JAP69's Blog

Got spiders weaving webs in the vegetable garden. Good guys they are. Catch those flying insects that eat and lay eggs in the vegetables who hatch out and eat the vegetable foliage.

Worked on that bathroom today doing final touch up on the taping job. Also repaired a spot on the wall near the baseboard and up against the tub. Water must have gotten around the shower door and got the drywall wet loosening the paper on the drywall. I cut back the paper until it was stuck solid on the drywall and then mixed up an amount needed of drywall joint compound for the repair. Applied the compound to the area tore back and then used the web type tape covering the area for reinforcement. Worked the web tape in and then skim coated over top of that. Tomorrow I will sand the areas repaired and skim coat again with joint compound where needed. Next week is painting time.

Painting should be an exciting adventure. Bathroom is so small I am just going to use paint brushes.

When I was at the garden center purchasing plants I picked up some zucchini plants and transplanted them in the containers. Welll they grew up flowered and have zucchini growing. Are you ready for this. Oo'Ka.  The zucchini are the large type and currently green shaped like the golden egg variety. Maybe they turn yellow later for all I know. I will need to pull the label from the box tomorrow and read more closely on it. My wife always buys the fordhook variety at the market. I was telling her about the size of the zucchini growing in the yard and that did not go over very big. 

https://www.grow-it-organically.com/zucchini-varieties.html 

They still have plants at Home Depot I seen the other day when I was picking up the CRM [concrete reinforcement mesh] for the chimneys. I will go over tomorrow and see if the have any fordhook zucchini plants.  If so I will pick up some and do a couple buckets of the fordhooks.

If I plant the fordhooks and they produce I will have more zucchini than I will know what to do with. We will be eating a lot of zucchini that is for sure.

Might have to start giving it away.

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Update Fri 5/18 @ 0:8:55

Wellll, I got the green griller. Should have purchased the Black Beauty or the Organic zucchini. https://bonnieplants.com/product-category/vegetables/squash/

I seen zucchini in big bold print and did not read the finer print. Even has a picture on the label.

Welll, I was thinking about it and I am out of buckets, potting mix, vermiculite and perlite. Just to purchase those items plus the plants will cost about $55.00 just to set up a couple buckets. Out of the question. Purchase what zucchini she likes and needs at the time at the market. Plus she can purchase in the quantity she wants. Usually buys a four pack.

I seen a bumble bee flitting about among the garden flowers. There also was some type of other bee flitting about. it was a type of bee I am not familiar with. Need those little helpers for the cukes. I was reading today self pollinating cukes is a very tedious job.

Reading today about pollination of eggplant flowers which was interesting. I have an eggplant flower on each plant that opened up.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/eggplant/pollinating-eggplants-by-hand.htm

Just came in from the back yard when it started raining. Got the squash and cukes pollinated. Went to Home Depot last night and got two more sheets of concrete mesh and started making two more cages. Got one done and set that on the deck. I then started on the other one until it started raining. Got two tomato boxes that have tomatoes growing above the first short cages I put in. Got behind on my cage making.

Update 15:00 hrs

Only a short rain. Stopped just after I posted earlier. Went out and built the second cage and slid each cage over the plant in the wooden container. Fastened those two down to the box like I mentioned on another post. While sliding the cages down over the plants and into the box I got some tomato branch breakage on each plant. Tried to hold the cage with one hand and work the tomato branches up  and out of the way while sliding the cage done. Maybe two lower branches on each plant. The plant should survive and produce with out those lower branches. Same thing happen when I done the last set of cages and they are surviving.

I see some new shoots coming out here and there on the lower part of the plant any how.

I have two more tomato plants in pails that need their taller cage. They will do for now with the small cage they already have. The Sweet Million tomato plant sure is a slow grower. Has small leaves on it also. The Sweet Million tomato plant grows tall also. 

Planted a 5 inch pot with water melon seed while out there. The kind that only has a small water melon when full size.

I will need to build cages for the muskmelon and water melon when I put them in their wooden container to train the vines to grow on the cage.

