Wanted for fence hopping: this chicken and two others that look very much like her.
Amazing how little the onion plants start out! Just green blips in a big field.
Planted these lovely potatoes the other day! Can't wait to eat them!
We're trying something new this year. The last few times we've tried to grow spring broccoli, the plants haven't formed heads. Upon closer inspection, it looked like an insect ate the growth tip that would have turned into the head. In telling a farming friend about this he said with great dread, "it sounds like you have the swede midge". According to the new york invasive species website, section on damage "As they feed, Swede midge larvae produce a secretion that breaks down the surface of the growing point of the plant and liquefies the cell contents, resulting the formation of leaf and flower galls and a misshapen growing point. Damage caused by Swede midge larvae feeding results in distorted growing tips and may produce multiple (or no) growing tips; young leaves may become swollen or crumpled and leaf petioles or stems may exhibit brown scarring. Swede midges feed only on cruciferous vegetable crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, frequently causing severe losses. The insect also damages canola, collard, horseradish, kale, mustard, rutabaga, turnip, and radish." We haven't yet seen the culprit, and we may not, since it is a 1.5-2mm fly. With a pest so small, the only hope of exlusion we feel that we have is to screen them out. so the photo below shows the mesh that we hope will keep the swede midge off of the tiny broccoli plants.
Happy spring!
liz and matthew
1 comment:
Just wondering how the nets helped with swede midge?
Post a Comment