We discovered aphids this week, but have no fear - we also found an excellent remedy! 1 cup of oil (vegetable, corn, soybean, etc) + 1 tablespoon Ivory dish soap. Mix 2 teaspoons with 1 cup of water and SPRAY those BUGS! So far so good! We sprayed for the first time after work yesterday, and before the end of the night found that nearly all the bugs were gone! Great Success!In Bed #1 The broccoli and cauliflower were a disaster. The flowers that appeared on the broccoli were a signal that the plants had grown past their peak. Ooops. Turns out there's nothing else to do once the broccoli flowers. Ooops. The cauliflower became overwhelmed by mold and just started to collapse, so, the two were sacrificed to the garden weed pile - we tossed 'em over the fence. In their place Becky planted 4 rows of CORN. Let's hope it grows! The romaine lettuce has grown to great heights so we decided to pull 2 bunches this morning. We plan to give it a day or two in the fridge before tasting, so we'll let you know how it goes.
In Bed #2, the zucchini and yellow squash have sprouted and the carrots still seem to be growing ok, so we're planning to dig one up and have a look at what's actually going on in there. The cucumber is growing like gangbusters! As a gardening virgin, Becky was unsure if the plants were growing well because she kept finding the beautiful flowers littering the ground. After a quick web search last night, we discovered it's the male flowers that drop from the plant, and the female flowers that remain, with a baby cucumber right there behind the bud. Look!
In Bed #3 we have finally seen some PEAS!
Not many, but it's a start! The tomatoes are doing well, despite the aphids. We hope to have gotten all the bugs under control and the plants they are all fruiting, so in time we should see some yummy 'maters. The peppers are budding and should start flowering any day now. The butternut squash has sprouted and the eggplant is looking good so overall things are going well. Phew!
