Season started.

[lcertuche]

I use to stake my pepper plants because they grew so tall and they break easily in a heavy wind. Last year in the garden it was the first time anything was planted so the plants didn't get all that big but I got a lot of peppers. @jackb have you tried mulching with foil? I've heard that peppers do well with it but unless mine were container grown I probably would bother with it in the garden.

 

[jackb]

There is really no need to mulch the plants in the greenhouse as they are grown in a hydroponic system that automatically waters them using large tanks, float valves and gravity to maintain a consistent moisture level.
I have not heard of using foil for mulch but am curious so I'll check it out.

 

[catjac1975]

How did I miss the end of this thread? I love when photos appear across the top and I can click on an older thread. You greenhouse plants are always so beautiful to see. How do you keep the pests at bay, JackB? I just googled tropics tomatoes. I think I will try some indoor tomato plants again. Pests made me give up on them..

 

[jackb]

Cat,
I really don't have a problem with pests in the greenhouse. For the occasional fungus gnat I hang a yellow top off Pringles Potato Chips off the center support. The top is coated with Tangle-Trap and by the end of the season it is covered with small insects. I totally avoid growing strawberries as it is an invitation to spider mites. There is no soil on the floor for insects to breed in and I spray the floor several times a season with Barn Spray to take care of anything that might wander in through the door. I also spray the interior base of the greenhouse and the exterior around the greenhouse. The spray lasts several weeks and I also use it on the foundation of the house for ants and box elder bugs. Works great and a bottle lasts some time, as you use very little for what I want to control. I do not spray any insect control on the plants. Check southern exposure seed exchange for Tropic seeds. You will get a LOT of seed for not a lot of money.

Warning graphic image below may be disturbing to some people.

 

[aftermidnight]

The color yellow color is really good for trapping whitefly as they are attracted to it. A friend was always complaining whatever she tried she could never get rid of the whitefly in her greenhouse. When I went over to have a look I said no wonder, you've painted the whole interior yellow. She painted it white and once they got rid of the pest she didn't have a problem with that pest any more.

Annette

 

[jackb]

@catjac1975
I just noticed your post probably meant pests while growing indoors, sorry. The same thing applies as do not use soil for growing tomatoes indoors. The olives are in mix with a very high sand content and are kept mostly dry in the winter. That discourages gnats and not many insects bother olives. The orchids are in bark and I never see insects on them. As you know, keeping the area clear of dead plant material goes a long way in keeping insects at bay.

 

[thistlebloom]

The color yellow color is really good for trapping whitefly as they are attracted to it. A friend was always complaining whatever she tried she could never get rid of the whitefly in her greenhouse. When I went over to have a look I said no wonder, you've painted the whole interior yellow. She painted it white and once they got rid of the pest she didn't have a problem with that pest any more.

Annette

Yes that deep sunshine yellow color attracts a lot of insects! I had an Adirondack chair custom made and painted several years ago. I chose a deep yellow, very cheery.
When my husband and I sit outside on a summer day, I am restlessly wiggling and waving and swatting while he is sitting calmly, half dozing, still as a stone.

I should just coat it in Vaseline and donate it to the garden.

 

[aftermidnight]

Yes that deep sunshine yellow color attracts a lot of insects! I had an Adirondack chair custom made and painted several years ago. I chose a deep yellow, very cheery.
When my husband and I sit outside on a summer day, I am restlessly wiggling and waving and swatting while he is sitting calmly, half dozing, still as a stone.

I should just coat it in Vaseline and donate it to the garden.

There you go, one big bug trap .

Annette

 

[digitS']

DW seems to have more house plants every year!

In the summer, they go outside. Water, that is about all they get until the fall when many of them are re-potted with fresh soil. However, a lot of the old soil comes in the house with the plants. So, what comes in with them? Fungus gnats .

We have the worst outbreak of gnats of all time, this year. However, there are hardly any flying around to be noticed . You know, while you are having dinner and they are suddenly right above the fork. Or, you finally realize that there is an airborne speck, flying in front of the teevee screen.

Not this year! DW complained that she only had the choice of the larger sticky traps at the garden center but I don't see that it slowed her down in getting one in, at least, every other pot! I complain that there is nothing attractive about house plants with 5 by 8 yellow cards perched behind them ... splattered with fungus gnats ...

But mostly, I keep my mouth shut. Never know when you might inhale a flying bug if there were many in the air and fewer stuck on yellow sticky traps.

Steve

 

[jackb]

DW seems to have more house plants every year!

In the summer, they go outside. Water, that is about all they get until the fall when many of them are re-potted with fresh soil. However, a lot of the old soil comes in the house with the plants. So, what comes in with them? Fungus gnats .

We have the worst outbreak of gnats of all time, this year. However, there are hardly any flying around to be noticed . You know, while you are having dinner and they are suddenly right above the fork. Or, you finally realize that there is an airborne speck, flying in front of the teevee screen.

Not this year! DW complained that she only had the choice of the larger sticky traps at the garden center but I don't see that it slowed her down in getting one in, at least, every other pot! I complain that there is nothing attractive about house plants with 5 by 8 yellow cards perched behind them ... splattered with fungus gnats ...

But mostly, I keep my mouth shut. Never know when you might inhale a flying bug if there were many in the air and fewer stuck on yellow sticky traps.

Steve

The flying gnats do little harm, the larvae below the surface of the soil are eating the roots; try Gnatrol availble on Ebay. For the orchids I soak the entire pot in water up to the brim for ten minutes. That will drown any larvae that might be in the media, and the orchids get a good drink in the process.

https://www.ebay.com/i/251047037236?chn=ps