Carrots, Turnips, and Raspberries

Yesterday I cleaned out the last of the kohlrabies and turnips in Bed 8, but I didn't have a chance to reseed it. It is destined to hold my fresh eating carrots for fall - Mokum and Nelson. I like to seed them in rows that are 4" apart. I try to get the seed about an inch apart, but typically it doesn't happen very well. Some are clumped some are farther apart.

Getting carrot seed to germinate however is always an issue. So I cover them with two layers of agribon. It is thick enough to keep the soil moist if I sprinkle it every morning. But thin enough that they don't get squished by the fabric. I'll remove it once they are mostly up. Then I'll put on the row cover to protect from the root fly.

Next up were the turnips. I've done an abysmal job with my successions. So I elected to just sow a whole half of this section of bed. I hope they survive. The last sowing all died fairly quickly.

Raspberries by the patio

And last but not least for my chores today was the raspberries. The June crop was over. So I cut out the old canes and thinned the new ones. It was a good raspberry year so far (I have everbearers, so I'll get more starting in August), but I noticed over the last couple of weeks that the tips of some of the canes were blackening and wilting. So I looked at it and there are two girdles around each cane that had the problem. I've never had cane borers before and had to look up what it was. My instinct to cut it off well below the girdle was correct. I'm not too concerned about it as cutting off the growing tip tends to make the tops more bushy and send out more flowers. I'm more concerned about the leaves. They are a bit silvery looking, not the typical healthy green. I'm just guessing, but I think maybe spider mites. My eyes aren't good enough to see them if they are. I used to have a magnifying glass, but I haven't used it in so long I can't find it now. But if I can confirm it, I ought to do a soap spray. Spider mites aren't usually big pests here. We tend to be too wet, but occasionally they can be problematic.