Tomato Leaf Problem - Black Flea Beetles? 13 Jun 24

Most of the tomato plants look pretty vigorous, but there is something eating holes and chunks out of the lower leaves.  Most of the plants have at least some damage.  There are tiny black insects, almost ground pepper in size and appearance.  They are difficult to see, but the damage is real and concerning for worse to come.

The damage looks like this:

There are lots of tiny insects, mostly on the cardboard mulch but also some on the leaves.  IT's difficult to take a photo of them because they jump around a lot.  Also, I thought that some of the damage might be caused by slugs, so applied slug bait.  Now I think it's really all flea beetle.

  I'm guessing these are black flea beetles.  

About a week ago, I applied this brand of neem oil spray.

After a week, there were still lots of the tiny insects visible on the cardboard mulch, so I bought this neem oil concentrate and mixed per label instructions.

I applied that three days ago.  Unfortunately, two hours later there was a big thunderstorm, so I imagine that most of the neem oil treatment washed off.  This morning I applied another treatment.  I also added about a teaspoon of peppermint extract per 32 ounce of neem mixture.

I don't know if it will help.  I can add another treatment in a week, or maybe switch to pyrethrin.  I want to stay with organic methods.

 

Alstroemeria Update. Seedlings and Transplants. 15 Jun 24.

 Here are the hybrid Alstroemeria seedlings that I started mid winter.  They were badly damaged by slugs or jays, or both.  They sent new shoots from the roots.

The new shoots seem to be doing better.  I will just let them mature in this container, which has drip irrigation, and plant them in the deer garden this fall.

Here are is the Alstroemeria that I transplanted to the deer border last fall.  The tubers and roots were delicate.  I wondered if they would survive.  They are doing great.

Deer Garden Border Update. Geraniums, Fig Trees, and More. 15 June 24.

 Here is the birder so far.  Lots more work to do.

The fig trees help with privacy.  I want to air layer more forsythias to fill in the back privacy hedge.  The geraniums seem happy there.  It's within easy reach of the water source.  Difficult to see, the four o'clocks are doing well, with a bit of slug damage.  The dwarf  dahlias are more damaged.  I applied slug bait.

Planting the Water-Rooted Tomato Cutting. 15 Jun 24.

 Here is the un-potted Supersweet-100 tomato cutting that I started in water.  Original post 14 May.  So, it was about 30 days from cutting to plantable plant.

I planted it in the garden yesterday.

Miniature Rose Update. 13 Jun 24.

 The first yellow one, that was a Valentines Day grocery store mini rose, probably Sun Maid, is vigorous enough now that I don't think I can call it miniature now.

I just up-potted the one that I had solitary.  It was drying out too fast, the plant being too large for such a small container.

The others, that had been in the same original pot and now in a much larger group container, are starting to bloom again.

It's much larger than I expected, unlike the first red one ¿Danika?  but it's OK.  It's a very nice rose, and has been fun learning and experimenting.

The pink one that I added recently, didn't much like the treatment I gave it.  My theory is, the weather now is too warm and sunny for a mini rose with such small roots to go directly outside.  There was lots of wilting.  The flowers looked sad  so I cut them off.  It looks like I forgot to post on it, so here it is.  I identified it as ¿Light Pink Felicitas Kordana?  I bought this plant 1 June, slightly past its prime.

I repotted it the next day.  This is the root mass - not a lot of roots.

After the wilting and crispy leaf episodes, with the flowers cut off and the dead leaves removed, it looks like this.

This doesn't look like much, but I take it as a new beginning.  I am leaving it outdoors 24/7 now, and there is no further wilting.  I think it will catch its breath and start growing again pretty quickly.