Gardening, Puttering and Fire Season Thread, July 9

Crinum lilies are blooming again, and
I have white spider lilies in the bed with them. Always
start to bloom about July 4th. - Tom Servo

Luminous. All about Crinums. Longfield Gardens.

I once rented in a place that had amarcrinums (a cross with amaryllis) in the front yard, in Southern California. Susceptible to snails, but delightful. They will grow in the Central Valley of California, too, but tend to look ragged in the middle of summer.

one more photo, since I adore this flower. You can see how extended the stamens are, almost like antennae! Also a view of the luscious foliage the plant has.

Pretty exotic for a native plant!

Critters

We have a suggestion for today's thread:

While it's not the joyful and inspiring topic for the garden thread, I'm wondering if we should have a discussion on garden pests.
I'm only mentioning this because I just spent a couple hours clearing bagworms off my arbor vitae. Not the first time I've had a challenge. I tried growing brussel sprouts one year only to have to deal with cabbage moth larvae/worms. And don't get me started on what the deer have managed to take out. Sometimes I feel like some of my gardens have just been a buffet for nature.
Thanks,
Shy Lurking Voter
-SLV

This is a good idea. We have had discussions of insect pests in the past. Maybe we should try one at a time (unless you are having trouble with another right now). PennState Extension has a pretty good write-up on Bagworms. Sometimes they are mistaken for Gypsy Moths (name may change soon), grass bagworms, or snail-cased bagworms. They live on conifers.

Bagworms overwinter as eggs inside the bag constructed by the female (Figure 1). In late May through mid-June, eggs hosta and the larvae crawl out the bottom of this bag. They spin down on a thin strand of silk (a habit known as "ballooning"). Larvae will settle to feed on lower branches or may be blown to nearby plants during the ballooning stage. When they reach a suitable host, the larvae begin to feed and produce silk to construct individual bags around their bodies (Figure 2). Plant debris is woven into each bag to camouflage and protect the larva. The larva feeds through an opening at the top of the bag, while the pointed end of the bag dangles from the host. Very young larvae may carry their bags in a snail-like manner for a short time.
Only the newly hostaed larva and the male moth can be found outside a protective bag. As the larva grows, it enlarges the bag by adding more silk and plant material (Figure 4). The bag is attached to branches of the host with loose strands of silk and can be moved to get to fresh plant material (Figure 5). . .

Delightful!

Anybody have experience or ideas for dealing with this pest?

Below, a bigger critter that can sometimes be a pest:

Grimmy sent the following:

My wife appropriates my trail cameras in the off season (80% of the year), and had this one dangling from a branch overlooking a small, dry creek in the yard. A curious raccoon had a lot of fun playing with it one evening. That's the camera mounting strap in its mouth.

Friendly raccoon!

Fire Season

This is going to last for a while. Maybe we can gather tips and cautions from The Horde. NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker had a scare - a fire she could see from her yard!

The small plane carrying fire retardant we still call bombers because that's what they were originally, just retrofitted. The larger 747 type plane are the big daddies.

Another type of plane dropping retardant. Can you tell what kind it is? Any aviation buffs out there?

From our road:

These pics are some of the big double rotor helicopters that suck up water from area lakes, through a giant straw looking device and make water drops on the hot spots. There was different one of these but I wasn't quick enough to get a picture. There are a lot of regular size copters too, some with buckets and some with straws (?).

More later for our aviation buffs. Please contribute your knowledge!

Edible Gardening

Anybody got tomatoes? Squash?

Gardens of The Horde

Here's a lovely path behind a friend's house in south east salem Oregon.
List me as 'long time lurker' usually filled w admiration at the gardening abilities of others.

Thanks for the lovely photo.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. If you didn't see your photos here today, check again next week.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, July 2 featuring red, white and blue flowers in Kansas, a wonderful hummingbird moth video, a fascinating green spider, Fourth of July berry kuchen recipe, an exciting scouting adventure with black powder shooting, hiking and history and daylilies!

Any thoughts or questions?

The comments here are closed so you won't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:27 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hi

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 01:30 PM (rrtZS)

2 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Picked first slightly unripe tomatoe, Good yellow squash and cucumbers should be very soon.

Posted by: Skip at July 09, 2022 01:32 PM (2JoB8)

3 Coulson USA 737 air tanker. Introduced last year. Comapny is based in Canada. Columbia Helicopters Chinook.

Posted by: DBCooper at July 09, 2022 01:33 PM (3oMnW)

4 Howdy, KT!

Posted by: Duke Lowell at July 09, 2022 01:35 PM (u73oe)

5 We've got some lilies like those at the top blooming right now too. How they can thrive in direct Georgia sunlight in 100 degree heat I don't know but it doesn't seem to faze them.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 01:35 PM (sn5EN)

6 First pic is Coulson's C-130H. Straw is called a 'Snorkel' Columbia can suck 2400 gallons in about a minute. Hydraulic driven pump in bottom of snorkel suck up the water.

