The Battle Continues...

I've now taken out the pole beans.  They were being badly damaged and there was no way to reach the upper vines.  The last stand seems to be the cucumbers, which we have been patrolling religiously. 

The bean bed has been planted with more kohlrabi, a row of beets, and a row of spinach.  I've removed the largest planting of basil (I had delusions of making pesto) and planted a short row of chard in the space.  I found stink bugs in the basil. 

I've found an occasional stink bug under the netting in the tomatoes and the peppers, but so far the damage is minimal. 

Lots of Happenings

The battle of the stink bugs continues.  They have started in on the beans, so I've pulled out the bush beans a bit early.  The pole beans are still there, although we haven't picked any yet.  I'm trying to keep them clear of the little beasts.  Here is where the bush beans were.  I've now sown some kohlrabi.

And here is where the bush beans are, along with lots of stink bugs.  I'm hoping they'll all bake, and then in a few days I can dump them into the yard waste.

My plan for next year is to grow only bush beans, maybe three small plantings, and cover them with netting. 

The black zucchini is not looking good.  The leaves are turning yellow and drying.  I would say maybe they aren't getting enough water, but the yellow squash is very healthy.

In the last couple of days I've started rutabagas and parsnips in the bed where I harvested the garlic.  I've also started several more rows of carrots and four six packs of kohlrabi.  I've finally picked some ripe tomatoes (Stupice) and there are lots of peppers.  There are also a couple of Japanese aubergines that look ready. 

The Beckyberries and boysenberries are finished, and the blueberries are winding down.  They all ripened earlier than usual with the heat we've had. 

Cucumbers!

I picked our first two cucumbers two days ago.  They were a bit small, but very tasty.

Today I picked two more cucumbers, a bit bigger.  I also picked the first tomato, ping pong ball size.  It's from the plant I thought was Sun Gold.  I'm pretty sure it's actually another Stupice. 

More Stink Bugs

Today I made a cover of nylon netting to cover the tomatoes.

 I made one for the new Sun Gold tomato, too.


 

We've been finding stink bugs on our corn, which has been looking good.  So far we have seven ears.  We're doing patrols several times a day.  Now that we know what to look for, we've found them in all stages, including hatching eggs.  

Stink Bugs

Today I noticed a couple of stink bugs on the nectarines.  I looked at others, and it seems they have all been damaged.  Every one has tiny strands of sticky stuff oozing out of them.  I'm leaving them for now, but I suspect we won't have any nectarines this year.

I did some research and found a website that lists all the crops that are at high risk of stink bug damage.  It's pretty much everything I grow.  Maybe not greens and carrots, and there was no mention of squash or peas.  So my plan now is to protect the tomatoes with netting.  The beans will have to be on their own.  I haven't seen any stink bugs on either the tomatoes or beans, but I have seen them on the corn.  By the way, so far we have seven ears coming. 

Garlic Out, Rutabagas In

The garlic has pretty much died, so I pulled it out.  There were 32 heads, most of them huge.  I have 18 of last year's left, exactly half of what I planted, so I think 24 might be the magic number next year. The garlic is now drying in the garage.  Then I added some fertilizer and compost to the empty spot and planted rutabagas in about two thirds of the row.  I'm hoping to find some parsnip seeds and plant them in the rest of the row. 

I've also planted a row of snap peas, in the same place as the spring crop. 

I'm hoping to find some kohlrabi starts.  It's a bit late to start them from seeds.

Beans and Squash

Finally we have our first squash.

We have many more coming quickly.  I was able to remove one of the zucchini plants,  but the yellow squash plants (Cube of Butter) are so big and close together that I can't separate them.  I may try to top one to cut back on production.  I hate having so many that will surely go to waste.

The bush beans have also started. 

The pole beans are not far behind.  They've already reached the top of their trellis.

The peppers are really doing well.  They're loving the heat this summer.  But so far no ripe tomatoes.