Ulog #?: Gardening Adventures... Some Positive News, At Last
After all the setbacks, it looks like my garden is finally taking off. I'm still way behind on everything, but at least this time I can bring you some positive news.
Garden Stress
A little over a week ago, I posted two gardening posts in 2 days.
The first one was a simple stress-post in which I reported about how far behind I was on everything, the second one was more of a panic-post: an unidentified pest was killing my poor, little plants.
Since those posts, I've been stressing out and working as hard as I could to get rid of the pest and to get everything in the ground.
Neither job is done yet, but I finally made some real, visible progress.
The Pest
After doing a lot of research, I was pretty sure I was dealing with leaf spot disease. But when a friend of mine suggested it could also be thrips, I was completely confused again.
There are so many (organic) ways to fight pests, but almost all of them require you to knów what you're dealing with. And I didn't. I still don't.
After taking a closer look at our apple tree, I noticed there were not only leafrollers on it, it also had leaf curl disease (we took down both our young peach trees because they were so far gone we wouldn't be able to save them) and showed the same problem as all other plants.
Both pictures above show the damage leafrollers are causing.
We have no other choice than to cut back all the branches and hope it will survive.
But seeing the combination of problems on the apple tree gave me an idea. For all I know, there are only 3 organic products that can be used to treat multiple pests: lava rock meal, garlic and neem oil.
I went to work and sprayed the entire garden with a garlic/neem oil/garden soap spray, which was quite a job. A day or two later, I sprayed a thin layer of lava rock meal on all my plants.
So far, it seems to have worked. The number of infected leaves I find goes down every day, there were only 1 or 2 this morning.
I'm not celebrating yet, but there's some hope again.
Planting
Yesterday, I had finally fertilized all raised beds and containers. I was so happy I could start planting everything out.
Still scared that the infection will return, I planted a couple of plants in their permanent spot. I simply could not postpone it anymore, I had to take the risk.
There is still a lot to do, but I'm so happy I finally got some real work done.
I planted the three different kinds of sweet potatoes in a potato bag planter and added a companion plant to each. One has basil growing next to it, the other two have a small bush of thyme to keep them company.
In the bottom left corner, you can see that the melon pear (or sweet pepino) is in his permanent planter too. This is the plant I'm most concerned about and that I'm watching very closely. After all, it ís my favorite, lol. The melon pear fruits are so incredibly delicious, and you can't buy them anywhere here - this means this simply hás to work!
Click to enlarge
The Day Lily had not been infected and she's still flowering regularly.
I was so excited to see the first Calendula flowers appear... once another month has passed, my garden will be full of those orange beauties.
Click to enlarge
A couple of plants have been growing without being bothered by anything. The pest seemed to have no effect on them.
The gooseberries look so delicious, but their still too young to eat. It's hard to resist them, though.
The wild strawberries we put in the ground because we didn't have any room left last year, are growing slowly. Due to the fact that they are literally on the ground, slugs have been nibbling on them, but no real damage has been done yet.
Our sage plant and parsley plant are growing at warp speed. They look and taste so healthy... it's a real relief to know that at least something will keep on growing.
Click to enlarge
That's All, Folks
That's all I have time for today. I will show you some more tomorrow or the day after.
Now I got to run to go see the surgeon and find out where I will be spending my summer: in the garden or in the hospital. Please cross your fingers for me that it will be in the garden.
Ooooh fingers crossed! It is good to see the progress on the garden this year.
It has been a slow one here in Canada as the temperature seems to have taken a long time to rise and we have had so much rain. The farmers in the area are having problems getting crops in the ground and my little plants are getting overwatered and undersunned!
I am building a second smaller garden box after being inspired by @lyndsaybowes and will use it as a home for my peppers.
Here’s to a great garden and good news from the doctor!
Posted using Partiko iOS
Thanks.
The weather seems to be off schedule everywhere in the world.
Can't wait to see the pepper-garden box
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Thanks, I'll check it out once I get home
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Crossing fingers that your time will be spent in the garden in which you surely love! I have no idea what those pests are. Sometimes I get it into my head to start gardening and I’ll go buy a bunch of plants and seeds. Not much traction after that....
For now, it still looks like it will be the garden instead of the hospital 👍
You should see the amount of seed packs I have here... and I keep buying plants without having the space or energy to plant them. So many things still need to be put in the ground... still, I'm pretty sure I'll bring back some more when I visit the gardening center this afternoon. It's like an addiction 😉
I am sorry to hear about your pest. That's very worrying. 😞
I hope your cleaning process makes the trick.
Thanks
So far, it seems to have worked on the other crops. The apple tree, however... I'm thinking about taking it out. I'm afraid it is too far gone...
It is a thing of joy seeing your gardening witness growth
Definitely!
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I wish that you could spent your summer in the garden😊 so I can enjoy the beauty and story of your garden ☺ but.. I hope that the surgery needed to take care of your back will be done too..😯 .. argh ... I pray for you.. all the best, being health is a must to enjoy the life too.
So.. the first snap is the wild strawberry? Beautiful color☺
Thanks, @cicisaja.
For now, no surgery yet. Instead they're going to give me some injections that will (hopefully) take away the pain and maybe even make the problem disappear. If surgery will be needed after all, it will be in fall.
Health... you don't know what it is worth untill you don't have it anymore...
And yes, those are wild strawberries. To be honest, I don't have a clue whether it is normal that the leave is pink or if it is a sign that something is wrong 😂
Anyway, it definitely looks beautiful 😉