A woman brought her daughters out to the airport one time on a fire and they wanted to see the 'Boy' helicopter. That was funny.

Posted by: DBCooper at July 09, 2022 01:38 PM (3oMnW)

7 First plane looks like a C-130.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 01:39 PM (sn5EN)

8 Would like to thank the GOP sarcastically....for their closed door negotiations to further gun control and red flag laws.

Posted by: Broken Apple at July 09, 2022 01:40 PM (wX/xk)

9 I went and got some Roundup today. $13 for a gallon of premix, from a country store no less. Its the one thing Putin kept cheap somehow, but I digress.

I put the Roundup outside in plain view, so that when the guy comes to mow he will see it and do whatever to make the weeds leave. I should have a youtube gardening show.

Posted by: Jimco Industries at July 09, 2022 01:42 PM (buTO7)

10 Hi, Duke!

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 01:42 PM (rrtZS)

11 We used to sell the crinum lily bulbs where I worked. They were enormous.

Posted by: jewells45 at July 09, 2022 01:43 PM (nxdel)

12 "Boy" helicopters. Based. Heh.

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 01:43 PM (rrtZS)

13 Nice outside. 85 degrees. 90 % humidity.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 01:43 PM (sn5EN)

14 I have a bit garden envy. I like my arid climate but it does make gardening or landscaping difficult, folks manage it but they are committed. I prefer to go trail ride; Tradeoffs. Looking at other folks' pretty yards and gardens is good enough for now.

Someday I hope to move from commie red Colorado but my inclination will be to want arid again as I dislike humidity whether its chilly winter damp or muggy summer dampness.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at July 09, 2022 01:44 PM (3cGpq)

15 Thanks for the garden thread, KT! Those lilies look like fireworks. My "Easter" lilies (aka post-Easter additions) bloomed while I was away. Great sight on my return. Waiting for the day lilies because they're in too much shade.

I had three lilies in pots and only two bloomed. Well, upon closer inspection, Siberian iris foliage looks a lot like stella d'oro - especially when it's on clearance rack!

I took a long-distance trip (almost six hours) with a bag of chicken/mulch fertilizer which a friend back home mixed and triple-bagged for me. Still aromatic, to say the least. Sadly, something dug through the lilac grow-bag while I was away and broke it from its rootball. Maybe I will use the bag on the rhubarb.

This morning, I found out that a little section of fence fills a really big cardboard box. Now waiting to see if garbagemen pick it up. If they do, I will repeat the process this coming week. If not, I will sacrifice a section of yard to fire.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at July 09, 2022 01:45 PM (/+bwe)

16 Not looking forward to fire season at all. Every year it seems I get more sensitive to smoke.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 09, 2022 01:47 PM (EZebt)

17 C-130 with the MAFFS Modular Airborn Fire Fighting System. You roll the tank on and secure like it was palleted stores and the retardant is deployed out what were the side doors. They are mostly Hs now but they could use Js if they become available. I once had to see if the change in CG or force from the deployment would affect it detrimentally and no it wouldn't. It does have the ability to deploy a large mass of fluid in a very short time though. They just do short squirts generally.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 01:50 PM (E9ZCZ)

18 Another type of plane dropping retardant. Can you tell what kind it is?

It’s a big one.

Posted by: Squid at July 09, 2022 01:50 PM (kx5Be)

19 Great thread, KT! Might want to mention deer are not a pest, but food, much better than bugs. And those pilots got nads bigger than Pecos cantelopes.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 01:51 PM (0OP+5)

20 A lot of the firefighting is run by just one of the Air National Guards now. Maybe the California one.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 01:52 PM (E9ZCZ)

21 Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 01:50 PM (E9ZCZ)

My Dad was a loadmaster on 119s/124s/130s.

Posted by: BignJames at July 09, 2022 01:52 PM (AwYPR)

22 Dead Racoon in back yard yesterday. Rabies? I dug a hole and buried it. Wore myself out.

Posted by: Ronster at July 09, 2022 01:53 PM (ymkfe)

23 I think I remember working with CAANG.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 01:54 PM (E9ZCZ)

24 My dad flew 130s in the AF. They did some interesting things with them. It's a very versatile plane. If I had one it would make a nice toy carrier and flying RV.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 01:55 PM (sn5EN)

25 Eromero at July 09, 2022 01:51 PM

Better than bugs! Heh.

Wonder if bagworms taste like pine trees?

