2019 Gardens, All sizes

[outdoors4evr]

Definitely not doing well in the garden department. For Japanese Beetle infestations use this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spectracide-Bag-A-Bug-Japanese-Beetle-Trap/3120407
Locate it a good ways away (and best if upwind) from your garden (and hopefully down wind from your house) These bugs really stink bad. I seal the bag into a ziplock so that the garbage man will still stop at the road and pick up my trash.
On a good year you will be replacing the bag 1-2 times a week.

[ScottyD'sdad]

Don't put the traps in your garden, because they use a scent to attract the beetles. Put them in an area away from the garden. You'll catch them, without attracting them to the garden.

Ed

[Eugene]

Things are starting to dry out. Garden, only thing left is cherry tomatoes and ground cherries. Will probably wait until late August to plant fall crops and next years garlic.

Garlic fell over, harvested and curing. Quality, unknown.

Tried the Japanese beetle traps. Work, sort of. Problem is that the Japanese beetles' larva are in the ground. Unless you can kill off the neighbor's beetles, not much help. Better to spray your vegetables and fruit trees.

[outdoors4evr]

This is about the right time of year to kill the larvae. Apply something like Scotts GrubEX to your lawn and garden to reduce next years Japanese Beetle production.
Look up when it is best to apply in your neighborhood. For South Michigan, it is around July 4th.

[SONNY]

Ground cherries here are starting to fill plants with husks. Tomatoes are loaded with green ones, first 2 rows of sweet corn about ready, 3 pickings of green beans done. Total of 49 quart bags in the freezer so far, goal was 52 bags so it's close. Started harvesting the onions and spreading them out on pallets in the machine shed to cure.
Potatoes are winding down so I started digging some of them, they are nothing to brag about, but they will eat. Sweet potatoes are not going to survive the jap attack so I about gave up on them.
Trying to haul water and can't keep up on what the plants need. No rain here for ages, just heat that is unbearable.
Jap beetles came out of the fields next door and about destroyed everything here. Apples and grapes are gone.

[Eugene]

Trying to haul water and can't keep up on what the plants need. No rain here for ages, just heat that is unbearable.

Grass appears to be in the dormant state. Very hot and humid in central Missouri. Will just have to wait and see what the rest of the summer brings.

Think the farmers have harvested more than enough hay this spring to get them thru the winter.

[Peter Person]

Green tomatoes, Bell peppers, blossoms on the green beans, cucumbers, yellow squash, and zucchini.

[Eugene]

Today for first time this year, the local farmers market vender had bicolor sweet corn. 6 very nice ears, $2.00.

Also had decent looking tomatoes, new potatoes, green beans, cucumber, squash, onions.

Up until this past Monday, next nothing at the local farmers market.

[Slim140]

And we’re done.

[Eugene]

Had a bit less than 1/2" rain, total, since 22 June. Garden is gone. No grass to mow.

[Peter Person]

We’re just getting into full swing here in CT.
Green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and green bell peppers. Garlic got harvested this weekend.

Peter

[outdoors4evr]

Not wanting to start a 2020 Gardens thread, I'll post it here.
I'm prepping a garden space for next year. The ground is mostly clay and potato sized rocks (not very good garden soil). I have added and spread 5 yards of aged horse manure (been resting for about 1.5 years) and tilled it in. What should I do between now and next spring to improve this soil? Horse manure usually has a lot of seeds in it.
Should I water the garden to get the weed seeds to sprout and then till them up?
Should I plant a cover crop like winter wheat and till it under next spring?
Should I till in a bale of straw so the ground will be able to hold some water?

I feel like soil tests will just tell me that I have lots of rocks and horse crap.

[Eugene]

I would do the soil tests. Inexpensive.

If you have a plow, I would turn the soil over then plant a cover crop.

If you want the soil to hold water, partially plow/turn over the soil so that you leave furrows.

I like forage radish as a cover crop. Drills deep holes in the soil. Adds to the humus. Kills off during winter.

[Peter Person]

Definitely plant a cover crop.
We will plant rye when we need to improve the soil. We’ve found that cow manure breaks down quicker than horse manure. Both have seeds so composted manure is the way to go.
Leaves and grass clippings are good soil amendments as well.

[Don McCombs]

Do the soil sampling. In addition to organics and nitrogen, you will probably need to add lots of lime.