Gardening Struggles

I researched online and it seems like my squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, and watermelon are all coated with Two Spotted Spider Mites!  I started to use Red Pepper Flakes two days ago on my squash, but now it’s spread to the other plants I’ve just mentioned. I don’t know if it’s been long enough for the red pepper to be absorbed in the leaves, but with the massive infestation, I think that it might be time to try Thuricide.  Any other suggestions?


Back of Squash Leaves

Cantaloupe Leaves
see how they are wilting?

Garden Success

Bell Peppers

! 

Cucumber plant

My Beautiful Egg Plant

1st Tomatoes

Squash

Overview of the two gardens.  Please ignore all the “weeds”… grass growing through!  We pull them and they grow back almost immediately!

Next to the marigold plant there is a small mound.  We thought we’d wing it and see if some pumpkin seeds will sprout.  We just planted them,wish us luck! 

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890, it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971).
http://www.examiner.com/

My Newest Gardening Adventure

Growing up my father always had a garden!  It was the size of my bedroom and the plants were always blooming.  With this said, it was simply natural that one day I’d have a garden too. 
I started one back in 2007.  It was relatively small, two long skinny beds about 32 square feet.  The garden was a success, we were enjoying broccoli, beans and tons of tomatoes.  But then one day I went to check on my garden and found the neighbor’s sprinklers were spraying them with reclaimed water.  Now, many people I talk to insist that it’s not harmful to eat a veggie that’s been watered with this treated water.  But, I’d rather not take a chance with all the chemicals it took to clean what was in the water originally.  So, needless to say, my husband and I demolished that garden.
It wasn’t until the spring of this year that my friend got me motivated again!!!  :)  I started my garden in a small area under my kitchen window in the back yard. Here I knew the reclaimed water wasn’t near my vegetables.  I planted green beans, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes and green peppers.  For a little while they all looked beautiful.  I had plants growing, but a few weeks went by and it seemed like the plants weren’t getting any bigger.  They weren’t getting enough sun! 
At first my husband wasn’t sure about creating a new large garden, but he gave me the benefit of the doubt and jumped into the gardening game with me!!  First he disconnected the sprinkler system from my garden area, put up a fence to keep the dogs out, built two gardens, picked up free dirt from the city, and helped me with the soil, peat and manure mixture.  Without him… well, let’s not even imagine!!!  :)
Here are garden photo’s from May 10th!  It’s the start of a beautiful thing! :)
Eggplant, 2 Cucumber plants, 3 Tomatoes, 2 Bell Peppers, 5 Sweet Potatoes
Crookneck Squash, Zucchini, Watermelon, Cantaloupe

TEST POST

This is a test post!!  It’s called Blogging for Beginners :)