The daily heat goes on and hybrid trivia

 Watering every other day is a must now due to the heat and yet another #zucchini is unfertilized.

Failure to fertilize

 I am getting saddened by this and can only hope the plant lasts long enough for the flowers to do their thing. It looked so promising! There's another fruit developing and as soon as that flower opens I will see if a male flower is open and do my own fertilizing gosh darn it! The plant is pumping out tons of male flowers still so it's like 1 in 20 is female, not good odds if they don't get fertilized. I'm glad I researched why this is happening, knowledge is power in this case and at least I know it's not my fault or the soil's fault.

I also removed a smaller tomato that was behind the big one in order to give it more energy. The smaller one wasn't likely going to turn out well anyway as I discovered when I turned it over.

Damage from branches

 

Those two brown spots were caused by the fruit being wedged between two of the stalks, so the subsequent rubbing and pressure caused lesions. No great loss, there are a few others that are doing just dandy so far.

Damage happens, fruit doesn't form right, it's all part and parcel of the whole gardening gig which a lot of people just can't seem to understand.

No such thing as a perfect garden despite all the perfect pictures that you find out there. Any picture has a before and after, details that are missing from the actual photo where it was watered the day before and any imperfect leaves were pulled off. You've seen my pictures, before and after watering, before and after pruning, look for the missing details with anything that looks 'perfect'.

You are cultivating a hybrid plant that has ancestors that don't look anything like what you are growing right now.

Tomatoes; related to Deadly Nightshade

Corn: related to ancient maize which is a grass

Peppers: Tiny fruit from topical America

Modern Roses: Wild 'roses' from China

So, humans have been hybridzing/selectively growing/modifying fruit and plants further back than people realize. When you take the pollen from one plant and sprinkle it on another plant you are modifying the genes to produce something different. Aha..see what I just said there? Genetically modifying a plant to produce better production or desirable results. 

It can also be done with grafting. Taking a plant that produces good fruit but has poor roots or is susceptible to diseases and grafting it onto another similar plant so it has a stronger system to survive. 

Improved Meyer Lemon, almost all citrus and avocado trees are grafted, most 'hybrid tea' roses are grafted as well. Because humans seek better, brighter, more productive plants because we're picky and need to have more stuff.

Okay so maybe we want bigger pumpkins and more corn, and more beans, it makes sense if you're going to be feeding people with your crops.

Oh yeah and those striped roses and tulips? Originally it was discovered a particular virus had attacked the plants producing streaks in the flowers but the plant was healthy. THAT'S AMAZING! said the early growers of flowers. How can we do this for every crop we grow, everyone wants them? Guess what? Modifying an organism by introducing a virus to produce desired results.  Much science later, they figured out how to keep that trait by either pollen or tissue culture.

 

You know how orchid corsages look so perfect and every flower is so beautiful and perfect? Tissue culture. Cloning of the plants to produce exact replicas because of demand. I know, my mom and I made a trip to a orchid and rose developer in the Bay Area way back in the late 70's. Rod McLellan Nurseries who were the original creators of SuperSoil back then had a greenhouse and growing grounds that gave tours of their production process. We saw long greenhouses of red roses all staked up with long stem roses getting ready for cutting and shipping to markets all over. Then we got to see the orchid cloning labs. That was absolutely fascinating and taught me a lot about how orchids (primarily Cattleyas) were grown and then harvested for the floral industry.

So yeah, humans have been modifying plants (and animals) by selective breeding longer than any of us have been alive.

(btw Mclellan Orchids is still around but was bought by a Japanese company in 2000 for various reasons. The SuperSoil brand was bought by Scotts/Miracle Grow, like they do. Also if they haven't changed the formula for SuperSoil, it's crappy soil.)

 

One of my peeves is the monopoly of garden products by one company. SMG systematically has bought out struggling companies over the past ten to fifteen years, pulled perfectly good product off the shelves then rebranded, reformulated or sometimes just didn't produce it anymore. As much as I appreciated working for HD they have a stake in that company along with other home centers. They sell 'quality' products at a good price, sounds kind of like Walmart eh? They are monopolizing some product areas and as a result products like Schultz and others are no longer on the market, their product may be reproduced but never the same as the original.

 

So, spend the extra money, go the extra distance to shop at a local nursery with actual experts that know their stuff. I did what I could at my store and hope that the people that are left will try and educate customers as much as they can.

