You can tell we are in the dog days of summer; Tory is just skin and bone, right on schedule for his vet appointment in two weeks. Other than that, not so much. We did have several days in the high 80's and low-mid 90's (temp and humidity). Then it was back down in the low 60's on Friday (I think we topped out at 63). Yesterday was nice and sunny, in the 70's and little humidity.
I have harvested green beans and peas a couple of times. Friday I picked 3 green peppers - yippee! The 4th, and largest, green pepper (that I should have picked last weekend but didn't) was full of insect holes and when I picked it a spider came dashing out of one of the holes. I decided that I wasn't really interested in what else may be inside!
The tomatoes should be starting to ripen soon. WS is trying to decide if he will bet on me or the chipmunk for being the first to get to one huge tomato. In my favor is that tomato is off the ground as the plants are supported by cages. In the chipmunks favor is a will to see a bite taken out of every ripe tomato - and the time to watch until the tomatoes ripen. Only time will tell who the winner will be.
For the last month the roses have been decimated by Japanese Beetles. I tried getting JB traps, but only 4 have fallen for them (we either have extremely smart or extremely stupid JB's - I haven't decided which). I've tried milky spore in the past, but that doesn't seem to do much, if any good, either. Their favorite rose is Night Owl. They like that plant so much that they eat more than the blooms (which is their usual M.O.). They are chompling the leaves too. Their second favorite is rugosas and then Arizona (of which they stay primarily witht he developing buds and blooms). The lighter colored roses (Peace, Honor etc.) are not their favorites so I can occasionally get a bud inside so it can open up without any huge holes in the petals. I have taken to shaking the beetles into a bucket of water and letting them drown slowly, but surely. Of course that only works for a very short while, then more Japnese Beetles are chomping away.
Other than that, I have been busy planting in various parts of the yard. WS has been working on a project that should send rain run-off around back of the house, and into the woods on the far side, indstead of straight down the driveway. We didn't get driveway damage during the floods, but each successive rain created some problems (and people's lack of driving skills have caused more problems) that he is fixing. Hopefully he is averting future problems too.
In short, we are keeping busy as usual.
Have you tried the hormone scent traps w/collector bags? We've had amazing luck with them this year (found them at Lowe's & Wal-Mart), I have to replace the full bags about twice a week. The JB are still eating my roses somewhat, but I'm managing to get uneaten blooms about 70% of the time.
The milky spore, which we're trying also, takes 2-3 years of repeated applications to get established. Or so we've been told by others who use it. I still expect to have JB coming from the neighbors' untreated yards, but hope to discourage all the moles who eat the grubs. We've killed 7 moles so far this year, and our lot is only about 1/3 of an acre!
Posted by: rita | August 13, 2007 at 06:30 AM
my money is on you for the tomatoes!
Posted by: bod | August 13, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Too bad you aren't here. Our tomato crop has been abundant--off of three vines (the fourth has done nothing). And I have not watered, even once. It looks like I'll be able to send you more salsa, this year, if you are interested. If you are interested, comments on how you'd like the recipe adjusted would be welcomed!
Posted by: Cop Car | August 13, 2007 at 05:28 PM
Rita - those are the traps that have only trapped 4 JB's. I had heard such wonderful stories about how well they worked, but of course at my house nothing really works as it should.
Bod - I had to go tie the vine up last night because the tomatoe was so heavy it had weighed down the branch so that it was almost breaking itself at the top of the cage. It may be that neither the chippies nor I get a crack at it!
Posted by: Bogie | August 14, 2007 at 04:13 AM
Cop Car - I am trying to figure out how I am going to take classes and have time to do all the canning that I will apparently be doing. I am going to get plenty of salsa out of this year!
However, since you make salsa differently than I do, some from you is always welcome!
Posted by: Bogie | August 14, 2007 at 04:15 AM
I think that it was the bunnies (or possibly a raccoon) who got my perfect tomato. The teeth marks are just too big for it to have been a chipmunk. I picked this luscious tomato off the vine, and discovered the tasted spots on the back. They leave my cherry tomatoes alone, but go for anything larger. Dratted varmints!
Posted by: buffy | August 18, 2007 at 02:33 PM
Fortunately I don't have to worry about rabbits. Racoons however, sometimes can be a problem.
Posted by: Bogie | August 19, 2007 at 06:29 AM