Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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May 23, 2017 | #31 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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Lol it doesn't take that much time. It is more about timing. Knowing when they start laying eggs, destroy them and stop the cycle. I spend wayyyyyyy more time tending my tomatoes than anything else.
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May 23, 2017 | #32 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Quote:
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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May 23, 2017 | #33 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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Thanks Bill, but I don't use stuff like Sevin. Kids/dogs always in the garden.
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May 24, 2017 | #34 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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I also choose not to use things like Sevin so I do 2 things for SVB. I assume that the plants will be infected so I inject the main stem with a syringe of bt (Thuricide) which kills the larvae that I KNOW will be in there and I also plant a second hill of squash about 4 weeks after the first one so if the first one dies then the second one will be producing. This keeps us supplied with squash all summer long.
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May 24, 2017 | #35 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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Quote:
Bill |
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May 24, 2017 | #36 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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I used to dust the critters with it to rid them of ticks and fleas.
Before the drop stuff came out. Worth |
May 24, 2017 | #37 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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Quote:
I had high hopes that DE would stop slugs but so far it hasn't seemed to work but nothing else does either. I'm tired of buying slug bait only to cut a cabbage and find the lower portion invaded by an army of slugs while the bait just sits there under the leaves. I guess they just slime right past the bait because they would rather have cabbage. I'm thinking of just mixing all the different forms of DE I have and just mulching cabbage with it and see if that will work. Other than an occasional lettuce that is the only thing that slugs bother in my garden but in the spring they are relentless in attacking cabbage. Bill |
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May 24, 2017 | #38 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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I was thinking about this thread as I was in Lowe's today so I looked at a container of Sevin dust. It says not to use more than 6 times annually. It sounds like you are dusting your squash a lot more than that.
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May 24, 2017 | #39 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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Quote:
I am not putting it on the plants leaves, buds or fruit but just on the base of the stem and the mulch right next to it. This is where the first SVBs always lay their eggs and start the journey to destroying my squash. I use a small bulb duster and just dust out a little bit so that when I am finished there is a little dust on the bottom few inches of the stem and out about a half inch onto the mulch or soil. I'll try to take a picture and show you if I can remember to do it. Bill |
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May 24, 2017 | #40 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,069
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Bill,
I don't have the same severity of issues with SVBs up here, and I have a small garden, anyway, so using spinosad and manually checking for eggs and removing them works OK for me on the single generation of SVBs who manage to find my two susceptible squash plants (the few other squash plants are C. moschatas and usually not harmed seriously by SVBs so far). I prefer to stick to organic and biological methods, but it's nice to know that, if climate change makes the SVBs a real plague up here like they are further south, this is an option to consider for the home gardener who can be very conscientious about how much is being applied and be very precise about where it's applied. IMO, it's a creative and responsible solution that takes advantage of a powerful available option while being aware of and limiting its potential harms. |
May 24, 2017 | #41 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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Quote:
Bill |
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May 24, 2017 | #42 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Quote:
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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May 24, 2017 | #43 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,916
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Good discussions .
Like I said , i don't see a big infestation. I hardly see any SB. But every tomato that I pick has SB signature all over it. I keep flipping leaves, NO SB. But I find and kill quite a few Horn Worms. Those stupid ugly things go all the way to the top of branch and do their work in a "top-to-down " fashion. That makes is so much easier to know where to look for them, find them and smash them. When the rain stops, I will do some killing with Sevin liquid spray, just the ground ground though. I've got zillions of grasshppers , tics, and fleas. They seem to be mostly interested in my beans.
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Gardeneer Happy Gardening ! |
May 25, 2017 | #44 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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After my sevin dust blitzkrieg the other day I only saw one leaf hopper and it didn't hang around, no baby grasshoppers.
All other good critters are fine. From untold hundreds to none. My garden and yard was infested with the darn things.. Worst year ever, I had to do something. Worth |
May 25, 2017 | #45 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,916
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I just checked the weather forecast:
FRIDAY: sunny SATURDAY: mostly sunny, w/ 10% chance of precipitation. Got to do it morrow morning after the dew has evaporated. Fleas are worse than grasshoppers. My beans ( leaves ) are perforated like a coarse colander. . UPDATE: Just an hour ago I made a 1 1/2 gallon solution of Sevin and sprayed my SISTERS garden. Interestingly, As I was reading the booklet on the bottle , they said that it works on stink bugs too. Woohoo. I drink to that. I mainly sprayed the soil/mulch not so much the plants except for the beans. I want to kill them not just deter them.
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Gardeneer Happy Gardening ! Last edited by Gardeneer; May 25, 2017 at 05:21 PM. Reason: update |
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