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| Tuberous begonia |
Hi Gardeners
I have a new gardening friend.
A northern mockingbird has taken up residence in our yard and seems to
follow me around as I work in various places in the yard. His repertoire of songs is amazing, first he
sounds like the oriole, then the wren, then the blue jay, then the robin and so
on. He’s very loud and cheerful. I guess he’s probably announcing this is his
territory, but it seems like he’s trying to impress me with his singing.
Our weather is back to cool, it’s only 62 this morning. That’s fine with me but we really need a good
soaking rain. We get little brief
showers and drizzly days but the amount of rain we’ve had in the last two weeks
is less than a ½ inch. I guess some of you are wishing you could send some of
your rain my way- since many places are flooding. If you can you’re welcome to send it.
My corn is up and off to a good start, and I have a tomato
starting to ripen. Tiny peppers are on the pepper plants. I have been picking
lettuce. I have quite a few volunteer
potatoes coming up in the bed where I planted strawberries this spring. I didn’t plant any potatoes this year, so I
guess I’ll leave them, although that’s supposed to be a big garden no no. There are no commercial potato fields near me,
so I won’t be spreading any diseases if the spuds have them.
My blackberry canes took a big hit from the hard winter. I have been cutting out dead canes and it’s a
mess. They are coming back from the
roots though. My akebia, (chocolate vine),
started out looking ok this spring but the new leaves are withering which leads
me to suspect damage somewhere near the bottom of the vines. We’ll see what time does there.
In the garden most of my roses are beginning to bloom. Bearded and Siberian iris are blooming, the
‘Miss Kim’ Korean lilac, the first daylilies, columbine and Jacobs ladder are in
bloom. Mock orange, ninebark, weigela,
spirea, the snowball viburnum and bristly locust are blooming. My smokebush has buds, this will be it’s
first year to bloom.
Where my cutting garden/butterfly garden was last year I had a lot
of volunteer seedlings come up. One that
surprised me was the “pumpkins on a stick”.
They came up thickly and are already blooming. Love in a mist also
seeded itself freely. Woodland nicotiana
is coming up. I saved tithonia, 4 o’ clock,
marigolds, cosmos and zinnia seeds and grew some seedlings that I transplanted
into the bed. I have a new 4’ o’clock- ‘fairy trumpets’ that I grew from seed
to add to the bed and I added Maltese cross and garden heliotrope
seedlings. It should be a colorful bed.
June almanac
June is a wonderful
month in the northern hemisphere, the month when strawberries ripen, and roses
begin to bloom. Indeed, this month’s
full moon, (June 28th), is called the Full Strawberry moon in North
America and Full Rose moon in European countries. I think this year the strawberries will ripen
a bit earlier than the full moon.
The moon perigee is
June 14th this year. Perigee is the closest the moon gets to earth, apogee
the farthest it gets each month (June 2nd
this month). Because the moon cycle is shorter than our calendar
cycle they occur on different dates of the month each year.
Summer solstice is
June 21, 2018 at 6:07 a.m. EDT. At the time of the solstice the sun is at its
highest point and the point farthest north that it gets in the northern
hemisphere. Solstice comes from Latin,
roughly meaning sun stands still. At the
solstice the sun seems to pause for a few days, and then slowly reverses its
direction, moving back toward the south and lower in the sky. Sadly, it’s the longest day of the year and
the nights get longer after the solstice.
In ancient times
this event, the solstice, was always celebrated. It’s still a good day to have a campfire, gaze
at stars and wonder at the immensity of the universe and our place in it.
June’s birth flower
is, of course, the rose. There are
actually 3 birthstones for June (thanks to greedy jewelers), the pearl, the
moonstone and the alexandrite. The month of June is named after the Roman
goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage, family and childbirth. To marry in June was said to make a couple
fertile and blessed with prosperity.
June is National
Rose, Dairy, and Fresh Fruit and Vegetables month. It’s adopt a cat month. It’s also Gay Pride
month and Fight the Filthy Fly month.
June 4th is Old Maids Day (don’t they
deserve their own day?) and the 5th is World Environment day. Flag
Day is June 14th and Father’s Day is June 17th this
year. The 17th is also Eat
your Vegetables day. The 26th
is Forgiveness Day, boy do we need a lot of that.
