More leaves, more moisture

After writing last, saw an ad on CL from someone giving away bagged leaves. Went to get them after work one morning and got more than I counted on! Got 12-14 good sized backs, well packed. Few hundred pounds worth. Couldn't load any more and still see through the back window. Since then, had more rain and snow. Should help the soil when spring comes along. 

Rain is helping to soften up the sheetrock piled in the back yard. I'm still convinced the sheetrock is a good idea but takes more work and time than I had counted on. Due to water resistant coverings, sheetrock doesn't break down as easily as I had hoped. Good thing in your house, not good for breaking it down for agricultural use. 

 The sheetrock also doesn't dissolve as I thought it would. Remains pretty chunky for a while. Not really a bad thing, except aesthetcially. Actually means the minerals will be more gradually released and organically available for a longer period. Then again, I've mostly been dissolving it in straight water. It takes the actions of water, acids and microorganisms to dissolve it completely. I'll mix most in the soil and some in the compost bin for that effect. 

I am reconsidering the idea of buying compost from the local water utility before spring. Depends on finances, mostly. Can buy ten tons delivered for around $300. Less expensive if you buy unscreened, which has 2-4" wood chips in it. Probably go half and half, then rake excess wood chips from grassy area surfaces and compost or mix in garden areas. That would help keep soil more loose and again result in slower release for longer benefits.

Got stuff to do! 

Helpful weather

Weather this week has been helpful to gardening (not much else). At least, for the future, that is.

Been raining on and off. Not flooding, which tends to be more normal here if it does rain. Had a chance for it to soak in really deep. After all the tilling, that should help things compost in the ground with time. Hoping for a fairly wet winter, though I am probably not joined in that sentiment by many people. Should be, as water reserves here are extremely low.

Rain is helping the leaves compost a bit. I still need to rake much of the leaves into the compost bin. Had left them out with thoughts of piling them up for my daughter, who loves to play in the piles of leaves. Doesn't look like such a great idea now. Went from no leaves falling to all of them falling, immediately followed by rain, wind and cold. Feel bad because that's her favorite part of autumn. 

The wind also interfered with my collection of leaves. Blew much of them away from good collection sites. Bummer. 

Still, have a few hundred pounds which will make decent compost. Those which are not collected in the bin run the chance of drying out before I can get them into the bin. If it remains dry enough for a couple of days, may still be able to salvage the situation and still let daughter play int the leaves. Though I need to return the neighbor's blower soon. 

Wait and see what the week brings.

Catching up

Finally have a chance to catch up on some things which I couldn't post or a while. Couldn't post from my phone because Blogger changed the interface and it was incompatible with my phone. 

I did ultimately get the whole yard tilled. In multiple places, more than once. Mixed in most of the wood chips and large or excess wood chips went into the compost bin. 

Started collecting leaves once they fell but have been diverted multiple times in multiple directions. Had vehicle problems more than once. 

Got money together and had power turned back on, as mentioned in last post. Knew some wiring would have to be replaced, as some of it is original, circa 1966 and installed with methods that were outdated in most places at that time. Asbestos cloth wrapped and I believe covered with creosote. Then it turned out that even the newer cables installed before I moved in are just connected to old wiring. In most cases, the third prong on electrical outlets were connected to nothing at all. Could not afford to have the electrician rewire the whole house. Cost around $1000 just to get enough done to get the power back on. So, now I'm in the process of rewiring the whole house and finding some amazingly bad things about the old wiring along the way. Outlets in the kitchen on the same circuit as outlets in the living room. Junction boxes installed under the floors and nailed to the joists. Can't get past the water and gas lines beyond a few feet into the crawlspace and there are cinder block walls which block access under newer sections of the house. So going to have to cut trapdoors in several places. Just make them permanent for any future work. Upgrading everything as I go, adding new outlets on new circuits. New breaker board has capacity to hold up to 30 circuit breakers. I'm going to fill the whole board. Much safer that way. Add some outdoor outlets for different things. 

Had plumbing problems. Tree roots growing through the pipes. Used the tiller to dig up the pipes, manually cut the roots back and place broken cinder blocks around the pipes. Won't completely stop the roots but will slow them down. Had to buy some professional plumbing tools to remove roots from inside the pipes. At some point in the future, get a motorized heavy drain snake to run through the pipes once or twice a year. It'll pay for itself in two uses. 

Pipes froze again this past week, in spite of insulating the pipes. However, temps went down lower than they have in years couple times this week. As low as 4 degrees F the night the pipes broke. Since then, fixed the pipes, insulated them, had built a crawlspace cover for the electrical work. Had some outdoor carpet someone gave me which I hadn't used yet. Used that to cover the crawlspace cover for more insulation. Also helps the house by reducing wind from getting in the crawlspace. 

It will help once I can finally get some portion of the solarium built. Had begun building shelves and such for organizing the house and had planned on getting some portion of the solarium started. That was when all the diversions began.

Planted lots of flower bulbs for spring. Hoping those do better than the seeds have. Dug up all the tomato plants but most are still outside in buckets. Not sure if they'll bounce back or not. For insurance, I'll start seeds in Jan indoors again. 

Thanks to weather and soil, pumpkin harvest was really poor this year. There was no corn this whole year. Green beans did well right up to first frost. Kinda sick of green beans for the moment. 

Guess that catches things up. Been an eventful few months. Now I need to get some sleep. Have more wiring to do tomorrow. 

Back online!

Finally got my power back on and internet service again! Cost a pretty penny to do so but going to take steps to decrease that over time.

Only have a short time to write before have to be ready for work.

Never did see any spinach or lettuce from last planting. Think the biggest issue is sodium in the soil. Extremely high here. Trying to counter that with calcium sulfate. Otherwise known as gypsum. Which comes in the form of sheetrock. I am collecting sheetrock scraps from people who are doing remodeling. Got quite a bit now. Takes time and effort to soak it, strip the paper backing off and soak it some more before it becomes usable for the soil but I have all winter. Since it has sulphur as well as calcium, it should help the soil here quite a bit. 

Also back to collecting leaves as I did last year. Built an above ground compost bin and filled in the pit. More capacity and easier on my back.


Okay, have to get ready for work.

I'm sick today, so not doing much gardening. Was sick yesterday and pushed myself to get some things done. Moved part of the clay pile, cleaned up some of the back yard. Worst part, where the dog likes to chew things up. Tilled part of the back yard. Pulled out the weed eater for areas where I can't till. So front and back look better. All that had to be done in spurts, lying on the couch in between. Have to work tonight, so not doing that today.

Now up to ten pumpkins growing! None of great size yet and most are minis but still something for Halloween. Giants are about to flower. Should see first flowers in the next three days.

Weather is gradually cooling. Warm now but forecast is for 70's day and upper 40's night next week. Not sure about tomatoes in those temps. Wait and see. Soil won't have a chance to cool too much at night if I water in the morning. So they be okay.

Lots more green bean vines now climbing and flowering.

Still no lettuce or spinach seen. But am seeing the rare carrot, planted months ago. Maybe more will pop up soon. Maybe.

Think I'm going back to sleep.I'm sick today, so not doing much gardening. Was sick yesterday and pushed myself to get some things done. Moved part of the clay pile, cleaned up some of the back yard. Worst part, where the dog likes to chew things up. Tilled part of the back yard. Pulled out the weed eater for areas where I can't till. So front and back look better. All that had to be done in spurts, lying on the couch in between. Have to work tonight, so not doing that today.

Now up to ten pumpkins growing! None of great size yet and most are minis but still something for Halloween. Giants are about to flower. Should see first flowers in the next three days.

Weather is gradually cooling. Warm now but forecast is for 70's day and upper 40's night next week. Not sure about tomatoes in those temps. Wait and see. Soil won't have a chance to cool too much at night if I water in the morning. So they be okay.

Lots more green bean vines now climbing and flowering.

Still no lettuce or spinach seen. But am seeing the rare carrot, planted months ago. Maybe more will pop up soon. Maybe.

Think I'm going back to sleep.

So here is a good repoort!

Some of the green bean vines are getting so large that the trellises are sagging under their weight! Tightened them up a bit but guess the trellises need to be a bit stronger next year. Plus there are new vines coming up, climbing and producing already. Still haven't managed to harvest enough beans in one day for a meal yet. Sure not enough for canning.

Couple of watermelons and one honeydew are still growing, though slowly.

Have even more tomatoes than I thought. Lots and lots of tiny ones now developing. Eventually found three hornworms and killed them off. Keep watching for more but none spotted. Daughter helped me look today and she has really sharp eyes. Some of the medium size fruit are beginning to ripen now. Some very pretty larger ones still growing. So now that some of the decent size fruit are beginning to ripen, I'm hoping to have a decent steady supply for a while.
Daughter and I planted flower bulbs today. Daffodil, tulips, allium and hyacinth.

Some of the best news is that once I watered very heavily to reach the deeply planted bulbs, the aroma was one of truly healthy soil! Some people may not understand this or think it a big deal. Thing to understand is that most of the native New Mexico soil has a stale odor to it. It's doubtful that many people who have grown up here even know what healthy soil smells like. To finally be achieving this with my own soil is a tremendous step forward.

Really happy with this progress. Can only go further and expand. And all without importing soil from outside like so many have suggested. So here is a good repoort!

