September 05, 2017
I went to pick up the dead leaves that had fallen off my aphid infested Brussels sprouts plants and found a ladybug and a ladybug nymph on them. Ladybug nymphs look like little black and orange alligators, and are more voracious eaters of aphid than the adults are, so I left the leaves alone. I'll let nature take its course. It's not the first time I've become aware of the benefit of not removing Brussels sprouts leaves. I once found night crawlers had pulled the stems down into the ground to eat them underground. That's not something you want to interrupt..
The leaves stayed in place that time also. We've been conditiond to think that a healthy garden is a tidy one but that might not always be the case. The soil likes mulch, any mulch, and it doesn't care what it looks like. Although coarse mulch does provide refuge to the plant Invaders, it's longevity is preferred over fine mulch. Running over your leaves with your lawn mowers bagger on might be the perfect solution..
September 06, 2017
It's time to start prepping your garden for winter. I pulled up the first planting of bush beans today and realized they produced all summer long. Bush beans usually come on strong and produce all their crop within a few weeks, but these Garden Beans, Bush Blue Lake 274 by Burpee kept up a continuous harvest. It may have been because of our long wet spring but I have enough seeds left to try them again next year. I used to do a little clean up every evening after work instead of saving it all for the weekend. Doing a small area at a time can be fun..
I used the bushes to mulch the artichokes (again) and lined them up in a row. I'm beginning to like the way some garden mulches look and bean vines are one of them. Melon vines are another. I'm finding that things that you have a lot of, and spread along a row, have a consistency that is more pleasing to the eye than short verigated piles..
September 07, 2017
It's time to fertilize your artichokes if you haven't already. They are working hard to form another plant, shooting leaves up from where you cut them off, to provide you with a second crop and you need to help them. I give them each a gallon of water with two tablespoonfuls of fish emulsion mixed in. Using a watering can and sprinkling the leaves results in foliar feeding as well as root uptake. I've given the Brussels sprouts transplants a dose of fish emulsion also because we need to hurry them along..
Harsh cold winter nights will put an end to their growth so they can't be allowed to dwaddle along like in the spring when they have all the lazy, hazy days of summer to grow. I also noticed the pussh willows are forming buds. It seems a bit premature to me but I haven't really been paying attention..
