We Found Another Beneficial Insect That is Working with Us- Euplectrus

On Friday one of my new interns, Deanna, found these pupae on the leaf of the nanking cherry tree while we were picking. I placed it in a container and waited to see if something would emerge. Sure enough on Monday tiny black bee like critters crawled out. I took photos and sent to them to my new friend, entomologist at UGA, Dr. John Ruberson. This is the response I got from him today.

"Interesting pictures. Thanks for passing them along! I don't know exactly what they are, but they are parasitic wasps in the Superfamily Chalcidoidea, most likely a species in the family Eulophidae, and possibly in the genus Euplectrus. If so, then they have killed a caterpillar of some sort and left the host before it died and fell from the plant. Euplectrus wasps lay eggs on the outside of their hosts, and develop externally as larvae until they pupate off of the host."

I did some research and found this further information on http://bugguide.net

Euplectrus has interesting pupation habits. When the larvae finish feeding on the host and have completely sucked out the fluid contents, they leave the dorsal position and seek the underside of the deflated host, where they arrange themselves transversely, in a single orderly row in some cases, and prepare to pupate. A light weblike cocoon is formed which binds the host remains to the leaf, the latter thus serving as a protective covering. Several authors have called attention to the fact that the material from which the cocoon is spun is derived from the Malpighian tubules rather than from the salivary glands and that the slender tapering tip of the abdomen of the larva serves as an "arm" in the construction. The meconium is cast by the prepupa, and sometimes it is ejected from the cocoon. The pupa lies upon its dorsum and is attached to the substrate by means of the last larval exuvium, which envelops the tip of the abdomen.

The yellow stuff is the meconium, or waste, cast off by the larvae before they pupate. The black structures are the pupae.

I am always excited to find new warriors in the battle to grow food.

Tomato Bondage - It's How We Roll!

The tomatoes have been in the ground for a little over 2 weeks now. The yellow cherry variety is starting to set fruit. All of them are starting to put out side shoots in the axils (where the leaf meets the stem) of the leaves.

Now it is time to start their weekly training ritual. Remember we will train 2 stems up the tall stakes to provide us with fruit while keeping the plant open for good air circulation to minimize conditions that are conducive to disease infestations.

About now there is usually one side shoot that stands out and shouts "Pick me" as the one to train as the second stem. That one we keep and pinch out all the other side shoots.

Every week we will pinch out all of the side shoots and tie the 2 vines to the stakes as they climb up the poles.

Mmmm, fresh tomatoes soon :)

Vegetable Planting in 3-D - Creating a Zombie Proof Garden

We want to maximize the use of all our space here at the Funny Farm. We live in a 3 dimensional space that has height, width and depth. Ma Nature takes advantage of that with plants that crawl on the ground, some that grow 1' tall, some that grow 4' tall, some that grow every size in between, some that are thick and dense, some that are light and airy, some that grab hold of other plants and climb up them as far as they can go.

We take our cue from her and emulate that in our beds. We plant our tomatoes 6' apart in a staggered pattern and tie them to a single stake. We train 2 vines up the stake as far as i can reach. When they reach the top of the stake i cut them off and they proceed to drape down another 3 or 4' by the end of the season. There are 3 reasons why i use this method. The first is that it allows for plenty of air circulation around the plants that should decrease the incidence of disease. The second is that the plants are ripening fewer fruits so the fruits will be bigger. The 3rd is that i can plant the spaces between them with other plants of various sizes and growth habits to take advantage of the volume of space. Time plays a factor in this scheme too. I wait at least 2 weeks after planting the tomatoes to plant more stuff so the tomatoes have time to become established so they do not get overwhelmed by other faster growing plants.