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 01:55 PM (rrtZS)

26 Another type of plane dropping retardant. Can you tell what kind it is?
---

Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at July 09, 2022 01:58 PM (vuisn)

27 Even a hungry fish won't bite a bagworm. They must be nasty. Mostly remember them in black cherry trees, not so much pines, by the way is that a scotch pine? looks like our Christmas tree, lives outside most of the year and comes in for Christmas. And MadisonTheCat gets the lizards.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 02:00 PM (0OP+5)

28 The lilies are beautiful!

Fire scares me to death. It's crazy watching the planes do their orange drops and the helicopters sucking up water and dropping it.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 02:00 PM (oeVy+)

29 Tomatoes! Early Girls and Better Boys. First BLT of 2022 yesterday.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (QYdgc)

30 I've never seen (or heard) of bagworms, but when I moved to a small acreage outside the city, I started encountering a similar insect they call a spitbug. In spring, they make little "nests" of bubbly liquid on plants that look like someone spit on it. Weird...and gross if you walk through the tall grass and get wet!

https://tinyurl.com/mja7e4xh

Posted by: Grimmy at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (JCZqz)

31 >>> My Dad was a loadmaster on 119s/124s/130s.
Posted by: BignJames at July 09, 2022 01:52 PM (AwYPR)

On the Js they modified things so there can be only one loadmaster seat. So it's operational with just pilot/copilot and loadmaster. An improvement to the Hs along with higher MLW/MTOW/ZFW. A funny thing was the Js went to 6 blade dowty scimitar props and initially there was a whole lot of noise that was really bad right at the new loadmaster seat. Looking through old reports you would find that very early hercs had the same problem but it went away. It went away when they went to 4 blades. It had 3 blades with the noise. So, obviously, the fuselage internal had a standing wave natural frequency that was excited by 3 and 6 as an alias of 3. De-synching the props fixed the issue for the J.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (E9ZCZ)

32 Sorry for the plane stuff on the gardening thread.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 02:02 PM (E9ZCZ)

33 The raccoon pic is funny, they are nosy little buggers.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 02:03 PM (oeVy+)

34 >>> I've never seen (or heard) of bagworms, but when I moved to a small acreage outside the city, I started encountering a similar insect they call a spitbug. In spring, they make little "nests" of bubbly liquid on plants that look like someone spit on it. Weird...and gross if you walk through the tall grass and get wet!

https://tinyurl.com/mja7e4xh
Posted by: Grimmy at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (JCZqz)

They were bad in Kansas when I lived there. I've never seen them in Georgia.

Posted by: banana Dream at July 09, 2022 02:03 PM (E9ZCZ)

35 Taking the Gardening Thread to a higher plane...

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 09, 2022 02:04 PM (QYdgc)

36 30 I've never seen (or heard) of bagworms, but when I moved to a small acreage outside the city, I started encountering a similar insect they call a spitbug. In spring, they make little "nests" of bubbly liquid on plants that look like someone spit on it. Weird...and gross if you walk through the tall grass and get wet!

https://tinyurl.com/mja7e4xh
Posted by: Grimmy at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (JCZqz)
They love milkweed.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 02:04 PM (0OP+5)

37 29 Tomatoes! Early Girls and Better Boys. First BLT of 2022 yesterday.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 09, 2022 02:01 PM (QYdgc)

I am so jealous, last week I went and checked my tomatoes and there was a red one, half of it was eaten by something. My guess is a coyote. I saw tracks on the plastic. Jerk.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 02:05 PM (oeVy+)

38 Told this story before about cropdusting in the 70s. Went to a good old boys hunt/fish camp for steak and seafood and moonshine near Kingstree S.C. and got wiped slick. Next morning thank GOD the wind was too high and I laid my bad head down on a bench under a tobacco barn shed and took a nap. GOD sent me this cool nightmare about being in hell eaten by worms. I woke up and tobacco budworms were crawling all over me. Sobered up pdq.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 02:10 PM (0OP+5)

39 If someone hasn't already spoken up, the double rotor choppers are CH-57's. An iconic helicopter from the Viet Nam war and beyond. Another helicopter that you might have seen, has a huge single rotor and is called the Sky Crane.

On the planes, I can't tell.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:12 PM (R5lpX)

40 39 If someone hasn't already spoken up, the double rotor choppers are CH-57's. An iconic helicopter from the Viet Nam war and beyond. Another helicopter that you might have seen, has a huge single rotor and is called the Sky Crane.

On the planes, I can't tell.
Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:12 PM (R5lpX)
Skycrane would pick up damn near anything it could crouch on.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 02:14 PM (0OP+5)

41 Had at least 1 C-130 ride to Germany, pilot thought he flew a F-15

Posted by: Skip's phone at July 09, 2022 02:14 PM (2JoB8)

42 I have raspberries. Even the ones in pots have berries. When I get settled, I'll get some fall bearing varieties.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 02:15 PM (YynYJ)

43 Sadly, our veggie garden isn't doing much this year. A few cherry tomatoes and banana peppers. The leaf lettuce never took off which is unusual. Think I'll try a late season planting in the fall. But the herbs have done well and the rose of Sharon shrubs are lovely. It's been a temperate spring and summer so far so I don't think it's weather related. Maybe it's just one of those years.