Told my wife I could go to the Goodwill store and buy used bras and support the melons on the cages with those. That got a rise out of her.

Temperature range is important for peppers.
The temperature range right now for my peppers is not very ideal as the night time temps and day time temps are not in the ideal range for my peppers. Probably need to schedule my pepper growing when I can catch the temperature range in the fall.

Too hot at night, too hot during the day right now. Where I live the spring temps go from the 30s to the 90s real quick.

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Bell and Chili peppers

https://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Peppers_PDF.pdf

Having a few problems with the squash. Got some squash that took hold and are growing but losing some young ones with these problems. Put some bone meal around the squash this morning to cover for any calcium deficiency and watered it in

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Why Does Squash Shrivel on the Vine?
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/squash-shrivel-vine-55263.html
"The female flowers are only receptive for one day."
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https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/zucchini/zucchini-blossom-end-rot.htm

Went out behind the back fence this morning and seen a snake slither across the cut grass and dive into the tall ditch grass. That is why we mow behind the fence as far as possible to keep the grass from growing up to the fence where critters could hide in and venture into the actual back yard area. A buffer zone to cut down the possibility.

Been busy as a bee pollinating plants every morning.

Made two cages to go over the largest tomato plants. I cut legs on the chimneys to go all the way to the bottom of the box. I was going to get a 2 x 2 and screw it to the side of the box and connect the chimney with a threaded rod with nuts bolts and washer for added support not to blow over in the wind. Got looking at the chimneys and changed my mind. What I did is I had some rod left from the concrete wire mesh long enough to  place a diagonal rod in each corner screwing it down where I folded a loop in that end. I extended the rod up about 12 inches at about a 65 degree angle to a horizontal rod in the chimney and folded it over. Strong as could be. Reached up about six feet onto the chimney and tested for strength. The whole wooden container will tip over before the chimney breaks free. Saved money on each container doing it that way with the left over steel rod. Otherwise I would need to purchase a 2 x 2, threaded rod and nuts and washers. Maybe $5.00 on each container.

I also drilled two holes up about four inches and about 3/4 inch apart in each wooden container plus the plastic five gallon pails for me to insert the moisture meter in near the bottom to check them out for water content. Found a couple wooden containers that were low on water near the bottom. I done that because I noticed a tomato plant wilting today even after I gave it a spray of water last night. The water meter only goes in about 8 inches giving me a false impression the whole container has water but only having enough moisture near the top. The plants are growing taller and probably getting more deep rooted.

The cat is back. The cat has now come in the yard behind the house and doing his digging and jobie in the soil I spread around last year that has not grown grass yet [shaded area]. That is the dirt I removed from the containers last year from a screw up of not using potting mix. Seen a dirt mound when I was walking to the back fence and gave it a tap which exposed his jobie.

That cat better stay out of my containers on the deck.

Pepper plant had flower drop. I think the plants got stressed with the cold weather when I transplanted them. 

Tied off the cauliflower for blanching a couple days ago and was not satisfied with the amount of daylight getting in. Last night I took the burlap sheet I had left and cut it wide enough and long enough to wrap around a plant twice making an apron around the bottom portion. Clipped them together with a clothes pin. Burlap is woven loose enough for the plant to breathe. See how that works out.

While out self pollinating the squash this morning I seen that the one Soya cuke plant in the ground box has a couple flowers. Also noticed the Soya cuke seeds I put in the Soya cuke ground box are up. Put those seed in the ground on May 6th.

Seen some tomatoes starting to grow. Wee bitty things about the size of a small pea when I seen it.

The eggplant are getting ready to flower out.

The six lettuce plants are about done for this year. Have maybe another week left of eating on those.

When I made my salad last night I snipped off one of the large stems on the curly parsley and used just the leaf portion in my salad. Also had some Aragula to go with it. Plus about half a dozen of white grapes. Topped it off with zesty Italian dressing. Scrumptious.

