skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

Nightly Beneficials Visiting My Garden At Night!!!

13 years ago

It's been a few nights already, I looked out my window and my garden is lit up with tiny glow in the dark lightning bugs! I looked them up and they are definitely a beneficial!

This morning in a short walk through, I found a little half grown praying mantis perched on one of my patty pans! A nice message? It is too small to do battle with squash bugs, don't think the praying mantis can take on a big hard armored squash bug, but I have my hopes. They are resistant anyways and the lady bug seems to be doing battle with them more than any bug.

Does anyone know for sure what fly is a good bug eater? It is supposed to be a big fly, I've heard of horse flies, are these the beneficials?

My supposed to be long neck yellow squash decided it was time to grow right. I actually saw long neck yellow squash growing instead of crooked neck. I'm happy, and they are starting to grow faster, I've harvested 4 small crooked neck so far, which is not a good harvest considering what they grow. Out of 7, I may get one, but now I see a slight change! Looks good, but not perfect.

What can be planted still? What about kiwis? Green beans? I have seeds and would like to throw them out there. I planted my 3 casa banana plants yesterday, they didn't grow very big in the bucket, but now in the garden, it might be different.

I planted a sweet potato and something got most of it. It had pretty shoots all over it, I found the hole and could only find one. Don't know what that could have been. The sweet potato still there, but it was an attack just the same.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

jimster
13 years ago
Just yesterday a friend told me about how he observed a fly (robber fly I think it was) attack and eat a squash bug in his garden.

Most common crops can still be planted. It's even a bit early to be planting the ones which need cooler, fall growing conditions.

Yellow crookneck is a big favorite of mine. It has flavor like no other summer squash I know of.

Did you plant a sweet potato tuber? I suppose that would work but normally sweet potatoes are propagated by rooted slips.

Jim
scarletdaisies
Original Author
13 years ago
I planted one yesterday, something attacked in this morning or in the night, but my tuber is still good. Well, I can plant kiwi vines, I ordered some squash seeds like butternut, cushaw, and I planted some shasta daisies the day before yesterday. If I'm still in good timing, I've got other things to plant, even beans.

