Lots of water but it is going down as I write this so that is good....helps with having 3 subpumps doing the work.
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Monday August 27th....we have been out of electricity since 11 last night. Several poles and transformers along highway 65 by Sheffield went down. So they are without electricity and so are we. Larry has 3 generators going. One for the house and the subpumps. One for the greenhouse area as we have 6" in the greenhouse and by the parking lots. One for his shop, Larry's Garage, so he can work this morning. It is working but makes more work for him. Hopefully by tonight we will have electricity. It could be worst so we are thankful for that. All his generators are working which is good. Everyone stay safe.... Becky
Abyssinian Gladiolus (Acidanthera)0.0 Flowers and Graceful Foliage An elegant addition to the sunny perennial garden and cut flower displays, Acidanthera murielae produces graceful, fragrant white flowers with mahogany eyes that bloom from midsummer to frost. The sweetly scented flowers are excellent for cutting and displaying in fresh floral arrangements. The slender, sword-shaped green foliage resembles those of gladiolus. From Ethiopia, Abyssinian Gladiolus (Acidanthera), is also known as fragrant gladiolus, sword lily and peacock orchid. They're deer resistant and easy to grow. 8-10 cm bulbs.
taken from https://www.dutchbulbs.com/product/Acidantheramurielae till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net Sorry about the side view....but these are my elephant ears. How fun they are to grow and very easy. Soon they will need to go back into the greenhouse as they are very tender and will not like it cool.
Foliage Plant That Gives Your Garden a Tropical Feel By David Beaulieu Elephant ears are tropical foliage plants with large, dark green leaves. In USDA plant hardiness zone 8 and above, elephant ears can be left outside year-round. They are not native to Florida but have become naturalized in some wetland areas in the southern half of the state and are widespread. In fact, they are considered invasive there. In cold climates, the plants are treated as annuals, providing an infusion of tropical landscaping, albeit short-lived. But they can be brought indoors for winter to extend their lives. Taxonomy and Botany of Elephant Ears Plant taxonomy classifies the most widely known elephant ear plants, or "taro," as Colocasia esculenta. But plants of the Alocasia genus and of the Xanthosoma genus can go by the same common name, as well. A number of cultivars also exist, including types with dark leaves (for example, C. esculenta 'Black Magic'), placing them among the so-called "black plants." Elephant ear plants grow from a swollen stem similar to a bulb but known as a corm. They are herbaceous perennials in warm climates. Elephant ears' species name, esculentia, is the same term that gives us the word "esculent," meaning edible. In fact, elephant ears are an important food source in warm climates around the world. Growing Elephant Ear Plants Grow elephant ears in a slightly acidic soil in partial shade. As a wetland plant in the wild, elephant ear plants like a lot of water. This makes them a good choice for wet areas where gardeners usually have trouble finding suitable plants. Elephant ears are heavy feeders. Fertilize them with a fertilizer high in nitrogen. These tropical foliage plants are tender but can be overwintered in cold climates. Just dig up the corms and keep them in a cool, but not freezing, basement or garage, as you would store canna bulbs, dahlia tubers, etc. While they are in storage for the winter, make sure the corms neither rot nor totally dry out. Replant them in spring when the danger of frost has passed. Uses for Elephant Ear in Landscaping Elephant ears are grown for their large, heart-shaped leaves. While these leaves can reach 3 feet long and 2 feet wide in the tropics, in colder climates they will remain smaller (but still impressive). The plants can grow 8 feet tall in the tropics but only about 2 to 3 feet elsewhere, depending on growing conditions. In cold climates, treat elephant ears as annuals. Take advantage of their large, attractive foliage and grow them among your other plants to provide the texture in a planting bed. Do not sell this plant short simply because it lacks showy flowers; after all, pretty leaves last longer than flowers. Elephant ear is just one example of a plant valued for the display put on by its leaves. Their thirst for water makes elephant ears effective not only in soggy areas of the landscape but also near water features. One option is to grow them in containers as a complement to smaller plants for water gardens. With their huge, shield-shaped leaves, they create a nice contrast with another favorite used around water gardens, the horsetail, which pushes up multiple green spear-like shoots from its base. Colorful Cultivars A number of cultivars of elephant ears have made a name for themselves by virtue of the striking colors of their foliage. Several of these (in addition to 'Black Magic') have leaves with quite a bit of black color in them; others have yellow or chartreuse: ■ 'Black Coral': all black leaves ■ 'Illustris': black leaves with green edging and veining ■ 'Jet Black Wonder': black leaves with striking white veining ■ 'Lime Zinger': chartreuse leaves ■ 'Maui Gold': golden-chartreuse leaves ■ 'Yellow Splash': variegated leaves of yellow and green (similar to the pothos plant commonly used as a houseplant) Elephant Ears Produce Taro Root The corm, or root, of elephant ear, is commonly known as "taro" or "coco yam," a common food source in Hawaii and other tropical regions. According to Wilfred Lee ("Ethnobotanical Leaflets," Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 1999), "Taro constituted the staff of life for the Hawaiians when Captain Cook arrived in the islands in 1778. At that time an estimated three hundred thousand people in the islands lived chiefly on poi (a fermented or unfermented taro paste), sweet potato, fish, seaweed, and a few green vegetables and fruits." Be aware that all parts of elephant ear plants can upset the stomach if ingested without being properly cooked first. Also, the sap can be a skin irritant. taken from https://www.thespruce.com/elephant-ear-plants-2132884 till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net How to Have a Long Producing Vegetable Garden
Extend Your Vegetable Growing Season with Minimal Effort By Marie Iannotti It's easy to become complacent when your vegetable garden first starts producing in early summer. But to get the most out of your vegetable garden, plan on harvesting into the fall or even the winter, where weather permits. Keeping your vegetable plants healthy is the first key to a long producing vegetable garden. But even the healthiest vegetable plants will finally exhaust themselves setting fruits and will need replacing. Eventually it will be time to put the garden to bed, but keep it going as long as you can. With a little planning, you can easily keep your vegetable garden producing in succession. Here are some simple, but key factors for a long producing vegetable garden and maybe even a whole new fall vegetable garden. 01 Keep Picking Don't give up and leave those over ripened zucchini on the vines. Once a plants fruits have gone to seed, it thinks it is done for the season and begins to decline. Many plants, like squash, beans, peppers and eggplant, will stop producing new vegetables if the existing veggies are left on the plants to fully ripen. 02 Water Regularly Vegetables don't just need water, they need regular, consistent watering. Irregular watering results in problems and diseases like blossom end rot and cracking and can often make the vegetables bitter tasting. Allowing plants to dry out will stress the plant and cause it to stop producing and to drop whatever blossoms it already has. 03 Control Insects & Diseases Stop problems while they are small. Plants can defoliate from fungus diseases and a plant with no leaves is not going to produce fruit. 04 Feed Lightly You've asked a lot from your vegetable plants and they could use a little food by mid-summer, no matter how rich your soil is. But feed them lightly, especially with nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will encourage a lot of leaf growth and inhibit fruit production. 05 Let the Sun Shine In Make sure the vegetables are getting enough sunlight. Sometimes by the middle of summer, there is so much foliage that the sunlight can't get through. Most vegetables ripen faster in sunlight and produce tastier fruits. Vegetables that languish in the shade of leaves are more susceptible to insects and diseases. 06 Weed It's easy to let things slide toward the end of summer, but weeds will compete with your vegetable plants for water and nutrients, just when they need it most. 07 Succession Plant Planting crops at intervals will renew your garden by having new plants ready to take over for spent plants. Beans, radishes and lettuce can be seeded every two weeks, for an almost endless supply. Seedlings of early maturing tomatoes can be planted to replace plants that are on their last legs. 08 Fall Planting The cooler weather and shorter days of fall make it a more ideal planting season than spring, as long as an early frost doesn't spoil everything. Peas, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and greens can all be planted in July and August for harvest in September and October. In milder areas, harvesting can extend into winter.When seeding in late summer, plant your seeds a little deeper than you would in the spring, to take advantage of cooler soil and moisture. Shading the newly planted seeds and seedlings will help protect them from the summer sun. Mulch, row covers and taller plants, like your mature tomatoes, can be used for this. 09 Extend the season Cool nighttime temperatures send a signal to many plants to stop producing new fruits. If cool temperatures or a frost are inevitable, cover your crops with floating row covers. These light-weight woven fabric allow light and water to come through, but raise the temperature slightly. If your crops need to be fertilized by insects, the row covers should come off during the day. 10Share the Bounty With any luck and a bit of work, you'll probably have more vegetables than you can use (or drop off on your neighbor's porch when they're not looking). Why not consider contributing the extras to a local food bank or a program sponsored by Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR). PAR is a grassroots program sponsored by the Garden Writers Association, that encourages gardeners to donate their surplus garden produce to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry. There are over 70 million gardeners in the United States alone. That's a lot of cabbage. taken from https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-have-a-long-producing-vegetable-garden- till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net So looking out my office window I noticed that the grass has overcome the flower bed. We got 1/2" of rain, so it pulls out very easily. I will work on it, pulling the grass so the flowers have a chance to survive. We applied mulch but don't think we put it on thick enough. Weeding gives us time to appreciate what we have in our gardens.
Tips for Preventing Weeds Tips for Limiting Weed Problems in the Garden By Marie Iannotti Weeding the Garden A better idea than pulling weeds is to keep them out of your garden in the first place. You can't stop every bird from dropping a weed seed here and there, but there are several things you can do to limit the amount of weeds brought into your garden and prevent weeds from getting out of control. Tips for Limiting Weeds in the Garden 01 Border Patrol: Inspect all new plants for hitchhiking weeds. The longer a plant sits in a pot at the nursery, the more likely a weed seed will settle in and germinate. Make sure you don’t plant the weed along with the plant you’ve bought. 02 Don’t Disturb: Keep cultivation to a minimum. There are always weed seeds in the soil, but many will not germinate unless they are exposed to sunlight. While some scratching and cultivating of the soil around plants is good to keep the soil from compacting, frequent cultivating just leads to more weeds. You are better off applying an organic mulch and letting the earth worms do the cultivating for you. 03 To Till or Not to Till?: For years tilling has been recommended for clearing a new garden bed. Tilling is a quick way to break up the soil and incorporate some of the green material into the bed, but you’ll never get rid of all the existing plants that way. And just like with shallow cultivating, you are also turning up buried weed seeds that will sprout now, with exposure to the sun. If you do choose to cultivate, it’s easier to do when the ground is damp, but not too wet or the soil will stick together. 04 Cover Up: Mulches are still one of the best ways to keep weeds from taking over your garden. Mulches, whether organic or synthetic, will smother weed seeds, while cooling the soil and retaining moisture. Remember that mulches will also smother seeds of self-seeding plants that you might want as volunteers in your garden. If so, don’t mulch until later in the spring, when you can see which young seedling you want to keep and which should be weeded out and covered. Just a reminder about mulch.... What is Mulch? By Marie Iannotti Grass and mulch Mulch is any material that is spread or laid over the surface of the soil as a covering. It is used to retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds, keep the soil cool, and make the garden bed look more attractive. Organic mulches also help improve the soil’s fertility, as they decompose. Types of Organic Mulch ■ Bark, Shredded or Chipped ■ Compost ■ Composted Manure ■ Grass Clippings ■ Newspaper ■ Shredded Leaves ■ Straw Organic mulch will decompose and have to be replaced, but in the process, it will also improve your soil’s fertility and its organic content. The dryer and woodier the mulch, the slower it will decompose and the fewer nutrients it will give to the soil. It pays to know the origin of manure, compost, and straw since these materials can contain viable weed seeds. The last thing you want is to spread a mulch that is going to start sprouting and make more work for you. Each type of organic mulch has its own use. Bark Bark mulches are best used around trees, shrubs, and in garden beds where you won’t be doing a lot of digging, like front walkways and foundation plantings. These woody mulches don’t mix well into the soil, and it can become a hassle to have to keep moving them aside to make way for new plants. They will, however, last longer than finer organic mulches. Compost Compost and composted manure can be used anywhere, as long as they are relatively well composted and weed free. You can use them as a coating of mulch or simply side dress plants with them during the growing season to insulate and give a boost of slowly released nutrients. Grass Clippings Grass Clippings are a mixed bag and are best suited to remote areas of your garden where you want to suppress weeds. Grass clippings, like most green plant debris with a high water content, decompose very rapidly, and in the process, they can get somewhat slimy, with an unpleasant odor, so use with discretion. Grass clippings also tend to mat down and not allow water to pass through. Ideally, you should use a mulching mower and leave the clippings on the lawn to add fertility to that soil. If you do bag your grass clippings, don’t throw them away unless you have used weed killer or some other herbicide or pesticide on your lawn. Synthetic lawn care products can be bad for some flowers, and you certainly don’t want to use them in your vegetable garden. Untreated grass clippings can either be dumped into your compost bin or used to mulch open, unplanted areas. Newspaper Newspaper as mulch is becoming more and more popular. Most