Some of the green bean vines are getting so large that the trellises are sagging under their weight! Tightened them up a bit but guess the trellises need to be a bit stronger next year. Plus there are new vines coming up, climbing and producing already. Still haven't managed to harvest enough beans in one day for a meal yet. Sure not enough for canning.

Couple of watermelons and one honeydew are still growing, though slowly.

Have even more tomatoes than I thought. Lots and lots of tiny ones now developing. Eventually found three hornworms and killed them off. Keep watching for more but none spotted. Daughter helped me look today and she has really sharp eyes. Some of the medium size fruit are beginning to ripen now. Some very pretty larger ones still growing. So now that some of the decent size fruit are beginning to ripen, I'm hoping to have a decent steady supply for a while.
Daughter and I planted flower bulbs today. Daffodil, tulips, allium and hyacinth.

Some of the best news is that once I watered very heavily to reach the deeply planted bulbs, the aroma was one of truly healthy soil! Some people may not understand this or think it a big deal. Thing to understand is that most of the native New Mexico soil has a stale odor to it. It's doubtful that many people who have grown up here even know what healthy soil smells like. To finally be achieving this with my own soil is a tremendous step forward.

Really happy with this progress. Can only go further and expand. And all without importing soil from outside like so many have suggested.

I'm not sold on the alleged benefits of mulch.

While the weather and my poor soil have much to do with the weak performance of my garden this year, it also seems mulching has done more harm than good. Last year, I had some fairly minor insect problems. Mostly aphids and whiteflies. This year, insect damage has been much worse. Turns out heavy mulch just gives damaging insects a place to hide, breed and feed on roots and stems unseen. For any weeds or grass which are already in place before mulching, it just makes them harder to control without removing the mulch. Since mulch helps the soil remain moist, it also increases chances of fungal issues.

Maybe I'm naive. Still learning. However, I have wondered why, if mulch is so great, don't commercial farmers use more of it?

Mulch does have value, no doubt. However, in my case, it seems the best value is with it composted and/or mixed into the soil, not on the surface.

There is no doubt that successive years of planting draws more harmful insects. They colonize an area, so once they find a place to feed, you see more of them the following year. Maybe the same year.

Mulch may reduce need for watering but it will do that mixed into the soil as well as on top.

Next year I'll at least start off with no mulch. If I plant densely and co-plant things of various heights, it should result in a natural mulch effect with fewer hiding/breeding spots.

At least some of the lacewings hatched! Seen some of them around and recalled they were beneficial but had absolutely forgotten I put them there! They're so small you don't think a lot about them at first. (Aside from whether they're harmful or beneficial.)

Combination of lacewings, ladybugs and cooler weather seem to be effective. Beneficials were largely hidden for a while but venturing out more now. Means they have to go farther to feed. Improving garden condition is another good sign. All will start hibernating soon.

Have quite a few mini pumpkins growing now. Daughter should be happy! I'm waiting for the giants to flower. Man, those grow fast! Definitely plant more of those next year!I'm not sold on the alleged benefits of mulch.

While the weather and my poor soil have much to do with the weak performance of my garden this year, it also seems mulching has done more harm than good. Last year, I had some fairly minor insect problems. Mostly aphids and whiteflies. This year, insect damage has been much worse. Turns out heavy mulch just gives damaging insects a place to hide, breed and feed on roots and stems unseen. For any weeds or grass which are already in place before mulching, it just makes them harder to control without removing the mulch. Since mulch helps the soil remain moist, it also increases chances of fungal issues.

Maybe I'm naive. Still learning. However, I have wondered why, if mulch is so great, don't commercial farmers use more of it?

Mulch does have value, no doubt. However, in my case, it seems the best value is with it composted and/or mixed into the soil, not on the surface.

There is no doubt that successive years of planting draws more harmful insects. They colonize an area, so once they find a place to feed, you see more of them the following year. Maybe the same year.

Mulch may reduce need for watering but it will do that mixed into the soil as well as on top.

Next year I'll at least start off with no mulch. If I plant densely and co-plant things of various heights, it should result in a natural mulch effect with fewer hiding/breeding spots.

At least some of the lacewings hatched! Seen some of them around and recalled they were beneficial but had absolutely forgotten I put them there! They're so small you don't think a lot about them at first. (Aside from whether they're harmful or beneficial.)

Combination of lacewings, ladybugs and cooler weather seem to be effective. Beneficials were largely hidden for a while but venturing out more now. Means they have to go farther to feed. Improving garden condition is another good sign. All will start hibernating soon.

Have quite a few mini pumpkins growing now. Daughter should be happy! I'm waiting for the giants to flower. Man, those grow fast! Definitely plant more of those next year!

Finished tilling the front yard this morning except for edging. Had to run some errands which took a few hours. Then got to work on the back yard.

Tilled an area at least as large as the front yard, probably larger. This whole area was all weeds, rocks, clay and mulch. So it was pretty hard to work but the tiller did great, long as I took things slow.

While tilling, kept running into debris which has been there since before I moved in. Remnants of what I once dubbed "The Pile". Today I ran into cans, pieces of plastic, electrical wire, clothesline wire, a flat plastic toolbox..and a meat cleaver. Handle broken off and a dent in the blade. Nice addition to the mismatched shoes, ashes and animal bones I found before, among other things.

While running errands, ran across some remaining $.20 lettuce and carrot seeds at WalMart. Picked up several packets of each. Spread the lettuce seeds randomly across the area by the fence. Also picked up some tulip and hyacinth bulbs and more seed green beans. Didn't get anything planted yet but the lettuce.

Going to take a break from tilling for a few days. Tired, sore, have blisters on both hands and have to work next two nights. Still, I'm happy with how far I've gotten so far.Finished tilling the front yard this morning except for edging. Had to run some errands which took a few hours. Then got to work on the back yard.

Tilled an area at least as large as the front yard, probably larger. This whole area was all weeds, rocks, clay and mulch. So it was pretty hard to work but the tiller did great, long as I took things slow.

While tilling, kept running into debris which has been there since before I moved in. Remnants of what I once dubbed "The Pile". Today I ran into cans, pieces of plastic, electrical wire, clothesline wire, a flat plastic toolbox..and a meat cleaver. Handle broken off and a dent in the blade. Nice addition to the mismatched shoes, ashes and animal bones I found before, among other things.

While running errands, ran across some remaining $.20 lettuce and carrot seeds at WalMart. Picked up several packets of each. Spread the lettuce seeds randomly across the area by the fence. Also picked up some tulip and hyacinth bulbs and more seed green beans. Didn't get anything planted yet but the lettuce.

Going to take a break from tilling for a few days. Tired, sore, have blisters on both hands and have to work next two nights. Still, I'm happy with how far I've gotten so far.

Almost completed tilling the front yard today. It was much harder than expected because the soil is so hard plus dry.

Was close to finishing this afternoon, with maybe 30 minutes of work left when the tiller lost power. Could be that the engine got too hot. Then again, maybe the air filter needs cleaning. Do that in the morning. Doubt the spark plug needs adjusting yet but iit wouldn't hurt to widen the gap and adjust the carb for this elevation. Right now just try the simplest solutions.

Amazing thing is that the yard looks much better as bare dirt than it did with the grass which was there. Though the grass was green in rare spots, dead in some spots and bare in other spots. The ground wasn't level and showed signs of digging prior to my moving in. For what, I don't know because the digging was not around any pipes or such. Now that the soil is loosened up, I can level it out easily.

Still, because of the space between blades, it will be most effective if I till again across the directions I tilled today. That should get to any grass or weed roots which I missed and mix the soil more thoroughly.

Some hard areas to get to were along the walls and driveway. However, the tiller came with an edger attachment which can be used last for that purpose.

Still sticking with the original plan of letting the soil compost in place over the winter. Likely till again a time or two before spring to kill off existing grass and weeds. Going to order and plant grass seed with "micro-clover" I've seen advertised. Had thought about it but wanted to actually see this clover before doing so. I was cautious it could be hard and abrasive. Then I saw a commercial lawn with the same mixture planted. I'm convinced. It was soft, green and looked really good. Plus where I saw it was in a fairly high traffic area. I don't think it grows very tall, so reduces mowing. Allegedly takes only five days to sprout from seed and requires very little watering. Not sure about fertilizing. It's called "Wonderlawn with MicroClover" and can be found on Amazon. Price seems reasonable compared to what I've seen in stores, including discount stores.

Need a bath really bad.

I'm loving this weather! Warm but not hot during the day, cool but not cold at night. Decent humidity and occasional rain (though not enough most of the time).

I was afraid the tomatoes would start going dormant but that's not happening. Soil temp is still warm enough and ambient temp is still 80's during the day. Actually, they look really good! Still new flowers blooming and fruit forming. Dozens of tomatoes on the vine right now.

Green beans are looking good. Need to look more closely for mature beans. Lots of flowers!

Corn is still small. Doubting even the small, cold tolerant variety will produce before frost now.

Lettuce and carrots I planted a couple weeks ago haven't sprouted. Still hoping.

Took the next step this evening and tilled the flower bed under. It's only about 100 sq ft and took less than 20 minutes. The more practice I have with this tiller and the more it gets broken in, the easier it is to use. In the case today, the whole flower bed was covered with wood chips which I tilled into the soil.

