Depends on how you want to read a University study. Amdro is approved to use outside the garden and it does pretty well. I'm a fan of it. You'll also hear a lot of talk of Molasses. I'm a big fan of molasses. In the garden it's not a killer but a deterrent. I know Howard Garret and others talk about it. In a nutshell fire ants aren't really big fans of bio activity going on in the soil and Molasses(sugar/carbs) really get the microbes going during warmer temps. Molasses is cheap, like $9 a gallon at Tractor Supply for the Deer Hunting attractant. They actually stock it in the horse feed section. There is also dry you can spread. Orange oil also works well as drench. Lighter amounts won't burn roots/plants. Other products available.

http://fireant.tamu.edu/files/2014/03/ENTO_015.pdf

Does diatomaceous earth work on ants? We use it against other bugs in edible plant areas.

You can mix epsom salt and water to spray the ants

thanks for the replies. its an ongoing battle with these [censored]

HOT DAMN GOT MY FIRST MATOR THIS MORNING!!

Nice! Your early planting gamble is paying off. Mine are setting well and have tons of nice greens ones. Going to be a great gardening year.

Yep mine are a bit behind but they coming in. Romas more than the cherries or brandy wine.

I have to say these are the strongest plants I have ever grown. All the rabbit poop has really done its job!! The improved porter in the middle of the bed is over 9 feet tall and loaded

Dayum yea I think I’m just not getting enough sun. I only get maybe 4 hours a day, there is a community garden down the street from me that probably gets at least 12 hours a day and their plants are huge but mine seem to be producing more than theirs unless they’ve already harvested.

The Improved Porter will take on a life of it's own. It's an enigma. When I grew it I bent a 16' cattle panel in half as a cage/support and it grew a few feet above the top of it. Crazy good producer and great tomato.

Gene Porter was my neighbor when I was growing up and a very nice man. I believe him or his father introduce the very popular porter tomato. They had a huge seed supply store in Stephenville, and everyone planted the porter tomato who had a garden. I ate my share growing up.

http://www.saveseeds.org/company_history/porter/index.html

Interesting story TPACK. Thanks for sharing

I know what You Know Who would do with that.....

BLT in your future.

bruschetta coming soon!!

I have several tomatoes plants that the leaves and stalks are dropping as if the plant Is dying. Yesterday they looked fine. I water in the morning and feed miracle grow every 7 - 10 days.
What's going on? HELP!!!

Post a pic. Any discoloration or other symptom?

Picked my first two Saturday AM.

I’ve seen great growth this season. I have 4 types of watermelons, zucchini, corn, cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, Honeydew, okra, bell peppers, basil, beets, butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and of course tomato’s

Also planted some hops rhizomes.

Here’s a picture of a portion of my garden area



I need to do some weeding. I’m going to get some more weed block cloth and install to help keep the weeds down

Celebrity tomatoes are doing very well, maybe best year ever. Cucumbers have a lot of green vegetation and blooms but zero cucumbers. thoughts?

GasGuzzler, looks like by skipping a day of watering was the issue. I water the plants in last afternoon they look a lot better today. I did cut off some of the worst looking areas.

I don't water mine often. Maybe you can wean them back a little.



Try breaking them off. My grandpa taught me that if a tomato plant is making more greens than flowers and fruit, snap a few of the tops of the stalks to shock the plant into reproduction. He would also shake his tomato plants to shock them.



How many plants? You have to get the right combination when dealing with melons, squash, cucumbers. They gotta "mate" via cross-polination...also why you don't want melons near squash or cucumbers and vice versa. I have gotten cucumelons and squash-a-melons before.

Have 8 cucumber plants, did find one large one yesterday,

Anyone have a guess what's going on with my lemon tree? I can try to get a better pic in the daytime if needed.

Those are Scales. They suck the sap out. You need to spray with neem oil.

Thanks for the reply. I've never used neem oil before, anything specific I should be looking for when I go to buy it?