Help-I
have weeds in my flower bed
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something you could
spray on your flower and vegetable beds that killed all the weeds but left the
garden plants healthy and that was perfectly safe? Unfortunately, there is no such product,
despite all the cheerful social media memes claiming such a product exists and
you can mix it up in your kitchen.
Everybody’s garden gets weeds at some point or
another. Some weed problems are worse
than others, but weeds are a part of gardening.
And when the weeds are mixed among your desirable plants they can be
very difficult to deal with. Everybody
seems to be looking for that magic solution but there’s only one good one, and
that’s weeding by hand or hoe.
Going around the internet is a photo of a sprayer with a
formula for a supposedly safe weed killer using vinegar, Epsom salt and dish
soap. The photo suggests you use it
instead of “Round Up”. Whether the
original poster way back when suggested it could be sprayed over the garden and
selectively kill only the weeds is unknown but some current posters seem to
have put forth that claim. The formula
is bad, and the claims are false.
Vinegar and salt will burn weed foliage and make them
look like they died, but the weeds are seldom killed and come back from the
roots. These products are not good for the soil organisms either and there’s no
good way you can keep them from getting on the soil. “Round Up” at least, is taken into the plants
system and is much more efficient than the vinegar-salt mix in actually killing
plants. However, neither of these
products should normally need to be used in a flower or vegetable garden.
You can’t spray either product on a flower or vegetable
bed and have it kill only weeds. Both
are harmful to all plants. To keep them
from harming desirable plants you either have to use a rag or sponge and wipe
the weeds or spray each weed with a small hand sprayer and hope the spray
doesn’t drift. In the time it takes to do that you could easily have pulled or dug
that weed with no cost and no harm to other plants.
After you have pulled or dug weeds add 3-4 inches of mulch
to the area. It won’t stop all weeds,
but it will help. There’s really no good
reason to use either a commercial weed killer or some equally hazardous home
brew in the average garden.
Gardening takes some hard work. Weeding is part of gardening. Think of weeding as therapy. You can do some serious thinking while
weeding and take out some frustrations yanking out weeds. And it’s also good
exercise. If you can’t bend or kneel, sit down to weed, either on the ground or
a stool. You could also use a tool, like a hoe or long handled cobra head
weeder to get the job done. Even an hour of weeding every evening will
accomplish a lot.
The
overwhelming weed problem
There are times when a long-neglected garden will need a
drastic overhaul and hand weeding, while it might eventually work, would take
far too long or be too complicated to be a good solution. I’m talking about a garden that has
practically merged with the wilderness.
There are also times when something like poison ivy needs to be removed.
The solution in this case is often to start over with a
total renewal. Yes, it’s a lot of work
but you can break it down into manageable sections and do one at a time. In this process you will take out any plants
you want to save, except large trees and shrubs. Gently wash the soil off the roots of saved
plants to remove weed seeds and tiny weed root pieces. Plant the saved plants in pots for the time
being. Keep the pots watered and in the
proper light conditions for that type of plant until they go back in the
ground.
After the desirable plants have been removed you can do
one of these things- till or dig up the entire area removing all pieces of
weeds seen. You can apply a deep mulch over the area after mowing it closely
and wait about six months to replant. Or spray a vegetation killer like ‘Round
Up’ (active ingredient glyphosate) on the area according to label
directions. When using a vegetation
killer read the label carefully to see how long you have to wait before
planting back in the area. Glyphosate has a quick turn around time as it dissipates
quickly from soil.
What not to do is use the vinegar-salt remedy or other
home remedies as they are either harmful to soil or don’t work. Salt lingers in soil – Epsom salt is not
table salt as many point out, but it’s still harmful in large amounts and can
bind up other soil nutrients plants need.
I’ve always wondered how people can believe Epsom salts is like
fertilizer and boosts plant growth and then they turn around and say/believe it
kills weeds. Which is it?
