Captain Jack's

DeadBug Garden Dust...

It was a really cloudy and dark day so for most of the morning I thought it was raining, I didn't think to actually check because I was being lazy but around 2pm I went out and it was dry but dark. I went out to check on everything and when I got to Patch I noticed that the radishes had more holes. A lot more. So I went inside to grab the powder, organic pesticide that Mr. S. had gotten along with the Diatom-Earth. It's called Captain Jack's. At first I thought you mixed the powder with water and sprayed it on because the label had liquid conversions on it. For what reason I still don't know, but you don't mix it with water you just dust the plants with it. Makes sense, considering its called Garden Dust. Once I figured that out I went back outside with the dust and started applying it to the radishes. It was difficult because a bunch was pouring out of the salt shaker-like holes and all I needed to do was dust the foliage, bottom and top, but I was dusting the leaves and the soil and myself. So I closed the shaker top and started squeezing. That worked really well. The powder still came out in thin burst with the cap completely closed. I used my fingers to get all the extra powder all over the radish leaves then used the squeeze method to lightly dust the lettuce and the strawberry leaves. It stated very specifically that it was safe for berries and since the bugs eating the radish leaves wouldn't be able to anymore I figured they'd try moving over to my prized berries. While I was dusting the berry leaves I noticed that the 5G bucket plants had shot up about 4 inches but they still don't have any berries growing. They are by far the largest and greenest of the plants but no berries. It's really weird. They don't have any runners yet so that shouldn't be the issue but they just aren't producing berries. I think I may have over planted the container. Online it said that you could fill the bucket and at Home Depot they have tiny containers with 4-5 plants that have berries but I don't know that's the only reason I can think of to explain the lack of berries. Anyway, I'll try some fertilizer (more) and see what happens. Otherwise I might just let the bucket produce runners and new plants for next year. After dusting Patch I dusted the lettuce in Potagar and the green beans. I saw some large pests today, for the first time. I very large bunny and I realized that they always bolt up the hill so I deduced that there must be a hole in the fence by the neighbors house. They aren't getting in through any other fence because we've kept them closed and check everywhere but back there. It's a little creepy dark and overgrown back there. I'll have to check tomorrow. 

After I dusted the green beans I decided to thin them out a little more. I don't want everything to be slow so I am really trying to thin everything down. Now there is about 11 plants in each plot, 2 more and we'll be good. I've been putting all the bean plants I thin in a plastic cup with a little water and the ones i thinned days ago are still green and strong. I might try planting them in a container. I also thinned the spinach. After that I filled a container with plans to plant the thinned beans but I decided to plant a cucumber plant instead. The cucumbers are the only plant that we didn't have an assigned plot for so I figured even if they don't grown fruit it'll be a nice experiment and the foliage will look great. 

Finally, I brought the greenhouse inside and watered the plants in there and the lemon balm. The rain was sure to come and it did just a few minutes after bringing the house in...

Dusted lettuce. It's finally gaining some height and is almost ready to harvest the first leaves. I'm going to go with the continuous harvest method for these and the spinach. Beautiful, I love that green color!

5G strawberry bucket. They've grown about 4 inches taller, but no berries. Dusted.

Dusted 5G bucket from the top.

Lemon Balm seeds on a paper towel. I hadn't looked at this test in awhile and did today and noticed that the lemon balm seeds germinated extremely well on the paper towel. It took them about 3 weeks to get to this stage with "grown up" leaves. 

Dusted radishes. You can see that I didn't know what I was doing here compared to the berries and lettuce. The bugs immediately moved so it works and its organic. The rain doesn't wash it right off but do use the squeeze method. It lightly dusts the entire plant, top and bottom, and looks much nicer. Saves too.

Breaking Bad-- TEA?

Compost Tea...

Today, I did a couple side dressing things. I don't know what the difference is between side dressing and just overall care but that's what the label is on Smart Gardener so I am going with it. I don't use the exact side dressings recommended on Smart Gardener because I've done an enormous amount of reading on gardening and growing veggies so I wanted to try a few different things. I started with the compost tea, which was a recommendation, but I didn't do all the crazy stuff they list online like using a bubbler, strainer and extractor. To be honest it reminds me a little to much of Breaking Bad I didn't want to make the equivalent of Blue Sky compost tea. All I wanted to due was add some of the nutrients from compost into my already planted but not composted crops, like my spinach. Smart Gardener suggested that I side dress with compost tea every 3 weeks after the plants are 4 inches tall. Because my plants are supposed to be  harvest-able in like 30 days and there not even close, I decided to add compost tea at 3 inches. See I planted the spinach in the MG garden soil, no perlite. I think it definitely lacks something. So I went about brewing tea. I made a little sache garni with some old cloth, compost in the middle, folded up the ends, and rip tied. I put it in a 14 oz. disposable plastic (heat resistant) cup and poured boiling water over it. I let the "tea" steep for 4 hours as it cooled outdoors and then poured half of the mixture over the soil in my spinach container. I was very careful not to get it on the edible leaves. I only poured half of the mixture because the container didn't need 14 ounces of water. It is probably better to make it a couple days before you need it and water very infrequently before pouring it over so that the most nutrients are absorbed. Anyway, I poured the remaining half into 5G strawberry bucket because it is a "Heavy" fertilizer need plant.

Although, I used the steeped version of compost tea I made an even simpler version. I put a tablespoon of compost in a plastic cup, opened the tap over it, filled, and mixed with a kabob stick until most of the compost had broken down. The mixture was much darker had very little to b strained and only seemed to get darker and darker as it sat. I let that mixture sit for a few hours as well although I'm sure I could have poured it in almost right away. I really only used the steeped version because I'd put more work into it. The chocolate milk version really seemed richer and was much easier. The point of compost tea is to add nutrients that the plants roots can absorb like water. Very simple. You don't need a double bubble, strainer, tubes, Bunsen burners and all that crap. Just water and compost or water cloth/paper towel string/tie and compost. Whichever you like more. 

Epsom Spray....

Like I said I didn't follow all of the suggestions on Smart Gardener to a T. I'd read a lot about the use of Epsom salt and the great affect it has on plants. Epsom salt, not actually being salt but magnesium sulfate, adds nutrients to the plants leaves that produce a bushier, bigger, and sweeter crop. So I mixed one tsp. of Epsom salt into a plant spray bottle shook and went a-sprayin'. I sprayed all of my strawberry plants, the onion plants, the spinach, and the lettuce. All of them were said to benefit. I didn't spray the tomatoes because I put a tablespoon of Epsom salt in the hole when I planted them. I won't spray them for another 3 weeks and I'll let you know if it has a negative or seemly positive affect on the plants I did spray. I left my tests in the greenhouse un-sprayed to compare and contrast the results. 

Strawberry rocks... 

When I went outside to spray I noticed there were a lot of birds about. All of which I suspiciously suspected of wanted to peck at my plants. Because I am so overly protective of the strawberries as you know I ran inside, grabbed my painted rocks, and placed them about. I don't think they are going to work as I've strewn them about just because it doesn't look like they are hanging off the plants. I don't know that the birds are that smart but I rather be safe than sorry so tomorrow Ill glue them to the containers so that they appear to be hanging off the side. CRAZY PLANT LADY - ONE! 

Compost Tea- sache garni (Left) and chocolate milk type mix (Right).