 

Okay, rant over, heat increasing...  almost lunch time. Be careful out there!

All better but still waiting.

 The tomato plant needed some more pruning because the cage can't hold the top of it well in the soft soil. I noticed it when I went out to water yesterday but was more focused on getting water in the soil than pruning it up. The poor marigold seedlings didn't survive but I wasn't counting on them much but had hopes.

Before

After

When I got to the garden it was seriously leaning toward the entrance (away from me in the second picture). By the time I took the picture I had already taken three branches off. Making sure there were few or old flowers on that wouldn't be productive.

So selective pruning to keep it upright and another reason why I tell people to get a big cage and plan on stakes for support. The zucchini is hanging in there, took a few leaves off, lower old ones that were dying and one or two that were blocking flowers for pollinators. I saw one housefly on a leaf. That isn't a pollinator.

Looking good.

 

I took all the pruned stems and leaves and threw them in a pile to the left of the picture. I didn't want to carry them all the way to the other side of the complex to throw them into the dumpster. So a sort of compost pile is starting. See how dry and dusty the ground is? That will be a mud slurry if we should ever get any rain this winter. Going to need either mud boots or ignore the garden over the winter (not likely).  I also encountered another pest the other day, mealy bug on the tomato. I double checked it by squishing it and yes it was. I discovered another one crawling on the ground and dealt with that as well.

Little white thing.

 

The reason why I was so adamant about removing them is they can multiply almost as fast as aphids and are harder to get rid of. That white coating is waxy which means that most pesticides just roll right off. They usually attack plants that are stressed out from too much water but they can really show up any time on anything. I suspect this one on the ground fell off the bush as I was moving it around. But given the disaster of weeds on the other bed, would not be surprised if they were coming from there or the lemon bush. I have a video of it but for some reason can't upload that video to here. Oh well.

Surface root being shaved

Just wanted to share this, backing up what I mentioned before about trees in lawns. That is a root from a sycamore that has been run over with the lawn mower for years. Not bothering the tree really but it shouldn't be happening. Cool pattern but one of those things that shows the damage that can happen both to the tree and the mower. Also a trip hazard for anyone walking around.

Unknown but familiar

I don't remember what this bug is and don't have my handy dandy bug book anymore. They are a piercing type bug, possibly predatory and that may be a male and female. See how many unknowns are in that sentence? There is a wonderful website called What's That Bug? Where you can upload pictures and there are both professional and amateur entomologists that will identify it and of course now there is an app for that and like the plant ID app it has a free trial otherwise you have to pay and frankly, not going to do that. So couldn't find any website that was easy to upload a photo, tried it on my phone but the 'Files' folder only went back so far. When I get it identified I will update.

So I have an instagram account #greendinigardenguru to try and get more followers here and there. Following other nurseries and places as well. Get this whole 'influencer' thing going, still refuse to take videos of myself and find it embarrassing to ask my guy Jon to do it. He's a dear, love him forever but he's not that handy with camera stuff.

Anyway, hoping to have more things to talk about soon. Summer is kind of a slow time for gardening due to plants are growing and some harvesting depending on your area and when you started planting. For San Diego,  spring and fall are busy times since our warm weather lasts all the way to October sometimes, though the evenings do start to cool down by then. 

As I am typing I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye on the fence outside... forgive the quality of the photo due to being four feet from the window and another twenty from the fence.

Meester Leezard!

Rocky has a thing for chasing them so I'm glad he wasn't sitting in the window or he'd go running for the door to try and go catch it. That's a good size lizard too,fence boards are six inches wide and that is a six foot fence so nice adult, possibly a Fence Lizard or what I call a 'Blue Throat' Lizard. Having grown up with lizards I know the difference between an Alligator Lizard and a Fence Lizard.

Oh speaking of... I mentioned properly naming/spelling plants previously. You'll see that once in a while I don't capitalize names, because I'm lazy. But when dealing with the common name for a plant or animal it's either or. If you want to be professional first and second name capitalized always. When giving the botanical/scientific name it is: First second 'Species/Variety' 'Common Name' So if I wanted to get all hoity toity about my tomato plant it would be: Solanum lycopersicum, 'Better Boy'. So sometimes people would come in and say they are looking for a yello flower. So okay that's like aliens coming to earth and asking where are your dogs? I have to ask almost twenty questions to get what they are actually looking for.

