Other post-vacation garden updates

Other news from around the garden:

• Shaggy (the Cherokee Purple tomato) had a bad accident while we were gone too – one of his main vines either got too heavy or got whipped around in the wind, and snapped completely. When I went to cut it off with my knife, I think I snagged the stem and dug into it. Hopefully poor Shags doesn’t mind a few nicks and scratches.

• The lettuce pest I mentioned the other day turned out to be a cabbage looper (as identified via e-mail by my wonderfully helpful local university extension office). They recommend I use a BT-based pesticide to help remove them. I picked up some Thuricide at the local garden center and sprayed it on the lettuces. This seemed to help for a bit but I noticed a few more eggs and caterpillars in the garden yesterday, so I guess it’s an ongoing process.

• We also returned to find a minor aphid infestation (also identified by the extension’s master gardeners) on the Black Cherry tomato plant…

I sprayed some homemade insecticidal soap on them (lighter formula this time) and that seemed to take care of them.

Full garden photo round-up (couple days old) after the jump.

Out with the old, in with the new (pepper)

Turns out, 2 of our 4 jalapeño plants lost the will to live. When we got them, they had partially broken stem but tried to soldier on despite their disabilities. Alas, it was not to be, and today I finally threw them in Olathe’s compost pile.

The good news is, this freed up some space for a new veg. Now filling the void is a sweet (red) pepper, capsicum annum, “Red Beauty”. We’ll be calling her Rosey. I’ve transplanted her to the old jalapeño container and she’s currently waiting in the garage for the sun to go down to ease her transition to her new life.

Pics of Rosey in her new home: