It's amazing how little time I suddenly have for the blog now that the sun is out (and so is school). More time in the garden, on the beach, at the lake. (And, sadly, at my desk.) I'll do my best to keep it up, but please remember I'd love to see photos and hear stories of YOUR gardens, too. This is for all you wet coast gardeners out there.
If you're going to plant a winter garden, it's time to get more carrots, beets, turnips and other root veggies in. We've started to eat carrots out of our garden, but I started them very early (and under glass). Remember to plant them in well-drained soil. (And if it starts to deluge again, I'd suggest covering them with plastic or reemay to keep the rain off the seeds. The seeds don't like to be swamped. Thanks Trina, for that gardening tip.)
As for the root crop pests — carrot rust fly and cabbage root maggot — here's what Linda Gilkeson suggests:
Take steps to protect this late crop of carrots from carrot rust fly and turnips from cabbage root maggot (they are similar insects, but attack different crops). The late generation of these root pests can attack as late as September and once in the roots, the larvae keep right on boring all winter. Cover the beds before the seedlings come up with floating row covers or use 1-metre-high window screen fence around the bed (most of the adult insects fly below 1 metre). Support the fence on stakes with the bottom edge buried in the soil and allow the top 20 cm to flop outward away from the crop to make an overhang. So the flies zipping along close to the ground hit the fence, fly up, do a loop under the overhang and find they are heading the other way. And of course, make sure there were no carrot family crops or weeds (Queen Anne's lace) in the carrot bed or any cabbage family plants in the turnip bed, before you plant the winter crop. Any root maggots in the soil from a previous crop would be trapped inside the cover or fence with your new crop.
Showing posts with label pests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pests. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
No-see-um Candles
The rain and periodic warmth is not making the no-see-ums disappear is it? Sea Wench's Bugger Off Spray works pretty well, but if you're just sitting around these candles might be nice.
What's your favourite non-nasty-chemical cure?
What's your favourite non-nasty-chemical cure?
The Cure for Death by Aphids
(With apologies to Gail Anderson-Dargatz.) I've heard that the aphids are terrible this year. Either I haven't been looking closely enough or I've been spared (for the moment), but I haven't seen too many in my yard. I'll take a closer look. They are a common garden pest, however, so here are some plans for attack:
Hippodamia convergens (aka Ladybugs).
Ladybugs eat the aphids, mate and die within 3 weeks. The larvae look like little alligators and if there is a constant supply of food they will continue to breed and populate your garden.
It's best to release them in the evening so they are more likely to stay in your garden and not fly away. Leah released hers late afternoon on an overcast day into the greenhouse and under cloches.
Garlic Spray
Jenn cooks up a mean garlic spray. Boil whole cloves of garlic, let the liquid cool and spray it on the plants. It will kill the aphids, eggs and will not kill the plants.
Soap and Water
In A Year on the Garden Path, Carolyn Herriot suggests using aphid midges or ladybugs, but also to wash them off with a strong jet of water or spraying them with soapy water or insecticidal soap. She gives two recipes:
Simple Soap: 2 Tbsp. soap flakes in 1 litre of warm water. Apply every 5 to 7 days.
Garlic Oil Spray: 10-15 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp. mineral oil, 600 mL water, 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 mL water a 1 tsp. liquid soap. Mix thoroughly and spray on plants.
A few more ideas:
You Grow Girl has a good explanation of both ladybug and aphid biology and gives a recipe for a citrus peel spray as well as other ideas similar to the ones presented here.
And several more from The Cheap Vegetable Gardener.
How do you deal with aphids?
Hippodamia convergens (aka Ladybugs).
Ladybugs eat the aphids, mate and die within 3 weeks. The larvae look like little alligators and if there is a constant supply of food they will continue to breed and populate your garden.
It's best to release them in the evening so they are more likely to stay in your garden and not fly away. Leah released hers late afternoon on an overcast day into the greenhouse and under cloches.
Garlic Spray
Jenn cooks up a mean garlic spray. Boil whole cloves of garlic, let the liquid cool and spray it on the plants. It will kill the aphids, eggs and will not kill the plants.
Soap and Water
In A Year on the Garden Path, Carolyn Herriot suggests using aphid midges or ladybugs, but also to wash them off with a strong jet of water or spraying them with soapy water or insecticidal soap. She gives two recipes:
Simple Soap: 2 Tbsp. soap flakes in 1 litre of warm water. Apply every 5 to 7 days.