newspapers have switched over to organic dyes, especially for their black & white sections. Shredded newspaper has been used for years to keep plant roots moist while shipping. Layered sheets of newspaper also have great moisture retention abilities, and they act like other organic mulches as far as suppressing weeds and controlling soil temperatures. They are also great for smothering existing grass, to jump-start a new garden bed. To use as a mulch in the garden, spread a layer of four to eight sheets of newspaper around the plants. Moisten the sheets to keep them in place. On windy days it’s easier to moisten the sheets before you place them down. Cover the newspaper with a one to three-inch layer of another organic mulch and the weed protection should last throughout the growing season. Shredded Leaves Shredded Leaves are natures favorite mulch. They can be used as mulch anywhere and have the added bonus of being free. You will also entice more earthworms to your garden soil. Some gardeners don’t like the look of leaves in their garden, and they probably aren’t appropriate for a formal setting. If you spread a layer in the spring before plants spread out, the leaf mulch tends to blend into the view within a short time. Shredded leaves are perfect for woodland gardens, and if you spread a layer over your vegetable garden in the fall, it will begin decomposing over the winter. Unshredded leaves can mat together and repel water in rainy areas. If that happens, you can always rake and fluff them up a bit if they appear to get matted. Straw and Hay Straw and salt hay are popular mulches for the vegetable garden. They keep the soil and soil-borne diseases from splashing up on lower plant leaves and make paths less muddy. Straw decomposes very slowly and will last the entire growing season. It also makes a nice home for spiders and other beneficial insects who will move in and help keep the pest population in control. Finally, it’s easy to either rake up or work into the soil when it’s time to plant a new crop or put the vegetable garden to bed. Examples of Synthetic and Inorganic Mulches ■ Black Plastic ■ Landscape Fabric ■ Stone/Gravel Synthetic and inorganic mulches do a good job of holding moisture and blocking weeds. They don’t add any fertility to the soil, but they don’t decompose and require replacing as often as organic mulches. Uses for Synthetic and Inorganic Mulches If you like the functionality of plastic or landscape fabric but not the look, you can always add a thin layer of bark mulch on top of the plastic or fabric for camouflage. As the bark decomposes, weed seeds will be able to take hold on top of the plastic or fabric. You will also need to replace the bark as it disintegrates. If you’re building raised beds, consider making them the width of your plastic or fabric so that you can cover the bed without seams. Plastic and Landscape Fabric Plastic and Landscape Fabric are good choices for around foundation plantings and other shrubs and trees. These plants don’t require frequent fertilization and, for the most part, you won’t be working in these beds regularly, so you don’t want to have to worry about weeding them throughout the summer. Plastic gets very hot in the summer and, besides smothering weed seeds, it can also kill all the good things in the soil, including plant roots, unless there is sufficient moisture. Be sure to cut holes in the fabric to allow sufficient water to pass through. If you are seeing puddles accumulate on top of the plastic or fabric, you don’t have enough drainage. Landscape fabric is porous and shouldn’t be a problem unless it gets blocked. Gravel and Stone Gravel and Stone work well as mulches in areas that require good drainage or beds with plants that like a little additional heat, like Mediterranean herb gardens and rain gardens. Stone is hard to remove, so give it a lot of thought before using stone or gravel as a mulch. Which mulch you choose depends on the function and aesthetic you are looking for. There are more and more choices each year, so review your options before you start spreading and choose a mulch that will please you and aid your garden for many years. taken from https://www.thespruce.com/preventing-weeds- till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net So Marianne how many of these birds do you have? She works here and is our bird expert. Woodpecker story. Larry and I have a break around 9 every morning. And we hear this rattle tat rattle tat on tin and wondering what it is. It is the neighbor woodpecker hitting the back of the street sign. All Larry can think he is hitting the sign and bugs will come out from it....rattle tat, rattle tat silly bird....
