Kim Huse

Pearl Sutton wrote:When you almost cry as you slaughter volunteer plants...

I had a reason though.
Part of my squash bug strategy this year is to not plant anything in the squash/curcubit family for a while, to starve the overwintered bugs, cut down on the breeding population.

I think these were probably cantaloupes, I don't hot compost, I bury my kitchen waste. Anything that came up from my scraps were things that were from melons that were not worth saving the seeds, as I save seeds obsessively out of my groceries.

Still. I hated to kill them off, even knowing I can't feed the bugs.
I hate killing volunteers.

But I hate the squash beetles more.

I'll keep telling myself that.

I would have potted those babies up ( I am saving cans to do this next year) and sold them for 1.00 each.  You didn't kill them, someone now has  cantaloupe plants, and you have a bit more money to spend on more seeds.  Win/win.

Ah, I see wher eyou are going with thus now, Cindy; and  I am interested in knowing how the large cardboard looms would work out, actually; I am a large woman, too; and yeah,
would need  refrigerator sized pieces of cardboard as well...lI am going to keep following this  for input on if it works, would work, etc...and for more suggestions...

As a big woman I would need a refrigerator box for the looms to make the fabric pattern pieces for a specific item of clothing.

Cindy:

I have been using knitting looms for over 20 years.  I have 2 of these Marth Stewart kits.  You could conceivably make up the front and back of an item, say a pillow, int his case, and package those with directions on how to use the woven heart shapes, sewing together, stuffing.

Now, with the knitting looms themselves, while they  may look like a circle or a heart of  a rectangle, the SHAPE of the loom  does not  translate to the way the KNITTING  that is coming off the loom is shaped like a heart,  rectangle, etc. There are LOADS of Youtbe videos and other sites that have information on stitches and patterns that create texture in the knitted items. You can make afghans, sweaters, shrugs, hats, scarves....anything that can be knitted on 2 needles can be knitted on a knitting loom.  and, knitting looms come in several gauges now, too.

For those that say 'loom knitting is cheating', thats bullcrap. I have carpal tunnel and arthritis in my7 hands, wrists and shoulders and damage to my neck vertebrae, and using knitting needles will absolutely have my hands screaming 'Mercy! UNCLE! OH STOP!* before too long; but I can loom knit for hours because its  easier for me to use the knit looms. My hats, scarves, sweaters, etc, come out looking just as nice as anything knit on needles.  

Pearl Sutton wrote:If you are in the Midwest, this week (late Nov, 2019) the storm system that rolled through slammed the barometer in my area up 107 points in under 36 hours. If you noticed the day before Thanksgiving, and probably Thanksgiving day also, were excessively painful or mood issues, you are probably barometric sensitive too. Which can't be improving the holiday for a lot of families....

I remember this storm, I got slammed

Pearl: I was just reading your posts from 2 years ago on the weather and how it affects us; today is 04/08/2022, and  we had a weather turn starting on Wednesday through Saturday actually, where the wind shifted tot eh NNW and then due N, with gusts up to 32 MPH;  and  I started prepping on Wednesday for this; I had a dr's app't yesterday, was aching yesterday, didn't get home until late; had to put groceries away, so I didn't get to sleep until later than normal; took  anti-inflammatory and a time released melatonin,  and today, I am just aching all over. Now, when the winds switch back to the South around noon on Saturday,  then  that will help; its the chilly wind and pressure today thats not sure what it wants to do today,,,,

Leigh Tate wrote:You know you're a permie when you save string from feed bags.

and tea bags!

Mesquite trees are blooming...

Pearl Sutton wrote:I have a bad case of cabbage moths and squash bugs. I'm trying some odd things this year for them (like Wasp condos for cabbage moth control! )

First of all, BT is the ONLY thing that controls the ever present fungus gnats down here in Texas.  I can't garden without it.

You probably have  come across all of these, but I am going to go over  what I found:

Trap crops: https://ipm.missouri.edu/MEG/2017/3/Trap_cropping/

looks like ground beetles and damsel bugs are natural predators to squash bugs : https://eorganic.org/node/5313

Floating row covers, straw as a mulch; and laying down cardboard or newspapers  around the plants then removing them in the morning  with the squash bugs attached to them underneath ( says the  squash bugs congregate under the  carboard/paper0 and dispose of the cardboard/newspaper; https://extension.umn.edu/fruit-and-vegetable-insects/squash-bugs

I am also seeing nasturtiums being strongly advised..and white icicle radishes...

Neem oil also works; but Neem also  will destroy any insects life cycle...that includes the beneficials...

this video says to use boards to trap them: https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+natural+predator+of+squash+bugs&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS973US973&oq=what+is+a+natural+predator+of+squash+bugs&aqs=chrome..69i57.10855j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://drecampbell.com/natural-ways-get-rid-squash-vine-borers/

this says there's 5  insects to help control them: https://blog.bugsforgrowers.com/squash-bug/five-beneficial-insects-that-control-the-squash-bug/ (look the insects up seperately; I got a warning about the hyperlinks in the article itself; so I will post the links to the different sites for each that has information: : https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/bigeyed_bugs.htm;
https://bugguide.net/node/view/461962/bgpage
https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/damsel-bug/
https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/feather-legged-flies
and the last one is a parasitic wasp : scelionid wasp (Gyron pennsylvanicum); all I can find is studies done at universities that still have a lot of science jargon in them..

https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/37/3/670/476624

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-squash-bugs-killing-ladybugs-22177.html ; there's an idea to use hydrated lime and wood ashes here

https://growfully.com/squash-bugs/

and I saw where you can also use a shop vac with  some water in the cannister to suck them up with, too. depends upon where your garden is in relation to the nearest electrical outlet and you will need a heavy duty extension cord...but hey, if it works....

duane hennon wrote:
I know this is crazy
but Cornell University (probably with some grant)
has come out and said that weeds may be good
who knew?

http://www.futurity.org/weeds-pest-management-1295912-2/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds

Why farmers may want to keep, not kill, weeds

“The benefits of weeds have been neglected. They’re often seen as undesirable, unwanted. We’re now beginning to quantify their benefits.”

My horticulture teacher had a definition for weeds: " A weed is a plant growing in a place you don't want it to."  So even flowers and veggies could be termed 'weeds' under  that definition, if a corn plant was in the middle of  a flower bed, or a petunia was in a onion patch, since they are not supposed to be there by some standards, they could be considered weeds.

Personally, if it grows, it has a reason in nature.  We can take  things out of areas, but  try to  do it so that you can replant it somewhere else more suitable

Mike Holmes wrote:Thanks for the quick reply! Actually we're all vegans at the farm and we'll only be selling veganic products and using veganic fertilizers etc. If I decide to take in some chickens or turkeys, what could I do with thier eggs that would be practical and ethical?..

So far I've heard of some people feeding the eggs back to the birds so that they can get some of the lost calcium and other goodies back into their bodies. But I would like to explore some more options if they are available.

THere is a drawback to feeding them back; they can develop a taste for eggs.

If it were me, I would  sell them at a Farmer's Market  or advertise them on the local FB marketplace for sale; it will bring in money needed to help with feed for them and other animals