Garlic Oil Spray: 10-15 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp. mineral oil, 600 mL water, 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 mL water a 1 tsp. liquid soap. Mix thoroughly and spray on plants.
A few more ideas:
You Grow Girl has a good explanation of both ladybug and aphid biology and gives a recipe for a citrus peel spray as well as other ideas similar to the ones presented here.
And several more from The Cheap Vegetable Gardener.
How do you deal with aphids?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Time to Plant Winter Brassicas
It seemed that just as I finally off-loaded all the seedlings I had on the kitchen table out into the garden it was time to start seeding for winter. The challenge is going to be finding a place for all these plants. Some potatoes may have to be sacrificed. Here's the latest suggestions for your winter garden from Linda Gilkeson:
I hope everyone has started their Brussels sprouts by now. We are coming up to the last half of June, which is good timing to start seeds of winter broccoli and cauliflower. Plants should be at least 30 cm (1 foot) high by fall--but I like them even larger than that to get the earliest possible crop next year. People with the warmest gardens can get away with seeding up to mid-July, but don't leave it too late if you are planning on growing your own seedlings.
The way this late, cool spring is going, the beds you thought would be empty in mid-summer may still be full of plants when it is time to plant for winter crops. A couple of ways around this:
-start your winter crops in a small nursery bed somewhere in your garden and transplant them when the spaces open up. After garlic, onions from sets, spring peas and lettuce, etc. are done in July.
-buy transplants later in the summer. An increasing number of garden centres are carrying winter crop plants so this is a better fall-back than it used to be. You still need to be careful when buying broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce for winter to make sure you are being sold suitable varieties (see below).
Varieties with the Right Stuff. Purple sprouting broccoli is the best known of the overwintering broccoli; there are also white sprouting varieties. Extra Early Rudolph (AKA Purple Rudolf) is very early--producing the first harvest in February in my garden this year. They have never been as productive overall as Cardinal (AKA Cardinal Late), which is a much larger, later variety. The last Cardinal plant in my garden is still producing lots of good sized shoots right now. I guess it really likes this weather! West Coast Seeds is also selling a mixed "Purple Sprouting Broccoli Collection" to spread out harvest. For winter cauliflower, Purple Cape has been reliable in my garden for years. Galleon is an heirloom white cauliflower from England of outstanding quality; I have been growing it for the last 4 years and it is my favourite by far.
A pest management note: All of these plants need to be protected from cabbage root maggot. Cover seedlings or seed beds with floating row covers or surround the beds with 1-metre high window screen (allow the top 15 cm of screen to flop over to the outside); the latter works because 99% of the root maggot flies fly less than 1 metre above the ground. When you transplant the seedlings make sure each plant has a paper or cloth barrier around the stems. Make barriers from 6-8 inch squares of heavy, water resistant paper, such as Kraft paper or tar paper, or use several layers of newspaper, even stiff fabric can be used. This year I am using squares cut out of a woven plastic feed bag. From one edge, cut a slit to the centre of the square, then cut a tiny X at the centre, where the stem will poke through, so that you can get the paper fitting very tightly around the stem (the paper lies flat on the soil surface). Anchor the barrier with a couple of pebbles or mulch to hold it in place. Leave in place for the life of the plant.
I hope everyone has started their Brussels sprouts by now. We are coming up to the last half of June, which is good timing to start seeds of winter broccoli and cauliflower. Plants should be at least 30 cm (1 foot) high by fall--but I like them even larger than that to get the earliest possible crop next year. People with the warmest gardens can get away with seeding up to mid-July, but don't leave it too late if you are planning on growing your own seedlings.
The way this late, cool spring is going, the beds you thought would be empty in mid-summer may still be full of plants when it is time to plant for winter crops. A couple of ways around this:
-start your winter crops in a small nursery bed somewhere in your garden and transplant them when the spaces open up. After garlic, onions from sets, spring peas and lettuce, etc. are done in July.
-buy transplants later in the summer. An increasing number of garden centres are carrying winter crop plants so this is a better fall-back than it used to be. You still need to be careful when buying broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce for winter to make sure you are being sold suitable varieties (see below).
