Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

i thought you had treated for those?

Oh, I did and may do again. The "nolo" effect is not instantaneous
and depends on successive generations transmitting the infection.
Bedsides, I only applied it across two acres, which -- given
grasshoppers' mobility -- may have been totally ineffectual but I knew
that going in.

as far as people on this group who actually admit
to trying biological controls (other than Bt) you're
it. i just plant host and refuge crops to keep
the good bugs happy and hope that is good enough.
grasshoppers may be a good famine food in the future.
we seem to be growing a healthy supply, not sure i
want to infect them with anything. don't taste bad
fried (tried one in anthropology class about 30 years
ago -- reminded me of a roach (not the bug kind) that
resiny texture). if i were hungry enough i'd surely
give 'em a try. maybe with a lot of garlic.


i suspect your squash idea might be ok but that
mildew problem is a tough one to get around. same
with about any green or lettuce.

Oh, the mildew is a problem primarily for the English peas and,
most years, they're approaching the end of their life cycle by the time
the mildew hits; same for the leafy greens.


how about some decoratives for the bees?

Attracting bees to "bait" crops is counterproductive, IME.
Unfortunately, bees do not read Rodale or TMEN: Bees visiting the bait
are not visiting the vegetables. I try to discourage European honeybees
because their "herding" behavior results in displacement of the native
solitary bees and wasps. Besides, honeybees that find the attractant
first are useless to the garden because the first flower from which a
honeybee takes pollen/nectar in a morning is the _only_ variety from
which she will forage that day. That peculiarity of bee behavior is what
enables beekeepers to produce varietal honey -- they place the hives
where the desired variety is the first that the hives' scouts encounter
at the start of each day. That behavior is not unique to but is most
pronounced in honeybees. Who has not watched a native bumblebee
methodically harvest from one plant, "sniff" another of a different
species, and return to the first or fly off in search of another of that
variety?

i plant flowers for the wild bees too. right now
i'm seeing a slight pick up in the number of species
but the honey bees are largely absent to dominate
anything... the chives this year are mostly being
ignored. normally they are swarmed. bumblebees aren't
as common either. just a few around. one reason i put
cosmos back in this season is that they are a mid-to-
late summer bloom that all sorts of bees seem to like.

now with the birdsfoot trefoil coming out the bees
like that too. i'm glad i've got it established. should
have some alfalfa blooms soon (smells divine...).


mints, thymes, basils,
sages, parsleys, etc. all grow quickly enough that
you can get some production from them in a month's
time.

I already have more herbs than we (AWA the only neighbor who cooks
and with whom I share) can eat; they all are containerized. I had
thought of peanuts but they require full sun and I'm afraid they'd crowd
the okra roots. This year, I will need to replace a few parsley, already
coming into bloom (along with the rosemary), but I don't want it in a
bed for two years and I've had dismal success at moving it in the past.
However, I may underplant the okra with thyme because it is
shallow-enough rooted as not to intimidate the okra, which definitely
does not handle crowding well. The shade will protect it from the sun
and whatever I miss in autumn prep, February temperatures should kill.

thyme surives the winter here. that is why we like
it as a ground cover instead of grass. nice blooms,
smells great when you walk on it, doesn't need to be
mowed, does need a little weeding once in a while, but
nothing like many other garden plants. has many types
so it can be quilted/patterned to keep an area more
interesting and it actually survives growing in rock
hard/unamended clay. we have enough of it now that
it will gladly take over pathways (like the mints and
oreganoes). i really like the low growing pink/purple
variety the best, but it is a bit more prone to weeds
as it doesn't shade the soil as much.


songbird