Score one for the good guys

The picture says it all.

OK, maybe not — if you can’t tell, those are parasitic wasp larvae on a tomato hornworm.  That’s right, good guys!  After all the pests and diseases that have attacked the garden this year, nature finally lent us a hand.

Tomato harvest begins!

I’ve been working pretty much non-stop for the past week, but I got a moment to get out to the garden this morning to do some watering and maintenance.  Good news — tomato harvest has begun!  Little splashes of red in all that green, at last, after months of waiting.

Revenge!

Quick update — found this in the garden this morning:

This is what you get for messing with my tomatoes!

Blight in the house?

I queried the local extension office again about my tomato problem, and here was their response:

I’m sorry I don’t know what other tomato questions you may have had or what information you may have received, but I am including a link to a general information sheet about tomatoes.  It appears that you may have a fungal disease on your tomato plant.  The best defense against tomato fungus is choosing a disease resistant variety however most heirloom tomatoes are susceptible.  Page 4 of this handout at the above link lists fungicides that can control fungi on tomatoes.

Good luck and I hope this is helpful!

Is this early blight, perhaps?  I dunno but it doesn’t sound good.

Tomatoes get their turn

Well, it seems like there have been problems throughout the garden but the tomatoes have skated by mostly unscathed … until now.

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.

Several notes and photo roundup

Several quick notes and a full photo roundup from this evening, 06/15/2008:

• We added a few new members to the veg/herb garden this weekend: habanero, peppermint, oregano, and more basil. I wanted to get a serrano pepper as well, but couldn’t find one. The lady at the nursery tried to convince me that “hot chili” pepper was basically the same, but I wasn’t sold. I didn’t recognize the variety, but it looked small, red, and hot. Not what I wanted.

• The cilantro I planted in early may has already begun to flower. I haven’t even really had a chance to use it yet. Why the heck does cilantro bolt so quickly? Is there any way to slow it down? I looked around this weekend for more cilantro seedlings, but no one had any. Bad sign. I’m going to go ahead and let it go to (coriander) seed, and then save and dry the seeds for later use.

• We added a bunch of marigolds and nasturtiums to the beds (particularly by the tomatoes) for their companion properties – pest resistance and predatory insect attraction. I used this site as a guide. Apparently, nasturtiums are entirely edible, and their seeds can be pickled and substituted for capers. Someone’s lox-and-cream-cheese bagel will be appreciating that in a month or two, I’m guessing.

• Some of the tomato fruits are coming along nicely, but a few of the plants still have yet to pollinate their blossoms. I’m blaming the wet weather and hope it turns around shortly. It kills me to see all these blossoms dying on the vine.

Fruits are coming in!

At long last, the fruits are starting to come in!

The zucchini have been coming in for a week or so now – like I said, they’re jungle plants, and grow like crazy.

I’m pretty glad we got rid of those other 3 plants.  I think I started picking zucchini last week, and I’ve probably picked 7 or 8 already.  If it keeps up at that pace, we’re going to have to train the cats to eat vegetables.  The good news is, they do taste pretty good; we sauteed some for dinner last night and Amanda said they were the best she’d ever had (full disclosure: she’d been drinking for over an hour by that point).  We’ve also got some blossoms we’re saving for frying, which will be a new treat for us.

The tomatoes, however, have been the worst teases in the garden.  I’ve been staring at blossoms for what seems like weeks now, waiting for something to show up, to no avail.  But finally, last night, we got itty bitty fruits on the Black Cherry and Green Zebra plants.

I’m pretty sure the Prue and German Johnson will be catching up shortly.  Shaggy’s going to need some more time; he got a late start.

Finally, Rosey the Red Pepper has also joined the party and is fruiting nicely.

Hopefully she’ll shame the jalapeño plants into getting their act together.

Back home on Memorial Day

Came back home after being gone Wednesday afternoon through Monday day-time, and WOW! Garden explosion! In five days, significant growth all around. Check it out:

The radishes, mesclun mix, and arugula are all ready for harvest now, and the zucchini and a couple tomato plants are starting to show some blossoms.

It was late when we got home and we had almost nothing to eat in the house, so we raided the back yard and had an awesome salad of mixed greens with radishes and topped our pasta with home-grown basil.

It’s official – having a garden kicks ass.

Welcome Shaggy to the party

Please welcome our newest tomato plant, Shaggy, to the party.

With many thanks to my friend George “WisCarney” Fehrenbach, we now have a Cherokee Purple (heirloom) tomato in the garden. Georgey raised Shags from seed he saved from last year’s harvest, so this plant’s got a history.

Shaggy is so-named because he’s part of a tag-team of Cherokee Purples – we separated him from his brother Scooby just before planting. Scoobs is now recovering happily in a pot and will soon be planted in the depths of Independence Hell (i.e., Bing’s back yard).