Oops - thought it was the pond in the GH!

Today, I did some work on Tomato Turnpike. I up potted the 6 Mountain Magic (real name for Campari tomatoes). They will go down into the food forest in 3-4 weeks, but they are getting large and needed to go from 3.5" pots to 5" pots. I put the bamboo sticks in because I think they will need tying up before they go outside. As usual, in this picture they are a little shocked from transplanting but recovered in a short time with plenty to drink.



Then, I trimmed the 6 Tiny Tims. They are so small and tight to the top of the pot as they grow that I cut off the bottom branches so I can water without getting the leaves wet. We really like Tiny Tim's in salads or as a snack. A lot of people don't like them because they say they taste sour, but you can't eat them "almost ripe". In fact, when a Tiny Tim looks ripe and ready on the vine, I leave it for another 2-3 days. It's stays firm, and the extra time makes them so sweet. One of our favorites.



I wasn't totally surprised to find some aphids on the Tiny Tim's, so I got my soapy water out and sprayed them thoroughly. I also have been spraying my little peppers for aphids. I have never had an aphids like this on tomatoes and peppers, but I think it is because I grew in the greenhouse all winter. The aphids first showed up in my first batch of spinach. Every time I think I have them beat, I find more. The greenhouse did not go through a winter freeze like my old one since I grew in it all winter.

I am waiting for my Marigold plants to bloom. The first bud opened today. With a lot of Marigolds, Geraniums (not available yet), and Yellow Yarrow (not blooming yet), I should see improvement since aphids hate the scent of Marigolds and Geraniums, attract pollinators and natural predators. Yellow Yarrow attracts aphid predators, particularly lacewings. We'll see. I really don't want to have to spray all the time whether it's soapy water or some chemical, and I don't want to play with traps or buy insects. We'll see. It's all an experiment.

The plastic "envelopes" to hold my greenhouse plant cards arrived. I took a picture with one on a brown book for a darker background, so you can easily see it.



I'm still revising these cards. I may wind up doing one for each type of vegetable, so instead of just doing one for Cucumber Corner, I may do 3 since they are 3 varieties of cucumber I am growing, 2 types of bush beans, 3 types of peppers, etc. Each type of vegetable shares similar needs, but there may be differences between varieties. i.e. pot size, fertilizer needs and schedule. So, having specific cards for each vegetable/variety will save me time in the future, and help me to remember the care each plant and variety needs. I think this will lead to a better outcome. It's all an experiment.

Frost tonight, so we covered the limbs of fruit trees that are currently blooming with blue/clearish plastic recycling bags. Hopefully, that will protect the tender blooms. It's only a few trees right now blooming. I will have to take a picture in the morning. The trees look so funny with giant blue "balloons" growing from them.

P.S. I received the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 2024 Rare Seeds Catalog today. It is more than a catalog; it is 162 pages of gorgeous pictures of plants and plenty of information about them. You can look online, but this paper catalog is impressive in beauty and offerings.

I received one because I recently bought Small Persian Melon Seeds, Sweet Banana Pepper Seeds, and 2 Top Hat Blueberry Plants, but you can get a free Rare Seed Catalog from them at: https://www.rareseeds.com/requ...

Told you I would post a pic of one of the trees where we covered blooms from last night's 28 degrees which wound up being 34 degrees. Thought you might like to see the "balloon" tree. Don't know if the plastic bags would have helped if we got a good frost; they were a last-minute thought when we saw the low for the night and had to scramble. Wasn't expecting it.

One of those days. After I got everything done that needed to be done, it was almost 3pm, so I just watered the greenhouse.

I did get some new plants in the mail for the greenhouse pond to promote shade. It is called Frogbit. I ordered 12 of them. They are very small as you will see in the pictures below. They do NOT grow bigger, but they grow "children", so they keep doubling. If they do well, I will put the excess into the food forest pond. I had them last year, but they got lost in the ff pond.

Under optimal conditions, a new leaf is produced every 2 days and it will separate from the mother plant thereafter. You should be able to see triple or quadruple the amount of plants in 2-3 weeks.





Not my picture, but they can grow to this. Extras can be put in other ponds, composted, or sold online for $14.99 per dozen.

