The ones that curl leaves are much more difficult to deal with.They came back on some branches this year.
Probably because of the wet Spring,Blossom Blight also killed blooms on several varieties of Plums and Apricots.I’m surprised a few went untouched,like Methley some Pluots.
Oh bummer. Terrible year for aphids. I’m having the same issue with my Green Gage.
I was finally able to get on top of them by spraying a mixture of detergent and neem oil
once a week. Not in time to save most of the plums, but the new foliage is completely normal, totally healthy. Next spring I will be diligent in preventive spraying.
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I’ve given up and have been putting sluggo plus near the areas they travel through. I have some earwigs again this year so, the plus
strawberries started in Eugene, both the early June bearing ones and the day neutral types. they ended up being about 12-14 days later than last year so I wonder if that delay will carry through the season to other things. hoods will start in a day or two, also 12-14 days later than last year
No strawberries in Western Montana, yet. Sounds like we are experiencing a similar delay.
my satsuma plum tree was wrecked by the leaf curling aphids this year and I noticed the same thing, once I sprayed it repeatedly for a couple weeks the new leaves were allowed to grow and harden off and the aphids can’t touch them once the leaves are full size and darker in color.
Well that’s great. Have you done any research into dormant season sprays? I’ve heard that the plum aphid can overwinter in the bark. I don’t know if that’s true but if it is I’d like to spray accordingly.
no, I was going to ask the same thing! this tree has had this for two years now so it probably is overwintering. I saw one spray schedule that had dormant oil sometime during flowering but that’s all I remember
Well I’ll let you know what I find out. I’m determined to not have this happen a 3rd year in a row.
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I think most of us can relate to the gripes in this article:
I’m starting a new batch of pumpkins because the ones I started before got moldy and devoured by slugs, and the only tomato plants that look happy this year are the ones in the greenhouse.
But I’ve never seen perennial arugula and cilantro as happy as they are this year!
Last night my low was 48°F, just can’t seem to stay in the 50s reliably, and we don’t have a single forecast high in the 70s in the extended forecast, mostly below 65° even:
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Plant some stupice tomatoes. When I lived on the shores of San Francisco Bay they were one of the only varieties I could get reliable yields from. And those typically weren’t until September/October. I still have hope for a ‘normal’ July and August.
I’ve had pretty good luck with Pink Boar tomatoes here before, they usually start producing in early August and get a good month or so of good production before the rains return. Haven’t tried Stupice, will look into it for next year.
I put my tomatoes outside at the beginning of may. They have only doubled in size but look perfectly healthy. The cabbages were doing well but they really started doing fantastic this week and all the overwintered celery and parsley started flowering
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Stupice is early and quite good. Much better than Early girl.
Some of my crops have flowers and young fruit for the first time (pawpaws, some persimmons, feijoa, kiwis etc) but there may be no ripe fruit!
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In a normal year, spinach has a 2-3 week window before it bolts. This year I’ve been eating spinach for 3 months. Strawberries are a month behind. And my 4" corn might not make it
in time!
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Mine were planted out around the same time, but have been on the slug menu, so the lower leaves are getting pretty ragged and they haven’t been growing fast enough to make up for the attack. They are already starting to flower, though, and the new growth seems healthy enough, so I’m sure they’ll take off as soon as the overnight lows warm up a bit more. I’ve been more diligent about the nightly slug slaughter, too, so that’ll help too I’m sure.
I know! I have a huge strawberry bed that usually is cranking by the end of May. This year? Yesterday I had my first one. Hopefully next week will get them going. We have forecast highs in the low 70’s in Salem area. My backyard usually trends 3-5 degrees warmer. So fingers are crossed for a couple days on the high 70’s. How are your sweet potatoes doing? Mine have only put on a few new leaves and they’ve been the ground nearly two weeks. By this time last year they were creeping all over the place. When they are substantial enough for my cat to disappear I’ll know we’re on course again.
No leaves yet. Could be that I’ll just be eating leaves in Sept!
To get a grip I step in the greenhouse…aaaah warmth! If only it covered an acre!
My outdoor tomato and pepper transplants have been well slimed. Next to check them out will probably be the mice looking for a little variety in their diet. Last year they found all the cherry tomatoes at the first hint of blush…
Ate my first gh tomato from Jan seeding (caveat-had to grow in house under lights till March) - Big Dena from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Has that good sweet-tart flavor that reminds me of my east coast youth.
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