Organic Weed Control

The other day I talked about the many weeds I currently have in my garden. I really let it get away from me as I have been spending my time remodeling my home. I started out using the tiller to get the weeds down between the rows of vegetables. However, that is some pretty hard work considering how tall the weeds have become. Today I am going to take my lawn mower and mow the weeds down between my squash and cucumber plants. Then I will roto-till the rest of the weeds that are there. Mowing them down first will be perhaps a little easier to till them under.

An old fashioned hoe will be what I use to get the weeds out from between the plants. What I really wish I had was what is used in the video I found for your enjoyment today. It would sure make it even easier to practice organic weed control!

What is your favorite method for getting rid of the weeds in your garden? Leave me a comment and share.

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Welcome to the July 30, 2008 edition of a gardening carnival.

flowers

AdmirableIndia.com presents Trip to Ooty: Day 2: Part 1: Ooty Lake - Boat House and Thread garden, Ooty posted at AdmirableIndia.com.

gardening

Jason Isbell presents Needs for a Butterfly Garden posted at Tired Garden.

Amy L. presents Four Secrets to Growing Indoor Miniature Roses posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, “Every year, thousands of people purchase miniature roses, only to have them die in a few months.”

Ty Cee presents Pinoy Horticulture posted at Pinoy Horticulture, saying, “Pinoy Horticulutre provides information about the activities of horticulture societies and plant enthusiasts in the Philippines”

Laura Williams presents Around the Homestead Today… posted at Laura Williams’ Musings, saying, “Gardening and Canning. We grow and herb garden in addition to a grapes, cherry trees, blueberry bushes, and a traditional garden. We stil have 6 cranberry bushes, 7 plum trees, and 2 fig trees to plant this season.”

Louise Manning presents Woodland birds under threat posted at The Human Imprint.

valereee presents No dirt under your nails? No tomatoes for you! posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, “Don’t like to garden? Hire a gardener!”

Jdebosdari presents Dead and Dying Yew Trees and Hedges posted at Ashridge Trees, saying, “Yew (taxus) hedging sometimes causes trouble in the summer after it is planted. Here are a few reasons why and suggestions as to how to help it establish”

Alison presents Help! Tomato 911! posted at Green Me, saying, “Hello experienced tomato gardeners! I need your help pronto or I may have complete crop failure!”

Deanna Caswell presents How to Compost posted at Little House in the Suburbs.

herbs

Gwen Mangelson presents Calendula HERB OF THE YEAR 2008~ posted at Paper Expressions.

lawn care

Sarah presents Caring for Your Lawn in the Winter | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, “Even though your grass doesn’t need much attention during the winter, it’s still important to follow some basic seasonal lawn care guidelines ”

Sarah presents Diagnosing and Managing Brown Spots on Your Lawn | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, “If there are brown spots on your lawn, repairing them and preventing them from returning can be an exercise in frustration.”

organic gardening

Jamie McIntosh presents Control Carpenter Bees posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, “No one likes carpenter bees drilling into their decks and homes. However, these insects have an important role in your organic garden.”

Candice Brokenshire presents Harry Hopkins - Motivational Landscaper posted at The Red Barn Cooperative.

Teri presents My Work as an Environmental Biologist posted at Teri’s Organic Garden, saying, “My work as an environmental biologist working with 2 amazing grants - the Public Seed Initiative and the Organic Seed Partnership - both grants involve organic vegetable farming issues and ways to solve them.”

Fiona Lohrenz presents Going Organic…Why We Should! posted at Child Care Only.

vegetables

Chris presents 3 Steps to the Perfect Vegetable Garden (Part Two) posted at Smith Family Garden.

:: Suzanne :: presents works for me? tomato posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.

Dave Trenholm presents Growing Potatoes In Straw posted at Alberta Home Gardening.

valereee presents Garlic Mustard Dill Pickle Relish posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, “Those first early cukes are perfect for pickle relish!”

