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March 10, 2011

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Who Done It In The Hen House...

The Chattooga Garden is a flower and vegetable garden. It has 4 large rectangular beds which are separated by grass alleys. In the rear there are 6 raise beds, a pumpkin patch, and the chicken coop. It is usually a very nice place to be. The hen house was built with salvaged lumber and tin from a shed that was on this site before the garden. The lumber is poplar with some boards as wide as 24". We used chicken wire was to secure the coop on all sides including the floor. The residence of the coop are 6 hens and 1 rooster , Dutch bantams. Last week 8 eggs hatched . Everyone was pleased with the prospect of a larger flock. This, however, did not work out. The day after the hatching the chick count was 6. Two chicks had vanished without a trace. Day three there were no chicks to be found and no signs of foul play. What happened to the babies? After reading I suspect we have rats. They are nocturnal feeders who can can slip through a 1/4" crack, are excellent climbe...

hawkmoth as a caterpillar /tomato horn

Larvae are pale green with white and black markings (see photo), and undergo 5-6 instars. The first instar is yellow to white in color with no markings. Later instars develop eight white, lateral "V-shaped" marks. A black projection or "horn" on the last abdominal segment gives the caterpillar the name "hornworm." The caterpillar reaches the final instar in 3-4 weeks, and is 3 1/2 to 4 inches when fully mature. Fully-grown larvae then drop off of the plants and burrow into the soil to pupate. During the summer months, moths will emerge from pupae in about 2 weeks. Moths emerge from the soil, mate, and then begin to deposit the eggs of the next generation on tomato plants.

Three days of rain are threatening to ruin the dahlias which in our gardens are at their peak. I have been using fungicide after each large rain event, 5.8 inches last night, and so far there is no sign of mildew. We have paid more attention to dis budding and thinning foliage this year. The aim is for fewer but better flowers on longer stems. Spacing has also been increased to 40" and we are using iron fence stakes painted Carolina blue to stake the plants. The bad news is that the names washed off the stakes. I need to come us with a better way to label the plants. Next Year...

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