12 Birds You Want in Your Yard These Birds Help With Pollination, Pest Control, and More By Melissa Mayntz While birders may be delighted to see any new bird in their yard, some birds are more welcome than others because of all the good they can do. Whether you are a homeowner, gardener, or farmer with decorative flowerbeds, a small garden, or extensive sprawling acreage, there are many beneficial birds you want in your yard. Bluebirds These colorful thrushes are highly desirable for their beautiful plumage and lilting voices, but they offer another benefit as well when they gobble up insects. Bluebirds are insectivorous and eat beetles, weevils, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects, and attracting bluebirds can help provide amazing natural pest control for your property, without added chemicals or extra costs. Wrens The energetic, perky antics of wrens are always fun to watch, and it's even more fun to see them catch all manner of unwanted insects. Because many wrens forage closer to the ground, they will not only control populations of beetles, caterpillars, and grubs, but also happily eat ants and snails as well. Attracting wrens is a great way to minimize these insects in your yard without harsh chemicals. Chickadees Chickadees are easy to attract to most yards, and they're voracious insect-eaters. Grubs and caterpillars are special favorites of chickadees, and because these birds have larger broods, the parents will quickly hunt hundreds of caterpillars for their young chicks. One nest usually has 5 to 8 eggs, but nests of up to 10 to 13 eggs are not unheard of, and that's a lot of hungry chicks eating insects! Nuthatches Tree-creeping nuthatches are wonderful at protecting orchards or landscaping trees, as they forage along the trunk of the tree for moth eggs, ants, beetles, and caterpillars. These birds also readily come to suet feeders or will happily snack on black oil sunflower seed, making them easy to invite as guests in your yard. While there, they'll help control the insect population. Woodpeckers In areas where wood-boring insects are a problem, woodpeckers can be the solution. They will drill into bark in search of beetles, aphids, millipedes, and other insects, and these tenacious birds won't stop until they've sought out every morsel. Attracting woodpeckers can be simple, but homeowners may also want to take steps to keep woodpeckers from pecking where they aren't as welcome. Purple Martins One of the loveliest swallows, purple martins are also attractive because they feed on aerial insects, including moths, flies, and occasionally mosquitoes. Attracting purple martins can be a challenge because of their specialized needs, however, but other swallows such as barn swallows are easier to attract and also eat more than their share of flying insects. Tanagers Stinging insects can be a problem in some areas, but colorful tanagers such as the scarlet tanager, summer tanager, and western tanager can all help prevent painful stings. These birds are wasp-eating specialists and have evolved ways to remove dangerous stingers before they eat different insects. These birds are around all summer, just when wasp and hornet populations are at their highest. Goldfinches Weeds can be an ongoing problem in the landscape, but beautiful goldfinches can help solve that problem. These seed-loving birds happily eat weed seeds, plucking seeds right off stalks as well as foraging on the ground after fallen seeds. Lesser goldfinches and American goldfinches both eat huge quantities of seeds, and the more of these birds there are in your yard, the fewer weeds you'll have. Hummingbirds Hummingbirds are the key to successful pollination and more abundant blooms in flowerbeds, as well as a more productive harvest in the vegetable garden. Opt for flowers that attract hummingbirds in the yard, and these tiny flying jewels will happily feast on natural nectar even as they help pollinate all sorts of delicious and beautiful plants, plus they keep gnat and other small insect populations down. Hawks It can be startling to see a hawk in the yard, but when these raptors make a meal out of unwanted squirrels, mice, snakes, large insects, or other prey, they can become honored dinner guests. Several types of raptors can become frequent visitors, but it may also be wise to take steps to protect backyard birds from hawks, so other feathered friends aren't in danger from their hunting activities. Owls Owls are another type of raptor that can be wonderful to have in your yard. Not only will they help control populations of mice, gophers, voles, shrews, and other small rodents, but because they are nocturnal, they are less of a threat to any other birds. Attracting owls is a challenge, but the expert pest control is well worth it. Putting up a barn owl box is a great first step. Helmeted Guineafowl Unless your property is in Africa, you won't have wild helmeted guineafowl roaming around, but these are great birds to add to a domestic poultry flock whether you have a small suburban farm, a larger livestock operation, or just rural property. Guineafowl are tick-eating specialists and can help keep these pests under control, making them valuable guests if they're right for your needs. taken from https://www.thespruce.com/birds-you-want-in-your-yard- till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net Sorry if you got this twice. I am redoing it over for facebook. Wonder if this blog will do as the last blog did 8200 hits...so I am excited.