A lot of the areas which I'm going to till either have wood chips or I'll be adding wood chips to till in. Since I'm scheduled off for the next couple of days, going to till the front yard and much of the back yard. Have a good jump which should allow materials tilled in now to compost over fall and winter with chances to cultivate several times. Should give me a chance for a nice lawn next year in addition to the garden.

Got the Mantis tiller this week. Couldn't use it until today because of a heavy work schedule.

Finally got to use it and it worked great! On the heaviest soil it did bounce around but since the tiller only weighs about 30 lbs, was easy to control. It's quieter than my lawnmower and even my neighbor's electric table saw. The tines bound up three times, twice from long fibrous mulch wrapping the tines up and once from a large rock. No damage, just had to turn it off, untangle and restart. Restarted with one pull. In heaviest clay, it took several passes to reach full depth but that didn't take much time.

Any way, got the area by the fence tilled all the way up to the first garden rows. Good size area, at least 400 sq ft. Then planted broccoli, cilantro, dill, red cabbage and lots of spinach. Soil was so loose raking wasn't necessary. All shallow seeds, so just watered heavily.

It will take quite a bit of time and work to till the whole front and back yards but doing it in stages. Some areas will have to be tilled multiple times to kill off weeds. That's where a function of the Mantis comes in handy. Blades can be reversed and used to cultivate. Basically tilling only 1-2" of soil. That would leave the deeper soil untouched after initial tilling. Can also be used for weeding between rows next year.

Maybe rationalizing but think this was a good investment.

Only found two squash bugs in the past few days but some of the plants had already suffered enough damage that they still died off. However, still have a number which are looking really good. New flowers every day and have 4-5 pumpkins now growing.

Got cool in the last few days. Afraid of the tomatoes going dormant now. May have to dig up the ones in the garden and bring them in sooner than anticipated. But still lots of fruit on the vines right now. Got the Mantis tiller this week. Couldn't use it until today because of a heavy work schedule.

Finally got to use it and it worked great! On the heaviest soil it did bounce around but since the tiller only weighs about 30 lbs, was easy to control. It's quieter than my lawnmower and even my neighbor's electric table saw. The tines bound up three times, twice from long fibrous mulch wrapping the tines up and once from a large rock. No damage, just had to turn it off, untangle and restart. Restarted with one pull. In heaviest clay, it took several passes to reach full depth but that didn't take much time.

Any way, got the area by the fence tilled all the way up to the first garden rows. Good size area, at least 400 sq ft. Then planted broccoli, cilantro, dill, red cabbage and lots of spinach. Soil was so loose raking wasn't necessary. All shallow seeds, so just watered heavily.

It will take quite a bit of time and work to till the whole front and back yards but doing it in stages. Some areas will have to be tilled multiple times to kill off weeds. That's where a function of the Mantis comes in handy. Blades can be reversed and used to cultivate. Basically tilling only 1-2" of soil. That would leave the deeper soil untouched after initial tilling. Can also be used for weeding between rows next year.

Maybe rationalizing but think this was a good investment.

Only found two squash bugs in the past few days but some of the plants had already suffered enough damage that they still died off. However, still have a number which are looking really good. New flowers every day and have 4-5 pumpkins now growing.

Got cool in the last few days. Afraid of the tomatoes going dormant now. May have to dig up the ones in the garden and bring them in sooner than anticipated. But still lots of fruit on the vines right now.

On checking the garden this morning, did not find a single squash bug!

Last round of nicotine spray was a strong one plus manually crushed any I saw while applying it. Destroyed any eggs I found over last couple of days but going to check further to limit any second generation as much as I can.

Damaged surviving plants are forming new leaves now. Need to pull up the dead ones and toss them in the trash. Compost may not be a good idea. Could be eggs on them.

Biggest danger now is that some have survived on other plants. Their obvious preference is for certain types of pumpkin and squash. However, they will feed on any member of the cucumber family. Cucumber, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and pumpkin. All of which I have growing in the garden. (No fruit on any except the pumpkin plants.)

Waiting for coffee, then get some cleaning done. On checking the garden this morning, did not find a single squash bug!

Last round of nicotine spray was a strong one plus manually crushed any I saw while applying it. Destroyed any eggs I found over last couple of days but going to check further to limit any second generation as much as I can.

Damaged surviving plants are forming new leaves now. Need to pull up the dead ones and toss them in the trash. Compost may not be a good idea. Could be eggs on them.

Biggest danger now is that some have survived on other plants. Their obvious preference is for certain types of pumpkin and squash. However, they will feed on any member of the cucumber family. Cucumber, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and pumpkin. All of which I have growing in the garden. (No fruit on any except the pumpkin plants.)

Waiting for coffee, then get some cleaning done.

The one large squash bug was still alive today. Still had it in a jar with a pumpkin leaf. The leaf wasn't showing much sign of further feeding. So I decided to give it one more try. Sprayed the insect directly with the nicotine solution. Shortly after, it fell to the bottom of the jar. It was thrashing its' legs but was too weak to move or climb, even when I put the leaf directly in reach. It did take a while but eventually died.

Sorry, no. I do not have a lot of sympathy for dying squash bugs, especially when I'm experimenting with ways to kill them off completely.

So, this tells me several things. I know that nicotine spray is toxic for only a short while outside of solution, then becomes oxidized and no longer toxic. So subsequent treatments are necessary to kill off adult squash bugs. The smaller ones are more prone to the effects and die off faster. It does take some time and does not work instantly. However, it does at least slow the adult feeding with only one application.

There are two downside to nicotine spray. One is that it is definitely a contact spray. The insect must come in direct contact with the liquid in a short time frame for it to be effective. the second downside is that it is completely non-selective. It will kill beneficials as well as harmful insects. So if you have beneficials in your garden, you must seek out and spray the harmful insects and the immediate area. Wide area spraying will kill anything it contacts.

Seems to me that this would be toxic to ground beetles and earthworms if you water immediately after application. However, because it oxidizes so quickly, this is only true for a short time. So wait at least one hour after treating before watering.

It may well be that planting tobacco plants or companion planting them would be a good deterrent to squash bugs. I'll have to check on effects to beneficials on that one. However, tobacco plants are very ornamental and also deter many other pests.

If you don't smoke, make friends with a smoker, ask them to save butts for you and make your own spray. And don't complain about the smell. The one large squash bug was still alive today. Still had it in a jar with a pumpkin leaf. The leaf wasn't showing much sign of further feeding. So I decided to give it one more try. Sprayed the insect directly with the nicotine solution. Shortly after, it fell to the bottom of the jar. It was thrashing its' legs but was too weak to move or climb, even when I put the leaf directly in reach. It did take a while but eventually died.

Sorry, no. I do not have a lot of sympathy for dying squash bugs, especially when I'm experimenting with ways to kill them off completely.

So, this tells me several things. I know that nicotine spray is toxic for only a short while outside of solution, then becomes oxidized and no longer toxic. So subsequent treatments are necessary to kill off adult squash bugs. The smaller ones are more prone to the effects and die off faster. It does take some time and does not work instantly. However, it does at least slow the adult feeding with only one application.

There are two downside to nicotine spray. One is that it is definitely a contact spray. The insect must come in direct contact with the liquid in a short time frame for it to be effective. the second downside is that it is completely non-selective. It will kill beneficials as well as harmful insects. So if you have beneficials in your garden, you must seek out and spray the harmful insects and the immediate area. Wide area spraying will kill anything it contacts.

Seems to me that this would be toxic to ground beetles and earthworms if you water immediately after application. However, because it oxidizes so quickly, this is only true for a short time. So wait at least one hour after treating before watering.

It may well be that planting tobacco plants or companion planting them would be a good deterrent to squash bugs. I'll have to check on effects to beneficials on that one. However, tobacco plants are very ornamental and also deter many other pests.

If you don't smoke, make friends with a smoker, ask them to save butts for you and make your own spray. And don't complain about the smell.

Found a lot fewer squash bugs this morning. Doesn't mean they're not there, just means I didn't see them. However, evidence says population is down. Some damaged plants are forming new leaves.

Flowering on most plants has been delayed or aborted by the damage. Two pumpkins still growing. Think the third was too close on the same vine as another pumpkin growing. Some plants are undamaged and forming flowers which haven't bloomed yet.

Today is fertilizing day. May go ahead and plant a few more seeds just for giggles, since a couple more plants did die off. Still no sign of any more carrots but maybe since the temp is dropping.. If they do start sprouting, I may have thousands of them. In any case, can plant spinach on existing rows. Carrots and spinach play well with each other and almost anything else.

Once I get the tiller, I can take the lazy way with planting near the fence. Till, spread some deeper seeds (spinach and broccoli), rake to 1/2", spread lettuce seeds and just very lightly surface rake. May toss some red cabbage in the mixture, too. Not going to place any formal dividers but plant each item right up to the next one. I like the somewhat natural look in some spots.

Guess I should get something productive done. Slept really late. Figured out I have some kind of virus which has dogged me all week. Slowly getting over it now.Found a lot fewer squash bugs this morning. Doesn't mean they're not there, just means I didn't see them. However, evidence says population is down. Some damaged plants are forming new leaves.

Flowering on most plants has been delayed or aborted by the damage. Two pumpkins still growing. Think the third was too close on the same vine as another pumpkin growing. Some plants are undamaged and forming flowers which haven't bloomed yet.

