Weather the same.
I was out by 7 AM to begin my daily gardening chores...it does seem like a chore this year! First I drug the hose across the drive to water the Smoke Tree Bed. I have forgotten it this year and this was the first watering. I hope I haven't lost anything.
I trimmed some around the birdbath and then loaded up the trailer and mower and headed out to the orchard.
I began tying up the tomatoes.....then I noticed they were covered with beetles. I finished watering them and then began mowing the orchard....found clumps of grass that were covered with the same beetles. I went back to get the sprayer and sprayed the tomato row being careful to drench the mulch also. I only sprayed the clump of beetles in the photo. There were so many on grass clumps in the orchard and the barn lot I just let them go. I don't think they had damaged the tomatoes yet, no stripping of the leaves.
I did some online research and think they are striped blister beetles. I used Florida U's website for information.
I am sure this is another bad result of our very mild winter.
The tomatoes are still looking good.
and I see more tomatoes than I thought I had,
This is what allows me to garden and mow,
That is a 15 gallon sprayer powered with a battery in the trailer. We are going to get a second trailer so I can have one available for other garden chores without moving the sprayer.
DH called me to take a picture of one of our many cats. He is perched on the post of the garden gate.
I was out by 7 AM to begin my daily gardening chores...it does seem like a chore this year! First I drug the hose across the drive to water the Smoke Tree Bed. I have forgotten it this year and this was the first watering. I hope I haven't lost anything.
I trimmed some around the birdbath and then loaded up the trailer and mower and headed out to the orchard.
I began tying up the tomatoes.....then I noticed they were covered with beetles. I finished watering them and then began mowing the orchard....found clumps of grass that were covered with the same beetles. I went back to get the sprayer and sprayed the tomato row being careful to drench the mulch also. I only sprayed the clump of beetles in the photo. There were so many on grass clumps in the orchard and the barn lot I just let them go. I don't think they had damaged the tomatoes yet, no stripping of the leaves.
I did some online research and think they are striped blister beetles. I used Florida U's website for information.
I am sure this is another bad result of our very mild winter.
The tomatoes are still looking good.
and I see more tomatoes than I thought I had,This is what allows me to garden and mow,
That is a 15 gallon sprayer powered with a battery in the trailer. We are going to get a second trailer so I can have one available for other garden chores without moving the sprayer.
DH called me to take a picture of one of our many cats. He is perched on the post of the garden gate.
Yay for kitty pictures! :)
ReplyDelete....and for tomatoes!
What? no shouts for the poor unloved beetles?
DeleteI do so love visiting your garden via blog! I wonder if a floating row cover would help where there is sunscald on peppers? Wonder if those nasty beetles would stay outside of it too, or just consider it a nice sheltered place to thrive?
ReplyDeleteWhat is our BoyKittie doing at your house??!! Our older barn cat is virtually identical, but perhaps a bit grumpier of face. He is a voracious hunter. Even if he makes a catch way down in the pasture, he stomps back to the barn with it to eat. LOL, what would we ever do for amusement without cats? :)
Susan, we just have maybe 11 cats! They are too wild to catch to take to the vet.....who knows what we will end up with. This grey one is a loner but he does follow Max to the chicken house each day. WE don't have mice any more though.
DeleteI think about floating row covers each year and need to order some next year. I think it would keep some insects at bay, I used to twist newspapers around the plants and that works too.
I know I could regret it come January or February but I'm hoping for a very cold winter this year to zap all the blankety-blank insects that are helping themselves to OUR food in our gardens! Too many gardens are being damaged by various insects this year. Glad your tomatoes still look really good.
ReplyDeleteWe long for a cold winter too! The wood pile is dry........
DeleteI've seen insects like in your picture. We called them blister bugs, too. That's quite a large batch of them, hope they don't do too much damage.
ReplyDeleteThe kitty makes a pretty picture!
Blister beetles...love hot dry gardens. They,once again, totally defoliated our autumn clematis overnight. No, I do not exagerate! Pyrethium/rotenone will kill them if you are organic. They will devour your bean plants and the word blister means that...many people get actual blisters from squishing them without gloves. Left unchecked they will start on tomatoes. These are the bugs that are so dangerous to horses if found in their hay. One or two can kill them. The chickens don't like to eat 'em either....I'll take tomato hornworms any day that I can see and pick off!!! I'm here in so.central MO so I now lots about blister beetles!!!!
ReplyDeleteI found them this morning on the sweet potatoes on my Early Girl tomato in the backyard garden. I will hit them with Sevin! This is the first year I have seen this many; seems I had a few one year.
ReplyDeleteOMG, those beetles are terrible! I haven't seen any, sure hope I don't, but then I don't have much for them to eat now.
ReplyDeleteLoved the pic of the cat.
We used to eat that same macaroni dish about once a week. I don't remember where I first got the recipe. I don't remember Mom ever making it while I was growing up. We always called it "Slumgullion" but I know lots of people who make it and call it goulash.
Wow, that's a real bucket-load of blister beetles. Ick. You just can't seem to catch a break! :-( Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteNeglected the garden for a few days and went out to find about a hundred of those blister beetles all over my plants. I lost 4 Romas and my beloved Cherokee Purple. We managed to save everything else by dusting the garden with diotemateous earth. 12 hours later there were a handful left...24 hours later there were no more. We're still trying to recover our pepper plants and okra. The damage was bad. Damn bugs. I hope you can get them under control.
ReplyDeleteWe are also wishing for a cold winter.
Beautiful cat. What a summer, though.
ReplyDelete