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Post by akivalocal on Jun 6, 2020 16:49:15 GMT -5
Thanks, Sher! After checking our your pictures, I have to agree: doesn't look like flea beetles to me! I've put in a question at the U of M extension, so we'll see what they say. BUT! Based on what you said, I did some more diging, and I think I might have found the culprit: springtails! Check it out here! According to the article, the springtails prefer young leaves, which is why they like my squash and amaranth. "Feeding from these herbivorous species results in small holes and surface scarring on the leaves. The damage resembles that of flea beetles." "Feeding within a crop often occurs over only a small area, but will occasionally be more expansive, and in rare occasions result in loss of an entire crop." Based on what I've seen in my garden (there are holes in a LOT of the weeds I pull out), I'd say we're in the "more expansive" phase of springtail action. Hopefully, as the plants mature, the springtails will lose interest. We'll see! |
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Sher
AGA Farmer
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Post by Sher on Jun 6, 2020 16:58:28 GMT -5
I have never seen springtail damage identified before. Interesting!
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Post by akivalocal on Jun 13, 2020 17:30:47 GMT -5
Here's a quick garden update! Things are actually going very well. The strawberries are really taking off since I discovered that they looooove water, much more so than the rest of the plants in the garden. They are sending out shoots everywhere! A few of the shoots are infringing on fellow strawberries' personal space, so I'm trying to capture them! I saw this technique on the show "Grow, Cook, Eat," and I'm excited to try it myself! (By the way, if any of you are looking for a great gardening show, I *highly* recommend "Grow, Cook, Eat." You can find the episodes on Amazon, and they have a great website here.)  My hopniss is another water-lover, and they have really taken off! I gave them some tomato cages to climb, and they're quite happy. They're so tall and healthy!  My pride and joy is my amaranth patch. They are just shooting right up! I know that there's some purslane underneath them - and also by my hopniss - but because amaranth is so shallow-rooted I'm not attempting to uproot the purslane that's directly intermixed there. Rest assured, the purslane won't grow tall, and I regularly remove any taller or more competitive weeds that pop up.  Right behind the amaranth is my squash patch! The young plants have survived their springtails damage, and since the leaves are older and tougher, those little springtails seem to have lost interest. Victory!  My showy wild garlic has little buds! Hopefully soon it'll start to earn its name!  The prairie onion is doing well, but has no buds yet. :( I might not get any this season, as it's their first year. Nothing to report on the raspberries, and I remain verrrrry puzzled by my blueberries, which seem to go from blue to green to blue again. The timpsula (prairie turnip) has tiiiiiny little sprouts coming up, and I'll post a picture when they're a bit larger. So generally, things are very happy in the garden! Next week I'll be creating a compost pile, and hopefully moving some strawberry plants into pots! |
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Sher
AGA Farmer
Posts: 7,025
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Post by Sher on Jun 13, 2020 18:25:24 GMT -5
You have done an absolutely amazing job, akivalocal. No one would ever guess that you are a new gardener.
Congratulations!
And wait till you see the hopniss flowers!
Your wild strawberry plants are apparently different from ours. Ours do not produce runners. So interesting!
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Post by akivalocal on Jun 13, 2020 19:25:45 GMT -5
Thanks, Sher! I'm also quite puzzled by my success, as no one in my family likes to garden, and I didn't even think I liked dirt or plants. Of course, now I can't get enough! Apparently there are two major types of native strawberries, both of which get called "wild," but one of which is technically the woodland strawberry, or fragaria vesca (which is what I have). I assume yours are the more common fragaria virginiana (the wild strawberry). Back when I was just getting ready to plant, I was confronted by both choices. Which to choose? Well, Minnesota is known for its prairies, but is actually a unique mix of 3 unique ecological zones. I found this out from my book "Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota."  I decided to go with the woodland strawberry because I thought it might grow better in my particular soil. It appears I was right! If you want more info, I found this page from the US Forest Service, which talks about some of the differences between the two. Side note: it's so fun to exchange links, pics, and garden talk with you, Sher, and everybody. Whenever I see something interesting in the garden, I think: "oooooh, I wonder what Sher would think about that!" I can't *wait* to see the hopniss flowers!!!  |
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Sher
AGA Farmer
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Post by Sher on Jun 13, 2020 22:20:25 GMT -5
That is so interesting about the woodland strawberry!
Plain wild strawberries are the only ones I have found on and around our property. The fruits are variable -- sometimes round, sometimes conical. But always the sweetest, fruitiest little berries you could imagine.
Unfortunately a huge invasion of tasteless, wildly invasive "Indian strawberries" almost wiped out our native population.
I wish the woodland strawberries grew here!
Here are photos taken on our property in years past of the little wild ones.
And here's a photo of the invader. It's edible, but who wants a bland, tasteless imposter!
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Post by akivalocal on Jun 14, 2020 16:33:43 GMT -5
Invasive species are such a big issue! As I've been learning more about them, I've been very fired up to protect our native plants. That Indian strawberry you posted looks quite weedy and dense; just the thing to crowd out more delicate wild and woodland strawberries.  Your wild strawberries, on the other hand, look gorgeous! It's so fun to see the different leaf types and identify the different plants. Thank you for the lovely pictures!  I may not get a woodland strawberry crop this year, but if I do, I'll be sure to post some pictures! Then we can compare the fruits.  |
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Post by waterphoenix on Jul 29, 2020 6:06:05 GMT -5
Great job starting from scratch! Looking forward to seeing you enjoy the fruits of your harvest. I recently discovered the difference between wild strawberries and "mock strawberries".. we have lots of the mock ones in our yard. At least they're pretty!
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Shawn
Administrator
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Post by Shawn on Jul 29, 2020 6:22:54 GMT -5
When I was little my parents and our neighbor grew strawberries on the side of the houses. The connecting lawn between the two was a field of them. I used to go in there and pick them and pop them in my mouth.
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Sher
AGA Farmer
Posts: 7,025
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Post by Sher on Jul 29, 2020 10:23:36 GMT -5
When I was little my parents and our neighbor grew strawberries on the side of the houses. The connecting lawn between the two was a field of them. I used to go in there and pick them and pop them in my mouth.
What a sweet memory!
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Post by waterphoenix on Jul 29, 2020 17:30:20 GMT -5
When I was little my parents and our neighbor grew strawberries on the side of the houses. The connecting lawn between the two was a field of them. I used to go in there and pick them and pop them in my mouth. I wish I had neighbors like that! The smell of strawberries makes me think summer. |
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