As each passing day goes by I realize more and more that everything is energy and that energy is never created or destroyed, it just changes form. Plants, just like animals, need sunlight, water and food! At one point in time the soil at the plot may have had some nutritional value, but over the years the plants have absorbed those nutrients leaving the soil defunct.
I spent about three hours at the pumpkin patch today with the rototiller. All of that walking around caused the soil to compact, making it a bit harder for the root systems to flourish. Some gardeners may advise against rototilling because it can potentially disturb the biology of the soil, but my soil isn’t the greatest in the world, so it really won’t hurt.
I’ve realized the importance of fertilizing my plants despite the fact that I added ten cubic yards of compost to my patch. While the compost I purchased was good, it wasn’t great. It was a bit premature and it seems as if a lot of the organic matter hasn’t completely broken down. Adding compost to the patch will help with water drainage and root growth this year, but it won’t really add much to the nutrient content of my soil.
Cucumber beetles can be a real menace to Cucurbitaceae family and it looks like they’ve arrived a bit early this year because of the summer-like temperatures. According to various sources, once the males feed (they’ve already started about 2-3 days ago) they seek females and mate. The females lay eggs 8-25 days after mating and the eggs hatch in about 5-8 days.