Varieties with the Right Stuff. Purple sprouting broccoli is the best known of the overwintering broccoli; there are also white sprouting varieties. Extra Early Rudolph (AKA Purple Rudolf) is very early--producing the first harvest in February in my garden this year. They have never been as productive overall as Cardinal (AKA Cardinal Late), which is a much larger, later variety. The last Cardinal plant in my garden is still producing lots of good sized shoots right now. I guess it really likes this weather! West Coast Seeds is also selling a mixed "Purple Sprouting Broccoli Collection" to spread out harvest. For winter cauliflower, Purple Cape has been reliable in my garden for years. Galleon is an heirloom white cauliflower from England of outstanding quality; I have been growing it for the last 4 years and it is my favourite by far.
A pest management note: All of these plants need to be protected from cabbage root maggot. Cover seedlings or seed beds with floating row covers or surround the beds with 1-metre high window screen (allow the top 15 cm of screen to flop over to the outside); the latter works because 99% of the root maggot flies fly less than 1 metre above the ground. When you transplant the seedlings make sure each plant has a paper or cloth barrier around the stems. Make barriers from 6-8 inch squares of heavy, water resistant paper, such as Kraft paper or tar paper, or use several layers of newspaper, even stiff fabric can be used. This year I am using squares cut out of a woven plastic feed bag. From one edge, cut a slit to the centre of the square, then cut a tiny X at the centre, where the stem will poke through, so that you can get the paper fitting very tightly around the stem (the paper lies flat on the soil surface). Anchor the barrier with a couple of pebbles or mulch to hold it in place. Leave in place for the life of the plant.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Cats: Round 2
It's been quiet on the cat front in my backyard although a dog has been making regular "visits" to the lawn. And thanks for all of you who contributed your ideas and other pest woes. I'll be doing other pest posts soon. (Ukee readers and others — how do you deal with deer? We've been spared them in Tofino so far.) I am currently preparing a post on my favourite new gardening book that I want to share with you, but for now, here's what Gayla Trail from You Grow Girl (the book and the web site) suggests: Gayla suggests planting plants that cats hate, such as "scaredy cat plant" (Coleus canina) or laying chopped citrus peels or pinecones around the garden. She also says burning frankincense will keep raccoons, cats and squirrels away. (Anyone have some frankincense handy?) She also, very graciously I thought, gives instructions for a garden that your cat (or, in my case, the eight neighborhood cats) could enjoy as their very own. I'm not sure that I'll go that far, but I appreciate that many, many people love cats much more than I do.
Back soon with pics and a review of Gayla's fab. book.
Back soon with pics and a review of Gayla's fab. book.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Pest Post #1: Cats
I am feeling a tad grumpy. No, it's not the weather (although that's not great), but it's cats. There must be about 8 neighbourhood cats making regular visits to my yard to peruse it for use as a toilet (or to hunt birds). I say "peruse" it for use as a toilet because I have devised ways over the years to thwart them. But...it takes constant vigilance. I primarily use netting or mesh of some sort, which I lay over the newly planted beds (their favourite). They don't seem to like the possibility of getting their feet entangled. It works for most cats, but some (the young ones I think) are particularly keen at trying to find a spot and tormenting me.
My friend Joanna also suggested cayenne, which I went for one day. Not sure if it made a difference because I used the netting as well. The rain will wash it away, of course, but it might be worth a try in drier weather.
Joanna also sent in some pictures of her methods with these instructions: For those gardeners who deal with cats, short sticks are the best way I've found to keep them out of freshly dug beds. Cedar kindling works well, broken in half and stuck into the soil. Figure out how much space a cat needs to turn around and put the sticks that far apart. Another planting woe, the white-crowned sparrows are around. So watch out and cover those seeds!
I may have to get my daughter's cross bow out next. (It only shoots marshmallows, but it will make me feel better.)
What pests are you "sharing" your garden with and how do you cope?
My friend Joanna also suggested cayenne, which I went for one day. Not sure if it made a difference because I used the netting as well. The rain will wash it away, of course, but it might be worth a try in drier weather.
Joanna also sent in some pictures of her methods with these instructions: For those gardeners who deal with cats, short sticks are the best way I've found to keep them out of freshly dug beds. Cedar kindling works well, broken in half and stuck into the soil. Figure out how much space a cat needs to turn around and put the sticks that far apart. Another planting woe, the white-crowned sparrows are around. So watch out and cover those seeds!
I may have to get my daughter's cross bow out next. (It only shoots marshmallows, but it will make me feel better.)
What pests are you "sharing" your garden with and how do you cope?
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