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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

June 23, 2020 bugs and weeds


Hi Gardeners

Rose Carefree Celebration
I am sitting here feeling guilty because the birds and a chipmunk are outside my window staring at me. The feeder is empty again, even though I filled it yesterday. The birds are eating like crazy now.  I have 3 sunflower feeders, 2 suet feeders, a jelly feeder, large bird nectar feeder and 3 hummingbird feeders. All are being emptied almost as soon as I fill them.  It’s getting expensive. When I get up in a few minutes I’ll go out and fill them again.

The mulberry tree is just starting to ripen it’s fruit, which will help feed the birds. The strawberries are ripe around here, I just had some today. My own patch was abandoned this year. I am going to start from scratch again next year.

The Asiatic lilies are beginning to open. The first variety here is always a double one I am not particularly fond of called ‘Apricot Fudge’. Some things just don’t look better when they are doubled.  Daylilies seem a bit slow to bloom this spring, lots of buds but even the common daylily isn’t in bloom yet. It looks like some of my martagon lilies were harmed by that late cold spell and won’t be blooming this year. I have buds on the oriental lilies too.

Every year is different in the garden. Some years certain plants are the stars of the garden, other years they just don’t perform as well.  Some years things manage to synchronize bloom, so their colors complement each other. Other times one finishes before the other. Over the winter some plants get damaged or just disappear. And others pop up in unexpected places each spring.

In my garden this year the ostrich ferns are dominating some plants. I’ve had to cut some back so other things get a chance for sunlight. Some years they just get off to a really good start. They are beautiful but also a plant you might consider weedy, as they spread aggressively. And in late summer or when it gets dry, they yellow and start dying back and then they aren’t so attractive.

The newer clematis seem very slow in growth, although the more established ones are blooming. I lost some dahlias in the cold snap even though I moved them into the barn. The cannas, dahlias, elephant ears and taro are growing slowly this year and they should like the heat. You just never know what nature has in mind.

I bought and potted some of the tuberous begonias said to look like daffodils in April this year. They showed tiny buds on the surface after a few weeks.  But here it is late June and they are just showing one or two small leaves each. I wonder if some of these bulb companies use a growth retardant on bulbs when they store them. I don’t know if I will get to see them bloom or not.

Last year I had some valerian pop up in my butterfly /cutting garden. I don’t know where it came from, I didn’t plant it. This year it has spread, and I have a huge clump in bloom easily 6 feet high. I see several younger plants in there too. I am eyeing it warily. I think it’s pretty right now, but I fear it will become a beast of a weed like the comfrey and lemon balm did.

Valerian


A lot of herbs are weedy things. People probably found uses for them just because they were so abundant. If you got them why not sell them to neighbors as a medicine?  I so regret planting many of them when I was in my “herbal” stage. I have an aggressive strategy this year to get rid of the stinging nettles.  And I’ll never run out of comfrey, lemon balm, catnip, anise hyssop, valerian and various forms of mint. Do be careful when you plant these things. 

We got some rain last night, and it was needed. I hope all of you who needed rain got some too. Gardens love a good rain.

Water for the birds

One of the ways to attract birds to your yard is to feed them.  Another way is to provide a source of water.  Even when abundant natural water sources are available birds really appreciate a nearby source of drinking and bathing water. Ponds, large water features and natural water areas may not provide the shallow, protected places they like to bathe in and drink from. In hot and dry spells during summer you may see more species of birds at a bird bath than at a feeder. Birds splashing and playing in water are entertaining so make sure your bird bath is located somewhere where you can watch the fun.

Birds like shallow water and dripping or flowing water is a big draw. A small fountain with a shallow basin will be eagerly used. The simpler the design of the fountain the better. A fine spray, small stream or gentle drip is preferable to harder streams of water.  A simple jug with a small hole in it suspended over a basin to catch the drips will be a bird favorite.

Birds will also use less elaborate set ups of simple saucer-like bird baths.   Saucers with rough surfaces that keep tiny feet from slipping around are ideal. The depth of the basin should be no more than 4 inches at the deepest part. If it is deeper you can add a large flat stone in some part of the basin to make a shallow spot. This is easy to remove for cleaning.  Keep the surface area of the basin modest in size- 12 - 18 inches is a good size.

Saucer type bird baths should be easy to dump and clean. To keep down mosquitoes and bird diseases they should be dumped and refilled every other day. A good scrubbing with a rough brush once a week is recommended. Disinfectants and cleaners are generally not needed. If the feeder looks exceptionally dirty just use a dish detergent, scrub, and rinse well.