Today is fertilizing day. May go ahead and plant a few more seeds just for giggles, since a couple more plants did die off. Still no sign of any more carrots but maybe since the temp is dropping.. If they do start sprouting, I may have thousands of them. In any case, can plant spinach on existing rows. Carrots and spinach play well with each other and almost anything else.

Once I get the tiller, I can take the lazy way with planting near the fence. Till, spread some deeper seeds (spinach and broccoli), rake to 1/2", spread lettuce seeds and just very lightly surface rake. May toss some red cabbage in the mixture, too. Not going to place any formal dividers but plant each item right up to the next one. I like the somewhat natural look in some spots.

Guess I should get something productive done. Slept really late. Figured out I have some kind of virus which has dogged me all week. Slowly getting over it now.

So, this afternoon I tried soaking some cigarette butts in water in a jar. Went out and captured three squash bugs in another jar. After a while, ran the cigarette water through a coffee filter and placed it in a spray bottle. Sprayed the squash bugs with it.

It worked to some degree! The two smallest bugs died. The largest remained alive but seemed weaker and stopped feeding.

So I took the spray bottle out and selectively sprayed the pumpkin plants. I'll try doing that every day for a few days and see how it works.

Here's a surprise. Haven't been watering the front yard but we have had some occasional rain lately. Few months ago, I had planted some pumpkin and corn in the front yard which never grew. Suddenly, several pumpkin plants have appeared after all this time! Unless it rains on a fairly regular basis, not counting on them surviving or producing but they could surprise me. Get out there tomorrow and pull the weeds near them.

Some small patches of grass in the back yard have actually grown tall enough to cut. However, I'm not going to cut it. Current plan is to till it under, along with weeds in other places. Until now, none of the grass ever did grow enough to mow this year. And the only spot which has grown enough to mow is underneath where one tarp shaded that area.

Never got any cleaning done today. Been feeling like garbage all week. Not sure why. All I really got done was taking the tarps down, taking the second electrician test and doing dishes. Still have tomorrow and daytime Monday this weekend to get lots of cleaning done. Tomorrow I'll force myself to do it no matter how I feel. Maybe allergies or maybe I just needed to take a break from always being active. But I figure one day of intense cleaning will make a huge difference.So, this afternoon I tried soaking some cigarette butts in water in a jar. Went out and captured three squash bugs in another jar. After a while, ran the cigarette water through a coffee filter and placed it in a spray bottle. Sprayed the squash bugs with it.

It worked to some degree! The two smallest bugs died. The largest remained alive but seemed weaker and stopped feeding.

So I took the spray bottle out and selectively sprayed the pumpkin plants. I'll try doing that every day for a few days and see how it works.

Here's a surprise. Haven't been watering the front yard but we have had some occasional rain lately. Few months ago, I had planted some pumpkin and corn in the front yard which never grew. Suddenly, several pumpkin plants have appeared after all this time! Unless it rains on a fairly regular basis, not counting on them surviving or producing but they could surprise me. Get out there tomorrow and pull the weeds near them.

Some small patches of grass in the back yard have actually grown tall enough to cut. However, I'm not going to cut it. Current plan is to till it under, along with weeds in other places. Until now, none of the grass ever did grow enough to mow this year. And the only spot which has grown enough to mow is underneath where one tarp shaded that area.

Never got any cleaning done today. Been feeling like garbage all week. Not sure why. All I really got done was taking the tarps down, taking the second electrician test and doing dishes. Still have tomorrow and daytime Monday this weekend to get lots of cleaning done. Tomorrow I'll force myself to do it no matter how I feel. Maybe allergies or maybe I just needed to take a break from always being active. But I figure one day of intense cleaning will make a huge difference.

Well, the spray I concocted did not work on the squash bugs at all. No surprise or someone would have come up with something similar before.

The most widely used organic method of control of squash bugs is simply..squashing them! They seem to congregate and feed on one plant in numbers. That does make it simple to crush a lot of them in short order. Though there are times you cannot avoid doing damage to leaves in the process, at least the plant may recover from that damage as opposed to that of the insects themselves.

Something else I may try is some nicotine spray. Just in a spray bottle and aimed at any squash bugs or eggs I find. Or try collecting the insects and testing it on them first. That would not involve crushing leaves and it only remains toxic in the immediate area until it dries. So low risk to ladybugs or other beneficials. I'll write what results I have after trying it.

Took down the tarps on the house today. Weather is cooling, they look bad and I've learned what I need to from them before going with something more permanent. They definitely helped in some ways but my design had flaws in others. Couldn't be helped much. Can adjust for those flaws in something larger and more solid.

So the problem with the pumpkin plants is squash bugs. I had seen them but wasn't sure they were harmful. They don't actually eat the plants but suck them dry. Not that seeing them would do all that much good. From what I've read there are no effective organic controls for them and chemical controls would kill beneficials as well.

One control is to plant late in the season. Up north they have one generation per year. Lucky us in the south have two generations a year. Too late to have anything planted now produce by Halloween, if at all. May be some hope for pie pumpkins for Thanksgiving and I am still hoping for vines for tilling and compost. So I planted more seeds tonight. Figure it won't hurt anything.

They have favorite strains of pumpkin they feed on most. Looks like one of their favorites are Big Max pumpkins. For space and variety, I had alternated Big Max with pie and mini's. So the bugs largely attacked one plant, skipped several and attacked another. So far, they also haven't gone for the Dill's giant plants, which are growing fast.

For next year, a good thing is that one major control is tilling. It's highly likely I had them last year but in much smaller numbers. So tilling the whole yard will be a good way to help prevent big problems with them next year. Hoping no great immigration from neighbors but only one neighbor has a garden and he uses chemical controls.

Since they killed off the only two plants growing in the area by the fence, guess I can till that space without having to avoid those plants. Give me more room for lettuce, spinach and broccoli.

Since I was planting, I got some small red potatoes on sale at the produce market across the street and planted those. Weather is cooling down enough for potatoes. Hope they're not treated with hormones to make them sterile. May have time for a small late crop. Otherwise, at least they'll add to the soil.

Not much going on this weekend with no work and daughter out of town. Just do a lot of house cleaning and studying.

Got the first part of the electrician course. Whole course is 27 sections long. If I can do one section a week I can finish it in about six months. Won't be a licensed electrician but will be far ahead of where I am now. Already did the reading required for the first test and the writing is more clearly written than anything I've read on the subject before. Good sign.

From current count, it's looking like I have lost as much as 1/3 of my pumpkin plants in the past two weeks to insect attacks. Damage seems to have slowed down in the last couple of days, since the latest ladybug inroduction. However, I'm off work tonight and think I'll help things along with some tomato leaf spray. Not likely to hurt matters.

Still not a single cucumber this year. Lots of foliage, lots of flowers, no fruit. Same with all the melons.

At least corn plants are coming up.

Keeping this short. Need some sleep.

Got the shipment of beneficial nematodes today. There are harmful nematodes which will destroy your garden. (Entirely possible I have had those, for all I know.) Beneficial nematodes are microscopic, carnivorous worms which feed on harmful nematodes and other herbivorous insects including aphids, whiteflies, snails, etc.

What is surprising about them is that they are so small that a one pint container holds as many as 7 million of them, along with carrier material which is largely comprised of food for them. You can't see them with the naked eye. They are so small that one method of spreading them is to mix them with water and use a hose sprayer! That's how I spread them this evening, to cover the whole garden.

Also got another shipment of ladybugs. Scattered them at sunset and after watering. Last I looked they were swarming particular plants. Guessing those plants had lots of aphids to feed on.

Those things came in none too soon. Lost several pumpkin plants this week because of insect attacks. Only a few green bean vines surviving, none yet large enough to produce. They've all been killed off by heat and insects.

I may supplement the beneficial insects with some tomato leaf spray. Tomato plants have gotten large enough to trim leaves and some actually could use some pruning. Tomato leaf spray isn't harmful to beneficial insects, so my best bet at the moment.

Weather is reportedly going to cool down a few degrees in the next few days. Not a precipitous drop but down to the 80's during the day and 60's at night. That should help a few things. Cool enough to give another shot at planting more spinach and lettuce. By the time it sprouts and begins to grow to a decent size, it will be cool enough to keep it from bolting.

Wait to do that planting until next week, after the tiller comes in and I get a chance to till some areas.

Still some chances for a productive end to the growing season and looking better now than all spring or summer!Got the shipment of beneficial nematodes today. There are harmful nematodes which will destroy your garden. (Entirely possible I have had those, for all I know.) Beneficial nematodes are microscopic, carnivorous worms which feed on harmful nematodes and other herbivorous insects including aphids, whiteflies, snails, etc.

What is surprising about them is that they are so small that a one pint container holds as many as 7 million of them, along with carrier material which is largely comprised of food for them. You can't see them with the naked eye. They are so small that one method of spreading them is to mix them with water and use a hose sprayer! That's how I spread them this evening, to cover the whole garden.

Also got another shipment of ladybugs. Scattered them at sunset and after watering. Last I looked they were swarming particular plants. Guessing those plants had lots of aphids to feed on.

Those things came in none too soon. Lost several pumpkin plants this week because of insect attacks. Only a few green bean vines surviving, none yet large enough to produce. They've all been killed off by heat and insects.

