Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

Ooh, great suggestion, David.  I get some tachinids here, but haven't paid attention to their connection with JBs.  But the JB problem has really almost disappeared here now--I think I saw one the other day, and only a handful last year.  I used to live in Louisville which is about an hour away from where I live now, and the JB's were horrible there in the late 80's, early 90's.  I was performing with an outdoor Shakespeare Festival at the time and made the  mistake of wearing rose perfume to a rehearsal and was dive bombed by the devils.  But after a few years, they diminished.  When I moved here, they arrived a couple of years later and then after several years, they disappear, so I think they moved slowly toward the northeast.

>________________________________
> From: David Douglas <earthworks2@gmail.com>
>To: Organic_Gardening@yahoogroups.com
>Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 11:54 AM
>Subject: Re: [Organic_Gardening] New member
>
>
>
> 
>Hi Rinda,
>
>Long time no talk to.
>
>My main line of defense for Japanese Beetles is the tachinid fly. There are
>many varieties of tachinid within this family. The primary one that has
>shown up in our vineyard here in the Adirondacks is very small & has a very
>long abdomen.
>They lay their eggs on the thorax of the beetle, it hatches within 24 hours
>and bores into the beetle which immediately drops and burrows into the
>ground and dies within 24 hours.
>
>So what a person need to do before killing the JB is look very closely at
>it and see if there are any little white eggs on it, if so just let it go.
>In the long run what happens is the population of the tachinids really
>multiplies, a very good thing.
>One female can lay up to 100 eggs & there are two
>This is only the second year that I have been doing this and it has made a
>major difference already.
>
>By4now,
>Dave in the Adirondacks
>www.artofdaviddouglas.com
>
>On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 9:14 AM, Rinda Frye <frinda@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>>
>> Japanese beatles are horrible. But I've found that while they were a
>> plague here in the late 90's, they seem to have disappeared in the last 4
>> to 5 years--I think they simply moved west. If you have access to Virginia
>> creeper, plant some on a fence not too far from your rose bushes. They love
>> Virginia creeper and you can use it as a catch crop. But you have to go
>> out early mornings when they're still sleeping in the vines (and in the
>> roses) with a bowl of soapy water and knock the little devils into the bowl
>> to drown. (This can be very meditative and therapeutic.) Oh, they also
>> love bee balm, which you can use in the same way. One more thing: they
>> prefer light colored roses, so if you plant red or purple roses, you won't
>> have as much trouble with them--the darker the better.
>>
>> >________________________________
>> > From: C.T. Ibanez <c.t.i.artwork@gmail.com>
>> >To: "Organic_Gardening@yahoogroups.com" <
>> Organic_Gardening@yahoogroups.com>
>> >Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 4:21 PM
>>
>> >Subject: Re: [Organic_Gardening] New member
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Hi Sally and everyone - I'm in zone 7a and this has been a great year for
>> yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. In fact, I picked a zucchini last
>> night that weighed 3.2 pounds.
>> >
>> >Last year, I planted rose bushes and they bloomed all summer. This year,
>> I haven't gotten one single bloom because the Japanese Beetles are eating
>> the delicate buds. I've tried vinegar, soapy water, picking them off by
>> hand, and drowning them but I can't seem to control the devastation. I also
>> have mulch around the base to stop the larvae in the ground but even this
>> is not working. Does anyone have a suggestion I could try?
>> >
>> >I've been a member of this group for several years now and I know that
>> last year we were very active. I hope we can kick start this group again
>> because I learned so much from the seasoned gardeners that it would be a
>> shame if we allowed it to disintegrate.
>> >
>> >C.T.
>> >Sent from my iPad
>> >
>> >On Jul 15, 2013, at 6:13 AM, sally glendinning <wirlybirdone@yahoo.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi All!
>> >>
>> >> I'm Sally and I have been lurking -- I suspect everyone is off doing
>> their gardening. I can't do much at the moment for two reasons.
>> >>
>> >> First I might be moving home and secondly I have mainly concrete around
>> my home and need to build the beds -- I have a limited income, so I have to
>> pause and save up for the next round of development.
>> >>
>> >> I have three raised beds -- two of them actually made from an up-ended
>> bed-base filled with horse manure and multipurpose compost -- the compost
>> is cheaper than buying-in a ton of soil. I have been gardening, on and off,
>> for just over 50 years and still learning.
>> >>
>> >> My crops are doing well this year, after last year's washout. I have
>> parsley, mangetout and peas, broad beans, shallots, onions and leeks.
>> Parsnips, dwarf runners and french beans.
>> >>
>> >> Most of the beans are growing atop my woodchip bed 3' 6" above the
>> ground.
>> >>
>> >> I have two baths full of potatoes.
>> >>
>> >> For once it isn't raining -- in fact it's been sunny for a few weeks
>> this year -- so it's a very good growing year and so far, keeping my
>> fingers crossed that the potato blight has passed us by.
>> >>
>> >> What crops/techniques are you all trying ?
>> >>
>> >> Enjoy your gardening -- Best Wishes from Sally in Wales.
>> >>
>> >> ________________________________
>> >> From: ja_ad_co <ja_ad_co@yahoo.co.uk>
>> >> To: Organic_Gardening@yahoogroups.com
>> >> Sent: Friday, 5 July 2013, 8:22
>> >> Subject: [Organic_Gardening] New member
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Hi all.
>> >>
>> >> I'm new to this group and I suppose I am a little disappointed that all
>> of the messages are so old. I wonder if its the time of year and everyone
>> is busy gardening.
>> >> I thought I would join the group to see if anyone has any tips that
>> they can share about gardening organically.
>> >>
>> >> Janey
>> >>
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>> >>
>> >>
>> >
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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>
>--
>*www.artofdaviddouglas.com*
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