Condo Blues presents How to Grow Upside Down Tomato Plants posted at Condo Blues, saying, “How to plant an upsidedown tomato planter.”

Katrina Cain presents Did You Know That Raw Runner Beans Are Toxic? posted at Were You Wondering….

Miscellaneous

Matt DiChiara presents Alleviating Sick Building Syndrome with Plants in Your Apartment | MyNewPlace Blog posted at MyNewPlace Blog.

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Treating And Preventing Mosquito Bites posted at Tip Diva, saying, “Ahh, summer. The sun is warm, the water is cool, the flowers are blooming, and unfortunately, the bugs are biting. The worst offender of them all is the mosquito, carrier of pain, itching and possible diseases like West Nile. Here’s how to treat and further prevent bites”

AdmirableIndia.com presents Bangalore to Mysore on Bike: Day 1: Part 2: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Brindavan gardens and Krishnarajasagara or KRS dam posted at AdmirableIndia.com.

GrannyJ presents Deadly symmetry posted at Walking Prescott, saying, “Because I live in the dry Southwest on the side of a hill, most of my in-the-ground plants tend to be wildflowers. sometimes they are not the easiest to get growing!”

Sean presents JAPANESE GARDENS - KILDARE - IRELAND posted at MY SECRET IRELAND, saying, “One of the most beautiful places in Ireland for the Gardening community.”

GrrlScientist presents Introduced Parasite Suspected of Killing Wild Bumblebees in Canada posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “A mysterious decline in North American bumblebee populations is apparently the result of “spillover” of pathogen-infected commercial bumblebees, Bombus species, from agricultural greenhouses where tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are commonly grown in huge quantities. Includes images and data.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a gardening carnival using our carnival submission form. The next edition will be posted on August 27, 2008.

Technorati tags: a gardening carnival, blog carnival

These past two weeks I have been keeping an eye on a young buck who seems to be perusing my neighborhood. He is a beautiful specimen and his antlers are in velvet, even though he only has 3 points at this stage of his life. Anyone who gardens knows that despite the gentle appearance and the coolness of having a deer so close to home, deer are a nuisance in the garden and are difficult to keep out.

So what do I do to safely and effectively protect my corn that I just know he has been eying? There are many different things that you can do, although some are definitely more effective than others.

I found this great article by Kathy Bond Borie that I thought you might enjoy. Her article is appearing on the National Gardening Association Website of which I am a member. Here is some of what she had to say on the subject:

Even if you don’t see deer browsing through ornamental and edible gardens, you’ll know they’ve been there by their calling cards — hoof prints and chewed plants. In many regions deer are growing bolder and less fearful of humans, meaning even gardens in urban areas are vulnerable.

A Fencing Strategy

The only surefire way to keep deer out of gardens is fencing them out. And it can’t be just any fence. A gardening friend of mine was so frustrated by deer chomping on his apple trees that he put up a 7-foot-high electric fence. The deer jumped it. He put a second fence right next to the electric fence. The deer jumped both. He installed a third, 3-foot-high fence a couple of feet away from the second one, and the deer finally gave up. They now travel next to his orchard instead of through it. Apparently deer are intimidated about jumping when they cannot tell how much distance they have to clear. The three parallel fences kept the deer from sighting a clear landing spot.

For the same reason, deer are apt to be skittish about jumping a fence over a long, narrow garden. The two long sides appear too close together for the deer to see a place to land. Installing a fence at a slant so it leans outward from the garden can also work because it makes the fence appear wider.

A 5-foot-high fence can keep deer out if you use taller posts and attach strands of wire at intervals, such as at 6 feet and 7 feet. In extreme cases, you may need to erect a second fence, say a 3-foot-high one, about 3 feet outside of your other fence. Even a barrier made of fishing line attached to posts at a height of 3 to 4 feet is sometimes enough to startle a deer into changing its course. Of course this is dangerous if you have children and pets.

