The Return of the Turd Bug

Bug on tomato leaf
Turd Bug

Last summer I had a bug show up on my tomato plants that looked like a little bird turd. I have never before seen one like this. I’m always on the lookout for the worms that grow gigantic and can strip a tomato plant down to stems only, but when I first saw this little bug I dismissed it as bird poop.

Then I saw more of them so I looked closer. They are hard-shelled and I only found them on the tomatoes. So far this year I have found one on the potato plant. None of my tomatoes are in the ground yet. They do eat the leaves, but can be picked off easy enough. They fly if you mess with them, like little lady bugs.

On my New England blog I had mentioned this turd bug and a reader left a message telling me what it is. Look up the clavate tortoise beetle and you’ll see it is one and the same.  That page says, “this species appears to prefer plants of the family Solanaceae” which means…what?  Okay… I looked it up.  Wikipedia says it’s the nightshade family which does include potato, tomato and eggplant.

My tomato plants go into the ground this weekend and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the turd bug.

Must be the larva I got a photo of.
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The First of June, Weekend Gardening in The Heat

flowers zucchini
Flowering Zucchini

This is a picture of one of my zucchini plants from last years growing season.

This weekend I plan to get my zucchini planted along with the tomatoes and basil. The little pots are now a tight fit for my growing tomato seedlings and they are ready to spread out.  If I can get my big, fabric bag filled with good dirt, I will have extra space to plant the cukes and herbs too. Lack of sunny areas is my biggest problem.

First I need to order more dirt, which I will do today. This weekend will be hot, so I’ll have to get out early and then again later in the day. I think the black flies are dwindling – hooray! So I won’t have them to run me off.

I’m used to working outdoors in the heat. In Florida I had to parse my gardening time into 10 minute increments. I’d dig and weed until I had to go jump in the pool, then go back and do some more. I can certainly work in the New England heat.  But the trick to gardening in hot weather is to take it slow and cool off every now and then.  And drink lots of water – until 4pm – then switch to beer!
So my weekend gardening plans are to move dirt, plant and water. Then sit back and watch it grow!  I can almost taste those tomatoes.

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Planting Day is Coming Soon

greenhouse and seedlings
Almost planting time
I realize that many people have already planted their vegetable gardens, but here in the northeastern U.S. we just had snow this past Saturday! Not in southern NH where I live, but in the north. It was very cold and windy.

I have learned the hard way to be patient and wait for warmth (June) to plant my store bought tomato, basil, and zucchini plants. If seedlings are planted before the ground is warm enough, they won’t grow well. This is especially true for certain veggies, like green peppers. The reason we are told to make hills for planting squash and such, is so the little mound of dirt will warm up.

In the northeast we have had a ton of rain over the last week or so. I have put out a few seeds (carrots) and on the one nice day we had I added some marigolds to the garden. But my tomatoes, basil, cukes, and zucchini are still waiting in the green house. If the sun comes out, I move them out onto the deck for direct sunlight, but they go back into the green house for overnight. I love my little green house! It has really come in handy to store the seedlings and they are doing quite well. Some 90 degree days are coming this week, so I’ll get them into the yard by the weekend.

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A First Attempt at Fabric Pot Gardening

fabric pots
Growing Potatoes in Fabric Pots

I first learned about fabric pot gardening while reading a Wizzley article written by someone who also loves growing things. On his page he suggests growing potatoes in a pot made of black fabric or burlap.

Instantly, I loved this idea!  I don’t have to dig up the ground and get it ready to plant – whoo hoo – I hate that part of gardening.  I ordered three yards of compost / loam mix to add to all my garden beds and just used some of it to fill my black fabric bags.  The one on the left in my picture has potatoes and you can see one sprout shooting up through the dirt.  Once the shoots grow to 6 or 8 inches I will add more dirt.

The other pot has carrot seeds.  I figure they might do well in a good bag of soil instead of in my yard.   It’s always a chore to get the garden areas ready for planting.  I started at this house with an overgrown backyard so my first year here was spent clearing out the weeds and blackberry bushes.  Last year I expanded the garden area and added good dirt.  This year I am adding more dirt, but it’s easier to add it to bags and the chance of weeds invading a bag is minimal.

My backyard is quite small and my garden holds vegetables as well as flowers I’ve planted and flowering weeds.  Flowers of all kinds are good for attracting beneficial bugs to the garden area.  I am currently growing cold weather things like peas, basil, and strawberries (from last year).  I will have to wait until the first of June to get the cukes, tomatoes, basil and zucchini into the ground.

This type of gardening is experimental, but I am hoping for good results.  I even bought a large, round fabric bag and will set that up as soon as I get more dirt.  I started my own zucchini plants (5 of them!) this year from seeds I saved last summer and I may have to put a couple into that new pot along with some of my tomato plants.

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A Birdbath For the Robins

Robin in birdbath
An Evening Ritual, Robins Bathing

My car has been on the fritz so I’ve been stuck at home for days. I usually stay home as much as possible and since I work from home, it’s not so difficult. My daily ritual includes getting up early working most of the day until my son gets home from school, then I head outside to dig, plant and shovel dirt into my gardens. After I come inside and shower I sit in my chair and watch Special Report and it’s right around that time of day that the Robins begin their evening ritual of splashing in the birdbath.

It’s a safe time of day for them because my cats have been brought inside for the night. They get busy digging for worms in my lawn (or, non-lawn) and then go get cleaned up in the birdbath. When I am outside watering new plantings I always clean out the birdbath and add new water. They certainly do enjoy it and they are fun to watch. I’m not a very good photographer when it comes to animals, but this shot of the robin has him looking straight at me!

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A Death in The Hydrangea Family

I’ve been waiting, with little hope, that my pee gee hydrangea (grandiflora) would begin to show some green. Of all the new hydrangea additions to my yard last Spring, it’s the only one that seems to have died.
I managed to get a few photos of it’s pretty white flowers last summer, and I had hoped it would grow nicely in the new season, but it’s not to be. By now I would be seeing some signs of growth. My son stepped on it and I think that is what did it in, but maybe not. It may have already died over winter.

white flowers pee gee
Little Pee Gee

The others – the Pinky Winky, Limelights and Endless summer are full of leaves so I know they have survived over winter. I found a Pee Gee tree when I was out at the nursery the other day and those become so pretty. I am jealous of people who have big yards with room to grow flowering trees. Recently the whole area where I live is alive with color. From fluffy white and pink specimens to the gorgeous Japanese magnolias (my favorites), I envy yards with those typed of ornamentals. I hope to get a photo of the flowering dogwood tree I saw last year just down the street. It was a beauty.
Anyway, my attention is turned to the remaining hydrangeas in my yard. I look forward to the blue flowers especially.

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