Just out back planting some melon seeds in a 5 inch pot for transplanting in a cauliflower container. I tied off the cauliflower yesterday and it should be ready for harvest in a couple weeks or so. Thinking of what to use the cauliflower container for and decided on musk melons. The musk melon seed packet said for my zone to start seeds end of May to early June. Musk melons like hot weather anyhow so 80 days to harvest will be in August when it is the hottest here. I have two cauliflower container boxes and may decide to plant the small size watermelon in the other container. Maybe some pie pumpkin plants. We like homemade pumpkin pie

While I was out there I looked at the squash plant and seen egg sacs on a couple leaves on the same plant. If they are Damsel bug egg sacs will be helpful in pest control. I better look and see what Damsel bug egg sacs look like.

While I was tending the container garden this morning I seen this bug fly down and land on an eggplant leaf. The bug must have been 1 1/2 to 2 inches in body length. 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=vwiIA8vV&id=FBAF8E915110ADEFFACDE592B40A886DC88D3A27&thid=OIP.vwiIA8vVQ8RVieGZ2x8IVwHaF_&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fsomethingscrawlinginmyhair.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2011%2f02%2fBrown.bug_.adult_.dorsal.jpg&exph=485&expw=600&q=large+brown+flying+bug+in+garden&simid=608035966884318265&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0

From what I read they are good bugs to have in the garden. Carnivorous 

Damsel Bugs

http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2011/02/26/damsel-bugs/

Looks like I will need not need to keep my pollinator tool separate for my yellow squash and zucchini separate as long as I do not save the seed for next year from a plant. Good thing as I did not mark all the separate containers for the squash and zucchini and forgot what is in a container not marked.

Got to thinking about it as bees do not know the difference between different varieties. At least I think they do not.

I was just going out now to self pollinate the squashes and thought I would see if I could find anything on it.

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Cross Pollinating Crops
https://mcdowell.ces.ncsu.edu/Cross+Pollinating+Crops/
"However, varieties of the same species can cross pollinate. Yellow summer squash and zucchini are the same species, (Cucurbita pepo), and will cross pollinate. This cross pollination will not affect the fruit that the plants produce this year but if you save the seed it will affect the fruit that come from that saved seed next year."

Read more at: https://mcdowell.ces.ncsu.edu/Cross+Pollinating+Crops/

I just came in from outside putting ferlizer and epsom salt on all the vegetable plants. While I was on the deck doing that I looked over the back fence where the ground boxes are and seen the cat on the lawn part. Pretty good sized cat at that. The cat looked around and hunched up and did his thing on the lawn and tried pulling the lawn over it. Must have been a little irritated that it could not get in my cuke box that I caged in. Did not make an attempt at any of the other ground boxes where I put needle sharp stuff around the plants. Fixed his ass with the cage around the ground box. When I finished doing what I was doing on the deck I went out back and put ferlizer and epsom salt on the ground box vegetables. When I was doing that I seen the one Soya cuke plant had sent out a runner and was attaching itself to the wire cage.

I forgot to mention I watered in the ferlizer and epsom salt real good.

Cleaned the shower curtain pole and the corner pole with trays that hold stuff. Put everything back in place in the bathroom and done with that until I decide to get the semi gloss ceiling paint. 

Read the news just now about Trump pulling out of the Iran deal. Pissed off a lot of people he did.

Put primer coat on bathroom ceiling, Wiped down bathroom with moist cloth catching any dust that may have been remaining. Took Venetian blind to back deck and hosed it down. Laundered the shower curtain and window curtain. Put most everything back in place. done for today.

Tomorrow I will thoroughly clean the shower curtain rod and the metal shelves and pole that goes in the corner that holds bathroom showering and bathing needs.

Broke the plastic towel bar that go between two ceramic post. Can get replacement at Home Depot.

Watered garden at end of day where needed and snipped of some lettuce leaves for my salad. The six cauliflower plants have started their head growth. Getting flower clusters starting to appear on the Tomato plants. Squash is starting to flower out. Seen one squash flower today. Will need to get my pollinator gear together, small artist paint brush and zip lock bag for each plant variety.

Seen no cat in the box problem today.