They want to sound intelligent and ask just the first scientific name and I have to tell them 'It's like going into a crowd and asking for James'. You are looking specifically for James Smith, which you aren't specifying and if you don't know the last name you are going to be looking for quite some time. Possibly realizing that James Smith isn't here and you have to look somewhere else.

Juniper, yes that's a bit family which one? Oh the tall tree type. Okay you want a tall narrow one or bushy one, 'oh you're not going to help me where are they?'. come to find out they wanted a groundcover type that we didn't have. So, do your homework before you go to look for plants or better yet, call first if you are going to an actual large nursery. I did it millions of times, answering the phone, turns into a 'stock check' to run out to the yard and find out if we have what they're looking for. It's what they are there for. This is one of the reasons why smaller nurseries and garden stores are a cut above Big Box places. You want wide variety but not the cost, you are out of luck. Ain't gonna happen. 

Big Box stores have a set way of displaying plants as per 'corporate', certain varieties are always there and others disappear in a week possibly a few days. They are at the mercy of the vendors swapping out product for the smaller plants and are sometimes stuck with plants that won't sell if they get them from a larger supplier. It is very very difficult to call a chain store to ask if they have something. Most of the time you aren't getting a person who knows the plant you're looking for nor do they have the time to run outside to check. A lot of times the vendors move the plants around so it was in one spot yesterday but they had to make room for more plants and move it somewhere completely different and therefore, 'we don't have that' is a common answer. Only to find it the next day on another table.

So just bite the bullet and make sure you know what you're looking for and who has it. Make sure, as I've mentioned before, it's the right plant for your spot and climate.

My advice boils down to five or six basic things and I tend to repeat them because different situations seem to be unrelated but it all funnels back down to a handful of things.

How big, how wide, how much water, how much sun.

Sad plants in the heat

 It has been hot the last two days and me thinking the soil would hold moisture for an extra day was seriously wrong.

Watering ASAP!

After watering

And it doesn't look like the larger zucchini is going to survive. Yellowing at the blossom end again. This is getting frustrating and sad, I love zucchini and I guess it's just too hot and there's no pollinators to help with the flowers. That tomato is doing fantastic still though! That bright yellow green at the base of it is the first tomato almost the size of my palm. Hoping the sudden drought didn't harm production for either as the tops were seriously wilted. That tomato should be turning color soon I hope, this is a Better Boy so the tomatoes are fairly large slicing type.

We had a doctors appointment early this morning so I didn't get a chance to get out and water until now so I'm thinking another boost of food next week might be in order. I currently have no rants or informative right now. Been busy with other things and it's just too blasted hot. I will be going out tomorrow morning (hopefully) to water again as it is going to be in the 90's and as you can see, this bedding area gets full on blasting sun from 10 am to 2 or 3pm Heat bouncing off the walls and ground just makes it an oven there. I can't put up shades so just have to bear it and keep it watered. And no I haven't put mulch down for previously given reasons. I am also saving money for a special day coming up and will have some plant pictures then.

Weather change and #zucchini again.

 I didn't get a chance to check the garden yesterday due to taking that wonderful trip up to Julian. It's been overcast in the mornings and doesn't clear out until late afternoon and then it gets a little overcast again, rinse and repeat. That is usually the early summer weather pattern we call 'June Gloom' or 'May Gray' depending on when we get it. This is post monsoon summer weather so it clears out around 10 am or so and it's hot and muggy the rest of the day.

Anyway back to the garden, so I was prepared to go out and water today since I didn't water yesterday and didn't have to. The ground was still adequately moist on all sides especially the zucchini which has grown some interesting fungus on the soil. These are tiny fungus maybe 1/4 inch across on their caps on the biggest ones and maybe 1/2 tall.

Fungus among us!

 

Now most people would panic and run to the nearest garden center worrying about it 'infecting' their plant or soil. Just hold your horses Betsy and back off Jack! 

Fungus is not necessarily a bad thing in this sort of situation but it also indicates a few things. 

Here's the who, what, where, when and especially why of fungus caps in the soil.

Everything organic in the garden likely has spores on it, from microscopic mycorrhizae in the soil, to larger lawn mushrooms. 'Mushrooms' are actually the 'flowering' or reproductive part of the fungus and only appears when the soil conditions are right, which are:

Abundant nutrient base, not fertilizer (though that can be also a factor) which for fungus is decomposing organic material, i.e. compost or tree roots under a lawn or dead leaves, twigs or what have you. What did I put in there before I planted? Rich organic compost with mycorrhizae and other beneficial ingredients. Bingo!

