Radiation. . .

Today was a battle. Me vs. the Sun.

I was out in the garden this morning trying to weed and clean things up a bit. I'm still fighting the blossom end rot problem and bugs. I do my best to have an "organic" garden, whatever the hell that means. I try not to use any pesticides because Bobcat likes to dig around in the dirt and do her kitty business and also the pond is only 15 yards away and I don't want any nasty chemicals floating around in there. Last year I did have to use Sevin dust once when the stinkbugs got out of hand. This year I haven't had much of a problem with stinkbugs, but there are an infinite variety of aphid-like critters hiding out underneath the leaves of the tomatoes. And apparently, as indicated by a couple of completely bare tomato plants, the leafcutters are out there too. I suspect I have no choice but to use the dust.

I considered buying some ladybugs in bulk to release into the garden, but my brother told me he tried that once and the damn things just flew away up into the eaves of his house and lived up there for a couple of years.

*Sigh*

Oh yeah, Me vs. the Sun. The Sun won that battle. I had to come in and take a cold shower to cool off this morning. Then a nap. I just don't see how people farmed in Mississippi back in the day with summers like we have. It's a miracle.

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Garden Happenings. . .

Below is a prime example of the beginnings of Blossom End Rot. BER, simplified, is a calcium deficiency in the tomato plant which causes it to rot from the blossom end, hence the name. The condition is typically exacerbated by extreme pH imbalances, either high or low, or by intermittent watering or drastic swings in the moisture content of the soil. Other culprits can be too much nitrogen in the soil or even physical damage to the root system. In Mississippi, central and south central, BER is usually a LACK of calcium in the soil. Our soils are generally clayey and we add raw, ground limestone (agricultural lime) during initial soil bed preparation to help "break down" the clays and add the necessary mineral, however this methodology is very slow and when the plant is making fruit and BER appears, there is no time to waste.

Mix up a slurry of ag lime and water and apply it to the base of each plant affected. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as overdosing the plants with too much calcium, but use good judgment. If you're out there slopping the stuff around like Inspector Clouseau investigating the latest crime, surely something bad will befall your plants. As a rule of thumb, less is probably better than more in this case. And should you splash a bit about the leaves and fruit, spray the areas liberally with water. Lime will burn your plants with direct contact.

I am expecting a bumper crop of tomatoes for the first harvest, so any of you so-called friends who never send me Christmas cards or Birthday greetings can rest assured that if my gifts are mailed by the end of next week, we might be able to work something out.

And finally, below we find the beautiful surprise turnips and there are a few whoppers in there. I'd give some of these away too, but I know that none of you jokers like turnips, so tough tooty.

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