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2020 Victory Gardens
Eric Krewson:
I started dismantling all my trellises for beans and cucumbers and striping the unproductive areas of my garden in preparation for my winter greens patch.
I am still getting tomatoes, lots more than I can use, I have been delivering them on a regular basis to my shut in friends. This year I planted 4 new varieties to see if I could find a suitable replacement for the typical better boys I have always planted. I hit on two jewels this time and two losers.
The two winners made perfect tomatoes, no splits and very few rotten ones until the late season. The first is a Defiant as seen in the counter picture background, an incredibly prolific tomato producer with 2 1/2 to 3" tomatoes. The second as seen in the foreground is called Mountain Magic, as prolific as a cherry tomato with perfect tomatoes up to 2" in diameter with the cherry tomato sweetness. Being late season tomatoes the ones in the picture that I picked yesterday are down in size from their peak.
Here is one of my Defiant plants, a little brown from the bottom but still putting on tomatoes and covered up with green ones. It is a determinant variety so it doesn't need pruning and only grows to the top the cage.
As I was carrying the trellis fence panels to the edge of my place for winter storage I found much to my dismay that that a hive of yellow jackets had started a colony right where I stored the panels and I was standing next to their hole. The first one stung me repeatedly through my sock but the other two got untangled in the fabric and couldn't get a stinger through.
I gave them the cup of gas treatment followed by a bucked covering the hole to kill the nest. When I took this picture I noticed they had a second hole and my treatment didn't kill the nest. They will get another treatment after dark this evening.
YosemiteBen:
Yes sir! Those yellow jackets are nasty! Had a nest in my wall last summer. Can of Carb Cleaner shut them down good!
DC:
You gardener guys may be able to help me. Last week I harvested my first Cherry tomato. Just as I was chewing the last bite I got a little mouldy taste. Not enough to spit out. Three hours later I was hugging the porcelain pony. Then I felt fine ate a good supper and felt fine all the next day. The day after that I ate another, different variety, cherry tomato and felt a little nauseous and weak for a while but never vomited. I haven't eaten any of my tomatoes since although I have eaten store toms with no problem. Sound familiar to anyone?
WhistlingBadger:
I absolutely hate those things. Our nest in above-ground spaces, not in the ground. Have you ever seen those exterminators that pour melted aluminum down fire-ant holes to kill the colony, then dig it out and sell the sculptures? I wonder if that would work with yellowjackts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI&feature=emb_logo
Hawkdancer:
--- Quote from: WhistlingBadger on August 23, 2020, 10:37:16 am ---I absolutely hate those things. Our nest in above-ground spaces, not in the ground. Have you ever seen those exterminators that pour melted aluminum down fire-ant holes to kill the colony, then dig it out and sell the sculptures? I wonder if that would work with yellowjackts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI&feature=emb_logo
--- End quote ---
That is a tricky way to do "sand casting"! I have used Spectrcide Pro on Yellowjackets with good results. Haven't noticed any around here yet, but do have a couple ant hills, will have to try the gas and bucket trick, could melt 5-10 lbs of lead and make a "sculpture", too! Hit the yellowjackets after dark, though, and watch for a second hole! As for the garden, we have a few cherry tomatoes ripening, and a baby zucchini forming up, got a couple small tomatoes from one bush and a bunch of blossoms. Rhubarb is coming back, maybe enough for Jacie to make a pie for herself.
Hawkdancer
Hawkdancer
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