The next component is moisture. Yep, that is under the canopy leaves of the zucchini near the stem so it stays nice and evenly moist right there and for this particular variety, it's right where it likes to be.

The third component is heat. Not excessive dry hot sun but warm soil and air which is. humid conditions usually found in late summer or fall. You got it, exactly what I am getting right now. Fall is usually the time of year when mushrooms start sprouting due to those three conditions all converging in a matter of days or weeks.

So, am I going to worry about that? Nope, not a bit, it is breaking down the compost in the soil and recycling nutrients which the plants need.

Now on to another issue I'm having that I only just researched to be more educated on growing zucchini. As I've said before, zucchini and other melons and cucurbits (squash, cucumbers etc) have male and female flowers. Short answer is, males first, females second. The male flowers are bit and beautiful and inviting to pollinators.

 

So the idea is for the male flowers to attract pollinators and get them used to coming to the plant so when the female flowers show up:

I get fruit!

Now those two tiny ones may or may not grow to full size, still kind of iffy on that but at least I have one that seems to be properly pollinated which means the males did their job. This is a normal cycle for these types of plants (apparenly, which I didn't know until now) and the advice is, wait and watch. It also might help if I cut some of the leaves that are covering the flowers so more pollinators will come. Also might plant some alyssum (sigh) which is a big pollinator attractor. Oh, hot weather also has something to do with more male flowers, which guess what, we have been getting. It's now getting cooler for half the day so crossing fingers on more fruit.

Now then, something else I discovered inspecting the plants is signs of previously sighted invaders.

So, leafminer on the left plus that little orange thing. Poop from grassopper which is eating the flowers on the right. Some of the leaves were also chewed but still not concerned.

So yes, I have pests in the garden, my plants aren't perfect neither is nature so just leave it for a while. Summer is slowing down now and by the time the pests really cause an issue, this will be pushing out fruit.

Leafminers are from microscopic flies that lay their eggs on the surface of the leaf or inserts just under the skin, hence 'leaf miner' that causes those tracks. The only way to kill the larva 100% is using systemics. Well, as good as they are and as much as I recommend them to people who are desperate, not going to use them on plants that will be done in two months. 

Warning: Spiders are coming.

Another late summer/fall sign is an increase in spider webs and spider sightings. At the nursery we had to walk with our hands up or something in front of us because of the orb weavers stretching their webs across aisles. Yes, five foot spans with a wonderful web in the middle. Another spider that people fear (and rightfully so) but only if you tend to dig in wood piles, under patio furniture or hard to see places. Black Widows.

 

 

Given the size and coloring, it's a male. Harmless, and since it was in a spot that is not frequented by people in our complex, I left it alone. Besides there are birds in the area that would love a tasty spider snack. Know your bugs and birds! 

I understand most people have arachniphobia, I don't like them if they're crawling on me or in my house but outside, leave them alone. Their colorings and webs are a wonder of nature and are doing a good job of catching gnats, flies, moths and mosquitoes. Having an app on your phone to identify what you are seeing or just googling a description will bring up more information than you could possibly imagine. 

I don't know how many times I have had to look things up for customers when they have the same ability on their own. It's. Right. There! Especially when a big store has the ability to search for products that are IN the store. People just do a google and it comes up listed by HD and they automatically (and very incorrectly) assume oh it must be in the store because it says you carry it right?

Okay that was a side rant, but everyone has the ability to take pictures on their phone and do a search, most people don't have the intelligence to use it.

Sorry another rant.

Back to gardening.

I looked up what was my issue with the zucchini and it turned out my information from years ago was wrong. I am taking dozens of pictures a week of my garden and posting here as a form of garden journal. I am not writing down time of day, temperature and humidity and all that.. but I am writing here and can reference it later to know what happened and how to prepare for it in the future.

It gives me something to do and think about instead of realizing I'm just talking to myself on the internet.

Trimmed up the tomato and more photos

Photos from yesterday after walking Rocky. The bush is still top heavy but at least I can see most of the fruit on there. I counted 11 tomatoes! Pepper is coming along with several more on there as well and I gave away a good dozen from first harvest to a former coworker.

