So just how excited should I get about a few aphids?

[jhouse]

thanks Bill!

I have the same goal as far as long producing plant.

Do you have any photos of your support system? I've been thinking I need to do something different next year -- (including pruning) -- I'm using tomato velcro tape around the stems and mason twin thru that up to a cable running length wise down the row -- and that's not really enough, and it's wearing me out to boot. I'm sure some of that is not keeping the number of stems in check, they're like teen agers run amok.

I'll spend some time studying this website next year while planning the garden, it's a darn good resource!

Jan

[Nematode]

An insectary for beneficias can help.
Forgot my marigolds and alyssum this year and am paying the price with outrageous aphid infestation.

[jhouse]

thanks Nematode, I'll remember those!

[gorbelly]

Alyssum is GREAT for beneficials. I hadn't grown it before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it just doesn't quit. Has been flowering nonstop. I wonder how long it will keep blooming in my climate?

[luigiwu]

Originally Posted by jhouse

I'm seriously thinking about buying some ladybugs

Just out of curiosity, no interest in trying cheap soap water to spray?

[jhouse]

interested, but spraying those two long rows of lots of foliage is daunting, . . .it takes me a couple of hours to thoroughly spray top & bottom of leaves with fungicide. Since there aren't that many aphids yet, (at least I don't think so), I thought the lacewings might do the trick and be easier

As far as spot spraying, I haven't been able to really figure out how just how many and on which plants they are, since there are so many places to check and there's not much if any apparent damage to give me a clue. The white things from when they molt show up, but the Daconil leaves a whitish residue and makes it harder to spot. I'm just seeing them once in a while as I tie up the stems and prune.

I'll scout more thoroughly tomorrow when I prune -- I'll take a bottle of soapy water with me

[Nematode]

Originally Posted by gorbelly

Alyssum is GREAT for beneficials. I hadn't grown it before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it just doesn't quit. Has been flowering nonstop. I wonder how long it will keep blooming in my climate?

If it stops blooming, trim it and it will bloom again.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by jhouse

interested, but spraying those two long rows of lots of foliage is daunting, . . .it takes me a couple of hours to thoroughly spray top & bottom of leaves with fungicide. Since there aren't that many aphids yet, (at least I don't think so), I thought the lacewings might do the trick and be easier

I would purchase a cheap pump sprayer. As long as you can invert it to spray undersides. Should save you a LOT of time.

[luigiwu]

How long are your rows?if they are that long can you handle the expense of buying that many ladybugs? I cannot live without my bump sprayer. The wand allows me to get under the leaves.

[jhouse]

yep, using a pump sprayer. I try to be thorough, maybe that's why it takes me awhile. (and haven't pruned enough perhaps). Saw a thread that questioned whether the fungicide has to be sprayed underneath as well as on top, something about the receptors for blight being on the tops of the leaves. But, others thought spraying the bottoms was necessary as well.

[dmforcier]

For aphids, the worst groups are on the growing tips. The bugs just love them tender shoots. So hitting the growing tips with insecticidal soap (or whatever) from above will get the worst of them. They do like to hang in the lower foliage, but not in large numbers. If you're holding until beneficials can take over, you don't have to soak the foliage.

(Actually, it may be best not to. Leave some meat for the predators.)

[b54red]

If you are spraying long rows of tomatoes then you need to get a backpack sprayer and I would recommend the SP2. I have had this one for 8 years and despite being a bit pricey it has actually saved me way more than it cost in chemicals and replacing cheap sprayers. I used to buy at least two a year and with the low pressure and poor spray pattern I wasted far too much of the expensive chemicals. The SP2 sprays with a good deal of pressure allowing a much finer spray with better coverage and it is easier to use to get the undersides of leaves than a traditional sprayer.

A few pictures I took a year or two ago showing some of my support system.

Bill

[Nematode]

Hi Bill,
I see you are using tomato clips with a very thick twine. Is that working OK?
I use this and it works great.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5958-to...6300-roll.aspx

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Nematode

Hi Bill,
I see you are using tomato clips with a very thick twine. Is that working OK?
I use this and it works great.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5958-to...6300-roll.aspx

I use square hay bale twine which is just the perfect size and comes in two large rolls for about 30 bucks for the pair and lasts a very long time. It doesn't degrade in the sun at least for a year so it works great and is strong enough to hold the heaviest load of plant and fruit. The clips hold good and don't slip on it. I tried a lighter gauge line but it was too small and thin even though it was strong enough it was much harder to use and the clips didn't grasp it nearly as well. Another thing is don't believe the hype about using the clips again. After a season in the sun they are weakened too much and will sometimes break dropping everything down in a big mess. They are just too cheap when bought in quantity to fool with saving them. I find it is really easy at the end of the season to just cut the lines holding everything up and pull up the plants and then roll them up and throw them away clips and all. I get my polypropylene baling twine locally at a tractor dealer and buy my clips from Hydro-Gardens in bulk and they are really cheap when you buy the 6,000 bulk amount but they sell smaller amounts at reasonable prices. They will keep for years when stored inside. I'm sure there are other places that sell them for good prices but I have been buying my grafting clips from Hydro-Gardens for years because they have such a wide selection of sizes available so I just order everything from one place and save a little on shipping costs.

Bill

[jhouse]

Thanks for posting this Bill, I've been studying on it.

I can see the changes I need to make next year, I'm paying the newbie price for

A) Not providing enough support for indeterminates and

B) not pruning from the get go. I'm getting away with it to a degree, and will get a lot of tomatoes, but trying to tie up all the new vines isn't the best way to go.

Even with spraying Daconil, a couple of my cherry tomato plants got a lot of Early blight right in the midst of the plant before I knew it, and I pruned so much out I thought they might die (they didn't, they seem fine). But, there was just too much foliage & humidity and not enough air circulating. And tying up the stray vines just adds to the foliage crammed together & sets up blight conditions probably.

Neat looking system you've got there -- if you have time to post, what kind of mulch is that, and what kind of piping is it & how is it secured in the ground?