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April 25, 2006
Pest Control
Author: Karen Gross
One of the biggest challenges for vegetable gardeners is pest control. Anyone who has tried to keep a determined deer from eating the sweet corn knows how difficult it can be to deter animals, including insects, birds, rabbits and other wildlife from what, for them is a natural smorgasbord. From their perspective, there sit these wonderful veggies, all neat and weeded, almost as if you placed the plants there just for them. And so animals that we might otherwise enjoy can become a nuisance when it comes to the garden.
While avoiding wildlife is nearly impossible, chemical pesticides are often an effective means of deterring unwanted insects. However, many gardeners are uncomfortable using these harsh chemicals that can leak into water supplies and harm the environment. They also have concerns about using chemicals in the foods they feed their families. Here are some ideas for more organic pest control.
Crop Rotation
Practicing crop rotation every year in your vegetable garden and using companion plants will improve your soil and keep the pests under control. Most insects need time to become established in the soil. They may take two to three seasons to get their life cycle established. By practicing vegetable rotation and varying the type of plants grown in a particular area from year to year, you can avoid establishing plant specific types of garden pests.
Companion Planting
Certain varieties of garden plants are less attractive to pests. To deter rabbits, plant green onions amongst the lettuce plants. Plant several radish seeds in each hill of cucumber seeds to protect against the cucumber beetle. And when planted near each other, cucumbers will prevent raccoons from eating all the sweet corn, while the corn will reciprocate by preventing cucumber wilt.
Tomatoes like to be near chives, parsley, marigolds, garlic bulbs, nasturtiums, gooseberries, asparagus, and carrots. Tomatoes have a natural defense for pest control against the asparagus beetle and are also effective in keeping insects away from gooseberries. Carrots on the other hand are nearly every garden pest’s friend. To control the carrot fly pest, plant onions, rosemary, or leeks nearby. Potatoes like to be planted near corn, horseradish, broccoli, cabbage and peas. Avoid planting by tomatoes, melon, and cucumbers.
Some vegetable gardeners plant pumpkins, squash, and cucumbers among the corn. The heavy growth and scratching of the vines and leaves helps keep rabbits, raccoons and other hungry critters at bay.
Tricks of the Trade
In addition to the planting methods described above, there are a number of non-pesticide options for organic pest control. Human or dog hair spread around the garden and hung from tree limbs acts as a good pest repellent, as do bars of soap hung from shepherds hooks or laid right in the soil. Deer do not like the smell of rotting eggs, so a mixture of 9 eggs with 2.5 gallons of water sprayed on ½ acre of crop will deter deer from entering the area, but the solution is diluted enough to avoid annoying humans.
Deer tend to be nervous and wary animals and can be scared off by annoying wind activated garden fixtures, plastic foil tape, scarecrows and whirligigs. Those that make noise, such squeaking, fluttering, or tinkling, work best. You may have to move these items around and rotate selection to keep the deer from getting use to them. Dogs are also a good source to keep watch over the garden and help scare off unwanted wildlife diners.
Tall fences (9 to 10 feet high) planted firmly in the ground are the best way to keep deer out of the vegetable garden. An inexpensive chicken-wire fence at least 24 inches high is often enough to keep those pesky rabbits out of your garden. Or a solution of cayenne pepper spray on the plants after a rain will sometimes deter rabbits from nibbling. Dried blood meal, which rabbits do not favor, can be sprinkled around when planting. The flavor will absorb though the root system of the vegetables, making them less appetizing. As an ongoing garden pest control, blood meal can be added to the soil every two weeks.
Live traps can be used for smaller rodents and rabbits. Bait the traps with a small amount of peanut butter, check them regularly, and transport any captured animals to another location immediately. Wear plastic gloves when handling live traps to prevent exposure to diseases carried by rodents and their parasites. Sticky insect traps and lures are another good pest control. Paint a thick piece of cardboard a bright color to attract the pest, and coat with a sticky substance such as Stick-em or Tanglefoot.
Electronic Pest Control
There are several electronic pest control devices available on the market as well, including electric fences, motion detecting water sprayers, and ultrasonic noisemakers that humans can’t hear, but that garden pests find annoying. There are some units on the market that allow you to adjust the unit to the pest you are trying to drive away, without bothering the other critters you would like to have around.
