Crazy Weather

The cabbage is doing wonderful especially the red cabbage. The lettuce and broccoli is total confused and some is starting to bolting on me before getting very big. The pepper are doing OK, I will make sure next year to them in front they are getting too shaded behind the broccoli. Waiting for a day when it not too windy or cool to plant some more.

Celery

I'm trying a new way to grow celery, since my seeds didn't seem to want to grow this year. I just cut off about two inches from the bottom of the celery and I put one straight in the soil and one in water in the kitchen. Lets see which one grows faster. :) I'm loving these cooler mornings.

Zucchini & Squash

I'm harvesting Zucchini and Squash and keeping ahead of the powder mildew for now with pruning and Neem oil. I pulled my cucumbers and the mysterious bugs I had are gone. I kept a couple and froze them to send to University of Florida. I will update the blog when I get the results which I'm sure will take a few weeks. Everything, Broccoli, Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Peppers, Tomatoes and Lettuce are growing great, no full grown fruit yet, but should be harvesting soon. I will be planting the last bed my up coming weekend. I wanted to plant it two weeks ago, but other tasks came up. I love this time of year, it's getting cooler. :)

Neem Oil

I'm not a big fan of Neem oil, I really dislike the smell. However, my squash and cucumbers fungus issues were getting bad and some little bugs I have never seen before were all over the plants. Well the cucumber vines are looking sad, but it still producing plenty of good fruit. The little bugs are still running about, but in much smaller numbers.

Rain Great! Mildew not Great!

I'm getting hit with Powdery and Downy mildew on my cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, and squash. the Marketmore 76 cucumber seem to have suffered the least and the pumpkin was the first to show signs of disease. I picked my two watermelon even thought they were too small. I hope they will be ripe enough to be sweet. I don't think I'm going to any small sugar pumpkins it suffered the worst. I think I will try the Seminole pumpkins next year. I can't find if they will be good in a pumpkin pie, so I guess I will be the tester of that next year. :) The cucumbers are still producing as is the squash, it's just a matter of time they will stop. I think next year I will also try the mixture of tsp. of baking soda, a couple drops of soap and neem oil and see if it prevents the disease. I read a few articles that will stated this mixture would help prevent it if done  every week or after rains before the disease shows up. The winter veggies are all looking good and the broccoli is really taking off. I'm still putting on Spinisad since I seen a few chew marks.

Harvesting Cucmbers!

Cucumber Harvest

The Suyo Long and Marketmore 76 cucumbers are both maturing now and they are delicious. I still only have two watermelons,but they are getting bigger. I got squash starting, but no pumpkins yet. I'm a little wooried, the pumpkin plant seems to be suffering from power mildew. I cut off the infected leaves hoping to beat it from speading. I don't care for Neem oil, but I may have to use it if the mildew keeps spreading.   

Another Good Guy - Long-Legged Fly



Long-Legged Fly