Weather update: Hazy, hot and humid. Temperature around 90 degrees, humid is up there and there is no breeze....so if outside working drink, drink and drink. A Guide to 7 Flower Garden Pests That Can Ruin Your Hard Work These Common Pests Damage Plants in Multiple Ways By Jamie McIntosh No one likes to find their flower gardening efforts thwarted by hungry insects intent on making a meal of prize specimens. However, some insect pests do more than just snack on our plants; they can introduce fungi and other diseases than can sound the death knell for our favorite flowers. Aphids Gardeners everywhere curse the presence of tiny aphids on rose, honeysuckle, and other flowering foliage growth tips in the springtime. The sucking action of these insect pests causes stunted growth and deformed leaves and flowers. However, aphids bring more havoc to the flower garden by transmitting plant viruses and fostering the growth of black sooty mold fungus. Start your aphid battle the natural way: ■ Plant sweet alyssum in the flower garden to draw beneficial wasps. ■ Include cosmos to attract hungry lacewings, and add penstemon or yarrow to attract ladybugs. ■ Insect soap and a strong blast of water will take care of heavy infestations. ■ Encourage ladybugs in your garden. A single ladybug can eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its one-year lifespan. Borers Borers are an insidious pest, destroying your flowering plants from the inside out. The worst borer in the flower garden is the iris borer, which will tunnel through an entire iris rhizome, leaving bacterial rot in its wake. You should be suspicious if you notice sawdust material around the base of your irises or ragged leaf margins. Pinprick holes in the leaves of iris are the signs of tiny caterpillars that have infiltrated the leaves and are making their way down into the rhizomes. ■ Discourage borers by removing iris leaves in the fall, which provide a host for borer moth eggs. ■ In the spring, you can apply the systemic pesticide Merit or the nontoxic spray Garden Shield. ■ The best non-toxic control is to dig up affected plants after flowering is done, trim out the rotten rhizomes, and replant the good portions. Only about an eighth of an inch long, leafhopper insects look innocuous enough. The green insects don’t congregate in large numbers on plants and hop away when you approach. However, what you won’t notice is the toxin these hungry pests inject every time they insert their mouthparts into the underside of your flower’s foliage. This allows the damage to travel beyond the chewed part of the leaf, showing up as distorted leaf tips and edges. The insects also spread the aster yellows virus. ■ Remove debris from the garden at the end of the season to eliminate overwintering sites. ■ Use floating row covers to prevent leafhoppers from reaching your plants. ■ Blast leafhopper nymphs from plants with a strong jet of water. ■ Spray adults with insect soap, pyrethrin, or Sevin. ■ Keep dandelion and thistle weeds away from the flower garden, as they provide cover for leafhoppers. ■ Encourage beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, lacewings, and pirate bugs, which all prey on the eggs and larvae of leafhoppers. Mealybugs Mealybugs don’t draw much attention, as the pests are only 3/16 inch long and move very slowly. The honeydew they excrete supports sooty mold growth. When enough sooty mold accumulates on foliage, it can reduce photosynthesis, weakening the plant and making it even more susceptible to garden pests. If you notice white fuzzy growths on your plants, you may have mealybugs. Ways to control mealybugs include: ■ Avoid overwatering and overfertilizing since mealybugs are attracted to new growth and plants with high levels of nitrogen. ■ Dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and touch it to the pests to desiccate and kill them instantly. ■ You can also spray the pests away with water, or apply Malathion or Orthene pesticide sprays. ■ Use insecticidal soap or neem oil as repellants; these products do not harm honeybees and other beneficial insects. ■ Encourage beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, which are predators of mealybugs. Plant Bugs "Plant bugs" is a term that includes a number of true bugs, members of the Hemiptera order of insects. The most common plant bugs of interest to gardeners are cinch bugs, harlequin bugs, and squash bugs. Like leafhoppers, plant bugs inject a toxin into your plants’ leaves, buds, and shoots as they feed. The result is a plant mottled with brown or black spots and deformed growth. Dahlias, azaleas, daisies, liatris, and asters are just a few of the flowering plants these bugs commonly feast upon. Gardeners should be on the lookout for tarnished plant bugs and four-lined plant bugs, growing up to ¼ inch long. Plant bugs often have an unpleasant odor. ■ Plant bugs are fast moving pests, but you can pluck them off and drop them into a bucket of soapy water if you’re an early riser, as the bugs are sluggish in the morning. ■ Spraying young bugs with neem oil or insecticidal soap will offer some control for most plant bugs. ■ Protecting edible crops with floating row covers will prevent plant bugs from damaging your vegetables. ■ Plant bugs can be killed by spraying your plants with neem, Sevin, or diazinon. Use sparingly, as these chemicals will also kill beneficial insects. Scale At first glance, scale insects may not even seem alive. The waxy covering that serves as a protective shield on the bugs makes them resemble lichen or other natural growths on their host plants. The scale insect under this waxy covering is very much alive, though, feeding on garden plants throughout the entire growing season and on houseplants throughout the year. Damage appears as stunted growth, leaf drop, yellow spots on leaves, and sooty mold growth that thrives on the scale’s honeydew. Parasitic wasps love to use scale insects as hosts, and you may see evidence of this as tiny holes piercing the scale’s armor. This same armor makes scale resistant to many pesticides, but dormant oil can suffocate the insects during the winter season. To control scale: ■ Dispose of affected branches and leaves, which harbor the insects. ■ PIck off the insects by hand—a viable solution if the numbers are low. ■ Dab individual insects with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. ■ Encourage beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings, which feed on scale insects. ■ Use insecticidal soap or oils to coat scale. This will require repeated applications but is very safe for the environment. ■ Apply neem oil to affected plants. A concentrated form of neem oil, azadirachtin, is a very effective control. ■ If chemicals are needed, those containing acephate or imidacloprid are effective as systemic pesticides. White Flies Upon disturbance, whiteflies flutter about their host plants like an ephemeral cloud, but their damage is formidable. This is another honeydew-secreting pest, encouraging sooty mold while simultaneously leaving plants yellow and stunted after sucking on plant juices. Some whiteflies also carry plant viruses. Whiteflies are the bane of greenhouse growers, who detect their presence with yellow sticky traps.Whiteflies can be controlled in a number of ways: ■ Take advantage of the small size and weakness of these insects by using a vacuum to remove them from plants. ■ Yellow sticky traps can be used to trap adult whiteflies. ■ Encourage natural predators such as ladybugs and lacewings. ■ Insecticidal soaps work well on heavy infestations but must be applied regularly. ■ Neem oil and other horticultural oils will kill whiteflies; make sure to completely drench plants. ■ Where chemical pesticides are needed, try to use the most organic, short-lived product possible. Natural insecticides containing pyrethrin are good choices. ■ Malathion is a more aggressive chemical that can be used sparingly. taken from https://www.thespruce.com/flower-garden-pests- till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net |
AuthorHi! My name is Becky and I am a master gardener. I own Becky's Greenhouse in Dougherty, Iowa. Archives
February 2023
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