Electric fencing can be installed around the perimeter of the yard. Some of these products claim to be strong enough to deter deer from entering the garden, but weak enough that they do not hurt family pets.
Moles feed on earthworms and grubs, not plants, which can make them a benefit to gardens, but as part of their natural activity, moles tunnel through the soil, causing damage to delicate plant roots. Battery or solar operated devices can be placed in the ground to help deter moles from burrowing in your garden. Place a few around the garden to prevent these pests from making paths in a new area.
Beneficial Bugs
Insects that prey upon garden pests are called beneficial insects. In nature these insects keep the garden pests under control. Encourage beneficial bugs by avoiding the use of commercial pesticides as these are usually non-discriminatory and will kill good and bad bugs alike. A small number of pests in the garden will encourage those beneficial bugs to stick around and multiply, making your work easier.
Ladybugs are natural enemies of aphids. Green lacewing in larvae stage feeds on thrips, mites, aphids, and various other insect eggs. Trichogramma wasps are effective against corn earworm, tomato hornworm, and loopers. The tiny wasps are also a parasite to many kinds of caterpillars.
Sprays and Soaps
There are many organic pest control sprays you can make at home, as well as purchasing less harmful insecticidal soaps. Many of the homemade sprays include ingredients such as garlic, onion, or cayenne pepper. A word of caution when using sprays intended to go directly on the plants. Never apply sprays in the heat of the afternoon sun. The water can heat up very quickly and cause brown spots to appear on the leaves.
Most gardeners have a connection with the earth and enjoy the wildlife and insects nature has provided…just not in the garden! For those who prefer to practice organic pest control, there are many options. They may not work as well as pesticides in some cases, but they are a lot less harmful and can even add fun and beauty to your garden.
About the author: Karen Gross is a professional gardener and design consultant. She provides valuable tips and advice about s eed companies, container gardening and other vegetable gardening topics.
Posted by Richard at 07:36 AM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2006
Spring Planting
Author: Michael J. McGroarty
Spring means that the garden centers are packed with people, and car trunks are packed with plants. Everybody has dirt on their knees, dirt under their nails, and is excited about gardening. To make certain that this excitement yields positive results, let’s discuss the basics in this article of spring planting tips.
Installing new plants and having them grow successfully is not difficult, nor is it as complicated as some would have you think. Is it as easy as just digging a hole and setting the plant in? Yes, it certainly can be. I won’t get into bed preparation, as I have covered that in other articles that are available at http://www.freeplants.com
Let’s start with B&B plants. B&B is short for balled in burlap. Closely examine the ball on the plant that you have purchased. Did the diggers wrap twine around the ball to hold the plant secure? If they did, you should at least cut the twine and lay it in the bottom of the hole, or remove it completely. Pay close attention around the stem of the plant where it emerges from the root ball, as diggers often wrap the twine around the stem several times as they tie the ball. This is extremely important because if the string is nylon, it will not rot and will girdle and kill the plant two or three years from now.
When B&B plants are stored in the nursery for extended periods of time it becomes necessary to re-burlap them if the bottom starts to rot before the plants are sold. If the plant that you buy has been re-burlaped it is possible that there could be nylon stings between the two layers of burlap, so check the stem carefully. As long as the nylon string is removed from around the stem of the plant, it is actually harmless around the rest of the ball, and you do not have to remove it.
Is the root ball wrapped in genuine burlap, or imitation burlap made of a non-biodegradable plastic material?
Genuine burlap will rot quickly underground and does not have to be disturbed before planting. If you’re not sure or suspect a poly type burlap, you don’t have to remove it completely, but should loosen it around the stem of the plant and cut some vertical slices around the circumference of the ball.
Now here’s the critical part. What kind of soil are you planting in?
If your soil is heavy clay, I highly suggest that you raise the planting bed at least 8” with good rich topsoil. If you can’t do that for some reason, install the plant so that at least 2” or more of the root ball is above the existing grade and mound the soil over the root ball. Keep in mind that plants installed this way could dry out over the summer, but planting them flush with the ground in heavy clay can mean that the roots will be too wet at other times of the year.
