It never fails to "amaize" me how fast corn grows when it is tasseling. It grew at least a foot in 3 days.
how do you keep such a huge corn patch so clean?
I had a heck of a time with a patch only a fraction of that size.
Cindy, I suggest Captain Jack's Dead Bug Spray. Organic stuff and I've had better luck with it than 7-dust. It's awesome.
Haven't had much trouble with bugs this year, my domestic turkeys are wicked pest removers. Unlike my chickens, my turkeys don't devastate the crops themselves... they mainly target the insects/grubs & worms in the gardens. I have walked along behind the turkeys filming their behavior because it's really funny, almost like they are trained. They pick off a potato bug here and a grasshopper there... then grab a dandelion before scratching out a grub. I've never seen them eat a tender lettuce leaf or peck into a delicate vegetable. Don't ask me why. Cut 50 chickens loose for an hour and it looks like a drunk guy passed through with a weed eater!
I've grown garlic for several years now. I've never tried planting the bulbils before but have read that it can be done, just takes longer for the cloves to get big. The first year, I planted 10 pounds of garlic so I had a lot to harvest. I have done it both ways, cutting the scapes early and leaving them on and notice very little difference in the size of the heads. The last time I had bulbils, I ended up using them all in cooking and they were delicious...milder than the cloves but very good. The more I am reading about how long it takes the bulbils to produce matrue heads, the more I am thinking I should just use them for cooking. I have three 40 foot rows of heads to dig this year. Some of that will be replanted this fall and the rest will be used. I peel a lot and put it in olive oil and freeze it for cooking. It seems to store longer this way than just drying the heads. I also peel it and put it in a jar covered with honey. The garlic is great put through the press for cooking with and the infused honey is awesome in my sourdough bread in place of sugar or in marinades and such.
Next year, I'll leave the scapes on half of my plants and see what the difference is. I'm also gonna try putting some in olive oil and honey this year. Thanks for the info.
My sympathies. I have had SVB woes every year. It's gotten to the point where I simply plan on at least two planting of zukes, and hope the second one comes well after the egg-laying cycle of the bastard moth.I hate squash vine borers! They are after the zucchini again! I don't want to use chemicals.
Now that's a garden!