Home and Garden
In the Garden: Organic methods to wipe out pests
01:45 PM CDT on Sunday, April 27, 2008
This April has been quite typical compared to recent years. You would think that April represents a nice transitional month from cool days and cool nights to warmer days and warmer nights. Similarly to recent years, this April provided us again with some freezing nights but not so unpleasant cool days. The picture of my fig tree is a good illustration of how cold it got here on
Loretta Boswell
Fig tree damaged by two late season freezes
the north shore. It’s not a pretty sight. Only time will tell if the tree will survive our two April hard freezes. Thankfully just about everything else survived quite nicely.
The most striking aspect of this past month has been the greening all around us. The deciduous trees seemed to leaf out overnight changing our entire landscape. In areas where we could previously see a good distance into our woods, the vegetation is now lush and seemingly impenetrable. This is a perfect habitat for our animal friends providing them with both shelter and food. We help a little by putting out corn and have been able to catch glimpses of quite a variety of critters including raccoons, possums, crows, squirrels, wild turkeys and other birds and, of course, our five-member resident deer herd. Even coyotes and bobcats have been infrequent visitors. You never know just what to expect in the view from our living room.
Home landscape: The azaleas were quite beautiful during March and April and by now should have finished up. To avoid leggy and unsightly bushes, prune as soon as possible, fertilize and mulch well. This is when I spend the most time in the garden. When I’m walking around pruning I take advantage of the opportunity to weed carefully, and to place a heavy layer of mulch over the bare areas. This affords me the opportunity to check and see if there are any problem areas in the garden that need to be addressed. The main one I found was sooty mold on the gardenias. This can be caused by scale insects, aphids or white flies as they excrete a sugary liquid called honeydew. The honeydew accumulates on the foliage attracting wasps, ants and other insects and also helps develop the fungal infestation that gives the black sooty appearance to the leaves. Horticultural oils such as Volck Oil Spray can be used to control the insects causing the damage and in the case of the gardenias, to help clean up the leaves.
Loretta Boswell
Amaryllis bulbs in bloom
Amaryllis and Louisiana irises should also be peaking now and when the flowers wilt they can be cut off and disposed of in your compost pile. The same holds true for spring bulbs, but in this case wait until the leaves have turned yellow before cutting all of the plant above ground. I leave my daffodil bulbs in the ground and they have come back year after year. If you enjoy summer flowering bulbs, there is still a very small window of opportunity to get them in the ground. A couple of choices for a shady spot include caladium and oxalis. Sun loving summer bulbs include agapanthus, canna, garlic chives, gladiolus, iris and lilies.
Inside your home the care and feeding of potted plants starts in earnest. I have noticed my air conditioner coming on more frequently now and I know that the plants will be more susceptible to drying out. I check the soil regularly to make sure the plants do not dry out and, to feed my house plants, I like to use a slow release feeder such as Osmocote. This plant food is released slowly over four months and does not burn the plants.
Loretta Boswell
Sooty mold on Gardenia
Vegetable gardening: The cool season veggies are doing quite nicely. Into May we will be harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, greens (pak choi, kale, chard, spinach, collards, beet greens, turnip greens), beets, turnips, and lettuce. Our culinary herbs include rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, dill, tarragon, sage and cilantro.
Most of our summer planting is done. We have in the ground snap beans, butter beans, collards, cucumbers, eggplants, okra, summer squash, tomatoes, and peppers. Still to be planted are winter squash, sweet corn, and sweet potatoes. The following can be planted through May: cantaloupes, Southern peas, peanuts, pumpkins, and watermelons.
I take a walk just about every day in my veggie garden to check plants, harvest something for dinner and put seeds out in my bird feeders. From these daily inspections, I suspect that this will be another season with pest problems. My best guess is that our winter cold spells have not been severe enough or long enough to reduce the pest populations. Already I am spotting flea beetles, diamondback moth larvae, grasshoppers, slugs and squash bugs. To control these pests I’ll be using the following organic control methods:
Flea beetles: sticky traps and floating row cover
Diamondback moth larvae: spray with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki and, if possible, use floating row cover
Grasshoppers: use floating row cover and mow lawn areas around the vegetable garden very short to make it less attractive as a food source
Slugs: removal by hand, limit mulch to one inch and, my favorite control is a beer trap (slugs love the fermenting mixture, slide into it and drown). To make the beer trap use empty yogurt containers, dig into the soil leaving one inch of the container above ground and fill with about one inch of beer. Replace the beer daily.
Squash bugs: hand pick and drop bugs into a container of soapy water, cut off leaves that have eggs on them or use floating row cover. Insecticidal soap or pyrethrins can be used to kill the young squash bug nymphs.
Loretta Boswell
Sweet pea flowers attract beneficial insects
The good news is that the good bugs are out there too. I’ve already spotted many lady bugs and my favorite, the preying mantis.
The beets coming out of the garden this year have been the best so far. I love roasting them with other root vegetables. The following recipe is great for the hotter days that are coming.
Beet Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese
(From Food Network Kitchens)
Ingredients:
2 bunches medium beets, (about 1½ pounds) tops trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½cup walnuts
1 bunch arugula, trimmed and torn
½medium head escarole, torn
4 ounces goat cheese, (preferably aged goat cheese) crumbled
Directions:
Put the beets in a saucepan with water to cover and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them – the skins should slide right off with a bit of pressure from your fingers. If they don’t, use a paring knife to scrape off any bits that stick. Cut each beet into bite-sized wedges.
Whisk the vinegar with salt and pepper, to taste, in a large bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream to make a dressing. Toss the cut beets in the dressing; set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and oven-toast, stirring once, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool.
Toss the arugula and escarole with the beets and divide among 4 plates. Scatter the walnuts and goat cheese on top. Serve.
Mark your calendars:
May 3: GNO Bromeliad Society Show & Sale – Lakeside Mall, Metairie, LA.
May 3-4: Red Stick Hibiscus Society Show & Sale – LSU AgCenter Burden Center, Baton Rouge, LA
May 9: Gardener’s Night Out – LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station, Hammond, LA
rbracy@agctr.lsu.edu or acoco@agctr.lsu.edu
May 10: East Baton Rouge LMG Annual Mother’s Day Plant Sale – LSU AgCenter Burden Center - 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Again, thank you for reading. If you have any questions or an event you would like listed, please e-mail me at lally@bellsouth.net.
Loretta Boswell
St. Tammany Master Gardener