Since deer are creatures of habit, the sooner you can deter their foraging, the better. Baiting an electric fence with peanut butter can train deer to stay out of an area. Tree guards that wrap around the trunks are a must in winter, and I encircle young fruit trees with fencing for the first few years so deer can’t reach the branches. Covering shrubs in early spring with fabric row covers can deter feeding long enough for wild food plants to become available. ~ Kathy Bond Borie

To finish reading her great article, you will want to visit her here. There is a lot of great advice on how to keep deer out of your garden.

Do you have trouble with deer in your garden? What do you do to control the situation? Leave me a comment and share.

Photo provided by marykbaird

All houseplants need fertilizer to supplement their diets. Think of it as a good shot of vitamins and minerals. Although your houseplants feed on light and the nutrients in the soil, a boost of fertilizer can help to promote and support strong, healthy growth.

Fertilizers contain three major nutrients to support stem and leaf production, flowering and healthy roots. These elements are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Whenever you look at a container of fertilizer, pay close attention to the fertilizer analysis which is represented by three hyphenated numbers. For example, it may look something like this: 20-20-20 or 10-6-16, or 10-15-10 like on this bottle of “SCHULTZ” LIQUID PLANT FOOD PLUS . The first number always represents the available nitrogen in the fertilizer. The second number always represents the available phosphate and the third number always represents the available potash in the fertilizer. The higher the number, the greater the percentage by weight of that nutrient.

Houseplants require nitrogen for leafy growth. As a general rule, houseplants that are grown primarily for their foliage will require a fertilizer with a high first number, a lower second number and a third number that is comparable to the first. Houseplants that are grown primarily for their blooms are given a fertilizer with a high third number (K or potash) that promotes flower development.

Fertilizers are most beneficial to a plant during its growing season, which is February to October. During the winter months when there is less light, you will want to hold back on fertilizing unless your houseplant is beginning to show signs of new growth. Your houseplant’s consumption of fertilizer will follow its growth curve, which in turn follows a light and temperature curve.

General Rules for Fertilizing

• Granular and liquid fertilizers work similarly. Be sure to read the instructions and mix and feed accordingly.

• Hold off fertilizing for at least a few weeks after houseplants are repotted. It isn’t that your houseplant doesn’t need food; it is that they only need so much. Most soils contain unknown amounts of fertilizers and it is easy to overfeed your transplant.

• Water until water flows out the bottom of the container. This step will flush out any built up soluble salt deposits. As salts become more concentrated, it becomes harder for a houseplant to take up a proper supply of water.

What is your favorite fertilizer to use in your houseplants? Leave me a comment and share.

One of the biggest problems in the garden at this time of year are pests. These pests can either be insects or mammals. Both of them can decimate a garden and neither one is necessarily better than the other. In light of this problem, I found a great article and post for you by Debra Roby. Here is some of what she had to say:

My approach to pests in the garden or landscape is usually to adopt a technique that is least harmful to the general environment while being highly destructive to the pest itself. So I often use soap, dusts, hot pepper and young men to deal with my pests. Except for muskrats. They actually drove me to buy a .22. But let’s hope your garden invasions don’t end up resorting to that degree of destructive power.

More than likely your invaders this time of year come in one of two varieties: insect or mammal. What can you do to discourage, or eliminate the problem if each case?

Insects:

In many of the spring/fall vegetables, planting time is the most important factor in preventing damage. If you plant brassicas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, beets and swish chard as soon as the soil can be worked but before the first frost-free day, the plants become established and you can pick a crop before warmer weather brings on insect invasions. So it’s too late for early spring plantings, keep in mind that any open garden space come mid- to late-September might be prime territory for a fall crop of these goodies.