I may supplement the beneficial insects with some tomato leaf spray. Tomato plants have gotten large enough to trim leaves and some actually could use some pruning. Tomato leaf spray isn't harmful to beneficial insects, so my best bet at the moment.

Weather is reportedly going to cool down a few degrees in the next few days. Not a precipitous drop but down to the 80's during the day and 60's at night. That should help a few things. Cool enough to give another shot at planting more spinach and lettuce. By the time it sprouts and begins to grow to a decent size, it will be cool enough to keep it from bolting.

Wait to do that planting until next week, after the tiller comes in and I get a chance to till some areas.

Still some chances for a productive end to the growing season and looking better now than all spring or summer!

One more female pumpkin flower this morning. That makes three so far, I think. Coming along slowly. However, these are all larger varieties and the smaller ones take less time to grow and mature.

Still more tomato flowers this morning and can see small fruit beginning to form where flowers set not long ago. So it's actually beginning to look like a decent crop:)

May have made a little mistake in sequencing. Some sources say sulphur may be toxic to ladybugs. Though they're toxic to aphids, as well. In each case, only toxic on the soil surface, not once it dissolves and mixes in. Still seeing some ladies but not a whole lot. Glad I have two more shipments coming in. For now, watering heavily and trying to dissolve all the sulphur into the soil. Rain has helped. No more sulphur until tilling time! Of course, I hope it doesn't kill off the ladybugs. However, for the reults and lessons learned, not sorry for spreading it. Making a huge difference.One more female pumpkin flower this morning. That makes three so far, I think. Coming along slowly. However, these are all larger varieties and the smaller ones take less time to grow and mature.

Still more tomato flowers this morning and can see small fruit beginning to form where flowers set not long ago. So it's actually beginning to look like a decent crop:)

May have made a little mistake in sequencing. Some sources say sulphur may be toxic to ladybugs. Though they're toxic to aphids, as well. In each case, only toxic on the soil surface, not once it dissolves and mixes in. Still seeing some ladies but not a whole lot. Glad I have two more shipments coming in. For now, watering heavily and trying to dissolve all the sulphur into the soil. Rain has helped. No more sulphur until tilling time! Of course, I hope it doesn't kill off the ladybugs. However, for the reults and lessons learned, not sorry for spreading it. Making a huge difference.

Only released the ladybugs night before last but already appear to be seeing positive results from them being here. Some plants which had seemed to be suffering are looking slightly better.

They're most active in the morning, when it's still cool. At least they're most visible then. Walked through the garden yesterday afternoon and barely saw any at all. This morning, seeing a lot more. Was worried that maybe all of them had flown off! I expect some to fly off but not all. At this point, I still have two more shipments coming in. So, even if some take up residence nearby, the whole neighborhood will be well infested with ladybugs next spring. Sad part is timing. Won't be able to keep all of the other shipments until daughter gets back, as they could die by then. But there will be plenty in the garden from now on and she enjoys hunting and catching insects.

No female pumpkin flowers this morning. Lots of new tomatoes visible! The two tomato plants which I had thought may die from transplant shock are recovering. Not sure they'll recover enough to grow fruit before frost but I'll bring all the potted ones inside when it starts getting too cold for them. May just convert the whole office to a winter sun room, trim and dig up all the tomato plants and bring them inside. Not sure yet.

I know I will dig up the tomatoes and pot them. Not sure what after that with them. Going to till the whole garden down deeper. Mix the organic material down deep, loosen the soil, make it easier to leach the salt downward. Help get rid of the weeds, too. Once the soil is in decent condition, I may not till the tomato section again.

Never did make grape jelly. Seems daughter doesn't really like it. And I can't eat bread. Since these are too small to be table grapes and I lacked the right yeast for wine, not much to do with them. So they make a good addition to the compost.

Okay. Need to stop writing and do something constructive.

Things are up and down with the garden. Mostly seem to be up, though.

Finally got the replacement shipment of ladybugs. Alive this time! Daughter and I released them last night and it was largely how I pictured the event in my head. She was laughing, giggling at how much they tickled and fawning over how cute they are. We each had ladybugs all over our shirts, arms and in our hair. They were everywhere and a lot seemed to take a big liking to the green picnic table.

Now counting 52 pumpkin plants in the garden. There are actually more but some are dead or nearly so. Doubting all the ones out there now will survive but most seem to be doing better daily. Biggest is about 6 ft long now.

Had the second female pumpkin flower this morning. More seem set to follow soon. Not taking chances. I walk the garden each morning and manually pollinate new female flowers.

Found a secondary benefit to sulphur. It deters the neighbor dog from crapping in my front yard! That alone is enough to make me spread more sulphur! (Since using a gun would be illegal.)

Been making it a habit to fertilize each Sunday after ex picks my daughter up. Works out well that way. Also spread more sulphur this evening.

Scores of new tomato flowers. If only half form tomatoes, I'll have a huge crop in a few weeks!

Went ahead and ordered the tiller with the four installment payment plan. Not sure how long until it arrives. Just ordered it Fri night. On Sat got order confirmation but no shipping info as yet. Ordered the four cycle engine. Stronger, quieter and probably last longer. If it comes within the next couple of weeks, I'll try tilling the area along the fence where nothing is growing. Plant short, cool weather crops like lettuce, spinach and broccoli. Wouldn't hurt to try.

Other than that, going to try and pick up all the OT I can while daughter is gone. Clean house extensively when not working.

Came home from work this morning to find the first female pumpkin flower os the season! Yay! Not one to leave things to chance, I pollinated it by hand with a male flower from the same plant.

Have several other females getting ready to bloom and think they should within the next 2-3 days.

Have around 20 tomatoes now growing on various bushes and lots of flowers which I went through and shook or tapped to pollinate. Some are finally looking like they'll reach a decent size. Tomato plants are finally looking really good now.

I'm really irate about the insect deliveries. Garden is looking good overall but have a bad insect problem which has killed off several good size pumpkin plants and seem to be attacking the green beans. Yet I'm still waiting for beneficial insects ordered three weeks ago. From the UPS tracking, the mantises and lacewings arrived (finally) in Abq at 1:45 this morning. But not on the truck for delivery. If they don't arrive today, they'll sit in the local warehouse until Monday. They were supposed to arrive on the 23rd. Next time I order insects, have to go ahead and pay the fee to have them delivered USPS.

Should go ahead and order more ladies now, so they can colonize and hibernate.

There have been many times in my life I've wished I could place myself in suspended animation. Indeed, I have tried by various means. To little avail.

Right now is one of those times. Broke, it's too hot and I won't be able to afford gas for the genny for the whole week. So I wish I could suspend my consciousness when not at work this week. Oh,well.

Some more reading about calcium showed some errors in my thoughts. I had worried about using too much. Had nothing to worry about. Turns out that many people refer to applying tons of calcium to their land to bind up sodium. Really, tons. Literally. So I have a long, long, long way to go before considering my applications too much.

Couple of good things here. One is that adding calcium helps with soil permeability and crusting. So moisture can penetrate deeper and easier. I can say I have noticed much less crusting of the soil. In fact, virtually none. Even less since applying sulphur.

Another good thing is that calcium can be applied in the form of old sheetrock (gypsum board). That's because it is made from calcium sulfate. From what I've read, because it contains sulphur, it won't affect the soil pH, either. Any paint would have to be removed, of course. In my case, I would also keep applying sulphur. If sheetrock is pH neutral, I would still need to be doing something about my alkaline soil.

Still, what I've done so far is showing good results. Tonight, applied more calcium and then some regular fertilizer, separately. Growth across the garden has accelerated. Everything looks greener. Leaves which had spots are losing the spots. Daughter and I had some tomatoes from the garden this weekend and they were great! Small but wonderful flavor. Plants are getting larger and flowering more. See a few new tomatoes growing.

Have to keep checking after each type of fertilizer and figure out which helps production most. Don't need to add K just yet because my soil tests high for K, like most desert soil. (Though it can become depleted by successive planting of crops. Not there yet.)

i know the calcium helps tomatoes avoid blossom end rot and grow larger fruit. So I lay it on them well. The sulphur has helped them to an extreme. I've read calcium helps pumpkins grow larger, as well.

Once I get a truck, I'll keep and eye out for housing remodeling jobs to pick up old sheetrock. Also on free lists for an old metal drum and a manual push mower. Build a leaf shredder/sheetrock grinder.

The vinegar still has a place in the garden, so haven't tossed it. It's still gaining acidity. The acidity of the vinegar depletes rapidly, over a few weeks in the soil. However, in that time, it will help break down calcium. Once that's done, it has served it's purpose. Can apply it in winter and it will be gone by spring. That would mean I just need less sulphur.

Gotta get to bed.There have been many times in my life I've wished I could place myself in suspended animation. Indeed, I have tried by various means. To little avail.

Right now is one of those times. Broke, it's too hot and I won't be able to afford gas for the genny for the whole week. So I wish I could suspend my consciousness when not at work this week. Oh,well.

Some more reading about calcium showed some errors in my thoughts. I had worried about using too much. Had nothing to worry about. Turns out that many people refer to applying tons of calcium to their land to bind up sodium. Really, tons. Literally. So I have a long, long, long way to go before considering my applications too much.

