My deck garden

FNG

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I think the zebra butterflys lay eggs in your passionvines.

As far as the other ones, they probably arent butterfly caterpillars.
You might be able to identify the ones eating your veggies online, and see what you can do to get rid of them. Picking them off is the first line of defense.

The problem with vegetable gardens is everything that wants to eat too!
 

adorshki

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OK. In my world people are trying to attract butterflies. But they do separate the "butterfly gardens" from the food plants. We plant marigolds in with the food plants because some of the deer don't like marigolds. But much of what we plant gets eaten by something else before we enjoy it no matter what we do...
Marigolds are related to chrysanthemums which yield the natural pesticide pyrethrum.
Which may or may not give a given pest, pause.
Compost, that's part of the ticket.
Builds plants with better resistance to predation compared to synthetic fertilizers.
When I was a kid in the '70's I actually sold vegetables from our garden in the neighborhood.
We used a method called "French intensive" which was also touted to build healthier more pest resistant plants.
Basically just mix a bunch of different types together, closely.
It did yield skinnier shorter corn though.
And root crops tend to come out deformed too if overcrowded.
I'd plan on chicken-wire caging the beets next year.
 

rampside

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Getting back into a little more extensive vegetable gardening has been on my BUCKET list for quite some time now.

After following this thread, any ideas of an up tick in vegetable gardening will probably go right on my ?UCKET list for a while. :cower:
 

gjmalcyon

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... I don't know what's laying eggs in the garden but I would rather they didn't so I am hoping not to lure any of them there. Do you have any insight on insect garden pests? I'm new at this and welcome advice from real gardeners! ...Thanks!

I'm not a real gardener ("but I play one on TV"). I don't use pesticides or herbicides, and what's worked for me is encouraging natural predators: I have lots of cover near my raised beds, and I notice birds regularly working over my vegetables looking for insect meals. I also let my large mint patch flower, which attracts lots of insects, including predatory wasps. I don't grow vegetables that are vulnerable. For example, in our area zucchini squash is highly vulnerable to squash vine borers. Keeping them away from the plants is a pain, so I'd prefer to buy my zucchini at a farm stand; at the height of the season (now), they're practically paying you to take them.
 

Opsimath

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I have an herb and tomato garden in pots on my upper deck, so I can just walk out of the kitchen to get fresh stuff. This morning I harvested basil: Spicy Globe. Lime, Lemon, Purple, Cinammon and a couple other kinds. They are currently slowly drying in my dehydrator, boy does the house ever smell good:drunk:

I was at Home Depot and found seeds for cinnamon basil, lemon basil, lemondrop basil (different company and could be the same as lemon but for a buck and a half I'll try both), and Siam Queen which is supposed to have a "sweet licorice flavor". Oh, I'll bet these are going to smell wonderful! I'm still on the lookout for Spicy Globe and lime. I recall the Bonnie bedding plants at HD had a lot of variety and I wasn't sure what to get. I'll have a better idea next time.
 

Opsimath

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I'm trying to be as natural as I can with my garden. I had a couple of reasons for gardening. One was so that we can have veggies as chemical-free as possible. Check. The second was to save money by growing it myself. Bedding plants, seeds, and fencing purchased (but yet to be installed). Hmmm. I don't think the money-saving part is working out very well.

I am using the spot my MIL used to plant and had to reclaim it from years of non-use. So far I have reclaimed about 25 feet x 25 feet. There's more to be had once I get those horrid bush/tree things down. Turns out they're camphor trees and are at the top of Florida's invasive species list, however, nurseries still sell them!! Why?!! Anyway, digging out the bamboo aerated the dirt. Then hubby brought in the tractor and dumped about 4 inches of manure/stall shavings compost which I worked in. My pH is good but I'm still getting low fertility reading on my soil tester. I guess I need more compost. I'll look up the French Intensive method and see what that's about. I'll move some mint to the garden but I'm still keeping some on the deck because it just smells so good!

The butterflies and I have come to a peace agreement. I have no proof their kids ate my plants. Prime suspects now are nocturnal moths, and I may try scattering some moth balls around for their (dis)pleasure.

I heard a guy in a YouTube video say that juvenile turkeys will eat the insects from the plants but won't scratch up the dirt like chickens will. I could try that after the fencing is up, then eat the turkeys at Thanksgiving! Win-win!

It's been a great learning experience so far, and I'm looking forward to the fall version which looks like will include many of the things that bunnies like, i.e., salad stuff, and then here we go again!
 
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