MoonShadows said: One of those days. After I got everything done that needed to be done, it was almost 3pm, so I just watered the greenhouse.

I did get some new plants in the mail for the greenhouse pond to promote shade. It is called Frogbit. I ordered 12 of them. They are very small as you will see in the pictures below. They do NOT grow bigger, but they grow "children", so they keep doubling. If they do well, I will put the excess into the food forest pond. I had them last year, but they got lost in the ff pond.

Under optimal conditions, a new leaf is produced every 2 days and it will separate from the mother plant thereafter. You should be able to see triple or quadruple the amount of plants in 2-3 weeks.





Not my picture, but they can grow to this. Extras can be put in other ponds, composted, or sold online for $14.99 per dozen.

Jim, Can you keep us updated on your aphid situation. I'm gathering as much info as possible. Among a few other things, I have been battling aphids constantly for about 2 years now. It's interesting that you think they started on your spinach. What has really stood out to me is that each of the aphids has their own preferred menu. I have had plants right next to each other but the ones that love brassicas won't touch the celery or peas or anything but the brassicas. They all have been like that so far.

Up until this month the worst monsters I had loved my plum trees. I finally got rid of them on 2 trees by spraying with soapy water one day and then for 2 more days I would keep washing them off. I did that again and again until they finally gave up. But they would not leave my Satsuma plum alone and I couldn't stop them. They attacked it so bad for so long not only did the leaves curl up but entire branches curled up permanently. It took me all summer to get rid of them. I started spraying them with permethrins every 2-3 weeks to kill them. And then rotten garlic water every few days to repel them and I think it maybe/might have helped some. I'm watching every day now for the battle to begin again.

But this month I've had brand new 'Super Ninja' aphids attacking my brassicas that are going to seed. These are a gray/bluish color. I think I need an exorcist! This is what I'm up against. In this picture I have already sprayed this branch with water like a fire hose! They don't come off at all! And I sprayed with soapy water, nothing. Then thick soapy water, nothing. Then Neem oil. It killed some of them but many of them were still alive and thriving! And this is how it looked yesterday. They were spreading over all the plants. So today I cut off all the infected branches and sprayed again. I don't use permethrins unless I have no other choice.

Anyway, I haven't had them on my tomatoes and peppers yet. They're some of the very few things I didn't think they liked! Please let us know how it goes.

Just wrote a long reply and then lost it. Here we go again...

Deb. I never remember aphids in my greenhouse until last year some showed up on my California Wonder Bells. I sprayed them with soapy water, and that kept them in check, but did not eliminate them totally.

One thing I did differently was to grow all winter in this new greenhouse. The temperature never fell below 40 all winter. The last few years, I left my old greenhouse empty for the winter so I could store and cut firewood during the winter. I believe the freezing temps at night probably killed any bugs that thought about overwintering in my greenhouse. I noticed them first this winter on my spinach and lettuce. I figured they were "hold outs" in the greenhouse from the summer peppers, but that is all guesswork on my part. May or may not be true. Next, they were on my potatoes, and now they are on my pepper and tomatoes seedlings. All brown aphids. They don't seem to care for my brassicas, melons, or any other vegetables at this time. I spray with soapy water every day. I can see the shriveled, dead aphids the next day where I sprayed, but more keep coming...not an overwhelming amount, but like I said, I spray just about every day. I am terrified of them getting out of control.

From your description, sounds like your case is worse than mine, but I get panicky when I think of what could happen in my greenhouse if I don't get/keep them in check. (I don't ever remember seeing aphids on my outdoor plants/fruit trees/berry bushes, but my fruit trees are only 3-4 years old and not big fruit bearers yet. Some have yet to bear fruit at all.) I am planting a ton of marigolds, geraniums and yellow yarrow in my greenhouse this summer. Aphids hate marigolds and geranium scent, and all three attract beneficial insects that like to eat aphids, especially the yellow yarrow that attracts lacewings. Aphids are very high on the diet for lacewings.

You could try planting (especially) yellow yarrow in the vicinity of your fruit trees. They are easy to grow from seed, but they take a while to bloom.

