The FDSP Wishes You A Wonderful Independence Day!
Monthly Archive: July 2008
Fireworks!
In honor of Independence Day Eve, for the first time ever, I fed the dogs cheese, rice, and beans for dinner.
Home Depot then Lowe’s
After work, I went to Home Depot to get Sluggo. They didn’t have Sluggo. They only had chemical warfare for slugs, so I went to Lowe’s where I found more chemical based treatments. Sluggo may be chemical, too, I don’t know because I never found a box to hold and read. But what I did find was Lowe’s has a great section of organic products for the garden. So I found a bag of organic slug killing pellets. And let’s just say that this was meant to be because as I was about to check out with my pellets, I saw a holey vine leaf that looked like my holey squash leaf and I asked the clerk what caused it. He touched it and a moth flew off! I have lawn moths! Not snails.
So the clerk then helped me find a bottle of Neem oil based insect repellant. When I got home, after saying hello to everyone, I got to work mixing the Neem with the water and spraying, and do you know what I found? I found a skinny slinky green worm! Eating one of the squash leaves. I doused it with the Neem solution. What the hey? There were also moths eating those leaves. Maybe that worm was a moth to be? I don’t know, but I’m still highly irritated over this whole situation. I sprayed all my plants. The corn has now gotten holes in it, the sweet potato vines, squash – all the veggie leaves have holes in them! For goodness sakes! Maybe I caught it in time with the Neem. But I’m taking the organic snail pellets back, and also the pump for spraying the “greenery,” which when I opened it smelled like gasoline. Funny enough, reading the bottom of the container, there is a sticker that on it is printed that the product contains ingredients known to cause cancer in California. And to wash your hands after using it. Ewwwkay! I put that lid back on that cancer causing jug, and tidied it up and put it back in the plastic Lowe’s bag as it is going back to Lowe’s. Can you imagine that? I washed my hands, and hope that was enough to detoxify myself. Yikes!
Well, now it’s a waiting game to see if I’ve been directed correctly to get these bugs gone! I’ll tell you what, after reading the Neem oil label and then the old Sevin label I have in the laundry room, well, that Sevin is scary! For one point, it says that it will kill bees. In order for squash to make babies, it has to be pollinated by the bees, so what good would spraying a plant that is going to kill the animals it needs to produce? And they give the OK to spray on veggie plants? Eeegads!
I think I’m obsessed with vegetable gardening. It’s like being a dog parent for the first time, but not as warm and fuzzy. I am trying to plan the next chess move in this game with the insects, fungus, etc. that’s out there. You know what? I think I’m going to call upon my local garden fairies for some help as well. That is something I haven’t done yet. I’ll ask Baby to help me, as I think she’s on a one-to-one relationship with some of them.
No visiting cat tonight. Just an obsessed vegetable gardener and her dogs.
Holey Trees, Woodpeckers, and the FDSP in action
Well, one Extension person wrote back and suggested snails are eating my vines. And I have to go on a snail hunt. There is an organic way to catch and kill them. Put a pan of beer out and they go in there and get drunk and drown. But too many of the FDSP like beer, including their fearless leader. That would be a risky thing as I could see a flying Dobie jump over that fence to get that beer. Slulggo was suggested, but is it safe for use around animals? How about salt? That is what my mom used to use. Hmmm. We’ll see.
I used to like snails, but probably I won’t anymore.
Here is a nifty planting guide for people in all of Florida. It seems I’ve planted my squash and pumpkin at the wrong time of the year. Woes me.
Meanwhile, I’m looking closer at my tree. See those holes? I’m thinking maybe a woodpecker made them, and that’s who is making that pine tree dandruff! Clues came together when I found these same holes in the other, healthier tree next to this one, and when I remembered the fierce woodpecker vs. squirrel battles of late. I think there is a woodpecker nest in the old utility pole in the video below. You can watch it using Quicktime. You will also see a snippet of members of the FDSP doing their jobs.
Red Dandruff on my Pine Tree
I’d been noticing some red flaking under my pine tree, on the dog wash table, for weeks. I’d been thinking it was from some squirrels eating something that made a mess. Cleaning didn’t help. The specks were always there. Today, I stopped looking up the tree, and instead peeked in front of me.
Sure enough, the trunk itself was full of red fuzzy stuff that turned into Pine Tree Dandruff (PTD) when it fell. I have another pine tree which isn’t exhibiting this strange phenomenon. But that one is healthy. This one is in a weakened state to start off with. Eeegads!
Did I stroll out to see the squash and pumpkin vines this morning? No. I ran. And there was no miracle. The “bug” these plants have is going strong, and to make matters worse, one of my sweet potato vines now has holes in it.
Baby’s pretty much disgusted with this mess, too. She was looking forward to the squash fest we were going to have. Not to mention the Great Pumpkin pumpkin patch for the fall. Shoot! The good news is the T-touching, essential oils, Wobenzym, Platinum Performance Plus, and the massaging I’ve been doing has helped Baby’s old rickety body (don’t tell her I said that) come around. She was back to wanting to stay outside to look for varmints this morning, and last night she sprung on the bed like a kangaroo. I swear! That was a big difference from the previous two nights in which I had to lift her. I wonder if she could smell any lingering cat aroma in the garden from the cat visit from last night.
Meanwhile, I sent pictures of both these problems to some extension departments. For some reason, my local extension department no longer lists e-mail addresses, and only has a form to fill out on the website, which you cannot attach pictures to. However, even before this deterrent, I found that above all, the Lee county extension department rules in South Florida. They are the most responsive and friendly of all that I’ve e-mailed in the past. So now I wait for an answer or two from those I did e-mail.
When I planted my vegetable garden, I was happy for rain storms. Now I’ll have to go back to that dredded, “Oh shoot. This rain just means I’ll have more weeds to mow” state of mind. Yep. The perspective shift has started.
I think I have a toothache, but I’m trying to think otherwise.