Good commercial organic pest controls include Safer Soap, (dehydrates the dasterdly things) diatomaceous earth, (cuts softs bodied insects to shreds. like mini-glass shards) horticultural oils, (smothers those suckers!) and floating row covers (if the pests can’t get in they can’t eat it). ‘Bacillus thurengiensis’, or Bt and it’s known to gardeners everywhere is a bacteria you can apply as the insect worms are appearing. It is deadly to the invaders, but does not harm humans, birds or other animals. Look for it commercial by name or as Dipel.

—-Debra Roby

To read the rest of what Debra has to say, please click here. Now, while you are reading her advice, I’m off to rid my garden and lawn of some pesky grasshoppers. I’ll tell you more about that later. What pests drive you crazy in the garden?

Photo provided by almogaver

Today I wanted to let you know about a great book that you are sure to want to add to your bookshelf for your garden. This book is chock full of great remedies for your garden and the author even tells you which ones work and which ones don’t and why.

The name of the book is The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why. You can just click on that link to purchase it or on the picture of the book. It will be a great addition to your garden library for organic gardening methods. The author is Jeff Gillman. He has a Ph.D and is an associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. I even found a video for you to watch with the author who explains a couple of the remedies and even one that isn’t in the book. You can watch that short video here:

What are some of your favorite organic home remedies for the garden? Please leave a comment and share.

Yesterday we began discussing the many disease problems which can affect your roses. We covered how to diagnose and treat three different disease problems such gall, powdery mildew and downy mildew. Today we are going to talk about three more diseases which are common in roses and how to treat them.

Symptom: Yellow blotches on upper surfaces of leaves, small powdery orange or black postules on underside of mature leaves.

Cause: Rust—This is a fungal disease that may appear when days are warm and nights are cool and moist.

Treatment: Ensure that the rose plants have good air circulation and ample sunlight. If further treatment is necessary, you will need to treat with a fungicidal treatment that is listed for rust control.

Symptom: Brown dieback of cut canes; brown fuzzy mold on debris around the rose plant. In severe cases, the entire flower bud rots.

Cause: Botrytis blight (grey mold)—This fungal growth favors rainy cool periods or nights with high humidity.

Treatment: Remove all of the damaged areas of the rose plant and clean up leaves and debris from below the plant to prevent the fungus from spreading. Maintain good air circulation around your roses.

Symptoms: Dark black spots with irregular edges on the leaves. The spots tend to be round, varying in size from pinpoint to quarter-sized. Half of leaf yellows or leaf drops completely from the rose plant.

Cause: Black spot—This fungal disease favors rainy weather, poor air circulation or improper watering.

Treatment: Spray-Dust-Watering technique. After winter pruning, apply a dormant lime-sulphur spray. Remove dropped leaves and other debris. During the growing season, spray with fungicides listing rose black spot as a target on a rotational basis. Fungus spores are found on the undersides of leaves, so spray upward from underneath the rose plant. Spray in the early morning when the weather is calm and cool. Water your roses early to allow the foliage to dry thoroughly.

Now that you know some of the most common disease problems in roses, which ones have you had experience with? What have you done to control or eradicate the disease? Leave me a comment and share.

Photo Provided by FreeFoto

Last week we began discussing the many different problems which are common in roses and are caused by insects. We discussed how to diagnose and treat insect problems such as beetles, rose midge, leaf cutter bees, rose cane borers, aphids, thrips, leaf rollers and spider mites. This week we are going to address several more common problems which may be affecting your roses, such as disease and how to treat those problems.

Symptom: Tumor-like growths on canes, roots, or at the bud union.

Cause: Gall (aerial, crown or root)—This is a bacterial pathogen that enters through a wound on your rose plant or by a pruning tool that is contaminated.

Treatment: Prune away any sections which are infected if possible. Sterilize your pruning shears and other hand tools with bleach or alcohol to prevent the bacteria from spreading. Any plants which are seriously weakened should be destroyed. You will need to treat the soil with a bactericide or leave it fallow for two seasons before you replant.

Symptom: White powdery material appears on young growth.

Cause: Powdery Mildew—This is a fungal disease that is fostered by warm days and cool nights.

