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Post by littleminnie on Aug 8, 2014 18:12:08 GMT -5
Well I left a lot of milkweed this year for the butterflies and noticed today almost all are coated in aphids! Sticky and nasty! They are sticky enough without aphids. I also have aphids on the eggplant and peppers and have had that before; the lady bugs are working hard on them. But milkweed having aphids?!  |
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Post by steev on Aug 10, 2014 21:26:41 GMT -5
Baking powder spray?
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Post by littleminnie on Aug 27, 2014 20:42:50 GMT -5
So many insect friends and foes in the garden. Parsley 'worms' black swallowtail caterpillars that is, monarch caterpillars, lady bugs and aphids; and today I was attacked by tiny ants in numbers. I was weeding and must have disturbed them. I think they are eating the aphid honeydew. The buggers attacked my feet! We don't get that kind of thing up here. Very few CPBs, few cucumber beetles, a few SVB, decent amount of cabbage worms and cabbage root maggots, and huge amounts of grasshoppers.
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Post by steev on Aug 27, 2014 22:52:44 GMT -5
Apparently grasshoppers are tasty, fried. It's all good protein and you can pick your teeth with the hind legs.
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Post by littleminnie on Sept 28, 2014 10:34:01 GMT -5
My week has been rough and flared up my gut problems which sucks. The neighbor farmer finally agreed to dig my sweet potatoes planted on the edge of the space I use, in the middle of the field. He said thursday and Friday he would be finishing up in the field behind the next field from me. I was so relieved because it would take me hours and many would be poked or left behind. The Georgia Jets set far from the crown. I cut all vines, pulled the plastic and got ready to have them harvested but he couldn't fit the harvester on the field road or under the power lines on the main road. I am so bummed. Now I have to dig myself and I missed all the warm curing weather. I dug 15 feet X 3 rows 10 days ago and cured those. The amount was very good but the looks are ugly. Lots of "stretch marks". It will take all my time this week to dig the rest.
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 16, 2014 23:31:15 GMT -5
Every year I end up not using my tiller for two months or more and then want to use it at this time of year and it won't start. I'm never certain the last time in July or August will be the last time or I would run out the fuel. Is there anything I can do to get it running? this is the kind |
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Post by steev on Oct 17, 2014 0:20:26 GMT -5
These bitty engines tend to be very picky about fuel. Dump whatever is in it, for your car (or mower, maybe); give it fresh fuel (not what's been in your shed since last you gassed the tiller: might need to clear its carb). Is the gas oil-mixed? That's a consideration on where you can use it. Gas loses the most volatile molecules, so it becomes less readily combustible, so it's harder to spark.
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Post by davida on Oct 17, 2014 1:07:43 GMT -5
Agree with Steev on the fresh fuel and I would try to find ethanol free gasoline. From Popular Mechanics: www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/outdoor-tools/can-boutique-fuel-save-small-engines-from-the-wear-and-tear-of-e10 Repairman and small-business owner Rich Herder doesn't mince words about the damage ethanol in gasoline is doing to the small engines in outdoor power equipment. "It's the biggest disaster to hit gasoline in my lifetime," Herder says. He owns McIntyre's Locksmith & Lawnmower, a service business in Westfield, N.J. Founded in 1898 to refurbish saddles, the business today repairs more than 5000 machines a year—mostly pieces of outdoor power equipment, and many of them, according to Herder, damaged by the alcohol in today's gasoline, known as E10 for the 10 percent of alcohol it contains. Herder estimates that as much as 75 percent of that work is not due to normal wear and tear, but results from the use of ethanol, which can cause rust and carbon deposits inside the engine, dissolve plastic parts and more. And if repair shops like Herder's are already busy, you have to wonder what will happen this summer when gas pumps begin dispensing E15 gasoline; I gladly use gasoline with ethanol in my vehicles but use ethanol free in my other engines and especially for any gasoline that is stored for any period of time. |
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Post by oldmobie on Oct 17, 2014 1:36:35 GMT -5
You could use Stabil (or another fuel stabilizer) in your gas. In theory, it keeps the fuel from losing the most ignitable molecules and leaving behind "varnish" to impede proper function of the carb. It seems to help. Since it's here for the whole forum to see, and since some of these folks have chemistry backgrounds (probably some mechanics, too) maybe someone will tell us if it really does that, or if it really helps. (Laymen's terms, please...)
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Post by philagardener on Oct 17, 2014 7:11:52 GMT -5
I'm cautious about dumping 2 cycle (mix) fuel into my car ( steev 's truck may not be picky  ). I have a different model tiller aging in my shed with the same issue - think the carb is gummed. They have engineered the fuel jets so small that deposits gum it up and I can't get it clean with carb cleaner. Replacing the carb might be the best way to get it started. Rebuild kits are available but adjustments are touchy. Preadjusted replacements run about $30-40. I think running it dry at the end of the season should help, but I always seem to have old gas left at the end of the season. No-till might be an answer. |
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 18, 2014 10:55:35 GMT -5
Yes it is 2 cycle mixed in. I will try to dump and redo. I need to plant garlic Thursday or so but I could borrow a real tiller.
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Post by steev on Oct 19, 2014 19:26:19 GMT -5
For years, the only 2-cycle tools I've had are chainsaws and weedwhackers; running the Mantis, mower, and Sukie all from the same gas-can means the gas is never more than 3 weeks from the pump.
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Post by philagardener on Oct 20, 2014 6:01:23 GMT -5
I agree that regular engines (separate oil reservoir) seem to be more reliable and easier to maintain, but they also tend to be larger / more robustly engineered. They also seem to burn cleaner and give one options on using up unmixed gas at the end of the season. Mix is just a pain to, well, mix, and often 2 cycle engines spec different ratios (and tell you to use fresh mixtures.)
I hear @davida 's comment that ethanol-free gas is better for all gas engines, but I can't find a ready source on the East Coast (where all the gas seems to be blended to help it burn more cleanly - I imagine CA is similar).
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Post by steev on Oct 20, 2014 10:09:14 GMT -5
Sure is.
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 20, 2014 19:47:35 GMT -5
I like my tiny cultivator for many jobs and it is so easy to handle. I can carry it with one hand and put it into my fishhouse garden shed easily. It doesn't do other jobs though. Such as tilling corn stumps or strawberry plants or big weeds.
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