Posted by: JTB at July 09, 2022 02:25 PM (7EjX1)

44 Got my new mail box installed. Took a before and after photo to show the post master on Monday. Not that it will do any good.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:30 PM (R5lpX)

45 Great-looking lilies, Tom Servo!

Posted by: 40 Miles North at July 09, 2022 02:32 PM (uWF4x)

46 C-130's used to fly on our radar site late 70's for ECM training. They could blank out our radar screens with their jammers, even on low power.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:33 PM (R5lpX)

47 dug some potatoes and have been eating on the swiss chard so far. Nothing much else is ripe yet besides the few currants and some early peas.

It has been a cool year so the plants are behind. I am mildly depressed because the volunteer tomatoes coming up in my corn patch from the compost are bigger than some of the tomatoes I planted from seed.

I dug the volunteers and planted them in an area I cleared blackberries out of and was nothing but bare dirt. The chances are that they are just cherry tomatoes, but they are free and the dirt costs nothing extra. Last year I dried all the cherry tomatoes and added them to stews over winter.

Posted by: Kindltot at July 09, 2022 02:34 PM (xhaym)

48 We've gotten over 3" of rain this week, a real blessing. Field peas have begun putting on, green beans are flowering, squash and other cucurbitas are finally taking off. We got a late start this year, but now it's time for staking tomatoes. Already took a few grape tomatoes, but they're much bigger than grapes.

Have I not mentioned okra? Well, publius doesn't want them thinned any further, but I'll thin one row to 6" intervals, so we can see.

I've been reading up on corn earworms, and how to determine once pollination has occurred. Then a spritz or two of Pam will suffice to suffocate the larvae.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at July 09, 2022 02:34 PM (Mzdiz)

49 I'm in Mendocino County (Northern CA). Yesterday our bombers were attacking a fire north of Booneville when they were called across the state to fight the fire that broke out east of Loma Rica. Within an hour they were back over here fighting another fire in Redwood Valley. RV is about 15 minutes north of me and I got a freakin' evacuation warning. It's almost as if ALL of our experts are deliberately trying to kill any credibility they have left.

It's going to be a really rough fire season. And that's exactly what Gavin Newsom wants.

The bombers that fly near me are either out of Windsor or Ukiah. They're the smaller S2T Grumman usually accompanied by a OV-10A spotter.

Posted by: Darth Chipmunk at July 09, 2022 02:35 PM (+S1Fy)

50 There's an aviation guide to CalFire aircraft here: https://tinyurl.com/5n73jf3s

Posted by: Darth Chipmunk at July 09, 2022 02:37 PM (+S1Fy)

51 hiya KT !

Posted by: JT at July 09, 2022 02:38 PM (T4tVD)

52 Only things coming up in my garden are cukes and Maters.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:39 PM (R5lpX)

53 And they're slow.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:39 PM (R5lpX)

54 For fire season, I set up a speed dial on my browser with all the relevant links to federal, state, and local resources. Any agency that gives out information about ongoing fires, road closures, government response, weather, sat maps, wind maps, ect.

Flightradar24 has a website and an app. You can track all the planes with transponders around the world. It is great for seeing what planes and helicopters are fighting what fires in real time.

Keep all the fuel, plants and trees, away from hour house.

Posted by: Wodun at July 09, 2022 02:40 PM (GY61w)

55 This time last year, I was already picking tomatoes.

Posted by: That Guy What Always Says Yeah Buddy TM at July 09, 2022 02:40 PM (R5lpX)

56 You should try a patch of landrace tomatoes. Mix some seeds from different varieties and sow a patch. Keep seeds for the best producers. I bought more seed from Adaptive seeds. Got some flowers this time. I'm trying to get all the seeds in one spot. Some of the stash was packed.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 02:40 PM (YynYJ)

57 I was a helicopter mechanic in the U.S. Navy.

SH-3 helicopters used for anti- submarine warfare.

Flew as a maintenance test crewmember for awhile.

Posted by: JT at July 09, 2022 02:40 PM (T4tVD)

58 I plant an herb garden and a pepper patch. I’m having a hard time getting my cilantro to thrive. Any suggestions?

Posted by: Blutarski at July 09, 2022 02:42 PM (lQLwv)

59 42 I have raspberries. Even the ones in pots have berries. When I get settled, I'll get some fall bearing varieties.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 02:15 PM (YynYJ)

We grow cane berries commercially and we are on about our eighth year. Trial and error has taught us to stagger the mow downs so the berries aren't all ready at the same time. We have about 300 acres of cane berries and if we didn't stagger the pruning we can't keep up with harvesting.
I'm not sure if we do it with the raspberries but we do it with the blackberries. KT would know more than I do but staggering pruning may help.
We will harvest the cane berries until we get frost.
Our berries are all prima canes now, they fruit on new wood? We have one plot that is the other kind that gets fruit on old wood and they are still producing like crazy.
I may be saying this wrong because I'm the wife not the actual grower. I do listen but when I repeat what he tells me I mix things up because I'm not in charge.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 02:44 PM (oeVy+)

60 The lilies are nice- one of Mother DB's favorite flowers

makes me think of the glacier lilies I saw at Yellowstone

Posted by: DB at July 09, 2022 02:46 PM (geLO8)

61 Cool, CaliGirl!

I now have one of those planes flying across my desktop. No idea how it got there.