The “experts” suggest that when planting in clay soil you dig the hole wider and deeper than the root ball and fill around and under the plant with loose organic material. That sounds like a really great idea, doesn’t it? Some of these experts also recommend that you dig the hole extra deep and put a few inches of gravel in the bottom for drainage. Where do you suppose they think this water is going to “drain” to?
Keep in mind that most B&B plants are grown in well drained soil. That means that the soil in the root ball is porous and water can easily pass through. Now imagine if you will, a root ball about 15” in diameter, setting in a hole 30” in diameter. All around and under that root ball is loose organic matter. Inside of that root ball is porous soil. Now along comes Mother Nature with a torrential downpour. There is water everywhere, and it is not going to soak into that hard packed clay soil, so it is just flowing across the top of the ground searching for the lowest point.
When it reaches our newly planted tree surrounded by loose organic matter, it is going to seep in until the planting hole is completely full of water. (Remember my article on getting rid of standing water and the French drain system?) By using this planting technique we have actually created a French drain around our poor little plant that cannot tolerate its roots being without oxygen for long periods of time. Because the bottom of this hole is clay, even though we’ve added gravel for drainage, there is nowhere for the water to go, and this plant is going to suffer and likely die.
If you cannot raise the planting bed with topsoil, and are planting in clay soil, I recommend that you install the root ball at least 2” above grade and backfill around the ball with the soil that you removed when you dug the hole. Backfilling with the clay soil that you removed is actually like building a dam to keep excess water from permeating the root ball of your newly planted tree. The plant is not going to thrive in this poor soil, but at least it will have a chance to survive.
Once again, raising the bed with good rich topsoil is the best thing you can do to keep your plants healthy and happy.
No matter what kind of soil you have, be careful not to install your plants too deep. They should never be planted any deeper than they were grown in the nursery. Planting too deep is a common problem, and thousands of plants are killed each year by gardeners who just don’t understand how critical planting depth is.
Staking newly planted trees is always a good idea. If your new tree constantly rocks back and forth when the wind blows it will have a very difficult time establishing new roots into the existing soil. Stabilize the tree with a stake. You can use a wooden stake, a fence post, or for small trees I often use 1/2” electro magnetic tubing, (conduit), available at any hardware store.
You can secure the tree to the stake with a single wrap of duct tape. In about six months or a year the sun will dry the glue on the duct tape and it will fall off. Check the tape to make sure that it has fallen off. You don’t want to girdle the tree with the tape.
Container grown plants are much easier. Follow the rules for depth of planting as described earlier. Before gently removing the plant from the container check the drain holes in the bottom of the container for roots that might be growing out the holes. If so, cut them off so they will not make it difficult to get the plant out of the container.
The easiest way to remove the plant from the container is to place your hand over the top of the container and turn it completely upside down and give it a gentle shake. The plant should slide right into your hand.
Examine the root mass as you hold it in your hand. Sometimes when plants have been growing in a container for a long time the roots start to grow in a circular pattern around the root mass. This is not good, and you should disturb these roots before planting so you can break this circular pattern. You can take a knife and actually make about three vertical slices from the top of the root mass to the bottom. This will stimulate new roots that will grow outward into the soil of your garden. Or you can just take your fingers and loosen the roots that are circling the root mass and force them outward before you plant them.
What about fertilizer, bone meal, peat moss, and all those other additives they are going to try and sell you at the garden center?
Raise your planting beds with good rich topsoil and forget about the additives. Be very careful with fertilizers, they can do more harm than good. I landscaped my house 14 years ago and I haven’t got around to fertilizing the plants yet, and have no intention of doing so. They look great.
As far as bone meal and all those other soil additives are concerned, don’t get too caught up in all that stuff. The only thing that I know for sure is that they will make your wallet thinner, but I don’t think you’ll see a difference in your plants. Over the years I’ve landscaped several hundred homes with fantastic results, and I never added any of these additives to my planting beds.
Did I mention planting in good rich topsoil? That’s the secret!
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com
Posted by Richard at 06:55 AM | Comments (0)