Oooh! I'm late, soooo very late.
The spinach and lettuce aren't yet in the ground
I haven't the time to dally around!



I look forward to retiring, then I will have more time to garden. As for now here is what I have time to freeze .
1. Blue lake pole beans:
heirloom (save the seeds) - These are stringless and have good flavor. I like pole beans over bush because it saves my back. I just blanch them and freeze.

2. Earliana tomatoes: heirloom (save the seeds)- Indeterminate, blanch to remove skins then cut and freeze to process into sauce starting late fall into winter.

3. Peppers, Jalapeneo and chili. Just cut them in half and freeze in plastic containers. We use them in sauces, mexican pizza, stirfry, taco's ect.

I am experimenting with Opopeo Amaranth. It's a beautiful plant, the large seed heads are a red/burgandy color and realy stand out. I'll get some pictures soon.

The rest is just fresh eating. lettuce,radish and cabbage in the spring, cucumbers in summer and honeydew mellons and small suger pumpkins in the fall.

We do have a lot of fruits but I only manage to make red currant and usually black-rasberry jam without fail. Other fruits may get eaten fresh but we have'nt had much time for cider, ect.
Maybe next year!

Bad Bugs! Bad Bugs! Whatcha gonna do?

Japanese Beetles: These guys are new to my garden this year. I caught about ten, of the seemingly thousand+, in a ziplock bag a few days ago and they were still suffering last I checked. They are eating up my green bean and strawberry plant leaves at an alarming rate. I called my local extention office and they said they could send me a catalog of chemical alternatives(I refused ) but beyond that there was'nt much one could do. They did not recommend traps as the traps seem to lure more to your immediate area! You can try and pick them off by hand but that seems a bit futile as there are so many. Any recommendations out there? UPDATE: 8/1/98 The beetles have completed their adult cycle and are gone. All plants have survived their onslaught. We will see what happens in 1999 with the next generation.
Cucumber beetles: These guys love my cucumber plants. Their larva chomp the roots and the adults eat the leaves. The adults will fall off the vine when it is shaken and into whatever death trap you have awaiting them. People have recommended soapy water, as they get caught in the suds and cannot fly away. I will now attempt to grow twice as many plants as I need incase the larva kill half.

Squash bugs:These guys have been all over my pumpkins since my first year of gardening. I now know to cut and burn the leaves infested with eggs. I also pick off the adults but am careful not to squish them as their odor is strong.

Codling Moth:My apples will always have codling moth damage. As long as 75% of each apple is free of damage I am happy. I just make sure to clean up the fallen fruit, I may look into traps and will post what I find out in the future.
Someone told me to fill a milk jug with 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon molasses. Hang this from the tree and the male codling moth will go inside and drown. I will post my results next season.
Plant diseases

Septoria fungus:The fungus is amongus and my roma tomatoe plants are in sad shape.
Now I know to remove all effected foliage and burn it. The fungus starts on the lower leaves producing spores that will move to the upper leaves, eventually killing all the foliage which of course will kill the plant. I let this progress to long and although I already have one paper sack full of roma tomatoes, that may be all I get this season. Next year I will be on the look out for this fungus and remove any effected leaves quickly. I will also solarize the effected area of the garden to kill the fungus that is in the soil. If the weather would cooperate and turn dry then my roma's could possibly improve, but alas nothing but rain and humidity is in the forcast:(

A very good reference source is the Ohio state university's Ohioline
You can keyword search or use their alphabetical search.
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