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 02:46 PM (rrtZS)

62 58 I plant an herb garden and a pepper patch. I’m having a hard time getting my cilantro to thrive. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Blutarski at July 09, 2022 02:42 PM

We grow cilantro commercially too and that's one of the commodities that we don't transplant we direct seed that crop. It doesn't do well transplanted.

That's all I have.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 02:47 PM (oeVy+)

63 re Cilantro. 2-4-D esther?

I'm one of those people that just get a soapy taste from cilantro instead of the yummy flavor I've heard described.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at July 09, 2022 02:47 PM (3cGpq)

64 PaleRider is simply irredeemable at July 09, 2022 02:47 PM

Me too.

Posted by: KT at July 09, 2022 02:48 PM (rrtZS)

65 Thanks caligirl

Posted by: Blutarski at July 09, 2022 02:49 PM (GSDl4)

66 SE Michigan - container gardening only.

First tomatoes are turning red (Garden Treasure). The Cherokee purple and the Sweet Million cherry tomatoes are doing well, but the Yellow Pear and Big Beef keep getting blossom end rot. Same for the zucchini and yellow squash.

Peppers are doing well, as are cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, collards. Waiting to see about the cukes and the winter squash.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 02:50 PM (Q8bDL)

67 45 Great-looking lilies, Tom Servo!
Posted by: 40 Miles North at July 09, 2022 02:32 PM (uWF4x)

the tale of how I got those spider lily bulbs - something that really chaps me is when house remodelers (or flippers) take over an older property, and then immediately rip out all the existing landscaping so they can start from scratch. (even though there may be many very good, well established plants growing there) So about 6 years ago this happened to a place about 3 blocks from me that I often drove by, and I saw all of their beds dug up and the contents laying next to the road to be hauled off as trash. My wife says that I can be a garbage picker of a gardener, but I went by and got a big trash bag full of those spider lily bulbs, plus a few other things. Today, I've got a very full and successful bed of lilies that I enjoy because of that!

Posted by: Tom Servo at July 09, 2022 02:54 PM (r46W7)

68 I am battling squirrels. I would not mind if they nibbled some leaves, but the bastards gnaw right through a plant at the base and then don't even eat it.

I am using tulle netting, aluminum foil, cayenne pepper, Irish Spring bar soap, a pellet gun, and a garden hose. Seems like the garden hose is working best. After 2 weeks of going onto the porch and blasting them, it seems they want to play elsewhere. Helps to be retired and able to check the perimeter every 15 minutes.

Suggestions always welcomed.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 02:58 PM (Q8bDL)

69 Tom Servo, I love that story of you rescuing the lilies!

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 02:59 PM (Q8bDL)

70 "Suggestions always welcomed."

Cats. Squirrels don't dare come near our porches. They will taunt the cats from the pecan trees though.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 03:02 PM (sn5EN)

71 bagworms

in the words of the great William Wallace

Burnd it

Posted by: REDACTED at July 09, 2022 03:08 PM (us2H3)

72 Sikorski CH 53 Sea Stallion loads 16 tons, know what that gets you?

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 03:09 PM (0OP+5)

73 Another day older and deeper in debt.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 03:10 PM (0OP+5)

74 Oh yeah, at our previous house my three boys who were "indoor cats that went out during the daytime" kept things under control. Unfortunately, where we live now would be to dangerous to let cats go outside (traffic).

I do so wish I could have some cats.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:11 PM (Q8bDL)

75
I am using tulle netting, aluminum foil, cayenne pepper, Irish Spring bar soap, a pellet gun, and a garden hose. Seems like the garden hose is working best. After 2 weeks of going onto the porch and blasting them, it seems they want to play elsewhere. Helps to be retired and able to check the perimeter every 15 minutes.

Suggestions always welcomed.
Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 02:58 PM

I have ground squirrels and they are the bane of my existence. I use squirrelinators all over the ranch. I don't know if yours are tree squirrels? I also have these big tube snap traps that get them too but you might get non target animals. I've never had a skunk or anything else in them but they work well too.
I used to pay about $40-50 for them but I get them from the PCA guy. This seems expensive but everything is more expensive. I bait them with the chickens corn scratch. You also have to stake them down, coyotes will steal the whole trap and bend the metal.
https://tinyurl.com/3dbux94v

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:12 PM (oeVy+)

76 >> [cfo mom] I am battling squirrels... Suggestions always welcomed.

Trap cages with bread and peanut butter work well. Peanut butter really attracts squirrels. You can then deport them to wherever you choose.

