Mulch is really good for the garden. It’s any material placed on top of soil to cover and protect it, improve soil structure and fertility, and enhance the area’s overall appearance. Mulching mimics the natural environment found in forests where leaves and branches blanket the soil surface, replenishing nutrients as they decompose and creating an […]
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Summer is here and so are yellowjackets – those one-half to one-inch-long bright yellow wasps with black strips and their signature “narrow” waist. Yellowjackets prey on other insects and scavenge on human food and garbage. They will fiercely defend their nests – in holes in the ground, inside wall cavities or hanging gray paper-looking ones,
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Grrrrr – while merrily tending my roses, I’ve come across another victim of the dreaded beast – the gopher. If this is not one of the gardening challenges you face, you can stop reading now. Since I live in gopher heaven, each season I have to deal with the damage from this voracious pest. And
Traps are the Most Reliable Way to Manage Gophers Read More »
Seeing leaves on your fruit trees rolled up like a sandwich wrap? Could be leafrollers, a family of insects that attack the leaves of fruit trees like apples, pears, and peaches. They also target some ornamental trees like ash, poplar, and oak. Leafroller larvae feed on tender, new leaves, giving them a ragged appearance; they
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Noticed any branches of your pear or apple trees that look like they’ve been torched or scorched? Might be a case of fire blight, a nasty bacterial disease. It most frequently affects pome fruit trees (apples and pears) and related plants – crabapple, ornamental pear, pyracantha, and quince. Infections may appear scattered throughout the crown
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The main benefits a layer of mulch on your vegetable or flower beds can provide include: Not sure what to use? If possible, choose an organic material that adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. Check out this information on a wide variety of mulch materials to find one that will work for
Mulch gives you a big bang for your buck! Read More »
The bane of many gardeners, especially rose-growing ones, is the gopher. While this voracious pest loves roses, they’re not fussy – in fact, there aren’t a lot they DON’T like! The pocket gopher is named for the external, fur-lined cheek pouches the critters use to carry food to their storage area. Their exposed chisel-like teeth
If you have some new seedling coming up, and some seem to be clipped off right at the soil level, it may be cutworms. These pests feed on blossoms and leaves of many ornamental plants and attack most edible garden crops, clipping off seedling stems near or just below the soil level. A few species
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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a science-based decision-making process that combines tools and strategies to identify and manage pests. It’s not one specific action or tactic; it is the combination of all actions that reduce the impact of pests while minimizing negative effects on the environment. In addition to its primary purpose of reducing numbers
What is IPM and why use it? Read More »
Spiders are generally considered to be beneficial; as predators, they keep insect pests in check. But many don’t want these 8-legged crawlers moving around inside the house. To prevent spiders from entering your house: To manage spiders that may have made it inside: While some research suggests citrus scents like orange oil may deter spiders,
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