I'll look into that fly, I need some of those in my yard! I saw a few, but can't tell if they are beneficials. Was it a baby squash bug it ate or was it a grown one?
Related Discussions
beneficial plant in the garden
Q
Comments (12)
You might also want to look into any of the mints. They are wonderfully invasive. I, too, love invasive plants. It appeals to a certain morbid streak in me. I often think to myself, if I die and somebody else moves into the house, they can paint the house, tear down the walls, down the trees and yank out the roses, but they'll never be able to completely eradicate those blackberry and raspberry and yerba buena plants. I have been trying for years to eliminate some thorny blackberries that always seem to pop up somewhere like a bad penny. Nowadays, I kinda like the thornless kind. Less bloodletting involved. But I know, if I were to die, which berry would win-out in the survival of the fittest. Ouch! Speaking of ouch, I do kind of miss the thorny blackberries. I got into berries as a kind of nostalgia thing, remembering the joy I had as a kid stealing blackberries off the wild bushes in the parks. Thornless blackberries are easier, but they aren't as precious when there is no risk involved. I remember, as a little kid, the best blackberries that everybody else had overlooked were always way in the back, behind the sharpest, meanest looking thorns, and usually behind some nasty, hairy looking spiders (gulp!) Getting those berries was like tomb-raiding! But thornless blackberries... They just taste good. If I was growing them for kids, I'd grow nothing but the thorny blackberries.
...See More
Worm Stations - Beneficial to Garden?
Q
Comments (21)
Some worm ideas for a garden: If your garden drains well and is not too wet--dig a shallow trench and put some newspaper, leaves, or corrugated cardboard in the bottom and add some vegetable scraps and more bedding on top. Let it percolate for a couple of weeks and add some redworms. Cover with mulch and keep it moist. Plant on both sides of the trench and you will have a fantastic garden. Just pull the mulch back to add more scraps and cover again with mulch. The worms will find the food. To store castings: any breathable bag, a plastic bucket with air holes drilled on the top/sides. Keep moist. You can also store in a tote with wet burlap/carpet on top with no lid. We want to keep all those good bacteria and fungi alive. Good luck. Opaque like a worm bin is best...probably be hatching some worms from cocoons. They will do splendidly.
...See More
My New BFF (beneficial friend feasting)?
Q
Comments (10)
That looks like a Red Admiral. In my yard during the winter I've noticed a pattern... the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers fly from branch to branch amongst our oaks and drill for sap. After they move on, a very small bird called the Ruby-crowned Kinglet would come along to get some of the leftover sap. And then would come a Red Admiral. I've seen these critters arrive in that order time after time. It's pretty cool. That's a nice shot. I just got a Louise Darzens last year, and am really enjoying her flowers. She needs a bigger pot, though... Thanks, Virginia
...See More
How often must I water or visit my garden?
Q
Comments (19)
My main garden is 45 minutes from my house. I go there every Mon/Wed/Fri after work until dusk and all day on Saturday and half day on Sunday. (the other 2 days & Sun are spend on the flowerbeds/mowing/regular errands around my house) Water depends on Mother Nature, sometimes I turn on the sprinklers (12 hr timer) every time I am out there, last night we got an inch and half, so no need to water. There is no hard and fast rule in gardening. Veggies want about an inch of water a week, more when its hot. And there is other stuff like weeding, staking, tying, bug patrol, harvesting. I have been doing the every-other day thing for over 10 years now so I know how to pick zucchini so that it wont' be a baseball bat when I come back in 2 days. Or my strawberries won't be rotting. A good garden can be a lot of work. I couldn't imagine not being there every other day, when I take a short vacation it is madness to catch back up. And personally, 30 mins isn't much of a drive. It takes more than that for me to get into work every day, plus 45 minutes to the garden. If you only have 30 mins that is easy. The nearest town to me to get groceries is 17 mins, and their store is tiny. For most shopping I need a 35 min drive which doesn't seem long at all. I guess it depends on where you are though. If you can walk to most of your needs then 30 mins may seem long.
...See More

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Look Out for Lacewings: Beneficial Insects Coming to a Garden Near You

By Pollination Press LLC

Lacewings are delicate insects that produce alligator-like, hungry offspring that devour aphids and other garden pests

LANDSCAPE DESIGN All-White Gardens Light Up the Night

Lustrous blooms in white, cream and the palest ivory enchant in the landscape at night — and can be practical too

STUDIOS AND WORKSHOPS Visit London’s Shed of the Year

By Luisa Rollenhagen

A modern Renaissance man carves out a multifunctional green oasis amid London’s urban whirl

HOUZZ TOURS Visit a Victorian Fairy-Tale Retreat in the Woods

This renovated cabin is an ultra-feminine getaway

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Visit a Forward Thinking Family Complex

By Becky Harris

Four planned structures on a double lot smartly make room for the whole family or future renters

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Bid Bad Garden Bugs Goodbye and Usher In the Good

By Matt Kilburn

Give ants their marching orders and send mosquitoes moseying, while creating a garden that draws pollinators and helpful eaters

PHOTO FLIP 94 Dream Bedscapes

By Sheila Schmitz

Picture yourself in one of these settings for a stylish night’s sleep

FALL GARDENING 7 Reasons Not to Clean Up Your Fall Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Before you pluck and rake, consider wildlife, the health of your plants and your own right to relax

EARTH DAY How to Design a Garden for Native Bees

By Debbie Ballentine

Create a garden that not only looks beautiful but also nurtures native bees — and helps other wildlife in the process

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Steps to Creating Your Butterfly Garden

By Debbie Ballentine

Encourage these fanciful winged beauties to visit your garden while helping restore their fragmented habitat

Sponsored

More Discussions

gave my garlic a haircut today

14

Planting beans in the same place twice in back to back year?

5

Guess what caused this leaf damage?

8

3

Overnight low of 43 - peppers ok?

15