To protect fruit I use chicken wire cages, but I also have a small rat attacking my fruit, so I have to use the chicken wire with very small holes.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at July 09, 2022 03:12 PM (uWF4x)

77 Anybody got tomatoes?

Cherry and a smaller variety called heat something. Can't find tag. They're getting brown and have started getting sparse leaves. I'm seeing a brownish type powdery substance on the leaves of the bigger tomatoes, they look ok, but start splitting when they turn red. I've sprayed with an organic bug spray. Watering too much, or not enough?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:15 PM (7bRMQ)

78 This is the tube trap I use but I don't have to set them or clean the dead squirrel. They work but again we have to stake them to the ground or else a critter steals the whole trap. I had 10 of these and I'm down to about 3.

https://tinyurl.com/mrz4tzts

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:16 PM (oeVy+)

79 "Suggestions always welcomed."

Cats. Squirrels don't dare come near our porches. They will taunt the cats from the pecan trees though.

Posted by: fd at July 09, 2022 03:02 PM (sn5EN)

Find someone with ferrets. Let them wander around your yard and leave their scent. Bye squirrels.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:20 PM (7bRMQ)

80 I am battling squirrels... Suggestions always welcomed.

I use the most fun way available

BB gun

they're smart, they larn fast

Posted by: REDACTED at July 09, 2022 03:20 PM (us2H3)

81 I think they fruit on new wood. The patch used to be directly off the back porch. Now it's off to the side, behind the garage. I had the potted raspberries there and they rooted through. There's some along the fence too. I want blueberries but will wait to move.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 03:22 PM (YynYJ)

82
Find someone with ferrets. Let them wander around your yard and leave their scent. Bye squirrels.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:20 PM (7bRMQ)

Tree squirrels or ground squirrels? I have weasels in my yard and ground squirrels. Aren't ferrets a weasel? If they are they don't work on ground squirrels.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:24 PM (oeVy+)

83 Just harvested the first of the cherry tomatoes. Several other varieties will be ripe soon.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at July 09, 2022 03:26 PM (u73oe)

84 Cali girl, what do you do with them once they are trapped? Yes, they are tree squirrels. If I trap them and take them away, I will just have more move in. Same thing with poisoning them.

I need it handed down from generation to generation that they need to stay out of Mr. McGregor's cabbage patch.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:27 PM (Q8bDL)

85 OrangEnt, I thought about having my grandson pee all over the backyard. He'd enjoy that.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:29 PM (Q8bDL)

86 I have a springer. He actually caught and killed a squirrel. He has tried climbing a tree after them. I can't say we are rid of them but they are wary.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 03:31 PM (YynYJ)

87 84 Cali girl, what do you do with them once they are trapped? Yes, they are tree squirrels. If I trap them and take them away, I will just have more move in. Same thing with poisoning them.

I need it handed down from generation to generation that they need to stay out of Mr. McGregor's cabbage patch.
Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:27 PM

I shoot them with a pellet gun and rinse off the trap. The tube trap would probably work well if you could tie/secure it to the tree. We don't use bait in those, the squirrels just run through them.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:33 PM (oeVy+)

88 40 Miles North, I think next year we will build a chicken wire fence and electrify it. Tulle netting on the top. Just hope I remember to turn it off when I go to get in it.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:33 PM (Q8bDL)

89 I'm gonna invent mini claymores for squirrels. I'm gonna be rich!

Posted by: Duke Lowell at July 09, 2022 03:34 PM (u73oe)

90 Tree squirrels or ground squirrels? I have weasels in my yard and ground squirrels. Aren't ferrets a weasel? If they are they don't work on ground squirrels.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:24 PM (oeVy+)

I guess they'll hunt anything, that's what they were domesticated for. I don't think they're exactly the same thing. But, I'm not a biologist nor ferret owner.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:35 PM (7bRMQ)

91 Rodent problem? Texas ratsnake.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 03:36 PM (0OP+5)

92 I was going to go on a road trip with friends, but the main friend for who we were road tripping is busy sorting stuff to move across the continent. So my weekend suddenly freed itself up!

I just finished digging all the weeds out of the northern street-side flowerbed, as well as moving a broad leaf plantain (not the tropical banana-analogue) and planting a bunch of iris corms that I'm really hoping are a darker purple than the ones I already have.

Next task, after rehydrating, is to scrape all the weeds out of the curb. And then more weed whacking.

I'm trying to unearth one of my landlords' garden beds, because when I was cutting grass last week, I found all of their tomato and squash starts (still alive, thanks to the unusually cool and wet spring) that they hadn't planted.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at July 09, 2022 03:36 PM (ZKF/3)

93 OrangEnt, I thought about having my grandson pee all over the backyard. He'd enjoy that.

Posted by: cfo mom at July 09, 2022 03:29 PM (Q8bDL)

That might work!! Use first of the day pee though....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:37 PM (7bRMQ)

94 81 I think they fruit on new wood. The patch used to be directly off the back porch. Now it's off to the side, behind the garage. I had the potted raspberries there and they rooted through. There's some along the fence too. I want blueberries but will wait to move.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 09, 2022 03:22

My husband said if you stagger the pruning you can get fruit later. He said we do the same thing to the raspberries. The two kinds are floracane and primacanes. One gets fruit on second year wood.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:37 PM (oeVy+)

95
I guess they'll hunt anything, that's what they were domesticated for. I don't think they're exactly the same thing. But, I'm not a biologist nor ferret owner.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 09, 2022 03:35 PM (7bRMQ)

I didn't know the ferrets would eat squirrels. They are so little. I wish I had tree squirrels instead of ground squirrels.