After

Before

 

There is no compost pile/container and I didn't want to walk all the way over to the dumpster so I just took the leaves and dropped them at the other end of the garden. Will figure out something eventually that is convenient and small.  Still trying to get up the energy and gumption to plot out making more beds, asking them to remove the pile of logs and digging out the jade bush. 

The jade is a problem for various reasons, rats and mice can hid in there along with other critters and it is right next to the fence of the apartment on the end that has a small patio (oh I wish I had that apartment!).

I think I mentioned before that I am the only real dedicated garden person using that space. I'm not counting the other lady that is watering her weeds and mint or the lady that thinks the lemon tree is her proprietary tree and everyone else is wrong about how to take care of it. If I can plant more things then the garden can provide a few fresh veggies for everyone.

Anyway, now that I have more time in my days I feel I need to do something productive for myself and maybe inspire others to do the same.

Okay on to more photos from the field trip! Every year they purchase hundreds of milkweed for people wanting to attract Monarchs. The place was all aflutter with them and they didn't just sell the tropical orange one. They had two different varieties of native milkweed as well that are better for the butterflies and environment.

Monarch

Unusual delphinium

This beauty is a very unusual delphinium that I forgot to get the name of. Not only is it a pale pink but has open ruffled flowers.  Almost looks like a hyacinth or stock!

(Pardon the odd photo placement, just when I think I have it figured out on putting them side by side, I'm wrong.)

The other plant that Andersen's is known for is their Staghorn Fern collection and especially  the big Platycerium superbum. (incorrectly people call them Super Bum hehehehe). Will have a small info class on basic pronunciation soon.

They also have resumed their morning garden classes on Saturdays which are great and I noticed the topic was shade plants apparently from the picture. That center stahorn is about five feet wide and from top of sail to bottom of fronds is about seven feet. that has been remounted twice that I know of in the twenty years I was there. The other two are still babies but believe it or not there is very little care for them and it is looking the healthiest I remember. One of the few situations where a drip system actually is good but on manual only. 

 So still more pictures but you got the idea, I'm still a big fan of that place and recommend it all the time to people. There are a lot of choices for nurseries in my city and depending on where you are, you have your favorite. 

Field trip and zucchini update!

 Took a morning field trip to Walter Andersen Nursery in Pt. Loma to help my daughter shop for a 'smelly flower' for her patio. She chose a star jasmine vine and bought two basil plants to add to their three pathetic ones that survived their move.

Begonia richmondensis

"Kong" Coleus?

Two excellent shade plants to brighten any darker areas, some people think coleus are too ordinary but really with those colors??? They are used a lot because they are effective in brightening shady areas and last all summer long. Like geraniums in the sun they are a good plant for what you need. Speaking of geraniums:

True geranium

What we know as 'geraniums' are actually a different family entirely than this one. This is a true geranium variety which I don't remember which one is is. Johnson's Blue perhaps or another one. Lovely ferny looking delicate foliage and small purple flowers earlier in the season.

Kenilworth Ivy

 

This dainty plant is a sentimental faovorite of mine from when I was in high school. It was growing around the sidewalk of the apartment we lived in and I learned the name then and somehow associated it with my mother. It's not a commonly cultivated plant but here it was growing in the moss of one of the staghorn ferns. I remember when I was there several of them had it in them but we couldn't figure out how to cultivate it to sell. Dainty white and blue flowers could take over but it's easily ripped out. Seeds are the biggest spreader so likely that's how best to grow it.

I reconnected with three or four people that are still there and I realized how much I miss the incredible variety of plants and products they sell. So if you have a good size independent nursery in your area, go there. My daughter spent about twice what it would have cost going to The Big Orange Box story but let me tell you, it was totally worth it. 

I have too many pictures to put up in one post to be reasonable but will likely sprinkle them through the next few posts on interesting plants. I took a picture yesterday of my hand comparison to the new zucchini growing and apparently I didn't. Very odd, will have to do that today. Needless to say the new fruit is thriving and twice as big as the first one so I broke off the one with the blossom end rot. Growing my own garden is giving me a better appreciation for what actually goes on in odd soil conditions for new gardeners. Typically we would tell someone they are watering too much or don't have enough calcium in the soil. Well I know for a fact that neither is likely true for me so I have to chalk it up to odd soil composition. I am not going to pay the $50 to have it professionally tested for absolutely everything in it and go with just what my experience says it needs. If the second fruit or the tomatoes start developing it later then I know it's possibly lack of calcium, except I am using a food that has extra calcium in it. So I have no clue and will figure that out when I get there.

