Geranium Cutting Update. 24 Jun 24.

This is the geranium that I rooted in water as a cutting, this Spring.  I think it's doing very well.  Lots of roots.  So I up-potted it.

I cut off two flower buds to let it grow more before blooming.

Cosmos Seedlings 24 Jun 24.

 The cosmos seedlings are taking off now.

I have some cilantro in there too.

I have been giving these some growth fertilizer (higher nitrogen).  Maybe it's time to hold off and see how they do.

Marigold Seedlings (and Scallions). 24 Jun 24.

 The marigold seedlings that I planted in larger containers have taken off.

I just planted the remainder.  They are small, in comparison.

There were some scallions left over from thinning.  They sat out for a while and dried out, but the bulbs look viable.  I trimmed them up and  interplanted with the marigolds.  We'll see how they do.

Sweet Cherry Harvest and Canning. 24 Jun 24.

 Cleaning up the Vancouver place for sale.  This will be my final crop from the trees there.  Bing (red), Ranier (yellow) and tart cherries (North Star?) similar to Montmorency.

I canned the sweet cherries, seven pints each.

At Battle Ground, the Montmorency Cherry tree is loaded, almost ripe.

I set up the Gumby man to deter birds and deer.

I will need to pick them in a few days, so he can help with the blueberries.

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.