Ancestral Scotland is offering a voucher code for 10 free credits on Scotland’s People for signing up for their free e-newsletter.

Subscribe now to AncestralScotland’s quarterly e-newsletter by entering your contact details below. We’ll keep you up-to-date with exclusive travel deals, information on exciting events and festivals including the latest news on Homecoming Scotland 2009, our year of celebration of Scottish culture, new ancestral touring ideas, new visitor attractions and much much more.

What’s more, when you sign up you will automatically receive 10 FREE CREDITS (equivalent to £2 sterling) to use on ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, the official source of genealogical data for Scotland, where you can search the following: Census Records, Births, Deaths, Marriages, Old Parish Records and Wills and Testaments. Your submission of this form constitutes your permission for VisitScotland to email you its quarterly Ancestral e-newsletter and, from time to time, information about travel deals to Scotland.

Claim your vouchers here

Okay, they are a little small still.  They taste wonderful and we couldn’t resist sampling a few.

As cute as this little guy looks, he is bad news.  They are tiny – about the size of a grain of rice – and chirp like a cricket when threatened.  A small colony has taken up residence on our potatoes.  They appear harmless and so far the potatoes don’t seem to be adversely affected by them.  However, they are here for leaves.

Rutgers University offers a free guide to the Three Lined Potato Beetle here.

Management of Three-lined Potato
Beetles:
1. Hand picking of eggs, larvae, and adults is effective but difficult due to their size and activity. Eggs may be difficult to find, and adults and larvae can migrate large distances, even across rows to other plants. Also, they will readily climb back up the plant and resume feeding if just knocked off and not destroyed.
2. Floating row covers, cheesecloth, or other similar materials are an effective barrier to the beetles while the plants are small. However, these materials can be expensive and are generally not economically justified.
3. Because damage is sporadic and population levels seldom reach economic levels, pesticides are usually not necessary for this pest. However, if an insecticide is used, obtain thorough coverage of foliage to ensure adequate control of both adults and larvae. Pesticides used for other insects, such as the Colorado potato beetle, are also effective against the three-lined potato beetle. Read and follow all pesticide label directions, restrictions and precautionary statements. Days to harvest after last application varies depending on crop and pesticide—refer to label for appropriate time intervals.

We Have a new best friend. The asian lady beetle ( lady bug / lady beetle ) larva.  While classified as a pest because of its tendencies to infest buildings over winter, in our garden, it is a welcome helper in our fight against the army of insect pests we are battling this year.  They love to eat large amounts of aphids, scale and other soft-bodied arthropods.  Read more at about them at the University of Kentucky and the USDA.

On my first visit to the farm in a few days, I found the tomatoes covered in white flies or aphids.  Some of the leaves were wilted.  I suspect the new squatters are to blame.

What to do?  I did a bit of research and found some reassuring information on Colorado State University’s Extension’s website:

Figure 6

Whiteflies and aphids (Figure 6) both cause leaf yellowing and leave a characteristic sticky excrement called honeydew. Leaves appear shiny and are somewhat sticky when honeydew is present. Damage usually is minimal on tomatoes and often can be ignored. If aphids become a problem, some applications of insecticidal soap are quite effective.

So we shouldn’t worry?  It is difficult to let them be with so many attached to our precious plants an some wilted leaves.  To be safe I sprayed them down with the mixture Chris made earlier.  No immediate results, but hopefully be tomorrow there will be at least a slight decline in the population.

Public Enemy #1: The Colorado Potato Beetle

Unchecked,  these guys have are able to strip entire potato plants a couple of days putting the plant into irreversible shock.  Incredibly efficient eaters, the only thing with which they are more industrious is reproducing.

They lay yellow/orange eggs on the underside of leaves.

If given the chance, they hatch into these horrible looking larvae:

The best defense?  Hand picking off the beetles and larvae and squishing the eggs on sight.  At first I was squeemish about it, but after seeing what they did to our potato plants a couple of years ago it was all out war.  There are several insect predators.  Most garden centers sell products containing “Bt”, the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

The Bt toxin dissolve in the high pH insect gut and become active. The toxins then attack the gut cells of the insect, punching holes in the lining. The Bt spores spills out of the gut and germinate in the insect causing death within a couple days. University of California.

This year, they seem under control.  The potatoes have full leaves and flowers are blooming.  So far, picking has been the best method.

18 days after planting the soy beans are sprouting!

The NY Early Onions that we planted near the peas have not sprouted.  Anxious that we are wasting space if they don’t germinate, we re-planted half of the row with onion plants from Applefield.  Inspired by the sprouted soy beans, we also dug up half of the inactive salsify plant more.  We also planted butternut seeds.

The corn is coming up as well (the little green dots)!

An early start not only avoids the blast of the sun, it affords beautiful views of country side.  In this barn at Pilot Grove Farm live a small flock of spring lambs.

Today we planted habanero peppers (x4), broccoli (x6), marigolds (x6), basil (x4), okra seeds, maxibel french beans, millet, and epazote.

Things are looking happy at the farm.  Our collards in particular are settling well into their new home.

Today we planted shallots, artichoke seedlings, jalepeno seedlings, cayenne seedlings, ancho (poblano) seedlings, tomato plants, a marigold, and Jacob’s cattle beans from Old Sturbridge Village.

The corn has already started sprouting!  I’m wondering if we planted enough.

Also sprouted today, Nelson Carrots, and possibly the White Gem Parsnips.

Unfortunately, the first potato beetles and eggs have shown up on the potatoes.