Fountain bird baths where the water is re-circulated won’t become mosquito breeders but may become dirty and cause bird diseases. Remove floating debris like leaves and feathers daily and dump, clean and refill every week.



Locate your bird bath in an open area but with cover nearby. Wet birds are somewhat more vulnerable to predators and need a hiding place they can fly to quickly. Sunny or shady areas work equally well when it’s hot, sunny areas are better in cooler times of the year. 

Elevate the bird bath from 1 to 3 feet off the ground. This makes them feel safer and you will be able to enjoy watching their bathing antics better. The bird bath should be in a spot that is quiet, without a lot of human or pet traffic near it. The shyer species won’t bathe if they feel predators, like cats, might be near.

Do not put bird baths directly under bird feeders.  Seed hulls and droppings will quickly make a mess of the water.  Place them at least a few feet away from feeders.

Birds appreciate a source of water in the winter too. There are heaters that can be added to birdbaths and birdbaths with heated bases that keep unfrozen water available. If you have a bird bath that won’t crack when it freezes you can simply provide warm water a few times a day.

Farm Markets in the age of CV19

In most states farm markets, both roadside stands and large community markets are open and running. The risk of getting CV19 from fruits and vegetables is probably low but there are some things to consider if you decide to visit the Farmers market or stop at a stand.

Avoid crowded markets. Go early or choose a weekday visit when there are fewer people. Wear a mask in community markets even though they may be outside. This is especially true if you are a person who likes to chat with vendors and other customers.  Sellers should be wearing masks if the market is indoors. Maintain 6 feet between you and others in lines and at booths.

Don’t handle the produce. Try to pick booths where the seller wisely restricts people from pinching, prodding, shaking, smelling or even tasting food. He or she may have packaged the food or uses samples out front and brings out protected produce for purchases. Yes, you want the freshest produce but everyone handling produce is not a good health practice.

Wash your hands or use sanitizer before handling food if you must do so. Gloves don’t really help unless you put on fresh ones every time you move to a different booth. It would be nice if the seller put on food service gloves before handling his produce during a sale.  And of course, you will wash all produce before you eat it.

Most people go to a Farmers Market to get fresh, locally grown produce.  Be aware that some sellers at the market are not growing the food, rather they go to wholesale markets and buy produce to resell. Some markets don’t have rules to prevent this.  A lot of this produce comes from Mexico and other places. If you want that type of food, you can find it cheaper at a supermarket.

A clue to see if the “farmer” is scamming you is to know what produce is ripe and ready for use in your area. If you see a vendor selling ripe tomatoes in June in a northern state, they most likely weren’t grown locally. (It’s possible they are being grown in a greenhouse but the seller should tell you this.) If you see oranges or pecans in northern markets they weren’t grown locally and probably the other produce at the stand wasn’t either.

Look around.  If few sellers are offering ripe strawberries, it’s probably a sign strawberries aren’t ripe locally yet. Not every seller will grow strawberries but generally in a market of any size there will be more than one person selling a common local product.  Ask another vendor if they sell strawberries at any point and listen to their answer.

You can’t tell what produce is organic from looking at it. Even if they are imperfect fruits and vegetables it doesn’t guarantee they were grown organically. And for goodness sake don’t pay more for imperfect produce on just the promise they are organic.  One study found that so called organic produce at a local market has a 50-50 chance of not being grown organically.

You really have to trust the seller when it comes to produce being organic or grown locally. Talk to him or her. Ask what varieties of a fruit or vegetable are being offered. Ask where their farm is. If they are “cheating” on some aspects at their stand, such as offering ripe melons in May in Michigan, they are probably cheating in other ways.  Sometimes other vendors will give you hints.

 Many people love going to farm markets just for the ambiance and fun. There’s no reason not to go even in the pandemic if you use some care. But do practice being a wise and safe consumer.



Plant growth inhibited by plastics

Everyone knows plastic waste in the environment is a problem for wildlife. But now science has confirmed it’s also a problem for plants.

Plastic in the environment never goes away, it just degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. Some of these pieces can get to be the size of viruses. These tiny pieces get incorporated into soil, where they acquire an electric charge- either negative or positive- like other elements of soil.

Researchers found that plants can take up these tiny charged particles, especially negative charged ones, when they take up water and nutrients.  The plants exposed to nanoparticles of plastic that were absorbed into them were less vigorous and smaller than plants that didn’t absorb plastic.

