Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

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
> >>
> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >>
> >>
> >
> >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

--
*www.artofdaviddouglas.com*

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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