Forgot to mention the slugs and bugs. Add them to the mix of critters that want your stuff!
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Sounds like a war zone, only not as loud- not for the faint of heart, it seems like.
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It feels like it! I relate all too well to the $64 tomato book. We have spent so much $$$ fortifying. Fences of all kinds, netting upon netting. The critters outsmart us at every turn.
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Donât forget your cats, if you have any (or your neighbors cats).
We have all of the above (deer, slugs, rabbits, cats, birds, caterpillars, etc.). You wouldnât believe how much wire chicken and rabbit fencing we have all over the place just to keep the critters off.
Once those birds figure out where your peas live, theyâll come back year after year to the same spot. We make little wire fortresses over the planted seeds, and keep them there until everything is about 4" tall and its time to weed. âBird bustersâ we call them.
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At least we have no cats! We have a 6â tall fence around our raised beds, and it has bird netting on top. But every year the winds damage it, and create holes that the birds find. So theyâre in there pecking at the peas. Iâve started to start them inside and plant out later, because here have been years where Iâve had to put peas in 3x in the same growing season to get a crop.
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Has anyone grown saffron crocus? I have an order coming in to plant this fall. Any dos/donâts appreciated.
Yes, Iâve grown a lot of saffron. Itâs generally easy in a temperate climate, as it requires a winter chill. Itâs a late season grower, making flowers and foliage in the fall and going dormant, losing foliage, during the summer. USDA zones 6-8 are best, though colder zones should work if mulch is applied before bitter cold arrives. For best results, use a soil that drains well and is in full sun. A peat-based soil may not work as well as regular garden soil or topsoil. The pH should be circumneutral, around pH 7.
Bulb fertilizers can be mixed into the soil prior to planting. Bulb Tone is a good one to mix in, though dogs, raccoons, or opossums may dig around, attracted to the smell. Mix it in some weeks ahead of planting to avoid this.
Rabbits love the foliage! If present, use chicken wire to protect the foliage. Voles, tunneling rodents, and squirrels often eat the bulbs.
Let the soil dry out during the dormant summer season. As foliage and flowers emerge, you can apply liquid fertilizers, especially those with a high middle number, e.g. 5-10-5. Phosphorous encourages better blooming. When the plants get crowded, divide the bulbs out when they are dormant.
When harvesting a quantity, I find it easiest to pick entire flowers and remove the stigmas, the spice, indoors. That way, youâre not re-examining every flower to see if youâve removed stigmas. After drying at room temperature, out of the sun, I store it in small, airtight jars, in the freezer. Let any cold jars reach room temperature before opening, or the cold jar, saffron may condense moisture, âsweatâ.
Good luck!
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I started using a commercial deer and rabbit repellent this year, a soapy spray from the garden store, after the animals chewed up all but one of my tulips last year.
For whatever reason, the animals here leave the crocuses alone.
The animals donât leave anything alone here. My neighborhood is effectively border lands between gardens with woods in between, which Iâve read is woodland creatures absolute favorite place. They can hide and sleep in the woods for protection. And then wander just a few feet into everybodyâs gardens to eat up an absolute bonanza. In the winter when thereâs nothing good to eat, they crawl into our cars and eat up the piping. Weâve had them do that on all three cars too in the past three years.
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I tried spraying aphids with the garlic/red onion/cayenne mixture. It does not work. Need a nuclear option.
Like many mustard recipes online, many of the insect spray recipes are garbage. Itâs wrong to assume that because a flavor or odor is strong to humans, itâll work to repel insects. Many years ago, I went through the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardeningâs list of sprays, none of which worked. Later, I read the editor was an electrician, by trade!
Aphids are tricky to deal with for two reasons: They can clone themselves, popping out young aphids, rather than eggs. These newborns may not get coated with a spray you applied earlier.
They also hide very well, drop off plants and climb them, making them harder to target.
What one sprays is a matter of choice. My first approach to any pest is to get a magnifier and scout for predators. In the case of aphids, Lady Beetles ("bugs) and their larvae, Lacewings, and certain green maggots of aphid-eating flies (often Syrphidae, Hover Flies). There are also tiny gnat-like wasps, Braconids, which eat aphids from the inside, leaving hollow shells. If there are predators, I wait a few days, see if their population goes up. Braconids have come to the rescue here, more than once, multiplying fast enough to wipe out the aphids.
If predators are absent, sprays are next up. Some swear by Dawn dish soap, with or without vegetable oil and water; hereâs a good article on that. Before covering all your plants with the stuff, do a small test sample and give it a couple days, make sure the plants donât react. Spray during the cool of evening, never before the sun gets hot. For any spray, donât inhale the mist; wearing a respirator is wise. Thorough coverage on top and under leaves is crucial.