Couple of good things here. One is that adding calcium helps with soil permeability and crusting. So moisture can penetrate deeper and easier. I can say I have noticed much less crusting of the soil. In fact, virtually none. Even less since applying sulphur.

Another good thing is that calcium can be applied in the form of old sheetrock (gypsum board). That's because it is made from calcium sulfate. From what I've read, because it contains sulphur, it won't affect the soil pH, either. Any paint would have to be removed, of course. In my case, I would also keep applying sulphur. If sheetrock is pH neutral, I would still need to be doing something about my alkaline soil.

Still, what I've done so far is showing good results. Tonight, applied more calcium and then some regular fertilizer, separately. Growth across the garden has accelerated. Everything looks greener. Leaves which had spots are losing the spots. Daughter and I had some tomatoes from the garden this weekend and they were great! Small but wonderful flavor. Plants are getting larger and flowering more. See a few new tomatoes growing.

Have to keep checking after each type of fertilizer and figure out which helps production most. Don't need to add K just yet because my soil tests high for K, like most desert soil. (Though it can become depleted by successive planting of crops. Not there yet.)

i know the calcium helps tomatoes avoid blossom end rot and grow larger fruit. So I lay it on them well. The sulphur has helped them to an extreme. I've read calcium helps pumpkins grow larger, as well.

Once I get a truck, I'll keep and eye out for housing remodeling jobs to pick up old sheetrock. Also on free lists for an old metal drum and a manual push mower. Build a leaf shredder/sheetrock grinder.

The vinegar still has a place in the garden, so haven't tossed it. It's still gaining acidity. The acidity of the vinegar depletes rapidly, over a few weeks in the soil. However, in that time, it will help break down calcium. Once that's done, it has served it's purpose. Can apply it in winter and it will be gone by spring. That would mean I just need less sulphur.

Gotta get to bed.

Well, since things seem to be growing now, decided to give it one last go.

This morning, I planted more of things previously planted with varying success. Corn (80 day variety), green beans, carrots, broccoli and spinach. May try more lettuce later because it's a very short crop. Still too hot for it right now.

Tomato plants are looking amazingly good, compared to how they did look. Cucumber vines are climbing like crazy. Still no cucumbers yet. Pumpkins are flowering daily but no female flowers yet. Should be soon. Melon vines also have lots of flowers but no fruit.

Time for some sleep. Really tired and daughter will be here tonight. So I need to get up early and clean house a bit. Living room smells like bunny poop and kitchen smells like old dishwater. Have to correct that. But not this minute.Well, since things seem to be growing now, decided to give it one last go.

This morning, I planted more of things previously planted with varying success. Corn (80 day variety), green beans, carrots, broccoli and spinach. May try more lettuce later because it's a very short crop. Still too hot for it right now.

Tomato plants are looking amazingly good, compared to how they did look. Cucumber vines are climbing like crazy. Still no cucumbers yet. Pumpkins are flowering daily but no female flowers yet. Should be soon. Melon vines also have lots of flowers but no fruit.

Time for some sleep. Really tired and daughter will be here tonight. So I need to get up early and clean house a bit. Living room smells like bunny poop and kitchen smells like old dishwater. Have to correct that. But not this minute.

Been less than 48 hours since I added sulphur to the garden. Will not go as far as saying it was the last thing needed. (Though I've added just about anything else you can name. Except zinc.) I will say this was a major missing piece of the puzzle.

I have not yet experienced the whole thing of plants "leaping out of the soil" some people describe. Been mostly more of a creeping sluggishly from the ground. Talking with other people here, I largely accepted it as a fact of gardening in NM. Still knew that this soil could do better and without using hormones or some garbage like that.

Maybe not leaping from the soil but two days have brought some amazing changes. Accelerated growth. Most everything has grown larger by several inches. Less yellow, more green to all existing plants. More flowers on every flowering plant, by the dozens in many cases. New tomatoes forming and cucumber vines climbing while melon vines are creeping.

Even if a small one, a corn crop by the holidays is looking like an actual possibility now. Not nearly as many pumpkin plants as there were a couple weeks ago but there will be pumpkins by Halloween. It really is too late to plant more pumpkins, I guess. But in a few more weeks I can plant more lettuce and spinach. Plant the rest of the seed green beans this weekend, after I can better identify the more bare areas.

I'm really excited to see things changing for the better!

Of course, there are no magic bullets. However, I can already say I finally found a key missing ingredient for my own garden!

After just one night, this morning a lot of things look decidedly different. Several plants (most notably tomato and pumpkin) are several inches larger than they were just yesterday afternoon. Some plants had yellowing spots nearest the stems and some had spots on the leaves. Those are gone or resolving, except the worst ones. I see new sprouts coming up but admit that could be attributed to many factors. However, sulphur has an important role in seed germination. Some tomato leaves were slightly curled and look much less so. Of course, full heat of the day hasn't arrived yet.

As controls, I placed some sulphur in with some potted plants which looked a little weak. Too soon to tell with them yet.

I know the full effect of the sulphur is not being seen yet. The gradual release pellets are not even fully dissolved. They're meant to release small amounts each time you water. And the whole microbe digestion thing.

While many fertilizers have some amount of sulphur in them, it is not enough to correct a deficiency in sulphur weak soil. Has to be added separately.

So plans for this winter will be to add lots of things deep into the soil. More organic material (do that leaf collection thing again plus all the wood chips I can manage), lots of calcium, magnesium, nitrogen (ammonia) and sulphur. Have my hopes up again for some results this year but now considerably higher for next year!

Daughter and I released the living ladybugs this evening. She had fun as they ran on her arms and tickled her. There were only about 500 or 600 still living from what I could tell. Still waiting for the second shipment to arrive.

Yesterday we went to Itz Pizza. That was after the ex had taken her to Golfernoggins in the morning. So she had a good final weekend of her summer vacation. Starts school on Tue.

The last strawberry plant is dead. Nursed it for months and it was finally reaching a decent size. I had it in a pot on top of the doghouse until a couple of days ago. Then I placed the pot on the ground near the potted tomatoes so it would get more sun. Today, the dog tore the plant apart. Dug it out of the pot.

I've tolerated her crapping all over the yard, digging holes 2-3 feet deep, running over the tops of small plants. Several good size pumpkin plants have been trampled to death by her, even when bracketed by PVC stakes. Now she's tied up again and will remain so until fall. Possibly winter. As it is, I'm rethinking my attitude on dog runs.

Back to the ladybugs. Been doing the math on beneficial insects. I've read that one ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day. If we managed to release 1000 total, they may eat up to 50,000 aphids a day. Being optimistic that the second shipment arrives alive (translation- UPS doesn manage to kill them all), the grand total will be 10,000 released. They could eat as many as 1/2 million aphids a day!

Toss in mantises and lacewings and most of the damaging insects should be gone in a couple of weeks. Except maybe slugs and snails. May need some nematodes to control those. Nematodes are small, aggressive, carnivorous snails which attack larger snails and slugs that eat plants (like pumpkins). Though I may look up what list of pests mantises and lacewings will control.

Garden is still suffering from the weather. Not so much heat but dryness. It actually gets much hotter in Texas and things still grow much better there than here. However, central and south Texas isn't this dry. Between weather, bugs and the dog, the garden has been a near complete failure so far this year. Of course, the year and even the growing season isn't over yet.

Treated with more calcium and fertilizer this evening. Though I won't mix them together again. The mixture foamed up because of the contrast of acidity. Calcium is quite alkaline. The good part of this is that the acidity of the fertilizer probably made the calcium more available for immediate plant uptake. Hopefully. May know tomorrow.Daughter and I released the living ladybugs this evening. She had fun as they ran on her arms and tickled her. There were only about 500 or 600 still living from what I could tell. Still waiting for the second shipment to arrive.

Yesterday we went to Itz Pizza. That was after the ex had taken her to Golfernoggins in the morning. So she had a good final weekend of her summer vacation. Starts school on Tue.

The last strawberry plant is dead. Nursed it for months and it was finally reaching a decent size. I had it in a pot on top of the doghouse until a couple of days ago. Then I placed the pot on the ground near the potted tomatoes so it would get more sun. Today, the dog tore the plant apart. Dug it out of the pot.

I've tolerated her crapping all over the yard, digging holes 2-3 feet deep, running over the tops of small plants. Several good size pumpkin plants have been trampled to death by her, even when bracketed by PVC stakes. Now she's tied up again and will remain so until fall. Possibly winter. As it is, I'm rethinking my attitude on dog runs.

Back to the ladybugs. Been doing the math on beneficial insects. I've read that one ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day. If we managed to release 1000 total, they may eat up to 50,000 aphids a day. Being optimistic that the second shipment arrives alive (translation- UPS doesn manage to kill them all), the grand total will be 10,000 released. They could eat as many as 1/2 million aphids a day!

Toss in mantises and lacewings and most of the damaging insects should be gone in a couple of weeks. Except maybe slugs and snails. May need some nematodes to control those. Nematodes are small, aggressive, carnivorous snails which attack larger snails and slugs that eat plants (like pumpkins). Though I may look up what list of pests mantises and lacewings will control.

Garden is still suffering from the weather. Not so much heat but dryness. It actually gets much hotter in Texas and things still grow much better there than here. However, central and south Texas isn't this dry. Between weather, bugs and the dog, the garden has been a near complete failure so far this year. Of course, the year and even the growing season isn't over yet.

