Soybeans, Ants

Let me say that I can see why some people are hesitant about the whole biodiesel using soy thing. It takes a lot of plants to get a respectable number of beans!

Case in point:

I planted about a dozen soybean seeds in March, of which only about 10 survived to produce beans. I didn't sow any more seeds after this point, which certainly would have continued my harvest. The yeild of those 10 plants is contained in one Ziploc quart sized baggie. (You know the kind you have to have for airport security...)

I harvested these soybeans over the course of about 3 weeks, washing them and putting them in the bag at each harvest point.

We eat sushi occasionally, and I have a newfound respect for how many plants must be planted just so folks like us can have edamame appetizers!

I originally planted soybeans from Burpee, but they never germinated. I purchased Renee's Garden seeds from my local OSH, and the germination rate was 100%. I only lost plants to my clumsiness or by way of the dog getting into the garden beds.

I would grow them again, and next time plant them a few inches closer together. The reason our harvest is done is because I had been waiting on a few plants to finish their soybeans, but the patch was invaded by flea beetles or aphids. So there were a few more that likely would have never finished because the plants were beginning to lose their vigor.

One thing I've learned this year is that as annoying as they may be sometimes, Ants are really a great thing to have in the garden. They eat yellow jacket and caterpillar carcasses, cleaning debris from the garden. They also serve as a great warning sign that your compost bin needs water just by their presence in it (ants won't take up residence in a properly-wetted compost pile). I should have realized when the top of the soybean leaves began to dry up and there were ants on them to look at the underside of the leaves and spot the offending critters. Now said critters are starting in on the eggplant and squash. And it's too windy to spray Pyola spray today, but at least it's not 104^o.

However, ants in my cat's food dishes in the house is another story entirely.

Thanks to Organic Gardening magazine for my new ant killing elixer:

2 cups water
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp boric acid

Combine and soak cotton balls in mixture. Take a small container and poke/drill a few holes in one side, large enough for ants to get in and out. Put on the lid so it doesn't dry out. Place where ants are coming in the house, and hide container from dog (I have a couple containers set around it, just in case)...