Dave's Progress Thread - Year II


(Jane) #781

Yes we have lots of deer and wild turkey. We have an 8’ deer fence (rebuilt last year - was 7’ in flood pic) and they like to do what we call “drive bys” and munch on young trees not inside the fence. All our fruit trees are inside the fence but we planted ornamental pears this year and they have “pruned” the lower branches for me :laughing: Hasn’t hurt the trees so far.

I spotted the coon that’s been damaging our bird and hummingbird feeders. They will kill our chickens if they could get to them. I got out my .22 rifle and loaded it and have it by the front door if he shows up again. I shouted at him as he was walking away into the woods at the same slow pace. If I’d had my gun ready I could have put an end to his damage!


#782

Yeah, I love nature, but they can be quite destructive too. And oh yeah, Bucks do love to mark their territory, but generally just kill saplings or any weaker trees. It’s a nice way to track their routes, but most don’t like it when they kill their trees. :slight_smile: … I’ve seen them literally destroy entire tree farms down here, but that’s for those who don’t take the extra measures to protect their lot. But they learn fast. :smile:

I actually just walk across the field behind me, to my neighbors and we shoot whenever I’m sighting in my guns for the season. (Woods right behind him) So shooting guns on the property isn’t really a problem for me either, but so far the Pups have been keeping the yard pretty much cleared, and I do mostly Bow Hunt 95% of the time though. … I much prefer Archery, and when I hunt with a gun anymore, it’s more like I’m shopping, instead of hunting. (But nice way to thin the herd and put some meat in the freezer though) :slight_smile:


(Empress of the Unexpected) #783

Wow, you are way ahead of us - yours is flowering. We have a few flourishing, and a few literally dying on the vine. Last year we had so much zucchini we had to freeze it or give it away. And the bugs - they have eaten huge holes in the leaves!


(Jane) #784

I don’t treat if not too bad. But if it gets out of hand I use diatomatious earth in a panty hose and sprinkle on the plants. It damages the exoskeletons of the bugs eating your plants.


(Empress of the Unexpected) #785

I’ve heard of that. Is it organic? Safe for plants and people? I have examined the leave and see no bugs.


(Ashley) #786

It’s safe! My cats love it, I’ve sprinkled it indoors for bugs and my cats went crazy over it! I still used caution and wore protective stuff so I didn’t breath it indoors while sprinkling it!


#787

Yeah, they are really busting out quick, considering how late I was putting them in. But we’ve been getting both rain and sunshine quite often so it’s not too surprising. I’m just hoping to not lose anymore. It actually rained again later last night, but I’m not sure how much wind was with this batch? … I will have the Wife let me know when she goes out today and checks it out. And yeah, we give a lot out each year, both to neighbors and some folks at my work. It’s why I usually plant so much, so I have it.

As to the Diatomaceous Earth, I think I’ve heard of it, but never used it before. But I will definitely look into it though. … I presently have been using a home made remedy for quite a few years now, using the ‘Blue’ Dawn Liquid Soap. It pretty much does similarly by dissolving the Exoskeleton and covers them so they can’t breath. But you have to actually spray the little bastards directly. (which I don’t mind) But it works pretty quick too, usually within a minute or so they are dropping dead. … I will post a link to some info on it below, very simplistic. Might look into Diatomaceous Earth as being it can be applied such as products like ‘Sevin’ but don’t like those, since they can kill other things like Butterflies, Bees, etc.

Ran a quick search, but there are loads of links for this. … I use the same this was calls for 2.5 oz. of both the ‘Blue’ Dawn Liquid and Vegetable Oil. NOTE: You must use the ‘Blue’ Dawn Soap, since the others have Bleach in them, which will damage the plants. Blue Dawn can also be used to spray on things like Moss, etc. … Apparently the little Blue bottle has quite a few applications it can be used for. They also say it’s the safest on getting oils off wildlife, etc. So we usually keep it around the house. :slight_smile:


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #788

Dawn is also the preferred soap for window cleaners. When I was a window cleaner I used 7th generation so I could market as green (also, you know, to be more green.) But all window washers agree WINDEX IS CRAP!!! Ever see streaks on your drinking glasses? No? Huh. Interesting.


#789

Yep, the little Blue bottle is definitely known to have many uses indeed. :slight_smile:


(John) #790

https://richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp


#791

Well, just a quick garden update… Apparently I have couple other plants that the winds whipped around enough to probably have them die off. (Some broken off clean) But while out there, I noticed there were a couple other plants that are starting to look a little sickly too. So upon closer review, I did find a couple small, black, hard-shelled bugs that may be of the fluid sucking type? Either way, have my Son running up to pick me up some Blue Dawn Dish Soap, since the couple bottles we have here presently, are the Orange Antibacterial brand. … If they are indeed working their dirty deeds on my plants, I will be taking their little asses out here as soon as I finish eating. Plus, with the two plants I just laid off to the side, I’m still planning to plant at least 24 more Zucchini’s back in there somewhere.