I have a large garden most years and use a Rocket, battery-powered/rechargeable sprayer on a cart to generate a fine mist to coat plants and pests. I used to use a backpack sprayer, until the weight and constant pumping did temporary damage to a brachial plexus nerve. My doctor told me to get an electric sprayer!
If you go the nuclear, pesticide option, follow all directions on the label. See if the product is listed for A: the plant you are spraying, and B: the pest youâre targeting. Generally, pyrethroids are effective on aphids and most insect pests. Popular products include Sevin and Eight. Each spray will list days to harvest", usually listed as âPHIâ, the Preharvest Interval. Use that information to make decisions.
If, for example, a spray for aphids on snap peas has a PHI of 48 hours, harvest all the peas that will be over-ripe in 48 hours BEFORE you spray. Thatâs standard practice; harvest before spraying. I wash vegetables with lukewarm water and a little dish soap, even if it has rained. Truth is, I wash all vegetables, no matter the source.
Give the spray 24-48 hours to work. Examine the results. Aphids have a feeding tube, a straw-like stylus, and may die still attached to the plant. Some will fall off, so check the ground, too. If it does not work, try a spray with a different chemistry.
Having a bunch of mixed wildflowers nearby, those that may have predator/prey relationships going, can be a source for predators, especially if those do not get sprayed.
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Thanks for all this info. What do you use as an aphid spray? Last year I was lucky enough to have a ladybug visitor, but since my little garden is 5 floors up, I canât count on predator bugs finding me.
@small_h , from University of California Integrated Pest Management . @bogman covered it in his usual spectacular fashion, but Iâm practicing for my future role as a Master Gardener trainee. Almost done with classes!
Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Quick TipsAphids
I potted up some peppers yesterday. These are in the greenhouse, 87 f right now with vents and door open⌠There is also a "Turkish Yellow Eggplant " transplant that is really struggling. I may start a new one.
Check out @bogman 's Sugar Rush Peach!
Overwintered Scotch Bonnet
And Aji Amarillo
Can anyone I.D. this little bugger?
Soon to be ( but not soon enough) Blenheim Apricots
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If you want to try neem products, they may work. I generally use Sevin or Eight, both are types of pyrethroids. If the plants are strictly ornamental, Iâll often use a systemic, like Acephate/Orthene, especially if the flowers are not attractive to bees.
If bee health is a concern, one can remove any flowers and buds about to open, than spray with a contact insecticide (not systemic), neem, pyrethroids, etc. Pests will get sprayed and the newly=opened flowers wonât have residue. Smaller unopened buds may have a trace on the backside of flowers when they open, but thatâs much safer for pollinators, since nectar and pollen are elsewhere.
Not all aphids are controlled by any given spray. There are a great number of species, some resistant to certain insecticides, organic or otherwise.
Growing plants in a tight, insect-proof net structure can help. Itâs a pain to open and close, but thatâs how I grow Alliums; there are no other good controls for onion fly/maggot.
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Thanks very much. Iâve tried neem oil, and it doesnât work. (I have quite a collection of failures.) Iâll try the pyrethroids next. Iâve tried all kinds of things to keep my cucumbers safe from those beetles, and I may just keep them inside until July or something.
The peppers look great already! It wonât be long before the Sugar Rush Peach starts setting fruit.
My peppers are teeny yet. I wasnât planning on growing peppers this year. But, I ran out of hot sauce components and had to plant the ones I use: Rocotillo, Grenada Hot Red, Caribbean Red Goat (Jamaican Mutton-type) and a golden "seasoning pepper, loaded with C. chinense aroma (like the goat), but very mild. Theyâre mostly red, for an attractively-colored hot sauce. My friends and family are hooked on it.
I have no idea what the little beetle is. Iâve not seen one like it in our region. Itâs sort of shaped like a soldier beetle, but ours have very different coloring. Beetles, the endless world of organic robots!
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I think itâs a soldier beetle!
Iâve used Sevin with good results. It controls most garden pests with a quick knockdown pyrethroid. The formula changed, at least with the liquid concentrate, from carbaryl to zeta-cypermethrin, which is less toxic to warm-blooded animals and breaks down faster in soil.
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If it is, youâve likely got a predator patrolling. If it hangs around, it might be good to observe what itâs eating, although stealth may be necessary!
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Not knowing anything about them, we planted Sugar Rush Red last year. They were a huge hit with my husband and his friends. A friend is grown SR Red and SR Peach in his greenhouse for us this year.
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