Gardening

TheReview Wednesday, May 22,1991 — A26

Bugs and weeds hit garden as soil warms

If you have any weedy spots in
your garden (don’t we all?) and if
you find a plant there which
resembles horseradish (with long
narrowish leaves coming directly
out of the soil) do dig it out.

This year, in neglected parts of
our garden, we have these blamed
things and almost all of them have
leaf-miner damage.

I have been going around trying
to either dig whole plants out, or if
I don’t have a trowel with me, at
least tear off the discolored leaves
and put them in the garbage.

Leaf-miners are welcome to the
weeds, of course, but their fly
“Sncarnation”’ has the nasty habit
of laying eggs on Swiss chard,
spinach, beets, beans and the
leaves of some flowers.

The only satisfactory answer
seems to be to cover all these
vegetables with Reemay cloth
(which I am doing) and pick off
damaged leaves of all affected
flowers.

Now, while I am wringing my
hands about bugs in the garden, I
may as well tell you about our
gorgeous Hemlock tree, which is a
very important item in our front

yard.

‘Sounds a bit drastic
to me, but, | suppose
if one is particularly
careful not fo spill
any, it would be worth

a try’

For three years this tree has been
suffering from an infestation of
woolly aphids. I kept hoping that
some natural predator would
appear on the scene, and wipe
them out.

Like a lot of other folks, I’ve
grown to fear pesticides, and the
damage they are inflicting on the
earth. I finally called an arborist to
come to spray this tree, which
must be nearly 40-feet tall. Try as I
will there is no way I can reach the
top! This man proposes to use
Diazinon as a spray, but I have a
call in to Linda Gilkson of
Applied Bio-nomics to see if we
might use Bacillus thuringiensis
instead.

This is wonderful stuff, sold
under the trade names “B.T.,”
Thuricide or Dipel. It won’t harm
anything at all except members of
the caterpillar family; such things
as those little beasts, the tent
caterpillars, or those other
wretches that eat at least part of
every leaf on your ornamental
trees, then suspend themselves on
a thread hoping to be blown onto
another tree where they can do it

all over again! B.T. kills them on
sight!

This week I am busy hardening-
off everything in the greenhouse. It
takes me 30 trips in and another 30
out to empty the house. In the
evening it all has to be done in
Teverse.

Last night I left almost every-

thing outside, and covered it with
Reemay cloth, and this moming it
was just fine, so this evening I'll
do the same thing and save myself
a lotta steps!

Actually the soil seems to be
warm enough to plant most things
now, although I’d hold off on those
tomatoes to be planted out in the
open garden ... against a house
wall would almost certainly be
fine.

Com could go in anytime now,
and probably Scarlet Runner, pole,
and snap beans, but do hold off on
squashes and cucumbers for
another week at least.

I discovered a volunteer baby
squash plant in the bed with the
Broad beans, so perhaps it actually
is warm enough to plant.

I’m a bit of a sissy myself, and
inclined to wait until I’m con-
vinced warm weather is here to
stay. Of course you can always
cover things at night if it seems to
be getting cold.

Time to stake Broad beans, if
not done earlier, and prepare holes
for tomato plants by adding a
shovelful of compost in each foot-
deep hole. If you lack compost,
use crumpled newspaper, wetting
it thoroughly with 15-30-15 dis-
solved in water, then covering that
with several inches of soil.

About a tablespoon of Dolomite
lime sprinkled over top the plant-
ing hold should forestall that nasty
affliction called blossom-end rot.

We use tomato cages with a
strong stake threaded through the
wire, and pounded in, to provide
stronger support a little later, when

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We put both the cages and the
stakes in at the time we plant the
tomatoes, So roots won’t be dam-
aged. If plants are leggy, remove
those small oval bottom leaves,
and set your tomato in deeply, so
that soil comes almost up to the
first set of true leaves.

I wonder if any of you will have
heard of this remedy for broad-
leafed weeds in lawns: Doris Bate
called to ask if I knew of it: Dig
out the weed as best you can, then
pour either straight vinegar, or a
mixture of vinegar and 20-20-20
into the hole to kill any remaining
TOOT.

Sounds a bit drastic to me, but, I
suppose if one is particularly care-
ful not to spill any, it would be
worth a try. Grass, or weeds grow-
ing through cracks in a driveway
(for example) may be killed by
pouring boiling water on them.

Remember my repeating to you
something told me by a nursery-
man ... that Dutch iris bulbs
should be completely oval in
shape, that they wouldn’t flower if
they had one flat side.

Since I had already paid for a
dozen bulbs with flat sides, I
brought them home, planted them
in a pot, and you know what
happened? Nothing! Lots of fine
healthy leaves, but not a blossom
in the place! I want my money
back!

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SIDNEY CENTRE

Snap to it, Sidney Gardeners, take pride in your work !
Rater the Snapdragon Garden Club Dhoto Contest !

All members of the Snapdragon
Garden Club are eligible to
enter a photo of their garden.
Winners of BEST GARDEN and
BEST DATIO GARDEN pictures
will be featured in the Reviews
Sidney 100th Birthday Issue and
each will receive 2 $50 gift
cettificate.

Come in to Snapdragon Nursery
and the first 100 to apply to
enter will receive a roll of Konica
film courtesy of Sidney One
Hour Dhoto (Note: You must be
a member of the Snapdragon
Garden Club to be eligible to
apply). Entrants will process the
film at Sidney Oneiour Photo,
choose their picture entry and

get two 5 x 7 enlargements for
the price of one. Entries must
be presented to Gnapdragon
Nursery by Sunday June 22 and
judged by 3 garden experts.

The Snapdragon Garden Dhoto
Contest appreciates the co-op-
eration of Sidney Oneour
Dhoto and The Review.

2360 Beacon Avenue, Sidney. Phone 6565199