No one has studied this to my knowledge but maybe we should reconsider using plastic flowerpots, flats, cell packs, plastic mulch and lining beds with plastic. And what happens when people ingest fruits and vegetables that have nanoparticles of plastic in them?  Just giving you something else to worry about.  You can read more at the link below.



Gardens = work, bugs and weeds

I am inspired to write this today by so many people who want to garden but who don’t want to actually do gardening. People want flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables but don’t have any idea about what it takes to have those things. I want people to take up gardening, but I want them to understand what gardening is about. You rarely get anything good without some work and that holds with a garden too.

We are so used to having products and machines to eliminate labor that we expect that there be “labor saving” solutions for all things garden related. There are some remarkable inventions that have lightened the labor in gardening, but, if you want a garden, whether it’s a food garden or an ornamental garden, there is still a lot of labor involved. You’ll need to get your hands dirty- or pay someone to dirty theirs for you.

Bugs and weeds

There are many new gardeners this year so that may be why there is so much angst over bugs.  But anyone who goes outside to garden should understand this- there will be bugs. That’s not an abnormal situation. Bugs are the normal situation.

(Creatures like spiders, rolly polys, (sowbugs), and snails and slugs are not insects but are generally regarded as such by gardeners. I’ll lump them together as garden pests.)

At least 75% of the insect species you see on your plants are perfectly harmless to the plants and may even be helpful. Another 20% of the insects you see are only mildly harmful to your plants, diminishing their looks but not substantially harming them. So that leaves about 5% of the insects you are seeing as extremely harmful to plants, possibly causing plant death or that could harm you.
 
Dragon flies are beneficial insects
You need to make decisions on what to tolerate and what to try and control with the 25% that could damage plants or harm you. Outside in the garden control of pests is what you aim for, not elimination.  Your decisions should be based on science and logic and with concern for the total environment. You may be afraid of spiders but that is not reason to kill them. Spiders are beneficial.

Educate yourself on what the pests that are harmful to your plants look like and what damage they do. If you are growing roses, look up what pests affect them. If you are growing tomatoes look up what pests affect them. Then concentrate on controlling only pests.

Don’t assume because you saw an insect sitting on a damaged plant that it did the damage.  Ants for example, rarely damage plants. Turn leaves over and look for harmful pests and check around the plants on the ground and under mulch. Diseases sometimes cause holes and other damage to plants that people assume a creature did.

On the other hand- don’t get caught up in this “but it turns into a butterfly” idea. ALL CATERPILLARS/WORMS ON YOUR PLANTS DO NOT TURN INTO HARMLESS, PRETTY BUTTERFLIES, as some people on social media would have you believe. Many pests have a larvae stage that looks like a caterpillar or worm. That critter can turn into a beetle, sawfly, or a moth or butterfly that isn’t exactly harmless.

It doesn’t make sense to plant cabbage so that cabbage worms can devour them and then turn into common white butterflies. Hornworms turn into lovely sphinx moths, but are you growing tomatoes for making sphinx moths or to eat? The adult form of some caterpillars can also eat your plants, continuing the damage until the plant dies, as in viburnum leaf beetles. Don’t feel guilty about controlling these pests.
 
This hornworm turns into a moth- but do you really want it to eat
your tomatoes?
Bees and wasps are beneficial but if you are allergic to bee stings you don’t want them near the house or places you work. There are many strategies you can use to control them without spraying chemicals but sometimes bees and wasps do need to be controlled.

Some pests, like mosquitoes, should always be controlled around your home. That’s because they carry diseases that can seriously harm or kill you. You don’t have to drench the yard in pesticides to control mosquitoes. There are biological pesticides and management strategies like dumping standing water that can manage the population.  But mosquitoes should be controlled.

Managing pests

A good gardener always starts with the method of pest management that is the least harmful to the environment, beneficial creatures, and humans.  You then work your way up to the level of pest control that will manage the problem to your standards, without a lot of collateral damage. What collateral damage is acceptable will depend on the situation and the gardener. It may also depend on the law. You can’t use dynamite to get rid of Japanese knotweed.

Hand picking pests, enclosing plants with netting, removing mulch, spraying with a stream of water and so on should be your first choice for insect pest control. After that, if satisfactory control isn’t achieved, you have choices to make. Sometimes commercial pesticides- those dreaded “chemicals” are actually the surest and safest ways to protect plants.  Homemade mixes may not be safer, some are even dangerous, and most don’t work.