One last picture I do want to share is an amazing passion fruit vine growing on the back fence of the nursery property. 

 Previously there had been a fig tree in the corner (the 'tree' on the left is actually a bush being overtaken by the vine) and a gigantic full grown rubber tree to the right of the first photo.  I've been gone for close to four years now and it doesn't seem that long but apparently long enough for this vine to totally take over the world and thrive. I couldn't even find where the main trunk was! Tons of fruit on this thing which means that there were hundreds of flowers and it would have been an amazing sight. Actual edible passion fruit flowers are nothing spectacular compared to the ornamental varieties but still pretty.

Passiflora edulis 'Frederick'

 Oh and there is enough vine that it didn't show any problems with caterpillars either. 

Deep breath... I miss so much variety of things at that place. Not just plants but pottery, fertilizers and soils as well. I didn't see if they still sold MG, they had in the past but only saw the organic brands which is fine by me. I now know why so many people would come in and be amazed at how big the place is and how much variety was to be had. Sorry still geeking out about it. Been too long and I plan on going back just to visit and take pictures.

The little plant store near me is struggling and looks like it's on it's last legs in comparison and I will try and frequent there as well but when you don't have quality and quantity you lose customers even if they are walking distance from where I live.

 

I gave most of my jalapeño harvest to one of the guys at the nursery who would appreciate them and kept three. The plant is still putting out flowers but seems to be struggling for water which is likely due to the roots being too loose from getting pushed over. I know what could grow there but not anything I would eat in great quantities. Bell peppers, radishes, onions, I almost bought a cucumber or bean plant but again, I don't have the room or structure to put them in. As soon as it starts cooling down and the pepper and tomato are done I'll be putting more soil and fertilizer in and adding a fence structure for peas. The soil isn't very level either as it has to slope away from the building which makes growing seeds almost impossible. 

 

Just so much that needs to be done to make that an actual thriving garden area and I can guarantee you I would be the only one caring about it. 

Maybe I should put a note up near the sign up board for the laundry asking if anyone wants to help with it..  am one of the youngest there as far as ability and freedom is concerned. They take people 55 and older but anyone who's that young (like me when we moved in) they have a full time job.  It's worth a shot though and, of course, have to clear it with the manager.

So it was a great day that fed my soul in the garden corner of my brain. Loved being with my daughter and just wandering around and wish we had more time but she had to get back home and to work.

Peekaboo!

Almost 3" long!

 

Bugs and worms and stuff!

There seems to be yellowing on the blossom end of the original zucchini and it hasn't grown much either so likely not going to survive. There is a new one coming in to the left of that one that's bigger so there's still hope.

Possibly blossom end rot

 Also there was two new invaders spotted on the bushes.

Ah! Grasshopper!

Leafminers

It was a tiny one, not even an inch, so I just squirted it with my hose and it jumped onto the wall. Yes it can grow into a bigger one that can chew on my leaves but honestly, unless it calls over friends I will leave it be until further notice. The leafminers are tiny and though there are a lot of small tracks that will get bigger I'm not going to go running for the spray just yet. As big as the leaves are and as many there are I'm more worried about the grasshopper growing up and chomping on the leaves.

And on further inspection of the peppers I decided to pick off another half dozen, they don't seem to be getting any bigger and the roots are still not that packed into the soil. Stupid cat... that's my assumption at least.

The tomatoes themselves are still plugging along and had to prop up the cage because it is getting so dang huge!

It's almost to my shoulder and has to be at least four feet wide. And people always look at me odd when I say their tiny plant is going to need the big cage real fast. When I straightened it the little pepper plant was almost swallowed and the tomato on that side could barely be seen.

I can hardly wait until I can amend the soil better and see what results I get!

 

Oh, revisiting the bougainvillea I discovered two of the culprits on another bush:

 

 

   

 

This is why you can never find them, they are true 'looper' or 'inch worms' with front and back legs but nothing in between. They were very well camouflaged and believe it or not that is the same wall my phone and the shade made it change color.They were about 3/4 inch long so not quite an inch worm.

 

Speaking of worms.

 

That appears to be a cocoon for a caterpillar on the tomato. Not a tomato hornworm for sure so I plucked off the leaf and threw it in the jade plant. It didn't look healthy and may have been infected with a fungus. 

