Bah. If it can go wrong it will.
PEAS:
Seems only about 1/4 of my peas have sprouted. I dug up the duds to see what was going on - looks like they turned to rotten mush. We've had quite a bit of rain since I planted them. The good news is now I'll have a staggered planting for a staggered harvest. I'll go and replace the one's that haven't come up later this week.
LETTUCE:
I've never had so much trouble with lettuce before. The seedlings in the garden are still being eaten alive. I've lost four more. I've picked slugs and snails out of the bed every night. Though I went out twice last night and didn't find any. I need to make the time to go get sandpaper and tack up strips. Hard to do lately with a sick toddler and an injured husband.
The latest seedling starts are turning yellow and wilting. I think maybe too much water and maybe too close to the lights - too warm. Though I've been letting the soil go pretty dry between waterings, so I don't know what the problem is. I've moved them further from the lights so we'll see if they perk up a little.
TOMATOES:
I was working downstairs and put on the space heater for a small bit. Sadly I accidentally left it on. The tomato starts didn't like the extra heat and wind and let me know it by curling up their leaves a little bit and turning yellow. Ug!
SAGE:
Remember my sage start that had the aphid probelms? Well I think it would've been better off if I hadn't helped. I sprayed some organic insecticide on it and 1/2 of the leaves turned black and fell off. ::shakes head:: The good news is I think the poor plant will recover. It's put out three new sets of leaves and the aphids are definitely gone! I think I just to try a test area if I use it again. I might have also not diluted it enough so I'll mix up a new batch if I try it again.
I just feel so disappointed. I wish I was a pro and never made a mistake and all the plants were happy and green and bug free. ::sigh:: Live and learn I guess.
6 comments:
Jenn,
Not to worry it is still early in the season and your tomatoes should be fine.
I purchased 2 organic Cherokee Purple Tomato plants today in 4 inch pots today, 2 for $5 at our food co op. Then went to the fancy nursery in Chapel Hill the same plants were $4 each by the same grower.
Jenn,
So sorry to hear the trouble you are having. But like Randy said you still have time.
I must have planted 10 or more sugar snap pea seeds since Jan and I only have 4 plants to show for it.
Liisa
Jenn, my condolences. Before I went (mostly) organic, I used Captan on my pea seeds to keep them from rotting in the ground. I don't use it any more, but haven't had any problems. That's probably due to our sandy soil that drains well and dries out quickly. I have more problems with my raised beds drying out than with them getting soggy.
I haven't tried this yet but I've read that flat beer OR strong coffee in flat dishes placed around the garden will attract and then kill slugs and snails.
Crap...that sounds like the kind of luck I've been having. Oh well, there's gonna be some mishaps along the way. Hope everything does better.
EG
Thanks everyone. I've been in a bit of a funk about it all but as they say, "Chin up." and "Get back on the horse." So I'm doing both. I feel a bit better and everyone's comments help. =)
Randy: They're looking a littler perkier today, I have hope they'll recover. But I suppose I could always buy starts if they keel over - hopefully for less then $4 a pop! Glad you got a good deal.
Liisa: I think we're in the same boat pea-wise. But hey - staggered harvesting, right?!
Granny: We were just deluged with rain for the past few weeks. I'm not sure even Captan would've helped. ;^) I try to stick to organic methods these days anyway. Next time I might try tenting the peas with a clear plastic film to help keep them a bit dryer if it looks like a lot of rain the forecast. My beds aren't boggy; they drain well but it's hard with the constant rain we get for things to ever dry out. It takes a good three days of sunshine which we won't see regularly till about July. Maybe I need to send some water your way?
Joanne: Beer works great and I like this method in the dryer months we get here (July-Sept) however right now we get so much rain that it dilutes the beer too much and becomes ineffectual.
EG: Thanks. Somehow that actually makes me feel a wee bit better. Maybe because you're so on top of it (almost Master Gardener!) that trouble really can happen to anyone no matter how much you know or do. Though I am sad that you're having woes as well. I hope we both find smooth sailing ahead!
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