Treated with more calcium and fertilizer this evening. Though I won't mix them together again. The mixture foamed up because of the contrast of acidity. Calcium is quite alkaline. The good part of this is that the acidity of the fertilizer probably made the calcium more available for immediate plant uptake. Hopefully. May know tomorrow.

More calcium.

Did some more research on more scholarly sites about calcium and magnesium in the soil. Going to hold back on the magnesium for now but not the calcium.

I was worried I was using too much calcium or it would become too much in the near future. Turns out that it can take tons of calcium to bind up the sodium in really sodic (sodium saturated) soil. So I guess I'm okay and will keep using it.

Couple of things, though. The form of calcium I'm using is slow acting (but most affordable and will remain in the soil longer, for a more sustained level). At least some of the calcium I apply now won't be of benefit until at least next year. It has to be digested by microbes before it is available for plant digestion. You can get forms of calcium which are more immediately available but it costs much more. (When a university says the cost may be prohibitive, believe it!)

I also need to add sulfur. Sulfur helps dissolve the calcium in the soil. Note that calcium has to be present for this to work, while NM soil is noted extremely low in calcium.

Then I need to till deeply, below the root zone. Water and calcium leech sodium down as far as the hard clay level. Have to add organic material as I till. And water to saturation during winter months to wash the sodium downward.

Meanwhile, maybe it would be good to look for sodium tolerant varieties of seeds. Seeds saved from crops which have survived well here is a good tactic. Should be more tolerant over generations.More calcium.

Did some more research on more scholarly sites about calcium and magnesium in the soil. Going to hold back on the magnesium for now but not the calcium.

I was worried I was using too much calcium or it would become too much in the near future. Turns out that it can take tons of calcium to bind up the sodium in really sodic (sodium saturated) soil. So I guess I'm okay and will keep using it.

Couple of things, though. The form of calcium I'm using is slow acting (but most affordable and will remain in the soil longer, for a more sustained level). At least some of the calcium I apply now won't be of benefit until at least next year. It has to be digested by microbes before it is available for plant digestion. You can get forms of calcium which are more immediately available but it costs much more. (When a university says the cost may be prohibitive, believe it!)

I also need to add sulfur. Sulfur helps dissolve the calcium in the soil. Note that calcium has to be present for this to work, while NM soil is noted extremely low in calcium.

Then I need to till deeply, below the root zone. Water and calcium leech sodium down as far as the hard clay level. Have to add organic material as I till. And water to saturation during winter months to wash the sodium downward.

Meanwhile, maybe it would be good to look for sodium tolerant varieties of seeds. Seeds saved from crops which have survived well here is a good tactic. Should be more tolerant over generations.

Transplanted a couple of medium potted tomato plants to larger pots last night. This morning they seem to have transfer shock. Not sure they'll survive. Bummer but the reason I moved them was that they looked sickly and I thought maybe the pots were too small for them.

If they don't make it, I'm down to 20 tomato plants. Happily, most of those are now flowering. Saw quite a few flowers the other day. Not seeing any new fruit yet but haven't examined closely.

Did one more treatment to counteract the sodium last night. Now I think I'll hold off on any more for a little while. When I go to till before winter, I'll treat and fertilize heavily. Appears to have done some good but with the late heat wave it's hard to assess.

Pumpkins are beginning to flower again. Heat really affects them badly. No female flowers yet.

Ladybugs came in yesterday. However, of the 9000 ordered, at least 8000 were dead. Requested replacement from Amazon. I think it was a UPS thing. I saw the driver pull up and met him at the truck. Still, when I took the box from him, it felt hot. I even remarked on it. Opened the box a few minutes later to find most of them dead. UPS sucks. Ladies were packaged well and while the box was not labeled for special care, it was obvious there was something living in there from the four large air holes cut in the box.

Still waiting on the Dill's Giant pumpkin seeds. May be too late but I'll go ahead and plant a couple just for kicks. Couldn't hurt anything, right?

Weather forecast again calls for temps going into the 80's next week. Not holding my breath. Humidity is again hovering around 6%. We're like 5" below the normal 6" normal for the year on rainfall. Even desert lovers are complaining now. I have not had to mow the grass a single time this year.

Not sure I'm going to do a fall/winter planting at all this year. Guess it depends on if I get a tiller at a date which makes it reasonable and how happy I am with the soil. In any case, going to till the entire yard, front and back. Take it as deep as the tiller will go and mix the mulch into the soil. Seem to be having good results where I did that manually. Plant new grass in early spring. And get the soil professionally tested.Transplanted a couple of medium potted tomato plants to larger pots last night. This morning they seem to have transfer shock. Not sure they'll survive. Bummer but the reason I moved them was that they looked sickly and I thought maybe the pots were too small for them.

If they don't make it, I'm down to 20 tomato plants. Happily, most of those are now flowering. Saw quite a few flowers the other day. Not seeing any new fruit yet but haven't examined closely.

Did one more treatment to counteract the sodium last night. Now I think I'll hold off on any more for a little while. When I go to till before winter, I'll treat and fertilize heavily. Appears to have done some good but with the late heat wave it's hard to assess.

Pumpkins are beginning to flower again. Heat really affects them badly. No female flowers yet.

Ladybugs came in yesterday. However, of the 9000 ordered, at least 8000 were dead. Requested replacement from Amazon. I think it was a UPS thing. I saw the driver pull up and met him at the truck. Still, when I took the box from him, it felt hot. I even remarked on it. Opened the box a few minutes later to find most of them dead. UPS sucks. Ladies were packaged well and while the box was not labeled for special care, it was obvious there was something living in there from the four large air holes cut in the box.

Still waiting on the Dill's Giant pumpkin seeds. May be too late but I'll go ahead and plant a couple just for kicks. Couldn't hurt anything, right?

Weather forecast again calls for temps going into the 80's next week. Not holding my breath. Humidity is again hovering around 6%. We're like 5" below the normal 6" normal for the year on rainfall. Even desert lovers are complaining now. I have not had to mow the grass a single time this year.

Not sure I'm going to do a fall/winter planting at all this year. Guess it depends on if I get a tiller at a date which makes it reasonable and how happy I am with the soil. In any case, going to till the entire yard, front and back. Take it as deep as the tiller will go and mix the mulch into the soil. Seem to be having good results where I did that manually. Plant new grass in early spring. And get the soil professionally tested.

The weather has been erratic, mostly hot. However, if weather forecast is correct, will be even more erratic in the next few weeks. One day the high is forecast at 98 degrees, the following day high is 86. At least some respite from the heat is possible.

Found out what happened to one pumpkin plant which suddenly had looked weak. Wasn't insects or soil condition. The dog trampled it. Same with a number of other smaller plants.

While headed to a movie with my daughter on Sat, made a detour and picked up more seed green beans. Planted those last night. Including some rows where I had taken down the trellises. But trellises are in one piece, rolled up. Take only a couple of minutes each to put them back up.

Some things are looking better and better. Others have lots of leaves but no fruit. Others remain static. But overall the whole garden looks better than it has all summer.

Saw that the ladybugs are on the truck for delivery a day early. With the attitude of the driver on Fri, if he knows he's delivering a day early today, he should be real cheerful today (sic). I don't care, long as he doesn't leave them out in the sun. Sucks they're coming the day after daughter went back to the ex's. Hope I can keep them cool enough until Sat.

So, just when it had begun getting cooler, we got hit with a record setting heat wave for this time of year. May see triple digits again.

Oh, well. Depending on how fast it cools down again, may not be all that bad. Hot weather crops may live longer. So I may yet have some melons, cucumbers and more tomatoes, after all.

Too hot for lettuce. Only have 3 or 4 carrots and that may be all I get this year. Kind of a bummer. Daughter loves carrots from the garden. But carrots are cheap and I would rather have a large tomato and green bean crop with a couple of melons tossed in.

Treated the garden with a strong mixture of Epsom salt and Calcium yesterday morning because it was cloudy. Then treated with insecticidal soap last evening. Combination seems to be doing a lot of good. A couple of pumpkin plants were looking good, then yellowed and wilted. No sign of vine boring insects, so it must have been aphids or whiteflies. This morning, they seem to be recovering.

More green bean vines coming up slowly. Not climbing yet but should be soon. The seed green beans somehow did not make it home from the store with me the other day. So I still have to buy more. Grr!

Got the portable swamp cooler yesterday. Only enough for one room but it feels great and only uses as much power as a box fan! So far, I just used tap water in it but can put ice in the reservoir and in a special tray on the top.

Woke up really early. Could have slept for two more hours. Laid there and couldn't get back to sleep. Glad I have an energy shot in my bag for 3 or 4 AM at work!

Got more rain last night. Yay! Though it's hard to see positive effects in the heat of the day. Everything looks like it's dying in the heat.

Still, have a couple of tomatoes turning red now. After the wave of flowers last few days, should see a lot of fruit forming soon. Had one red one this weekend. Daughter and I split it and it tasted great! (Had a tomato plant couple years ago which grew huge but the tomatoes were too bitter to eat.)

in addition to the Phos, I dug in rabbit droppings around the tomato plants a few days ago. Not too close and not too deeply.