Ended up having to run out, so got it all set up to attack tomorrow. … I did pull the Zapper out and had that setup, since we are seeing loads of insects presently. But I have help too. Zapper is on a hook-pole about eye level and anything below Zeppy takes care of. … First time seeing him, but his colors are real nice though. … Also didn’t want to chase him around, for fear of stepping on him by accident. But he was hoping all around chasing bugs. I’m sure the Zapper’s light will help draw him in some more meals. :slight_smile:


#792

Got up early, ran the trash up & then headed to the Amish Shop where we pick up our plants. Let them know that I had bought 18 Yellow Squash and 30 Zucchini’s a few weeks back, but that now I have 48 Yellow Squash! And only 6 Zucchini’s. (includes the 6 Y/S I had come back.) … They kept apologizing about it, and the lady even said I was at least the second person she knew of that mentioned this. The Gentlemen, still apologizing, said he would be having a chat with his folks, but thinks it was because they had all the grandkids helping out and they must have used the wrong labels on some. :smile:

Told them no worries, but that the 24 Zucchini’s I got this morning better not be Yellow Squash! :smile: I sure as hell don’t need any more, much less end up with 72 total! :slight_smile: … Also picked up 12 Yellow Banana Pepper plants while there, since they were out last time we visited. They usually do quite well.

Note: After getting home, I set up my small sprayer and went to war. … Yep, Goddamn Squash Bugs! Most are tiny little shits, but some adults were present as well. Spent over an hour spraying and walking around the plants watching for movement. Sure killed all I seen, but they can hide and be sneaky. Will be keeping an eye out, especially with the new plants I will be putting in as soon as I finish eating. :slight_smile:


#793

Looks like you’re going to be the squash guy, for any pot lucks you might be going to, anytime soon.

Might go looking for some pot lucks! Dave, would you become a Pot Luck Crasher, to get rid of some of that squash? :wink:


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #794

Ok, this sounds kinda fun…


#795

:smile: … Well, that sounds like it could be fun. :smile: Unfortunately I don’t usually do pot lucks and the like, but I will simply start bagging up all the extras we won’t be using and just delivering it out to folks.

I’m actually just about to head out there now and plant the new stuff, since It got dark on me yesterday after cutting grass and weeding. - Even with the 7 to 8 plants I lost, (which already had a lot on them) I’m betting there’s a good 40 or 50 presently and some might even be pickable now. (Most tell me they prefer them smaller in size and not the huge ones I get. But Squashes always do extremely good here, and I’m amazed just how much they produce sometimes. But at times I get tied up and by the time I get out to check them, they do get quite large. … So yeah, if I can keep the damn Squash Bugs at bay, I will indeed have loads of the stuff. :slight_smile: - If it gets too crazy, which happens, I just start taking boxes of the stuff to work and letting folks help themselves. Maybe I should look into getting some type of Squash Mailing system set up? … Hey, one of those tube delivery system could be fun. :smile:


(Ellen) #796

I’d take some, but probably a bit far away! Hope you get the bugs under control.


(Jane) #797

I checked WalMart online and they only carry the Ultra and Platinum versions of the Blue Dawn dish soap.

Is the Ultra safe to use? I can’t find the original formulation locally.


(Jane) #798

I found Dawn Simply Clean on Amazon which says it is non-concentrated version and also says it is the non-Ultra version.

As long as the Ultra is just more concentrated and doesn’t have bleach it should be ok, but I don’t want to kill my plants, just the bugs :anguished:


#799

@Elle79 Yeah, I’m guessing probably just a bit. :smile: Else I would be more than happy to share. :slight_smile:

@Janie From what I know, as long as it doesn’t contain Bleach, and I do remember also reading to not use the Anti-Bacterial ones. So I just use the Blue, which mine is also the Ultra. Also recommends you can re-apply every 7-14 days to get them under control. Checked mine early this morning, but wasn’t too bright yet, so will be checking them more when I go out to plant the new stuff here in a few minutes.

Wife decided to make something to eat, and I had to make some changes to my chart since I’m starting year two of Keto now. So will post that in a moment. Here’s the bottle I have presently.


#800

Week 53: Had to make some changes to my chart, so decided to split the years for better viewing… I did show a +1 gain for this week, but was telling the wife I had been feeling a bit puffy since last night. The bad thing about me spending so much time in the Yard & Garden on weekends, is that I usually drink quite a bit when I come back in from the long time in the heat. This is usually Water and Tea, but at times just feel like I can’t quench the thirst. … Feel great overall, but I usually have a couple nice full meals on the weekends, so it sort of sets my weigh-ins on Sunday mornings with some extra meal and fluid weight. This doesn’t bother me at all, but I generally feel ‘lighter’ during the weekdays. But I’m also going to be getting back to my Fasting some too, like I was before my surgery in January. This, along with me starting back on working out a few times a week should be quite helpful in the coming months.

Took me a bit to remember just how to link the two separate columns, since I don’t have them running consecutively on the same one. I don’t actually use ‘Numbers’ as much as I do ‘Excel’. This is because all my spreadsheets for work are in Excel, so I’m in it quite regularly. But I think I have it all sorted now, and also have the sheet setup to work from the very beginning to presently entered data.