Looks like a bad year for stink bugs.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by b54red

The rains we have been getting are very hard and last only a few minutes or less so we don't get much benefit but it is hard enough to wash off the sprays. I had to water yesterday because most of the showers we have had ended up being no more than 2/10ths of an inch but to hear them you would have thought we got at least half an inch or more.

We have had a lot of very very hot days so far this year and the spider mites have attacked much earlier than usual especially since the plants are so healthy. Or rather were. I got out and sprayed 5 gallons of my mix this morning early and at daylight it was nearly 80 so I think we may have another very hot day. This past June has been one of the hottest that we have had in my 40 years of gardening. We need some good heavy rains that last all day to break the heat cycle for a spell.

Bill

I wish we would get a rain like that. It's so dry here the ground is like pure dust when you walk. We got a quick spit of a rain yesterday. Just enough to raise the muggy meter even higher. It's terrible when it's 6 am and the temps are already in the 80's and humidity so bad you can't breath or hardly move.

I did go out last night and bleach spray as a preventive. This heat and humidity playing havoc on my sunflower containers. Getting a bit of gray mold on them in spots on leaves. Been removing them and have been the past two nights spraying them with a weak bleach spray. You ever bleach sunflowers before? What about cucumbers? Does the bleach spray help them?

I culled about 17 plants the past couple of days. Most all of them were determinates. That and with the major water restrictions have kept only those I like the flavor of to eat. The plants I culled were healthy, just starting to get a bit raggedly with the plant being done. No sense letting them get in bad shape and infect the good ones. I've saved hundreds and hundreds of seeds off those plants so share back so didn't mind seeing them go. With restricted water and just a few fruits left on plants, I couldn't see trying to keep them going.

You see the forecast for this weekend. Pure misery for creatures and plants alike. Even if we don't get rain, a cooling breeze sure would be nice.