Problem with using flowers is the aphids usually show up before the flowers bloom and give off their scents and/or attract aphid eating bugs. I do plan to keep these three plants growing all year in my greenhouse if possible, and if they work as I have read.

Another vey organic, very effective treatment against just about all pests that attach fruit and fruit trees is Kaolin Clay. (https://www.phillyorchards.org...) There are many articles and you tubes available on Kaolin Caly. You thoroughly mix it with water and spray on your trees, leaves and fruits. It forms a white coating of clay that bugs hate/messes with them. It is perfectly safe for the plants, humans and animals. It needs to be sprayed with a diaphragm sprayer or a sprayer that mixes continuously during use. It will clog the normal piston garden sprayer unless you keep shaking it alot.

Here in this picture is a tree that has been sprayed (from the internet). Not pretty, but there are long-time fruit growers who swear by it.



Let's keep sharing ideas/methods. I'm sure others have had/are having this problem as well.

Hi Jim,
Thank you for replying back. Up until last year I just had the usual and occasional problem with aphids but now they have found me. I've read that keeping a greenhouse free of bugs can be a real challenge which is why I was interested in hearing how you handle it.

I'm pretty convinced that they each have their desired delicacies and there are about 5000 types of aphids so I'm hoping the ones that like tomatoes aren't in my neighborhood yet. And I learned first hand that they can easily live when temps are below 32* and above 120*. Bummer.

My fruit trees are also 3-4 years old. And I like your suggestion about planting yarrow to repel the aphids but....the year before last ants kept bringing the aphids to the trees so I planted lots of tansy (perennials) around the base of each of them. It didn't work at first until the tansy got to be about 3-4' tall and really bushy but it seems to work pretty well now at repelling the ants. Last summer I only saw ants once on just one tree out of 20. And it had a second benefit of providing cover for the trunks so they don't get sunburned and I don't have to paint them white every year.

But I still had aphids in the tops of the plum trees, they start at the tips of each branch. Turns out most aphids can fly. Imagine me pulling my hair out. Yes, I've heard of kaolin clay and I'm thinking your suggestion would be a good one to try this year. True, it's not pretty and I'd have to buy a new sprayer but definitely better then chemicals!

3 years ago I tried planting lots of nasturtiums in 1 gallon pots. They say aphids love them and to use them as a trap crop. So when a plant like my artichokes or cucumbers got infested I would bring over pots of nasturtiums and surround them trying to draw the aphids away. It never worked which is just one reason I'm convinced each species of aphids only likes certain plants.

But I'll look into planting yarrow in some of my other beds. It's worth a try. Thanks for replying back to me.

You have love the relationship between ants and aphids. Isn't it amazing how nature works? Sounds like the tansy was very helpful.

This is the sprayer I bought. I guess I will be using it for the first time in a week or two, just depends on frosts/freezes we may have left and how many blooms bring fruit.

Solo 475-B-DELUXE 4-Gallon Professional Backpack Sprayer
It's actually $2 less than when I bought it in 12/22.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DW66EZY/





Found aphids on 1 cantaloupe leaf today. Quickly sprayed with soapy water to try and get them before they get the cantaloupes. So far, I would say I am slightly winning, but it feels touch and go at times.

I hope you are not right about each aphid species and figuring out which plant will repel it.

And my apology for my earlier post; geraniums do not repel; they are a trap crop for aphids.

Today was a very busy day, but very little of it had to do with gardening.

The 4 Mandarin Honeysuckle plants arrived via the USPS in good condition. I was somewhat apprehensive as our USPS around here isn't the best, especially about delivering mail every day. We can go 2 days sometimes without any deliveries on our street. They were scheduled to arrive today, and they did! If they didn't get here until Monday with the Sunday/Monday heat, it could have been a very different story.

I have never seen plants packed so well. The box was packed to keep the 4 plants from moving. Each plant had two soft fine mesh protective coverings. Each pot had 4 small stakes in the corners, so the plant would not get crushed. They even put wet newspaper around the top of the pot and used packing tape to hold it on. It kept them moist, and the dirt could not spill out of the pot. Finally, the vines were neatly rolled and pushed down on top of the plant in the pot.



