. I’ve tried melons and hard squash for years. It is an exercise in futility.

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It is supposedly 106 F right now. 105- 109 for the next several days. I wish I could send you some

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We’re supposed to hit the 90’s on Sunday - yay! Will be the 1st time this non summer. Hopefully it will help the tomatoes along some…@shrinkwrap.

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Side shot. @bogman; Check out that ovipositor!

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Finally the hot days are behind us. The last few days were between 95-102ºF / 35 - 39ºC, the top of the plants under the intense heat went drooping in the afternoon even I watered 3 times a day.

They don’t seem to like it when temperature is over 95ºC

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