Weather: Hazy / partly cloudy. Cooler because of yesterday’s rain. Lakeland received about 1 inch; my PP gauge showed 1/10 inch. Soil was wet enough that seedlings did not need watering.
Work Completed Today
Mowed RRR, parts of Back 40, and Pickle Patch.
Weed‑whacking still needed, but the garden already looks much better.
The bags of grass were starting to stink, so I dumped them to the right of the big leaf bin and left of the blooming sunflowers so they can dry and be reused later.
Tomato Work
Transplants (10 plants)
Trimmed lower branches using alcohol and wiping the scissors between each plant so as not to infect the next plant with anything.
I keep it simple — a ziplock bag with either a couple of paper towels or a clean rag works perfectly for wiping between plants.
Removed suspicious brown spots (no halos).
- Need preventative spray: baking soda mix or copper fungicide.
Big Boy
Turned out to be two plants sharing a cage.
The right plant was sickly → cut at soil level. This should give the larger one a better chance as there is no competition for nutrients.
Bradley Tomato
- An older plant from April planting.
Trimmed yellowing leaves.
Likely septoria → needs copper fungicide.
Learning Patch
Similar yellowing → copper fungicide tomorrow.
Pest & Disease Treatments
Eggplants
Eggplants are being eaten by Colorado potato beetles and some little nymphs (larvae).
I have been picking off the adult beetles.
I can’t squish them because it makes me squimish, so I drop them into my soapy bucket near the eggplants.
Will need Spinosad early morning for the larvae.
General
Spinosad (“dead bug spray”) only for eggplants.
Must be applied early morning.
Other Crops
Spaghetti squash: need to check ripeness soon.
India cucumbers: sprouting.
Armenian cucumbers: not up yet.
Picked: tomatoes, cucumbers, okra.
Trimmed yellow okra leaves and discarded them in community vegetation, not Amish compost.
Tomato Planning
Counted 22 holes ready for new plants.
I have ~30 plants total.
Plan to give away:
Big Beef Plus — Big Beef Plus labeled, but I was snookered on Etsy and they are the size of golf balls.
One Gardener’s Delight
Possibly Jersey Devil (stocky, unsure)
Nancy—Do List
Weed‑whack PP edges, RRR, Back 40, and the north fence of B40
Take north side fence down in Learning Plot— it’s not necessary, and once it’s removed, I can weed‑whack the weeds, so my garden neighbor doesn’t have weeds poking through from my side
Feed horseradish in PP and B40 with blood meal
Give ginger a smaller dose than horseradish — 1/2 tablespoon blood meal
Sort tomato cages and prepare for the 28 new tomatoes
Copper fungicide on Bradley, Learning Patch, and the trimmed transplants
Spinosad on eggplants early morning
Check spaghetti squash for ripeness
Pick all brown tomatillos
Buy BT for caterpillars
Prepare new tomato holes with the small gas tiller
Continue drying grass
Monitor ginger & horseradish color