Vinegar- acetic acid- is ounce for ounce, more toxic than
glyphosate, both to animals and soil microorganisms and is rated the same as
glyphosate by the EPA. Vinegar is not harmless because you got it from the
kitchen. This home remedy is not cheaper, if you do the math correctly, either.
Also, experts no longer recommend sheet smothering- that
is using plastic or layers of cardboard or other things to kill
vegetation. These keep soil-air
interaction too low and affect the soil biome.
This method also doesn’t kill many deep-rooted weeds and it takes a long
time.
Once the weeds have been removed from the bed and you
have waited any suggested time on a pesticide label, you can plant the saved
plants back into the bed and add mulch.
If large trees and shrubs are in the bed mulch should not touch the
trunks of the plants. If you simply tilled or dug the weeds out, then you can
replant right away.
Sometimes the easiest solution is not the best
solution. For home gardeners the best
solution is generally going to be hand pulling or digging weeds, rather than
spraying them with any solution. If it
seems like an overwhelming task, try the sectional method. Divide the problem area into sections you can
manage in the time you have each day.
Once you accomplish a nice weeded, mulched and edged section it will
inspire you to start the next one. As
you gain experience you’ll get each section done faster and soon you’ll have a
beautiful garden.
Brown
marmorated stink bug
The brown marmorated stink
bug, Halyomorpha halys is an invader from Asia and
probably arrived about 1996 on the East Coast in shipped items. As
the numbers of brown marmorated stink bugs increased and the bug began its
spread across the US, it was found that the bug was an economic threat to
farmers as well as a nuisance to home gardeners and homeowners. It’s now found
in at least 36 states, mostly along the east and west coast and in the Midwest.
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| Adult brown marmorated stink bug Minnesota State |
The
brown marmorated stink bug feeds on over 300 species of plants, both on foliage
and fruit. Anything with fruit or seed pods is a favorite. Taller trees are
preferred in spring, where the bugs climb up into sunlit areas. The brown marmorated stink bug can invade home
gardens and damage ornamental plants as well as vegetables and fruits. Some of our native stink bugs also feed on
plants but since they have natural controls, rarely become a serious
problem. Commercial fruit farmers and
growers of some vegetable crops like tomatoes, sweet corn and peppers have
suffered a lot of damage and crop losses in some states from this stink bug in
both its larval and adult forms.
Brown marmorated stinkbugs have piercing, sucking mouth parts to suck
plant juices. When stink bugs feed on fruit and vegetables they leave scarring
and the damage may change the texture of the fruit, making it spongy or mushy. They may leave shrunken areas or brown “cat
face” spots. On foliage the feeding causes black, unsightly spots but rarely
causes more than cosmetic damage to the plant.
On some plants however, the wounds may leave the plants susceptible to
disease.
In the fall these stink bugs also invade homes to hibernate. They can
form large masses on the outside of homes in the fall and when they get inside
may crawl all over ceilings and walls much to the dismay of home owners. They
do not bite people or pets, and do not normally eat human food. They do not
breed inside the home. They are not a health threat although some people could
have an allergic reaction to them. They
have the characteristic disagreeable smell of our native stink bugs when
crushed.
How to recognize the brown
marmorated stink bug
The
brown marmorated stink bug is mottled shades of brown, about the size of a dime
and shaped like a shield. Adults have
wings which leave a narrow edge around the body with alternating yellow-white
and dark triangular markings showing.
The antenna and legs of the bug have alternating bands of white. There
may be gold and green flecks in the “shoulder” area, which have rounded edges.
The
nymphs or young brown marmorated stink bugs are yellowish and marked with
blotches of red and black. They are wingless. Their antenna is banded like the adults. Eggs of the brown marmorated stink bug are
oval and greenish white and are generally laid in clusters on the backs of
leaves.
Both
the nymphs and adult brown marmorated stink bugs give off a very unpleasant
smell when they are crushed or even disturbed.
Female stink bugs lay eggs all summer and some of the early hatched
stink bugs may begin laying eggs of their own before summer ends.
