Ants in my garden..And other veggie problems with photos.

Wow, sure wish I could help but I don't know a lot about gardening.........very nice photos, though.....we've been getting lots and lots of rain here, as well.......need lots more sunshine and warm weather!  The colder than usual weather could definitely be a problem there.  This has been very weird weather this year.  Hope you can get some help here!

I wish I could help but I don't have a clue.  We have the ants in our flower beds where we have wood chips, they are running everywhere. I even took a photo of them a while ago.  My flowers are not doing well now as we have had too much rain and too little sun!  We had storms last night and more are predicted for today! :(

I don't have any answers for your problems, but your garden is so pretty. I hope you can save the strawberries!

Sounds like you really need a break in the weather.  Most of the troubles you are having can be brought on by conditions being too wet.  Hopefully you get some sunny weather soon.

I really like the way you set things up looks great!

Very nice garden. I don't know much about how to control the ants though

Can you move the potted strawberries to a covered area?  They may simply be getting too much water and need a period of drying out.   I would just spay and visible ants with Raid or something similar trying not to spay the plants.  Good luck!

I can Kat, under my overhang. But I heard that when you use a strawberry pot that it needs a lot of water to get to the bottom of the pot, so I am not sure that would be the answer.

You could move it as a temporary measure.  To much water may be why the blooms are falling off and no appearance of berries.

I have the same planter made of terra cotta and I have impatiens planted in it.  I water it with a gallon of water everyother day and the plants are large and healthy. 

I have a few potted plants with poor drainage that are getting too much rain as well, and I have had to move them under the roof.

There is a white powder called B something Borax maybe?  It sucks the water our of bugs, my Orkin man uses it for my ants.  It's safe for kids and pets, I think i've even heard about other people using it in their gardens.

Diatomaceous earth is what you're thinking of. Completely organic and can even be used in food products. Get it at a health food store with an organic gardening section.

Yellow cornmeal will also do, in a pinch, though I'm not sure it will take care of ants. Many bugs can't digest the germ, so they carry it back to their nest, eat it and feed it to the queen==and the germ clogs up their digestive system and they die, basicaly from their guts being glued shut.

Your garden is very pretty I wish I could help but I just fool around with house plants and that sort of thing .

Very pretty garden.  Did you try red pepper flakes for your ant problem?  That may help.  I don't think the ants will like trying to eat them.  The strawberries may be getting too much water, the basil also.  Maybe they need to be moved out of the rain for a while.

I have the red pepper flakes in the house, I will try that. Thanks Nana.

When you use woodchips, you run the risk of attracting termites and carpenter ants.  Not good.  We were told that many years ago when we were purchasing our first home.  The engineer saw wood chips in the front garden and told me the day you close, get rid of those and use pebbles.  He was right.  Many of my friends had lots of trouble with carpenter ants.  I had a bit, but not where my cabinets were being eaten and rotten out like theirs.

Glad I read this because I was considering covering the boulevard area with wood chips. We have enough ants as it is and don't need to provide a welcoming environment for more.

We didn't put wood chips in there. That is the way the compost was delivered to us. It had some chunks of wood in it but not that much.

Hmmm, then there shouldn't be too much wood, and it's possible that they came with the compost, but more likely that they're attracted to it.  I'd sprinkle some grits in there and let them eat.

Katie, I didn't have grits but I put the cornmeal out there outside of my boxes and they are eating that and staying away from my plants. Thanks for all your advice so far this seems to be working.

But, down here, we get lots of fire ants.  The cure (other than an exterminator) is grits.  Yep.  Try to find their mound or where they're coming from......sprinkle the grits liberally.  The ants will eat them, and then when they drink water, the grits expand in their stomachs and they pop.

That is interesting. I will have look better to see where they are going. I have seen them running along the wood but didn't notice if there was an ant hill anywhere.

Katie, there are a couple more remedies for fire ants...grits are the 'easy' way but my son came up with a couple more that appealed to him:

1) Two men, each with a shovel, simultaneously dig up a single shovelful of dirt from their chosen mound and swap them. Fire ants are extremely territorial and will fight to the death--usually after three days or so, the mound will have died.