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 09, 2022 03:43 PM (oeVy+)

96 Rodent problem? Expanded metal, electricity (separate circuit) and peanut butter.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at July 09, 2022 03:45 PM (0ocXn)

97 96 Rodent problem? Expanded metal, electricity (separate circuit) and peanut butter.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at July 09, 2022 03:45 PM (0ocXn)
Wait a minute, Dr. Bone, didn't the Disney copyright run out?

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 03:49 PM (0OP+5)

98 "Garden" report from stately Peon Manor: it has been a very wet couple of weeks, and the grass has bolted. Just spent 2 hours on the riding mower, got some of knocked back, by dint of making 2 or 3 passes each round.

The potato patch is growing very well, and appears, so far, to be pest-free. The 'maters are hanging in there. but not prolific. have eaten a small handful of cherry 'maters. Parsley, chives, and green onions doing real well, and the radishes, planted in early June, are approaching ping-pong ball size, and are tasty. The rhubarb this year is producing a large number of very slender stalks, but it is tasty, nonetheless. Black currants on the lone black currant bush are beginning to ripen.

I was at WalMart yesterday, and they had bedding-out plants at 50% off, so I got two more cherry tomato plants, loaded with tiny green 'maters.

And the mosquitos are here in force, dammit.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at July 09, 2022 03:51 PM (oUNoh)

99 Been looking at the path near Salem Oregon.

There's a bear down there at the end of the path,
he's waiting for you, can you hear him laugh.
'Said back for the hunting but where is your gun?
guess you're loaded for bear and looking for fun.'
-a bear

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 03:54 PM (0OP+5)

100 >>>Wait a minute, Dr. Bone, didn't the Disney copyright run out?

Posted by: Eromero

>I dunno about Disney, I'm still too upset about the crazies trying to turn Popeye into a fag.

Makes me wonder what horrors they have in store for The Sailor's Hornpipe.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at July 09, 2022 04:00 PM (0ocXn)

101 We have a lot of tree squirrels. at least we did before the red tailed hawks moved in.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 09, 2022 04:01 PM (CQKGY)

102 100 >>>Wait a minute, Dr. Bone, didn't the Disney copyright run out?

Posted by: Eromero

>I dunno about Disney, I'm still too upset about the crazies trying to turn Popeye into a fag.

Makes me wonder what horrors they have in store for The Sailor's Hornpipe.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at July 09, 2022 04:00 PM (0ocXn)
Whoa, that's heinous. Made me think of Robin Williams in Popeye. Back way yonder.

Posted by: Eromero at July 09, 2022 04:15 PM (0OP+5)

103 We have a lot of tree squirrels. at least we did before the red tailed hawks moved in.
Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 09, 2022 04:01 PM (CQKGY)

We had a family of some kind of smaller hawk set up near us. Skwerls got very cautious. They were smaller than red tail hawks, but were not kites. I can never find my bird books. Saw one grab a skwerl, take it up to a tree limb, snip off its tail, strip off most of the hide and fly back to its nest to feed the babies, all in about a minute and a half. Brutally efficient. Descendants of dinosaurs.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Non-sequitur professional at July 09, 2022 04:17 PM (x8Wzq)

104 bag worms--thuricide--natural bacteria that the worm eats and gets in gut--worm stops stop feeding at once--dies two days later--organic product--good for cabbage looper also

Posted by: benniebob at July 09, 2022 04:36 PM (MEihc)

105 link for thuricide
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bacillus+thuringiensis&crid

Posted by: benniebob at July 09, 2022 04:38 PM (MEihc)

106 Late to the party but those Spider lilies were just spectacular. It is so crazy that these plants have developed such diverse and colorful ways with the sole purpose of attracting insects to fertilize them.

I tried container gardening on my little terrace andhave been rewarded with jalapenos and poblanos thriving. Will try to do more. Really wish I had at least done cherry tomatoes.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at July 09, 2022 04:42 PM (Y+l9t)

107 "Anybody have experience or ideas for dealing with this pest?"

Suspension of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) in water as soon as you notice them. It's also safe to apply before you notice the bagworms, but it doesn't last very long as it's not absorbed by the plant like systemic chemicals are. It's as benign a control as you'll find that will kill bagworms (or most caterpillars). I forget the exact strain because there are several Bt formulations (sub species, like 'kurtsaki') that are selected for specific families of caterpillars, so read the fine print of the product label to get the best one.

