u/Legitimate_Tip_8102

everything about to be ripe at the same time. 🙂

Good taste. But, a bit sour.

Lures and bags have worked on the cucumbers. No punctures on the cucumbers. Time for zucchini to fruit too 🤞.

Has been a busy last week and couldn't post earlier

Measures taken:

• Sanitation: Removed all the affected fruits.
• Fruit bagging: Ordered fruit bags. Temporary bags and draw string bags (will arrive in a couple of days)
• Neem oil: Sprayed with neem oil
• Pheromone or sticky traps: Placed 10 pheromone lures and trap across the garden

Ordered these Bags:

Fast arrival (not ideal bags for zucchini and cucumbers):

Go Garden Mango Protection & Growth Cover Bags 18x28 cm | Reusable Fruit Protection Bags for Mango, Guava & Papaya

https://preview.redd.it/qkay6ehsivqh1.png?width=1539&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c9a42761418b28db1dc5fd3ba0ab89d9fa3e0f0

Late arrival (drawstring based soft bags suited fo zucchini and cucumbers). Should arrive in a couple of days:

Non Woven Fruit Cover Bags, Fruit Growth bag,White, Plant Protection Drawstring Bags

https://preview.redd.it/lt7fexcuivqh1.png?width=1161&format=png&auto=webp&s=185f778a062c19b36b64266f3c48b11e33586185

Pheromone Lure:

GAIAGEN Bador Lure® Combo Pack - Pheromone Lure for Fruit Fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) & Fligh-T Trap (Insect Fly Trap)

https://preview.redd.it/aw6d3r1xivqh1.png?width=1347&format=png&auto=webp&s=087654c983f893d9d68beb12868895f553919b9c

Lures:

GAIAGEN Bacu® Lure - Pheromone Lure for Melon Fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae) | Pack of 10

Gaiagen Bador Lure | Pheromone Lure for Fruit Fly (Bactrocera Dorsalis) | Pack of 10

After the lures were placed, with hours started noticing flies gong inside. After a couple of days, this is how the lures looked inside:

https://preview.redd.it/ogtnngz1jvqh1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bc01a433d16789bca79853e0442f219fdca95a3

https://preview.redd.it/3qjofgz1jvqh1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfa12fb2777d25624251b35cf99e7534161833a7

The lures have been working perfectly well :).

Waiting for Zucchini and Cucumbers to grow smoothly now. Will post an update. Hope this helps someone.

red and green contrast

So orange!

[deleted]

Has been a busy last week and couldn't post earlier.

After zucchini, I started loosing cucumbers. Looks like the fire flies has infested my garden.

Bactrocera cucurbitae. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/cucurbitae/cucurbitae_1.html

A little research lead to this: How fruit flies affect:

• Sting marks: Tiny puncture holes on the skin of the cucumber or zucchini, often leaking a sticky resin or clear fluid.
• Distortion: Lumpy, malformed, or sunken brown patches on growing fruits.
• Internal maggots: Small, creamy-white worm-like larvae feeding inside the rotting fruit pulp.
• Premature rot: Secondary bacterial and fungal infections entering through the puncture cracks, causing the fruit to turn yellow and drop off.

Which is exactly what I am facing.

Suggested ways to Manage and Prevent Fruit Flies

• Sanitation: Immediately pick and destroy all infected, rotting, or fallen fruits by bagging them or burying them deep to kill the maggots inside.
• Fruit bagging: Wrap young cucumbers and zucchinis in paper bags, newspaper, or floating mesh barriers right after the flower petals drop.
• Neem oil: Apply organic neem oil sprays frequently to the developing fruit and foliage to deter adult flies from landing and stinging the skin.
• Pheromone or sticky traps: Use specific fruit fly traps or yellow sticky cards near your cucurbit patch to catch adults before they breed.
• Evening sprays: If using natural pyrethrum sprays, apply them late in the evening (after 6 PM) to protect pollinating bees.

Have sprayed with neem oil.

Other than row covers, any advice to prevent borroughing?

Have lost 2 already.

Previous one got borroughed into and spoiled.

Have sprayed with neem oil on the new ones. Hopefully these ones survive 🤞.

Any advice to prevent borroughing?

I have been trying to grow a Blueberry Berryland Blue No 1. A blueberry variety that specifically cultivated for indian climate. This is the 5th update on the plant.

The plant has taken well to the acidic soil. Leaves are thicker and greener. No new branch from past week.

Small Potato Harvest. But there's one big Potato 🙂.

First ever Zucchini 🙂! Need to keep an eye out. I have read that they grow super fast.

I have been trying to grow a Blueberry Berryland Blue No 1. A blueberry variety that specifically cultivated for indian climate. This is the 5th update on the plant.

The plant has taken well to the acidic soil and is sprouting leaves all around. Looks like a very healthy plant now. more branches growing too.

The only guava that was on the plant finally ripened. This one was very sweet!

• Brinjal
• Guava
• Cayenne Pepper
• Angkor Sunrise Pepper

They are coming along well. I am more interested in growing food than flowers. But, flowers do add a charm to the garden.

They were super yummy! Pretty Sure I.ll be getting more cucumbers soon.

Indian Blue Banded Bee

https://reddit.com/link/1w8tkrv/video/wrdgqe4awvnh1/player

Stressful week with unwanted visitors. A thief who robbed my home was the most unwelcome. This Indian Blue Banded Bee was the most welcome. Gardens never dissappoint.

Unlike honeybees, blue-banded bees are solitary creatures; single females build individual nests in soil burrows, mud walls, or soft mortar. Males often spend the night clinging to plant stems in groups.

They are exceptional buzz pollinators that use rapid body vibrations to shake loose pollen from flowers—a technique regular honeybees cannot perform.

This was my first time spotting a Blue Banded Bee too!

Smells so good too! Time for some sambhar!

I have been trying to grow a Blueberry Berryland Blue No 1. A blueberry variety that specifically cultivated for indian climate. This is the 4th update on the plant.

The plant has taken well to the acidic soil. Several new branches. Multiple new leaves. Hoping this streak continues.