The next thing i plant are zucchini transplants. I plant a few in each bed scattering them around the garden. Today i filled the remaining spaces with basil, dill, marigolds, holy basil, zinnias. All of them serve a purpose for us.
Basil goes in our marinara we can and pesto.... and salads and soups and sandwiches ... and...
Dill is an essential ingredient in our pickle-making. We use it fresh and save the seeds for later use allowing some to fall to the ground to produce another crop in the fall.
Marigolds have been attributed with all kinds of super-powers most of which are unfounded. Whenever we have grown them we have never had a problem with zombies so maybe that one is true ;) We grow them because we think they are pretty and Robin likes the smell. We grow the tall ones not the dinky little ones you find at garden centers and hardware stores.
Holy Basil is a revered plant by Hindus. Many Hindus grow it by the front door and eat 17 leaves each day. It has many purported medicinal properties, some of which have been confirmed by scientific research. Of particular importance now is its ability to protect us from radiation poisoning. I grew it last year and made of habit of munching on the the leaves each morning as i took my daily observational walk through the garden. It has an interesting flavor that i found appealing over time.
Zinnias grow 4' - 6' tall in our garden so the fill the middle space between the lower things and the tomato vines. We love them. They bring butterflies. They are bright and cheerful. Robin makes bouquets out of them that we sell at the market. Our garden would not be complete with out zinnias. We like the Benary hybrids best.
Other Potential Benefits of This Planting Method
Plants send out electro-chemical signals to attract pollinators to them. Plant-eating insects can follow those signals too. By planting a lot of different plants the signals co-mingle which we hope confuses the plant eators and excites the pollinators, many of whom are are predators of the plant-eating insect pests. It is kind of like creating a village with lots of restaurants to choose from and plenty for the kids to do. Hopefully the adults will like it enough that they will choose to make it their home for the summer.

Does it work? I cannot say for sure. I am not doing scientifically rigorous experiments with control plots. Example... last year we planted zucchini throughout the garden rather than is a row as we had in the past. We had very little problems with squash vine borers compared with the previous year. However we started a new fertility program that strengthened the plants and we grew different varieties than the year before. Either or both of those could have been the reason why we did not have a borer problem or all 3 factors working in syncronicity.

I do know that we attract lots of different pollinators and other beneficial insects. Each year i find more different beneficial insects in the garden than the previous year. I can also conclude that we get more productivity per square foot than we did when we planted in rows.

There are lots of list on the internet about companion planting. Very few have any scientific basis to back them up. I have seen several recommendations that i know from my own experience to be wrong. The key is to open your hearts and minds to the natural world so you can truly see what is before your eyes and learn the lessons that you can apply to your gardens. Every garden is unique. Every season is different. Think critically and creatively. Try new things. Break the rules.

And watch out for Zombies :)

Potato Planting - These ain't Free-range Taters

Last year we planted potatoes in cages made from chicken wire. We planted about 25 of them and as the plants grew we covered them with straw and leaves. The idea was that we would get lots of potatoes doing it that way. Well we got about 20 pounds which in my book was not a lot. I could say I was hoping for many more but I don't waste my time time hoping for stuff to happen. I do something and when the time comes I reap what is there. It did not work as expected because the place where we planted stayed too wet and disease and insects got the better of the plants.

This year I am trying the technique again because I think the method has merit. We prepared a different space by covering it with straw and chicken crap from the hen house and letting the soil food wed do its thing for a couple of months. I planted the potatoes in mid-March. Now they are up over the tops of the cages looking lush, strong, disease and insect free. They are developing flower buds now. We can hardly keep up with putting straw around them!

The cages are arranged in a triangular pattern so last Robin came up with the brilliant idea of planting potatoes outside the cages between in the spaces between. This gives us 50% more plants in the space. To say she thinks outside the box would be wrong. She doesn't even know the box exists :) Sometimes that is a very good thing!









So, in a couple of months we will pull of the cages and see how many potatoes we got.

I will let y'all know.

Intern Wanted @ The Funny Farm

Now that I have reached the age of the average American farmer i understand why there is such a strong effort to encourage more young people to become farmers. Damn! It gets harder to keep up with each passing season.
So, I am seeking someone to help me a couple of days a week. Here are the details:

Compensation: $0.00. I can't afford to pay you however i will prepare you a delicious, nutritious lunch of fresh locally grown food. I will give you fresh produce to take home. I will teach you how to pull weeds properly, how to tell the good bugs from the bad, how to tie up and prune tomatoes, how to start plants from seed, how to apply permaculture principles, how to grow worms, how to attract beneficial insects to the garden and a host of other stuff. Whatever the daily task is we will do it side by side.
Qualifications: Show up on time. Be ready to learn. Be calm and patient. Think creatively. If you are a chatty Cathy or a blathering Billy non-stop talker bouncing off the walls. woohooo, yadayadayada, type person please do not apply.
Hours: 9:00 - 1 or 2:00 2 days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.