I unwound the vines, inserted 18" bamboo plant supports, and then tied the longer ones using garden stretch tape. The took in a lot of water, and had that "I've been in a dark box for two days look", but they perked up later. I will keep them in a shadier spot in my greenhouse for a few days so they can acclimate.



It's a new company for me...Fantastic Gardens of LI. at https://fantasticgardensofli.c...
I paid $10 per plant. I believe it was about $15-$20 shipping. https://fantasticgardensofli.c...

I finally placed Cucumber Corner, Bush Bean Boulevard, and Tomato Turnpike signs up in the greenhouse. I better get going up potting other plants. I am behind.









I also had my first disaster of the season. I was watering the greenhouse plants with the new hose I bought just for the greenhouse. I don't like it; it has a mind of its own. It is very light, but the length increases when the water is on and contracts when the water is off, so 't "moves" on its own almost when I least want it or expect it.
Lefree Expandable Garden Hose 50ft
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6KHK55V/

As I was watering, it jumped of the edge of the outside of the pond and pulled a fully potted marigold into the pond. I dropped the hose and went for the pot. Unfortunately, some of the soil came out and immediately dispersed around the pond, including compost, Pro Mix BX, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, and worm castings. Not artificial fertilizers, so I'm hoping the fish will be OK. I cleaned as much as I could out of the pond. I still have pieces of perlite and some particles of peat moss floating. I'll work on getting more out tomorrow, but there is perlite sticking to the plants. That will be the most difficult to clean. I'm sure there will be other disasters as the season progresses.

I think that is about it for today, and the weekend is already here.

Thanks for that link!! They have a few things I'm eyeballing but will hold off ordering since I have a greenhouse trip coming next weekend plus still have a local native nursery to hit this season. But they have a couple things in colors I can't get locally so on my watch list just in case.

That looks like a really nice hose and I've been thinking about getting something similar - but I can see where the "expansion" could cause problems around plants... and hoses are enough of a menace to plants that are in the ground even when they don't "have a mind of their own." Probably would work great for watering container plants, though.

Just some pics I snapped.

We put our MoonShadows Farm sign in the back of the greenhouse.





Iris on the west side of house.



Flowers are waiting to fill these three gardens.



A little bleeding heart grow along the wall of the garden shed.



The climbing roses we planted last year are starting to fill out.



View from behind the greenhouse (right) and tool shed (left). That's a red knockout rose in the foreground.

What a great time of year... everything is looking beautiful, Jim!

Thanks, Sandy.

I agree. Spring has always been my favorite season. I love all the colors with all the ornamental trees, bushes and spring flowers., not to mention all the shades of green on the new trees leaves before they turn that dark green after the first few weeks. Everything is still young and full of life. By the time summer rolls around, I feel like things are growing too much, and I live on the edge of a jungle.

I agree. Spring is now my favorite season. When everything is just starting to leaf out or bud out. I scrutinize every tree and shrub and plant to see if they made it through the winter with my fingers crossed. My neighbors often see me quietly walking around my yard watering. But in my head I am screaming at the top of my voice....... IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE! ..... I'm so much louder than Dr. Frankenstein!

I love the early part of the gardening season, when everything is planted in neat rows and nothing has had a chance to chew a lot of holes in the leaves, the weeds are actually under control, and nothing is ready to harvest yet so therefore nothing needs to be processed... well, at least that is my fantasy version of the early season; in reality it is more like dealing with mud because it's been raining too much, and having a to-do list a mile long because so many things need to be done all at once .

You two are so funny!

Warning: Rant and rambling ahead!

Well, I sprained my ankle carrying one of the black greenhouse tables out of the greenhouse yesterday afternoon. We still haven't totally filled the cracks/spaces between the irregular slates we put back down for the walkway (had to be extended all the way around this larger greenhouse) Of course my foot hits one of those cracks, and I do a "comedy sketch" for about 10 feet or so, almost falling while trying to stay upright while I'm still holding on to the 36" x 24" x 18" greenhouse table, hoping I don't land on top of it! I can be such a klutz!