If the bagworms in their cocoons are large and numerous, try yanking/clipping them off the plant and dumping them in a bucket of soapy water. They'll starve and drown. Yeah, it's slow, but by that time they'll be making tremendous damage very quickly. Getting them off the plant ASAP is the goal.

Trying to penetrate that bag is almost impossible, so spraying it does little. You need to get the caterpillar to digest the toxin.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel Remembers Babbitt and Perna at July 09, 2022 04:45 PM (aXxgO)

108 @Pug,
Dang, that's brutal!

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 09, 2022 04:48 PM (CQKGY)

109 AOP, maybe not too late to try some tomatoes? Going to hit Home Depot this week and see if they have anything.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at July 09, 2022 04:59 PM (Y+l9t)

110 105 link for thuricide
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bacillus+thuringiensis&crid
Posted by: benniebob at July 09, 2022 04:38 PM (MEihc)

THANK YOU!!!!!!

At this point I cutting down the arbor vitae and replacing, But will bookmark this for the future.

And thanks KT for adding my email to the thread!

-SLV

Posted by: Shy Lurking Voter at July 09, 2022 06:42 PM (SEa82)

111 Apologies to my adoring public

for how late I'm posting. Yard work, 4-H meeting, and the neighbor's summer party are my excuses.

From Boise area: I still haven't typed up my current garden status, post-Nebraska trip, into my own files, so I've got my garden map and I'll work from that.

Bed 1, two San Marzano paste tomatoes: They're doing great - we just built cages around them today. (I hope to have cured blossom end rot, and improved tomato ripening, by the secret mixture I put in in each planting hole - will let everyone know how that works at season's end - ground up Tums for the calcium, a little biochar/mycorrhizae, a little epsom salts for the magnesium, and an organic fertilizer that was all I could find when I went looking for tomato fertilizer at Home Depot.)

Bed 2, the Super Beefsteak and the Nyagous look healthy too. I stuck a few radishes in before we traveled and have not checked on them yet. The yellow carrots 'Yellowstone' look great - I started thinning them to have them with my salad. Some will go to the Western Idaho Fair.
(post 1)

Posted by: Pat* at July 09, 2022 11:44 PM (2pX/F)

112 Bed 3, four cantaloupes from seed: the plants look OK but I think we'll be lucky to get much from the. The spring was weird and everything got planted late. In with them is a row of... what was supposed to be cute green onions but is now big tough green onions.

Bed 4, poblanos: are so small it's unlikely they'll produce (good thing we had a big crop last year). They had trouble with the transition from indoors to outdoors, despite keeping them under a sunshade for weeks. The spinach bolted while we were gone so I tore it out today. I tried 2 varieties of lettuce, Burpee Bibb (which is beginning to bolt now) and Territorial Seed Co.'s 'Optima' butterhead type - the latter has he'd on through the heat and is only know vaguely considering bolting - it's producing the best looking heads I've seen, too! Definitely recommend it.

Bed 5, two varieties of zucchini, from seed: I doubt I'll manage "largest zucchini" by Fair time, but the plants are growing quickly so at least I'll get some food out of them.
(post 2)

Posted by: Pat* at July 09, 2022 11:52 PM (2pX/F)

113 Bed 6, shelling peas and bush green beans: Maybe not the best idea to grow them in the same bed. The peas are on a fence down the center, even though the variety said they're bush peas. The bean seeds went down both sides and went in late, so the peas are crowding out the small bean plants. The peas have flowers and pods; we'll see what the beans manage to do.

Potato pots: The fingerlings are growing all right - if not vigorously - but we had trouble getting half the russets to sprout. Not sure how much crop we'll get.

Corn patch: corn is struggling. The patch tested out in spring as needing phosphorus so I added rock phosphorus, but did I add enough? I checked the drip lines and they're turned on, but are the plants getting enough water? I did weed the bed after I got home from traveling, right after I did the first 6 beds. Hopefully the corn will perk up...

Strawberries: don't seem to be doing much. Will have to check every few days.

Red raspberries: are healthy and we look forward to getting some later this month.
(post 3)

Posted by: Pat* at July 10, 2022 12:01 AM (2pX/F)

114 Other stuff: we'll know more about fruit tree production levels as the fruit gets large enough to see.

The small gold front sidewalk day-lilies started flowering. The large red ones out back are budding.

The linden tree waited to flower until we got back! Nothing like the sweet scent of a linden. It attracts at least one tiger swallowtail butterfly every year.

I spotted a hummingbird while at the neighbors' party - maybe it will visit our tall red penstemon!

One of the maples looks sick and needs to be cut down...

This week's been mid 60's/low 90's, but next week we hit high 60's/high 90's (or low 100's). I've been getting up earlier than usual so I can work without broiling - lots of grass still to mix into compost.
(post 4/end)

Posted by: Pat* at July 10, 2022 12:10 AM (2pX/F)

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