If you are interested please email me at leekfixer@comcast.net telling me why you want to work at the Funny Farm and then convince me you are the right person for the job.

Keep on Growing!

Time Plantings to Avoid Insect Pests

I attended the insect biocontrol session at the Georgia Organics Conference a few weeks ago. Dr. John Ruberson was one of the presenters. He brought up the topic of timing of plantings to avoid insects but had little to say about it. At the farm tour that afternoon i asked if he had published any research on the subject. His answer was that he is very interested in doing that research but has not been able to get any funding for it. We agreed that it would be a very worthwhile subject to investigate. One of my former students who attended the same session asked me if i had anything to contribute to the topic. Why yes i do. This is for Linda.

What i am about to present is based on my own observations of my garden over the years. My advice to you is to make your own observations in your gardens, keep records of when you first see pests on your plants and how long into the season you see them. From those observations you can develop a plan specific to your garden that can help you avoid some pest damage.

Zucchini and squash
Squash vine borers are a common problem here in the south. Just when the plants get big and start to flower in mid-June the borers attack. Just when you think you will be able harvest some fruit the following week the whole plant collapses. That is the result of the vine borer larvae eating the stems of the plants from the inside out.
Notice i said mid-June. That is when i usually start to see the damn things. What i do is start my seeds in pots indoors in mid-March for planting out after all danger of frost has passed, around April 15th here. That way i get 6 weeks head start in comparison to planting seeds in the ground after the soil has warmed up at the end of April. By the time the borers arrive i am already harvesting zucchini. I have been planting 2 heirloom zucchini varieties, Costata Romanesco and dark grey, that show some resistance to borer damage. Starting in early June i check the base of the plants every morning to look for signs of borers. You will see a tiny hole with "sawdust" around it at the base of the stem. At that point you can take a knife, slit the stem and kill the larvae. The borer seems to prefer yellow squash over zucchini so i do not plant it any more. It might work as a trap crop.

Eggplant
Eggplant likes really warm soil. Plant it early and it just sits there not growing until the soil gets really warm. Last year i planted mine about the end of April and between the flea beetles and the colorado potato beetle larvae they got eaten up and many of them died. The year before i planted in late May and had good success.
Last year is saw potato beetles in the middle of April, the earliest i have ever seen them. Flea beetles emerge from the soil at this time of year. I saw some yesterday. They complete their first generation around the end of May so i time my eggplant planting to try to get in between the generations. The soil has warmed up by then so the plants will grow faster able to resist an early onslaught of flea beetles. Again, i plant a large plant so it has a better chance of survival. Once the plants get a foot or so tall and are growing vigorously the flea beetles don't cause much damage. My friend and master gardener, Jennifer, has observed that flea beetles can only jump 2' high. ( they get their name because they jump like fleas). She plants her eggplant in pots that sit on stumps to keep them well out of reach of the jumping beetles.
A strong healthy plant is less susceptible to the potato beetle larvae but they can do a lot of damage quickly. It is important to be vigilant and pick those suckers off and kill them before their numbers multiply.

Cucumbers
Have you experienced the tiny holes in the sides of cucumbers (squash and melons too) in the middle to late summer? That is the result of the larvae of the pickleworm moth boring into the fruit to feed. Dr. Ruberson said that they overwinter in Florida and migrate up here each year. This year i am starting my cucumbers indoors now to get a head start so i can harvest before the pickleworms arrive. I read a report recently about North Carolina farmers have good success with a late cucumber crop. This year i plant to start a new crop in August to see if i can grow a fall crop here. It would be nice to have cucumbers in October and to extend the pickling season too!

Learning the rhythms and patterns in the garden through patient observation will make you a better gardener and a better person.

The Funny Farm: Mindful Weeding- Learning From My Mistakes

The Funny Farm: Mindful Weeding- Learning From My Mistakes: "I knew i shouldn't do it but i did it anyway. Back in February we had several weeks of unseasonably warm weather and i wanted to get some..."