So, even my garden is not safe from invaders but with a little managed care and attention everyone will come through all right.

Maybe red tomatoes in about two weeks?
 

I gots more zucchini!

 It's starting to put out more as I figured it would, just like the tomato. Lots of growth, infertile flowers first then gets going and starts producing more fertile flowers. I found more tomatoes too!

 

Itty bitty baby!

First fruit on the right

And another one!

Yay! Zucchini coming soon! If you notice on the right photo some blank stems, I actually pulled about four male flowers off but there are still plenty of 'blank' stems from the male ones. Not crucial to cut them off but I did to hopefully convince the plant to start chugging out more fruit.

The tomatoes are continuing and hoping the flowers at the top are going to start producing fruit.

On the other side of the bush

Original tomato looking good

 

I am very excited about all this. First time I've been able to have a garden AND chronicle it on a daily basis. On my way back from checking everything yesterday I went to check on the cilantro stems that were dying and discovered someone had pulled the poor dead plant out of the planter and just threw it on the grass. Not sure what was up with that but I harvested a couple dozen seeds from it and sprinkled them behind the tomato and zucchini where it was shadiest. When I watered thoroughly I made sure to water behind as well.

The two marigold seeds are actually doing pretty good as well.

They don't look like much but with all  the other weeds coming up I had to wait for the secondary leaves to come out to positively identify them.

Growing from seed is difficult and chancy as many know and I'm just tickled that these are coming up. May even have flowers by October or November which is just fine. If not, it was a fun experiment.

On another topic of planning for the correct tree or bush and understanding the impact years down the road: Sycamores and Liquidambars.

Sycamore roots

These are California Sycamore and typically grow where there is water. Especially canyons where there is a seasonal or permanent water source. The picture above shows what happens when you put a sycamore as well as liquidambars, in a lawn. The frequent watering keeps the roots close to the surface and as a result you end up with a trip and mower hazard. There is obvious shaving marks on the root in the back showing the landscapers just run the mower over it. The root in the front has run up against the small patio table pad and is running around it. These trees can cause thousands of dollars of damage to foundations and sidewalks when planted in the wrong place. All the lawn areas in my complex have both trees and as much as they create a nice leafy shade in the summer and open canopy in the winter they are not good. 

My ex sister in law had a liquidambar in the small front lawn of her house. It was planted there before they bought it. Decade or two later she wants to know how to stop the roots from getting to the foundation as it already was encroaching on the sidewalk. I told her no way to do that, have to cut the tree down. She did. There's now an old ground level stump there now, sigh.

Watering deeply and long then letting it go for a while lets the roots go deeper for water and fewer surface roots but even the trees in the canyons have surface roots like this, it's the nature of the beast. But good watering practices in the beginning can help avoid problems later on.

 

Epiphyllum cutting

 

Coming home from shopping or work or somewhere a few weeks ago I found this cutting in the parking lot. It didn't have any growth on it and looked like it had been purchased from someone due to the clean cut on the bottom end. Well me not wanting to pass up a free plant took it inside making a note to myself to plant it. that was three weeks ago.  I uncovered it from old fast food flyers and discovered it started to grow a stem! It was half that size when I found it and pale. I remembered I had some small bark on the front porch and this pot had been sitting doing nothing since we moved in. A little soil from my sample jar and the bark and voila! Planted cutting.That is the top half of an African violet pot and a planter pot from something long abandoned.It is definitely leaning to the light in that spot but it's the only place I can put it. Luckily the local fur beast in the house had not decided to try and eat it. If it lasts long enough to produce a flower it will be a surprise. Nothing was written on it as some nurseries do so have no clue what color or type it is.

They like shady spots and, due to being a succulent, don't need much water. I took pictures of the one in our complex patio area a few months ago when it was blooming and the smaller one in a pot in one of the planter areas. Spectacular colors and sizes abound in the family and looking forward to keeping this one healthy and happy for a long time.

And the results are in!

 

Just as I suspected

 

 It was hard to get a good photo of the test that showed the color, sorry.

So the only difference on this test is I screwed up on the pH. I did it like the other tests using water from the jar and then mixing it. I looked at the instructions after the fact and realized I should have used soil then powder then water and mix it up. In a container that small, it doesn't make sense. But as you can see a nice rich blue and orange for phosphorus and potassium and, once again, zero nitrogen. At least the soil is a little more acidic this time but still on the alkaline side.