Treatment: At first you should try spraying the affected areas with a solution of baking soda and dish soap. Make sure that the plants have good air circulation and an ample amount of sunlight. If you need to treat your roses further, then you will need to treat them with a fungicidal product for powdery mildew control.

Symptom: Dark, irregular splotches on foliage, dropping of apparently healthy leaves, sections of yellow leaves.

Cause: Downy Mildew—This is a fungal disease that may appear when nights are cool and humid. This mildew can develop very rapidly.

Treatment: Water your rose plants early in the day to allow the surface of them to dry thoroughly. Avoid overhead irrigation and prevent water from collecting around the plants. Cut the defoliated plant back. Clean up any debris and then dust with sulfur. Then spray the roses with a fungicide that lists downy mildew as a target.

Which of the above problems do you have or have had with your roses? Which methods have you used to eradicate the disease? Leave me a comment and share. Tomorrow I will discuss problems with rust, blight and black spot in your roses.

Photo provided by FreeFoto

Welcome to the June 25, 2008 edition of a gardening carnival.

Tiffany Washko presents Freedom Gardens - Grow Your Own Food posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

Dora Renee Wilkerson presents Y-2K Hippie: 06/19/08 posted at Knitting, horses, and my family., saying, “Just posted about some of the things I made with my parents when they came to visit me. We picked wild blackberries and made a berry berry jam, made cheese, and shampoo with soapwort.”

gardening

Matthew Sauer presents Garden Update: Bio-diversity? posted at Play the Dad? Be the Dad!, saying, “It is my first year with a vegetable garden of my own , working on keeping track of what I learn as I go through the process. Growing up on the inside and the outside.”

Sam presents The Secret Lives of Bees. Honey, Health and Harvests ! Surfer Sam posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, “The Secret Lives of Bees. About one-third of the human food supply depends on bee pollination. We also use honey and bee pollen as natural food products to promote wellness. Bees are beneficial for everyone. Bees, we can’t do without them.”

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Cheap Gardening posted at Tip Diva, saying, “Gardening is a fun, relaxing hobby for many, and the end result yields plenty of food, flowers and foliage. But it does not have to be expensive. Here are ways to save while gardening”

Nancy Canyon presents The Beginnings of My Community Garden posted at The Community Gardener, saying, “I have a community garden in Fairhaven and I’m writing about gardening by myself, now that I’m a single woman again. And a grandmother. The blog is humerous, and also I’ve been gardening all my life, so it’s full of info too.”

Adam Berry presents How to Extend The Life of Garden Tools posted at The Compost Heap, saying, “some tips on how to extend the lifespan of your garden tools”

Sarah presents Ridding Your Lawn of Gophers, Moles and Other Rodents | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, “If you’ve ever turned your ankle in a gopher hole, you know that these animal pests can be hazardous as well as make your lawn look unsightly.”

Amy L. presents Creating a Butterfly Garden posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, “A great way to bring butterflies closer to your home is with the construction of a garden that includes plants known to attract butterflies.”

James presents Gardening For A Sustainable Planet posted at Ways To Simplify.

Jeff Tincher presents Get Out And Do Some Gardening, It’s Good For The Body and Soul | West Glenmoore, PA - Beautiful. Green. Home. posted at West Glenmoore, PA - Beautiful. Green. Home., saying, “The benefits of gardening and how it works to exercise your body.”

herbs

nimuae905@yahoo.com presents Tips for Growing Herbs Indoors posted at The Herb Gardener, saying, “Keeping herbs indoors is easier if you understand the two of the most important aspects of living in a pot - light and water.”

kids gardening

Mother Hen presents Squash Eatin’ Squid posted at Mother Hen.

landscape

Elizabeth Harrin presents SmartDraw 2008: planning the garden posted at A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects, saying, “This is a review of a piece of software that will give you the opportunity to plan out your garden before you take the plunge: great for landscapers.”