2) A blowtorch. Start by searing the ground around the mound to limit routes out of the area. Put a thick  coating of Vaseline several inches above one end of a bamboo stick (to prevent the fire ants from using it to climb out to safety) and have a partner poke the mound while you torch the areas turned up. A garden weeder with the torch on an extension pipe (so you don't have to bend over) works well. And of course, have your partner holding a hose with a spray handle at the ready as well....

Both of these methods appeal to young men who enjoy the danger factor....whatever it takes to get them to do the job. Me?  I'll stick with the grits.

nice garden ... itsn't nature wonderul!

Pretty garden, I've noticed that everytime it rains here, we'll get ant beds in our grass, it could be the rain.

I think some people here know more than I do but I'd also suggest doing an internet search on ants and gardening to see if that will come up with some ideas for you.

I did Kimberly but I was getting a lot of things that said to use seven dust and I didn't want to do that. I needed something more natural. I put in organic and the only thing I found was the borax and water in a jar. I didn't have any borax so I was looking for some other ideas.

Wonderful garden.  Not sure about the ants.  We are fighting fire ants here.

Your garden looks wonderful.  Just keep doing what you are doing.

s[ray the veggie gounrd and plants(not veggie) with soapy water,,  then you get the veggieds  make sure you clean them,,,,,

Cinnamon might help you with the ants. I have lots of tiny ants as well, but so far I'm letting them be. I hope you get some sun soon.

My plants are suffering in the heat these days.

Mine are also.  I'm having to water most of my potted plants and hanging baskets twice a day.  I'd love a day of rain.

Loved seeing this garden - looks pretty good to me - not sure what to do about ants - I just let everything run around my gardens - so far so good!  Salud

I love your painting of the sunflowers to one side!  Salud

Thanks Mariana, my daughter painted those on an old shed for us when she was younger. It is quite weathered now, but when we removed the shed this year we saved that piece of it and nailed it to our fence as a backdrop for the garden. Couldn't throw out something so memorable to us.

I heard that if you sprinkle cornmeal around your plants, the ants will take it to the queen, and they all will die.  It expands in their stomachs.

I did use the cornmeal Margieanne, cause I had it in the house. It seems to be working so far.

One cup borax, two-thirds cup sugar and one cup water. Dip cotton balls in the solution and place in areas near your anthill

This works pretty good

Thanks. I sprinkled the cornmeal outside the planters and it seems to be working. If it doesn't I will try this mixture.

I think you need more sun for the plants.hopefully it will come out and stay around for a few days .

Angela's borax mixture will work on ants.

I never tried cornmeal but heard that it does the job.

I think I need more sun for my plants and me, lol.

I like your raised beds ,very neat looking. You've already gotten a lot of good advice.

Thanks Phil, my husband just made them for me this year. This is my first time with a garden in more than 20 years. We already got some mesculin mix that I was able to make a salad out of. That was exciting for me and it was really fresh and good. Can't wait for the cucumbers and tomatoes to go with it.

Great raised beds, we have our rows on the ground. Our problem is just the opposite of yours. We have too much sun/heat and not enough rain. Our plants have come to a certain point of growing and have just seemed to stop.

I have no clue about your problems, I just wanted you to know that I am fighting down here in the swamps as well to try and save our vegetables. By the way, thanks for your kind words over the death of my Mother in law, she was a wonderful woman and will be sadly missed.

I'm so glad the cornmeal is working.  It's not poison, so won't effect the soil or your plants, just kills the ants by swelling in their tummys.  Hope you have a good day dear.

I didn't know about grits for fire ants, we haven't had any trouble the last two years - I garden organic too.

Cornmeal for ants and grits for fire ants who knew. Glad you asked Carol.

It's already way to hot here, I've stopped gardening, except for maintenance and watering. Sounds like it was simply too wet and too cold for your plants - sending you some Florida sunshine:)