Felt something "stretch" in my ankle when I hit the crack. Hurt like H E -double hockey sticks as Rose Nylund used to say on The Golden Girls, for about 5 minutes and then felt fine. Didn't hurt at all last night. I got up this morning, and I have been walking like Quasimodo all day. Took off the sock to shower this afternoon and all around the ankle bone is swollen. After I write this, I am going to put ice on it (should have done that last night!) and TRY to take it easy.

Today was very busy and frustrating day.

Besides the ankle, I had to make two deliveries. Not easy pulling/pushing a hand truck with this ankle.

The gas station wouldn't honor my gas points;

TSC would not give me a refund for the butterfly bush I bought a few weeks ago with nothing in the package but peat moss; no butterfly bush - because I didn't have the receipt, despite the fact that they had a record of my purchase in their system when I asked them to check. I decided to buy another anyway, and all 4 of the ones they had left contained no plants either. (Wonder if they were left over from last year and disintegrated in the peat moss/plastic bag/box?) When I pointed this out to the manager, and said "proves my point", she still wouldn't give me a refund. I should have dumped the bag of chicken feed and the bag of bird seed at her feet and walked out! I wrote to corporate when I got home with the store ID and her name. It was only $7.51; but it was the treatment I received and principle!

When I got home, the Phat Tommy outdoor table I bought to match our 4 high Adirondack chairs arrived. If you don't know Phat Tommy, they are an outdoor furniture company, and their products are indestructible. Made of dyed resin (many colors), they don't fade and can be left in the elements all year. Our original 2 chairs look as good as the day we bought them 2 years ago, and they have spent every day of 2 years sitting on our back deck which faces south and on which the snow/ice comes crashing down onto in the winter. (https://phattommy.com/)

When I unpacked everything, the top of the resin table (35.5" in diameter) had a small (1/4") gash on the top near the very center. I wrote to Phat Tommy with picture telling them I want a new top, or I will keep this one if they refund me $100 (Table was $499.95). I figured it would cost them at least that much to pick up this one (oversized box and heavy as all get out) and deliver a new one. I can probably fill the little gash with some green epoxy.

Finally, when I thought I was going to go off the deep end, I limped into the greenhouse (my therapy place), watered, up potted some zinnias I want to keep inside the GH, planted 2 of the cantaloupes in a large pot under the second trellis, and made this. It calmed me down!



Other than that, all was a good day!

Good thing the day ended well, Jim! Hope your ankle heals quickly . (Maybe wrap it up with an Ace bandage or something to give it some extra support - if you didn't already think of that.)

Just some pics of the day.

Our little fig cutting from last spring is growing figs already in the greenhouse. There are a lot of new shoots coming up, so I am hoping we'll get more, and a second crop in the Fall. The fig now looks like a tree, but we plan to grow it as a bush as it new shoots come up to keep it manageable in the greenhouse. In the past, we didn't get spring figs from the mother tree, and the fall figs usually got hit by frost before they ripened. Unlike most other fruits, figs stop ripening when they are picked.



Our first greenhouse cucumber!



Blue Lake Bush Bean blooms ready to open. Beans will start to form soon.



I'm hoping this cabbage and broccoli can go another 10-15 days in these pots before going outside, but I have my doubts. I may need to up pot these, too.



First Tiny Tim blooms.


Our 6 little Tiny Tim's waiting to be up potted.


Up potting the Tiny Tim's with my special mix.
@1/4 50-50 rich topsoil with mushroom compost
@1/4 ProMix BX with Mycorrhizae, their "brand" of mycorrhizae - fungi that have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of many plants
@1/4 Peat Moss
@ 1/4 Vermiculite
*@ 4 Tbsps of worm castings on top which will get repeated every few weeks.
*If I'm up potting flowers, I use the same mix, but instead of using worm castings, I use Osmocote Time Released fertilizer.



At this time of Spring, my workshop becomes my potting shed.



The Tiny Tim's are now up potted.



I am taking a picture from the front of the greenhouse every few days. I am going to put together a collage video at the end of the summer/fall showing how the greenhouse changes from early Spring until Fall.



I walked by this small lilac today not noticing the flowers were opening, until I caught the scent.





Picture of the Food Forest from the north corner.