lawn care

Raimondo Solari presents Inexpensive, Eco-Friendly Green Lawn Care posted at Garden Gab, saying, “With the availability of water becoming a scarce resource and lawns being one of the top culprits of sucking up valuable water, it’s time to try and keep an “eco-friendly” lawn that will still look good and yet not thirst so much.”

organic gardening

Melanie Rimmer presents Jungle Clearance - Before and After posted at Bean-Sprouts, saying, “How to clear a large weedy area without weedkiller and without backbreaking digging.”

patio furniture

Amy L. presents Which Mattress Is Best For You? posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, “Every year, thousands of people purchase mattresses, only to find that their new mattresses are as uncomfortable as the old ones.”

vegetables

:: Suzanne :: presents garden update posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.

Tiffany Ludwig presents Not a Crock-Pot Recipe posted at Loving the Low-Carb Lifestyle, saying, “A great recipe for lasagna using what’s in your garden.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a gardening carnival using our carnival submission form. The next edition will be posted on July 30, 2008

Yesterday we began discussing the many different insect problems which are common in roses. We discussed how to diagnose and treat insect problems such as aphids, thrips, leaf rollers and spider mites. Today we are going to address four more insect problems which are common in roses and how to treat those problems.

Symptom: Leaves have been eaten leaving a skeletal structure. Unopened flower buds chewed and opened flower buds damaged.

Cause: Beetles—The most notorious of these is the Japanese beetle. These beetles are a metallic brown color with a green head. The same symptoms can also be caused by caterpillars.

Treatment: An effective and practical approach is to spread plastic or a cloth on the ground and gently shake the plants to remove the beetles. If you place them away from your roses, then traps are also effective. You will want to spray your roses with an insecticide that lists beetles as a target pest. Your roses will need to be sprayed when the problem is first detected, either in the spring or the late summer. If the beetles are in the larvae stage, then Spinosad will work very well on them or on caterpillars. Remember, that Spinosad is an organic chemical that will control most of the insect problems in your roses.

Symptom: Drooping, unopened buds, accompanied by a small discolored stem slightly below the bud.

Cause: Rose Midge—this is a small fly that pupates in the ground below the rose bush. Midges fly up and lay their eggs in the soft upper stem of the rose plant. The hatched larvae then eat the stems and cause breakage.

Treatment: Spread a systemic insecticide granule on the ground to control the pests. Sprays are of a very limited value with the rose midge because of their development below the ground. Spinosad may work to kill the active insects on the plant, and I would be willing to try it.

Symptom: Holes in pruned cane ends. Circular pieces cut from leaf margins.

Cause: Leaf cutter bees—these insects use the circular leaf pieces for egg partitions inside of the burrowed rose cane.

Treatment: Control by applying white glue to the cane ends. The leaf cutter bee is a beneficial insect in the garden as it is an effective garden pollinator. I strongly recommend against eradication of this insect. Instead, I recommend using the above preventative measure to lessen any damage to your roses.

Symptom: Wilting and dying foliage at the top of the rose bush. Leaves may turn yellow and drop off the plant.

Cause: Rose cane borer—These pests are the larvae of sawflies, some wasps and bees. The rose cane borer enters the rose from the top of any pruned rose canes. These pests search for freshly pruned stems of the rose plant to lay their eggs on in the late spring or early summer. The eggs then hatch and the larvae bore their way by eating into the center of the rose plant down the length of the rose cane.

Treatment: The most effective method of treatment is to prune the rose bush below any area of damage. You may need to prune the cane a couple of times to find an area that is not damaged. Then you will want to place a little dab of white glue over the pruning cut. This will prevent the insects from successfully laying new eggs on the freshly pruned rose plant. Another idea to aid in prevention is to try some companion planting. These insects do not seem to like Allium, so planting some near your rose bushes may help to repel them.

Now that you know some of the most common insect problems with roses, which ones have you had experience with? Leave me a comment and share.

Photo provided by FreeFoto