I need to consult with an expert on this and see if I need to amend with higher nitrogen at the end of the season. IF I add compost that will put some in but still very slow release for what I need for next year. 

Doing some research to see what peas and root crops need for the fall. Obviously phosphorus is high enough for roots and flowers. Still will add more compost because it's just too much 'dirt' for me. 

Might have to pass on the carrots and wait until spring instead given how hot it is and how long we have warm weather. What else can I plant? 

I won't plant anything I won't eat and don't have room for. I would LOVE a cucumber but need a structure for it first. Tomatillos get huge like a tomato and those are a summer crop too. 

Lists say onions, melons, peas (yes!) bell pepper (yes!) okra (meh), pumpkins (nope) and watermelon (hard nope due to size). I discovered in research that pinto beans come in bush and vine type. Had no clue! I just might find some and try them in the tomato/pepper bed.  There are bush cucumbers but a bit late to start those now. Besides they get about the same size as a zucchini so still no room.

 

Cooler weather is also going to be the time for digging the rest of the non-sectioned garden near the Jade plant.  Which may be a problem for mice and other critters to hide in. Maybe flowers over there?

Also need to get rid of the extra tomato cages. And the aloe plant. And at least part of the wood pile. Sigh. Lots of work and it technically isn't my property to change.

The end of the garden area is a good spot for shade tolerant herbs since it gets morning shade and very little sun later and even less sun in the winter. Oh, also need to flatten the ground a bit on the path and see about some pavers or bark or something. It may turn into a slip and slide if and when it rains. But then I won't be going out in the rain now will I? May have to let it go fallow over the winter. Will see.

In my head I'm imagining a thriving small garden where the extra veggies are put out on the patio table for anyone to take. Since most of the people here don't get out of their apartments very much, might be up to some of us 'yunguns' to do the work. 

Okay need to go out and see how everything is doing then maybe go to the garden store and dream a bit.

It's going to be Haaaht and HUUUMID!

 Overnight there was a small tropical storm , monsoon if  you will and it sprinkled everything with just enough water to not do much. I went down to the garden to see what things looked like and nothing bothered the 'mulched' bed but the plants did not look happy.

Despite the wilt the ground had plenty of moisture. This is a prime example of what I mentioned before. Always check the soil first.

Plenty of moisture

So nothing bothered the soil and the zucchini is looking good, still no sign of another one. Drat. Going to do the soil test today and see if it has the same composition as the other bed. Betcah it does.

Oh, I took a closer look at the pathetic mint patch and there was a lot of mud splash but also telltale signs of insect activity. Namely; spider mites and thrips. 

Tiny brown dots

 

The picture on the left shows some white markings and then the possible carcass of an aphid or thrip. The black dots are typically found where thrips have fed and the white markings near the back dots are feeding areas. The picture on the left I didn't get a chance to mark but ignore the two larger brown dots at the top. The tinier lighter brown dots are spider mites. These pictures were taken with a magnifier app on my phone. The lighter, more regular speckling on the leaf is the stomata (breathing holes) of the leaf itself, cool right? Oh and there's a large chunk taken out on the right from caterpillar most likely. I love doing this stuff!

When we got a USB microscope at the nursery that hooked up to the computers at the desk it was fantastic! We could show the customers stuff like this in real time so they had proof of what we were telling them. The coolest thing I discovered was fungus being eaten on a fig leaf. Remember I mentioned fungus gnats? Well similar bug, but usually in mid summer or fall edible figs get a rust fungus on the backside of the leaves. I was out there looking at the plants and noticed there were patches of the fungus that was a different color and actually looked like something had tracked a path through it. Took it inside and I'll be dipped if there weren't microscopic larvae just mowing down the fungus on the leaf like cows in a pasture. I showed it to a coworker and we were both absolutely giddy about the discovery.  Boss wasn' so happy we were 'wasting time playing with the microscope' but we were doing science! Plant and insect science that was useful to us to show customers. Fungus gnat larva feeding on fungus on a leaf. Wow.

And of course I went and tried to see if there was anything on google about it ....nope mostly how to treat fungus gnats on houseplants or fig rust treatment with sprays. Guys I found a natural predator! oh well.

Going to go try soil science if my guy isn't taking a nap right now. Results posted when I have them!