Spraying your entire yard with a pesticide that kills everything it contacts so you don’t have to see any sort of bug when you walk through it is stupid and actually pretty useless. Instead gardeners should try to target only a pest that seriously harms them or a plant they wish to protect and only in the smallest area necessary to achieve that goal.

And all those weeds…

There will always be weeds in the garden too. Weeds are just plants you don’t want.  There is no magic way to have only the plants you want and none you don’t want in the garden.  There is nothing you can spray or sprinkle that will control only weeds. Weeds are plants. There is no weed killer that knows which plants you want eliminated and only kills them.

You can’t spray poison ivy killer on poison ivy growing on a rose plant without killing the rose too, even if the label says it kills poison ivy. Most weed killers kill all plants.  (And always read those labels and do exactly what they say – it’s the law).

The exception to the “kills all plants” rule is when lawns are sprayed with weed killers that kill broadleaf weeds like dandelions but doesn’t harm the grass. This confuses people. It’s too much to explain in this article but it involves classification of plants into dicots and monocots. There are some pesticides that target only dicots. Grass is a monocot. But most of your garden plants are dicots.

When the lawn care employee with no training or your spouse sprays the vegetable garden with lawn weed killer thinking they are helping you with the weeding, a disaster occurs. Most of your garden dies. Lawn weed spray will also kill nearby plants that any spray hits.

What about pre-emergent pesticides- products that keep seeds from germinating?  First let me mention that cornmeal is not one of those.  Corn gluten meal, an entirely different product, has only limited success on certain weeds. REPEAT: CORNMEAL WILL NOT KEEP SEEDS FROM GERMINATING AND IT DOESN’T KILL “WEEDS”.

Other products such as “preen” also have limited success. If a weed is perennial and has already rooted it won’t be harmed. Weeds often spread by root rhizomes and these products don’t work on them. It can’t be used in food gardens either.

A note here. Ditch the vinegar, salt and soap recipes for killing weeds. Use them only on paved areas, like weeds in cracks. They harm the soil and aren’t very effective at killing weeds, which leads you to add more and then more damage is done to the soil.
 
Purple loosestrife, weed or flower?
So, what do you do to get rid of weeds? Pull them, hoe them, smother them with mulch. You can target specific weeds with pesticides carefully applied.  These all require labor. The preparation for your first garden will affect how much labor you will have to do, but you will need to do some weeding, even after years of gardening.

New gardeners should remember not to make more garden than they can care for, and since they don’t know yet what that is, to start small. As you gain experience, you can care for more garden, often in the same amount of time. Don’t let the weed problem get away from you, a little every day is often easier than a whole day of weeding.

Choose plants and a style of gardening that suits the level of gardening you expect to do. Low maintenance foliage plants or plants that need deadheading and pruning? Cottage garden or formal garden with topiaries?

Remember plants you once wanted often turn into “weeds”. The reason someone is giving you a bushel of common daylilies is because they spread like weeds. Research before you accept freebies or snap up garden store bargains.

Don’t be afraid to get rid of plants that spread too quickly or that you don’t like.  Don’t let people guilt you into keeping some plant because; “you can eat it”. You can eat a lot of things but that doesn’t mean you will actually want to. If you aren’t fond of foraging bitter greens pull them and toss them on the compost pile.  These “edible” weeds often spread aggressively and soon you will have a mess.

Unless you are growing food for survival, gardening should be something you want to do, not something you must do. Gardening is more than a one-time project, like a kitchen remodel, that will pay off for years. Think of gardening as an ongoing activity, a hobby you regularly invest time and effort into. If you don’t like being outside, if you can’t tolerate bugs and frogs, if you can’t stand dirt under your nails, gardening may not be the activity for you. You can always get fresh flowers and vegetables at the farmers market.



Viburnum Beetles

This is the time of year when viburnums may be showing damage from the larvae of viburnum beetles and the adult beetles themselves. Viburnum beetles are an invasive pest and they do serious damage to, or cause death of, many viburnum species. The beetles feed on viburnum foliage and may completely strip the trees of leaves.

This beetle is slowly spreading across the US and it may be new in your area. Gardeners should read up about the pest and learn to identify and control it. In addition, your state Extension office or USDA office may want you to report sightings.

Here are some good resources for learning about Viburnum beetles.





When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.
-      Tecumseh-

Kim Willis
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And So On….

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