Next wave of Epsom salt and Calcium I'll apply tomorrow evening, when I'm off. Too hot right now. The effects so far are surprising, in a very good way. Probably add in one more dose of insecticidal soap. Rain accelerates aphids and whiteflies. I'm sure there will be plenty for the ladybugs when they arrive.

Not very much to do before work, finances and bus schedules being what they are.

Looking forward to several packages arriving. Mostly the portable swamp cooler. A dog whistle. However, the neighborhood dogs have been quieter since the departure of two certain dogs. Some neighbors moved and took their ghetto dogs with them. Still, some conditioning for the rest won't hurt. Giant pumpkin seeds. And, of course, the ladybugs!

Have to make dinner for work.Woke up really early. Could have slept for two more hours. Laid there and couldn't get back to sleep. Glad I have an energy shot in my bag for 3 or 4 AM at work!

Got more rain last night. Yay! Though it's hard to see positive effects in the heat of the day. Everything looks like it's dying in the heat.

Still, have a couple of tomatoes turning red now. After the wave of flowers last few days, should see a lot of fruit forming soon. Had one red one this weekend. Daughter and I split it and it tasted great! (Had a tomato plant couple years ago which grew huge but the tomatoes were too bitter to eat.)

in addition to the Phos, I dug in rabbit droppings around the tomato plants a few days ago. Not too close and not too deeply.

Next wave of Epsom salt and Calcium I'll apply tomorrow evening, when I'm off. Too hot right now. The effects so far are surprising, in a very good way. Probably add in one more dose of insecticidal soap. Rain accelerates aphids and whiteflies. I'm sure there will be plenty for the ladybugs when they arrive.

Not very much to do before work, finances and bus schedules being what they are.

Looking forward to several packages arriving. Mostly the portable swamp cooler. A dog whistle. However, the neighborhood dogs have been quieter since the departure of two certain dogs. Some neighbors moved and took their ghetto dogs with them. Still, some conditioning for the rest won't hurt. Giant pumpkin seeds. And, of course, the ladybugs!

Have to make dinner for work.

The more research I've done on the issue, the more definite it seems sodium is a major, major problem with my soil. Plus, some things I have done have made it worse.

Salinity is listed as one of the biggest crop killers worldwide. So I'm not exactly alone.

Some things which have made it worse are:
Using wood ashes. High in salt content.
Insecticidal soap. High in salt.
Using municipal water. Has chlorine (sodium chloride), which adds more sodium to the soil.
Poor construction of mounds.
Using cooked vegetables in the compost. Typically has salt added in.

Combined with heavy clay soil and low calcium content, the soil retains salt at the surface and root zone.

I do have a plan of action. Some elements are actions already planned but this makes them more important to utilize.

For one, I definitely need a good well pump. Aquifer water will be lower in sodium than municipal water.

Need to get a tiller. Till deeply and mix in lots of organic material. This will break up the clay and make the soil drain better. Need to till and form rows well before next spring, then hypersaturate the soil several times before planting season next year.

Of course, avoid using cooked, canned or frozen vegetables in the compost.

Once the ladybugs arrive, stop using soap for insect control. Order mantises and lacewings.

Nothing will remove the sodium from the soil. Some amendments will help by binding the salts and making them inert. Magnesium is one I've read about. Somewhat questionable chemically but does appear to be helping. Sulfur. More Phos. Most importantly Calcium. Need to load the soil down heavily with that.

Problem with Calcium is that it reduces acidity. (Think Tums.) So have to compensate for that.

It will still take some work to reach the right balance. But I know I'm on the right track. This soil and these conditions are complex, so it is a process of identifying and correcting successive issues. On a highly restrained budget until now and still trying to keep costs down after this. Wouldn't make sense to spend more on the garden than groceries would cost.

One good thing to report. As I treat the garden, I have been treating different sections of grass. That gives me a faster assessment of effectiveness. Since using the Epsom salt and Calcium, treated areas of grass have turned several shades greener. Plus some corn stalks have accelerated rapidly.

Okay. Have stuff to do.The more research I've done on the issue, the more definite it seems sodium is a major, major problem with my soil. Plus, some things I have done have made it worse.

Salinity is listed as one of the biggest crop killers worldwide. So I'm not exactly alone.

Some things which have made it worse are:
Using wood ashes. High in salt content.
Insecticidal soap. High in salt.
Using municipal water. Has chlorine (sodium chloride), which adds more sodium to the soil.
Poor construction of mounds.
Using cooked vegetables in the compost. Typically has salt added in.

Combined with heavy clay soil and low calcium content, the soil retains salt at the surface and root zone.

I do have a plan of action. Some elements are actions already planned but this makes them more important to utilize.

For one, I definitely need a good well pump. Aquifer water will be lower in sodium than municipal water.

Need to get a tiller. Till deeply and mix in lots of organic material. This will break up the clay and make the soil drain better. Need to till and form rows well before next spring, then hypersaturate the soil several times before planting season next year.

Of course, avoid using cooked, canned or frozen vegetables in the compost.

Once the ladybugs arrive, stop using soap for insect control. Order mantises and lacewings.

Nothing will remove the sodium from the soil. Some amendments will help by binding the salts and making them inert. Magnesium is one I've read about. Somewhat questionable chemically but does appear to be helping. Sulfur. More Phos. Most importantly Calcium. Need to load the soil down heavily with that.

Problem with Calcium is that it reduces acidity. (Think Tums.) So have to compensate for that.

It will still take some work to reach the right balance. But I know I'm on the right track. This soil and these conditions are complex, so it is a process of identifying and correcting successive issues. On a highly restrained budget until now and still trying to keep costs down after this. Wouldn't make sense to spend more on the garden than groceries would cost.

One good thing to report. As I treat the garden, I have been treating different sections of grass. That gives me a faster assessment of effectiveness. Since using the Epsom salt and Calcium, treated areas of grass have turned several shades greener. Plus some corn stalks have accelerated rapidly.

Okay. Have stuff to do.

Weather seemed like it was cooling down. Now the forecast is back to high 90's some days. At least it's low 90's and below 70 at night.

I was wrong. Didn't order the Phos from Amazon. Had looked at it but chose something cheaper. Dill's Giant pumpkin seeds. Go ahead and plant a couple of them but save the rest for next year. If I get one pumpkin this year large enough to form seeds, it will provide lots of seeds for next year. Though I'll probably go for four giants next year. One at each corner of the garden.

Got the Phos while shopping today. Just a 3 lb bag. Sometime after getting a vehicle, need to go to a chemical company and get a really large bag.

Got more seed green beans.

Gotta go. Bus is here.Weather seemed like it was cooling down. Now the forecast is back to high 90's some days. At least it's low 90's and below 70 at night.

I was wrong. Didn't order the Phos from Amazon. Had looked at it but chose something cheaper. Dill's Giant pumpkin seeds. Go ahead and plant a couple of them but save the rest for next year. If I get one pumpkin this year large enough to form seeds, it will provide lots of seeds for next year. Though I'll probably go for four giants next year. One at each corner of the garden.

Got the Phos while shopping today. Just a 3 lb bag. Sometime after getting a vehicle, need to go to a chemical company and get a really large bag.

Got more seed green beans.

Gotta go. Bus is here.

Friday night I ordered ladybugs from growquest.com. They advertise a good price. However, on Sat, I get an email saying the guy can't ship the order. He said it's hot there and he's taking a break from small orders. (What, so he can fill large orders?) I wrote back to ask what size order he can fill and got no reply to that question. I also suggested he change the website to reflect current ordering status. He replied and said he didn't need to change anything, though he won't be shipping any small orders until September.

In short, if ordering from growquest.com, be sure to email first and ask if they are actually shipping the size of your order and when.

Any way, I went ahead aand checked on Amazon for live ladybugs. Wound up finding a better deal. With free shipping, I'm getting 9000 ladybugs for about the same price as I was going to get 4500. So it all worked out for the best. And with local prices, to get that many ladybugs, it would cost nearly $100.

Still having problems with too much sodium in the soil. Tonight, I dissolved some calcium tablets in water and bought some more Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). Put those and some ammonia in the garden sprayer and treated heavily. Treated more heavily with ammonia for the pumpkin and corn plants than the tomatoes.

The PVC wasn't working very well, so I got a bunch of tomato cages today.

A lot of corn has died off. Decided to try a short, cold tolerant variety, since weather should be cooling down by the time it would be harvested. It's supposed to be an early variety which died off earlier this year because of heat. Figured it's worth a try. Not enough time for a longer cycle variety.

Most of the sunflowers are dying off now. Cutting the flowers off and letting them dry to save seeds for next year. If nothing else, should have loads of huge sunflowers next year!

I'm suspecting the sodium problem may be why most of the other flowers haven't grown. Sunflowers have a really high sodium tolerance. Can't see any other reason they shouldn't have grown. Since I've heard various forms of livestock and poultry were raised here, it may take so much calcium and magnesium that it would be considered toxic under other conditions. Animal feed frequently has high levels of sodium, while pigs and chickens are fed kitchen scraps with salt in it. That just gets passed along in the manure into the soil. Not going to apply it all at once but keep applying occasionally until I get the desired result.

Ordered some Phos for the soil to push the Amazon order over the limit for free shipping. Soil is lacking Phos. So I should be getting several shipments this week. All needed items which I'm happy to be able to afford.

Getting to bed.