Gardening Blogs at GardenTenders.com

Sofia in Wonderland...

mario1360 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:37:44 GMT

Our "Edibles" #40: Red Currants - Maggots

MsDebbieP — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:20:21 GMT

July 8/09

As the strawberries wrap up for the season the red currants are ready to pick. Today I went out and picked a couple quarts of currants. Yummy.

But… as I was cleaning them I noticed one, then two, then three wiggly maggots on the berries. Brush them off.. continue on… hmmm I don’t remember maggots being a problem in the past. ...

This year, I thought I’d try the dehydrator with them and as directed, I plunked them in some boiling water for 30 seconds to break the skins and then I started spreading them out on the trays. “What’s that”, I ask? Is that a seed or is that another white wiggly. I grabbed the white fleck with one hand and the berry with the other and I tried to pull it off.. oh no – it was IN the berry and as I went “ewww” it sprung back inside.

Well, now, that is gross! Now, I don’t know how many more are hiding within the fruit. Sigh.

Onto the internet I go to do some research.

Red Currant Fruit Flies or Gooseberry Maggots. This website provides this information.

Once the fruit has set, a worm gets inside and causes it to fall off the bush. The remaining ones are not edible. [...] Female flies lay eggs in the developing currant in spring. Maggots hatch and feed on the berries. The cycle continues when the maggots drop to the soil and overwinter. To prevent this, put plastic under the bushes. As well, you can bite the bullet and pick and dispose of fruit in a bid to short-circuit the cycle for the next year.

Doesn’t this sound like my onion maggot problem???

A Fresh Start #4: Flowers in Bloom

zeddicus — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:46:41 GMT

Our garden is doing great. My daughter and I have been busy planting, watering, and watching it grow. She enjoys the time playing in the dirt, digging holes, watering plants, and anything else she can get into. Most days now we walk outside and I hear ‘Daddy! Another flower has bloomed!” So today while I snapped pictures for my automated watering project post I also took some pictures of our flowers.

Dhalias

Lilly

I don’t remember what kind of flower this is.

This Dahlia is already as big as my hand!

Our planting has slowed down due to a couple camping trips and a break to get the irrigation system set up, but we will probably be adding more soon.

What Flowers

Rog — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:46:22 GMT

Dillon my little boy (white lab) had a heart attack on July 4th and died just after midnight. So this blog goes out to him. I would like to get suggestions from all of you here as to what type of flowers do you think he would like in his garden. Thanks Dillon is watching over all of us, running in the woods sniffing the flowers forever.

Cucumbers & Green Pole Beans #1: July 6/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:10:31 GMT

My cucumbers and green beans have finally started to take off.

Top Of Berm Garden #1: July 6/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:02:58 GMT

This is my perennial garden with a few annuals added for color.It still has a lot of filling out to do.Added a few new echinacea I started from seed this winter but they are still really small.

West Side Garden #1: July 06/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:55:59 GMT

This is the west side of the house.

S.W. Corner

Veggie + Herb Garden #6: July 6/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:43:08 GMT

Added a few more veggies this year. (lol) Yellow Bush beans,carrots,garlic,chives and of course tomatoes.

Two wee tomatoes are starting. :-)

Front Gardens #4: July 06/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:30:50 GMT

These are shots of the front garden.

Poppy Garden #2: The Transformation July 5/09

Bon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:22:41 GMT

Cut down all the dead poppies and planted a bunch of annuals and a few perennials in place of them.I hope to add more perennials to this garden soon.It will be hard to stop the poppies from choking out the perennials next spring but I should be able to weed them back so I can grow something else too.This is the poppy garden now.