Garden Checklist

From the Fresno Bee, June 4, 2009:

Sometimes Simple Methods Work Best to Send Pests to Their Rest--by Elinor Teague (edited)

Elinor says that one of the main programs of the Master Gardeners (through the University of California Extension Office) is "to educate home gardeners on the proper use and application of herbicides and pesticides." Overuse in the past has caused all kinds of havoc to our environment, which in the end affects us.

Less toxic products are just as effective as the more aggressive chemical sprays and powders. Simple methods work well, such as a blast of water from the hose to knock down aphids. Elinor [and I, too] thought that the aphids would just crawl back up the stock and go back to sucking the life out of the plant. She says, "They don't because they can't; the aphids are separated from their sucking mouthpieces and are dead when they hit the ground."

People may not be aware how well the new iron phosphate snail and slug bait (ie.--Sluggo and others) is working, because they don't see the dead bodies. What actually has happened is that the snails and slugs eat the bait and go back to their hiding places, and then it kills them.

Having a lot of green lacewings, lady bugs, spiders and syrphid flies [plus many others, such as praying mantises] in the garden is the aim of organic gardeners. These insects help combat the problem insects.

Elinor says that using "insecticidal soaps, oils, pyrethrum products (derived from a species of chrysanthemum), and microbial products such as Bacillus thuringiensis" will "kill insects only on contact and have little or no residual effect."

[If you regularly use poisons in your garden, it will kill the good bugs along with the bad bugs, and may even kill the beneficial toads, frogs and birds (it may even harm children or pets). I have had 3 summers where a Mockingbird kept the tomato worms cleaned up---I would see a little worm damage, but never find worms! One time I actually saw the Mockingbird searching for the worms. Two summers in a row I had a large garden spider that would build huge webs in our back yard. One time it stretched across our walkway, where she would start with a strand that went from the corner of the roof over to the middle of our large orange tree. It would go from the ground on up to 10' or more. Another time she stretched her web from our house to the back fence, which is about 25'! She couldn't catch a bird or anything like that, but she obviously ate good! She was quite large (but not like a tarantula) for a garden spider. She would weave her web in the evening and take it down in the morning. It was truly amazing!---Gard'n Judy]

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Harvest vegetables and deadhead flowers regularly to encourage continued production.

Tasks: Avoid cutting lawns too severely, because the resulting stress causes yellowing.

Pruning: Cut back annuals that have stopped blooming to encourage rebloom.

Fertilizing: Avoid fertilizing herbs as too much fertilizer reduces flavor and fragrance.

Planting: Plant summer vegetables at timed intervals to prolong harvest; fall flowering Crocus; coneflower (Echinacea); hibiscus, hydrangea; globe amaranth (Gomphrena), lobelia; plant from seed---corn, cucumbers.

Things to ponder: Plant in cooler morning or evening hours.

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Upcoming classes at the Garden of the Sun:

"Caring for Roses in the Summer"
9:30 am, Saturday, June 6; 1944 N. Winery Ave, 456-7285--$15.

"Fun Projects with Pressed Flowers"
9:30 am, Wednesday, June 10; $25 + registration is required

[July 25 there will be a "Cool Season Vegetables" class that is free]