Its been fairly hot the past couple of weeks, but actually not as hot as it has been in past years in early September. August ended wet and mild, and then its been mostly in the low to mid 90s since. The past few days has seen highs around 96 or so, but this morning, we had a front come through, and it brought some rain, and then cooler temperatures, in the mid-80s today.
Pests
Just like last year, the aphids started getting pretty bad towards the second half of the summer. They started mostly around the okra and the bottle gourds (a.k.a birdhouse gourd), and got really bad on both. I've taken the approach mostly of waiting until the predatory pest populations build up. That's what happened last year, and eventually most of the aphids were gone when the ladybugs, lacewings, and hover fly (their larva) populations built up and brought them under control. I have sprayed some soap solution in some severely infested areas, but that has barely had an effect.
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| Ladybug feasting on aphids |
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| Bottle gourds seem to be very susceptible to aphid infestations |
The cucumber beetles surprisingly have not been bad this summer. I do see a few here and there, but its much less than last year. And no signs of squash bugs either. The squash vine borers (SVB) are definitely around. I have killed about 4 moths the past two weeks, on the weekend when I am around during the day. Every day I pick off a handful of eggs from squash/pumpkin vines.
Pumpkins/Squash
In my last update, I had talked about my pumpkins and squash that were growing, Except for the Round Zucchini, I had them all under cover to protect them from SVB. All these outgrow their covers, and are now out in the open.
The Jack-o-lanterns I uncovered about 4 days ago, and started covering exposed vines with dirt and mulch, to help protect them against SVB eggs getting laid on them, and to encourage more root formation. The older part of the vine has been hit pretty had by the aphids, probably because the plants are right next to the bottle gourds. Lots of male flowers, and a few females have shown up but have all died before they had a chance to grow bigger and open. I think its probably the heat we have had. Also the plants are still not as vigorous as are the sugar pie pumpkins, which are growing like gangbusters!
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| Jack-o-lantern pumpkin plants. |
This morning I uncovered the Jumbo Pink Banana Squash plants. They are growing pretty fast now and have huge, beautiful leaves. Like the pumpkins, I covered up the exposed vines with dirt and mulch. It will definitely be interesting (and crazy!) when these start spreading over to the other side, and run into the round zucchini and jack-o-lanterns. Its going to be a huge squash jungle in the garden.
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| Banana squash, with Sugar Pie Pumpkins in the background |
The Sugar Pie pumpkin plants are HUGE. They have taken over their whole area, and are moving into where the Banana squash are growing. Its going to be very tough to get in there, and take care of the vines, help pollinate flowers, and check for SVB. There are some female flowers that have appeared but they have all shriveled, probably due to the heat. There are a couple that look like they might open in the next few days.
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| Sugar Pie Pumpkin plants |
Wow its been a struggle with the Round Zucchini! I think planting them in the heat of the summer was not a good idea. I should have waited another month before planting them. The plants are all very long semi-bush vines. I have not seen any signs of SVB damage, but I did do some pre-emptive injections with BT in the main vines. The big problem has been the onslaught of aphids. They have cause the new leaves to be small and curled up. They have attacked the blossom very badly. I do see predatory insect populations building though. And the other problem has been that almost all of the female flowers have either shriveled and died while still very small, or if they have gotten big enough, they have gotten eaten by rats, or have died shortly after I pollinated them. I did get one to grow, and that one I have let to "ripen" so that I can use it for seeds, (because I am out of seeds for these) and use it for a decoration I guess. It looks like a small yellow pumpkin. So I am not sure whats going to happen with these. I'm not sure if they will get to produce much before they succumb to SVB, and powdery mildew eventually.. or they might get overrun by the pumpkins and banana squash.
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| Okra in the back, and Round Zucchini in the front. |
Okra, Beans, Peppers
The okra started blooming and producing despite the heavy aphid infestation. I've picked about 10 pods now, and there are plenty of flowers coming up, although those are heavily covered by aphids, which I sprayed this morning with soapy water to see if that helps. (See picture above).
The Kentucky wonder pole beans are doing very well. They are now training up on the old cucumber trellis, and I bet by next weekend I will have to grow the trellis more to accommodate their growth. They are about 5.5 feet high now.
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| Pole beans |
The sweet bell peppers are doing well too. The plants have not grown very tall, but they are producing flowers now, and I did see a small pepper forming now. That area is about to get overrun by the banana squash, so I am hoping they get a bit taller so they can stand out above the vines.
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| bell peppers (excuse the finger in the shot) |