Some native insects are easily
confused with brown marmorated stink bug. Native brown stink bugs (Euschistus spp.)
are commonly mistaken for brown marmorated stink bugs. Native stink bugs are a
bit smaller and have more pointed “shoulders”. The bands on the antenna are
yellow and not very obvious. Other
species that people suspect are marmorated stink bug are: the western conifer
seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis)- seed bugs usually have flag like
appendages on their legs, the squash bug (Anasa tristis), and the box
elder bug (Boisea trivittata) – it has red markings. Some people have
mistaken the wingless nymph stage for ticks.
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| Brown marmorated stinkbug nymph Wikimedia |
Controlling stink bugs
Like
most alien invaders the brown marmorated stink bug doesn’t have natural
controls here and it is also difficult to control with common pesticides. Farmers have found many common pesticides
don’t control them.
If you want to control the stink bugs outside on ornamentals or food crops
the best thing would be to look for a pesticide that is safe for your crop and
that says it controls stink bugs. The
label always lists what crops and insects a pesticide can be used on. Then use that pesticide the way the label
recommends. You can also handpick the brown marmorated stinkbugs off plants and
drown them in soapy water. Try to pick
off and destroy egg clusters on the backs of leaves also.
Kaolin clay products (Surround) work well to protect apples from
stinkbugs. A trap has been developed for
the brown marmorated stink bug, but they are not always very effective.
A tiny parasitic wasp is being released in some areas to try and control
the brown marmorated stink Bug. It may
be the answer to controlling the pest but don’t hold your breath.
In the home pesticides are not recommended, vacuum them up and promptly
empty the bag into a container of soapy water or seal the contents in plastic
bags and dispose of them. Warning- this
can make the vacuum bag stink. Keep
holes and cracks sealed up so they can’t enter your home.
Some areas would like sightings of brown marmorated stink bugs
reported. Contact your local county
Extension office or state Agricultural office if you suspect you have the brown
marmorated stink bugs and ask if there is a need for reporting. These places may also help you positively
identify the pest and recommend pesticides.
Baptisia
australis, False
indigo
Baptisia is a great plant for the garden if you are a
native plant lover and even if being native is not a prerequisite for plants in
your garden it’s a great plant for larger sunny borders. Baptisa is also called false indigo,
rattleweed, and rattle bush. The dried
seed pods make a rattling noise which some believe sounds like a rattle snake.
Baptisia
australis is native to the Eastern half of the US and grows in
rich sunny bottomlands or woodland edges. (I have never seen it growing in the
wild personally.) It is drought tolerant and deer resistant. While B. australis
is the most common species there are a few other native species; Baptisia alba var. macrophylla, Baptisia alba var. alba, Baptisia albescens, all white flowered,
and Baptisia
bracteate,
Baptisia sphaerocarpa which are yellow flowered as
well as a few other rare oddballs. While
you won’t often find these species for sale they have been hybridized with B.
australis to form several different colored cultivars on the market.
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| Baptisia |
Baptisia is used for vertical
interest in the garden and has attractive color and a bush like shape. The seed pods are excellent for winter
interest or dried arrangements. It is a
large plant when mature so make sure to give it plenty of space at the back of
beds. It generally doesn’t need staking
but in windy areas and in less than full sun it’s possible for plants to need
some support.
False Indigo is attractive to
bees and butterflies and is the larval host plant for the orange and clouded
sulphurs, the eastern tailed blue, the hoary blue, and the wild indigo
duskywing butterflies.
Baptisia has rounded clover like leaves with 3
leaflets. Most Baptisia have a blue-
green foliage color. It’s a
multi-stemmed plant that can grow upright to about 4 feet and the clumps can be
4 feet wide too. A broken stem exudes a
blue sap. The plants die to the ground each winter and come back from the
roots. Baptisia has a deep root system,
a kind of tap root and rhizomes mix. The
roots are woody and blackish, with rough projections on them.
The flowers of Baptisia remind me of large pea flowers
and are carried in spikes at the top of the stems. Bloom time is late spring-early summer. B.
australis flowers are in the blue-purple range, with some variation among
plants. Other species and cultivars have
white, cream, yellow or maroon flowers.
Baptisia flowers turn into interesting seed pods, a puffy
deep brown to black rounded pod, about 3 inches long with a point on one
end. The pods are filled with brown
seeds which “rattle” around in the pod.
Growing
Baptisia
Gardeners should start with a small plant; spring
planting is best. Baptisia can be
started from seed, but it isn’t always easy, and seed started plants can take 3
or more years to bloom. Larger plants
don’t transplant well due to the type of root system. Baptisia can be divided, but this is also
tricky. If a division is wanted do it in
very early spring as growth begins. Keep
the divided plants well-watered until they are well established.
Seeds collected as soon as the pods ripen will often
germinate as soon as planted. You can plant them where you want them to grow in
the fall. However, all the new seedlings
may not survive winter. Stored seeds should
be chilled, below 32 degrees for a month or more. They then need to be soaked
in hot water or nicked to begin germination.
Start seeds about 2 months before your last frost.
Cuttings from Baptisia will root fairly easily if taken
in early spring. However, growers report
that cutting grown plants seem to winter kill more easily than seed grown
plants. Most nurseries grow the plants from seed.
In general, Baptisia should be left alone after planting.
It resents transplanting and is not the type of plant a gardener can move
around every year and still expect good growth and flowering. Choose your planting site carefully. If the plant gets too large you can prune
some stems out.
Baptisia prefers a full sun location. It is hardy in
planting zones 4-9. After establishment it can survive dry weather well and
rarely requires supplemental water. Baptisia
prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil pH and will bloom poorly in acidic
locations. (Acidic soil can be altered
with lime if needed.) It needs a well-drained site; sandy loam is ideal. Baptisia
rarely needs fertilization.
Animals tend to leave Baptisia alone, it’s toxic to
livestock. There is a parasitic weevil
that feeds on Baptisia seeds which is sometimes a minor problem, but few other
pests bother the plants.
In early spring (or fall if you don’t want winter
interest) cut the dead stems off. If you
don’t want seed pods the pods can be trimmed off after flowers fade and the
bush shaped into a rounded form if desired. This helps keep the plant neat and
upright. Some self-seeding may occur but few gardeners report problems with self-seeding.
Varieties/cultivars of Baptisia include: Decadence® 'Cherries
Jubilee’ (maroon and yellow flowers), Baptisia
'Purple Smoke', Baptisia sphaerocarpa 'Screamin' Yellow', 'Carolina Moonlight', (light yellow) and
Twilight PrairiebluesTM .
Toxicity
and medicinal uses
Baptisia is considered to be moderately toxic. It
reportedly has a very bitter taste that makes consumption of much of it
unlikely. It causes extreme diarrhea and
vomiting and general weakness when consumed. The shoots look like asparagus in
the spring and that has caused at least two reported human poisoning cases. I would not let pets or children consume the
plants or seeds.
Native Americans used the plant for toothache, as an
eyewash, and to cause vomiting. It was believed to stimulate infants. A tea of dried roots is generally made for
medicinal use. Some modern research is being done with Baptisia as an immune
system stimulant and as a cancer treatment.
Baptisia was used by native Americans and early settlers
as a blue dye, hence the English name of False Indigo. It produces a pale blue dye. False Indigo was once exported from the early
US states to England for making dye. From what I can gather it is the black
seed pods that are used to make the dye.
The dye is not as stable or bright as true Indigo.
Baptisia, of False Indigo, whatever you call it, is an
interesting garden plant if you have room for it. It’s long lived and easy to grow. It satisfies the native plant collectors as
well as gardeners who just like nice plants.
If you get the chance, try some in your garden.
Quick
and Easy Strawberry Cheesecake
Strawberries are showing up at the farm markets and
stores. Here’s a simple cheesecake
recipe that makes a good graduation party or potluck dessert. Or you can just make it for dessert tonight
at home. It’s simple to make and
delightful to eat.
Ingredients
1 graham cracker pie crust
12 oz. of strawberry flavored (or plain) cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of sliced fresh strawberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Beat together sugar, eggs, cream cheese and vanilla.
Pour mix into pie shell.
Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, until center of filling
is firm.
Cool to room temperature and add sliced strawberries to
the top.
Store cheesecake in refrigerator until served and after
serving.
Sigh-
the year is half over- how time flies
Kim Willis
And So On….
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I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a
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