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Try a few houseplants to bring the outdoors inside

You won’t find local gardeners complaining about the recent rainy spell.  Every drop is a welcome relief after what may well have been the driest summer on record.

What surprises me at this time of year is how quickly I find myself missing the sun and the sea of green and color in my garden.  Cloudy, gray days make me long for happy, healthy plants.

So, I surround myself with houseplants.  Not only do indoor plants brighten up a room, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, helping to clean the air.

All houseplants need three basic elements to thrive – light, water and nutrients.

Light

Plants depend on sunlight for photosynthesis.  Because the specific needs for each plant will vary, it’s important to survey your indoor space to evaluate the amount of light available where you’d like to add plants.  Make sure you consider both the duration and the intensity of the light.  You can fill your windows with full-sun plants and save less well-lit spaces for plants that don’t need full light.  While it’s never a substitute for the sun, fluorescent lighting can also help to supplement natural light.

Most plants at nurseries are tagged with some growing information like whether they need low, medium or high light.  If they aren’t, check with sales staff or research your plants online to make sure what you choose will be a good fit for your space.

If your plant begins to lean significantly toward the light, it should be moved, as this is a sign that it’s not getting enough sun. You should also turn your plants regularly so each side gets equal sun exposure.

Water

The two most common causes of houseplant death are over- and under-watering.  Many sources recommend watering plants once a week, but that’s just a guideline.  To really gauge your plant’s water needs, you should use your finger to test the moisture of the soil just below the surface.  If it’s still moist, don’t water it yet.  For most plants, the best plan is to saturate the soil, then let it dry out before watering again.  After a few cycles, your plants will let you know how long to go between waterings.  If the plant is droopy or wilting, water less frequently.

Nutrients

Unlike the plants in your landscape, the correct houseplant potting medium is potting soil, which is typically a mix of peat, perlite, and vermiculite. Natural soils typically do not drain well, and so are not well suited to potted plants.  Many of today’s potting soil mixes even come with additional nutrients to get you off to a good start.

Over time, those initial nutrients will leach out of the soil and will need to be replenished.  An occasional fertilizer feeding will be necessary to keep plants healthy.  Many good premixed houseplant fertilizers are available – just remember – it’s better to under-fertilize than to over-fertilize.  Over-fertilizing can burn plants.

Temperature

Most common houseplants are native to climates similar to the temperature and conditions inside our homes. They do best at 65 to 75 degrees during the day and slightly cooler nighttime temperatures.  Don’t place plants directly in the line of a heater, fan or air conditioner.

Pots and containers

Choosing the correct sized pot can be key to your plant’s health.  A pot that is too small will limit plant growth and an over-sized pot can cause root rot when too much water is retained in the pot.  Adequate drainage is critical.

You will periodically need to repot your plants.  If the roots are straining out of the bottom of the pot, it’s time to move to a larger container.  Generally, a new pot should just be a few inches bigger than the old one.

Air Root Plant – Also called Mother of Thousands, the babies form along the outer edges of the leaves of the mother plant. It likes full sun light.

Aloe – This full-sun-loving classic succulent has a sap that can help heal burns.

False Aralia – This wispy, upright plant is typically a floor plant as it gets four to eight feet tall. They like high humidity and moist soil with moderate light.

Begonia – This beautiful and colorful plant likes diffused light and a little extra moisture.

Dracaena – Also called Corn Plant, this is a simple plant to grow and likes strong or full sunlight.  It can grow well over six feet tall.

Weeping Fig – This is an evergreen tree with a strong growth habit. This plant hates to be moved. Even a few inches to the right or left and it will drop its leaves

Philodendron – This is an easy plant to grow. The heart-shaped leaves are tough and adaptable.

Pothos Ivy – A great starter houseplant, pothos ivy is nearly impossible to kill. The plant can be started from cuttings placed in soil or water and can be left in water for long periods of time.

Rubber Tree – This traditional and simple plant requires little fuss and has pretty, glossy leaves that are striking. It has average water needs.

Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law Tongue – This is a very traditional houseplant. It seems to thrive on neglect.

Spider Plant – This delicate plant that grows new plantlets from shoots off the sides. It is great in hanging baskets. It likes diffused light and moist soil.

Wandering Jew – A fast growing vine that is perfect for hanging baskets. Do not let the soil get soggy.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:19-06:00December 24th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Billowy Breezes Highlight Grasses in the Garden

You can’t help but stare at them — those delicate grasses now in full bloom, swaying in the breeze all around town.  Fall brings beautiful plumes and seed heads to the native and adapted ornamental grasses in Central Texas.

As we face drier and hotter conditions in the garden, ornamental grasses make a wonderful alternative to some thirsty perennials and annuals.  They are extremely versatile.   Most varieties are hardy, drought-tolerant, pest free and low-maintenance. They range from a few inches high to more than 6 feet tall.

Their tiny flowers on long plumes are called inflorescence and their colors run the gamut from greens, golds and browns to pinks and maroons.  The decorative plumage and seedpods can be dried for decorative use in arrangements inside or outside.

Grasses look wonderful in the garden mixed in with perennials to add contrast and texture.  But there is nothing quite as bold as a mass planting of grasses to make a statement in the landscape. A long strip of Mexican feather grasses flowing in the wind can emulate a rushing stream – bringing life and movement into the garden.

Most grasses grow in the warm season and are dormant into the winter, but some hold onto their seed heads long into the winter, making for interesting structure and form in the garden and providing both food and habitat for birds.

Technically speaking, some of the plants we call ornamental grasses are actually rushes or sedges and even cattails.  Real grasses are in the Gramineae family.

When the Europeans began to settle in Texas, about two-thirds of the land was covered with our native grasses.  According to the Texas State Historical Association, grasses ranged from the desert mountains and foothills of the Trans-Pecos to the Rolling Plains and the Edwards Plateau.  There are more than 470 native grass species in Texas.

Grasses grow and reproduce in two ways.  Some spread by underground rhizomes or as a bunch grass, which does not spread underground.  Some seeds sprout easily, growing volunteers where the wind has dropped the seed.

Cool season or fall-blooming grasses should be left through the winter after they are done blooming and go dormant.  Keeping the foliage will help protect the plant from a cold or wet winter, reducing the chance of rot.  Grasses couldn’t be lower maintenance – just cut them all the way back in the spring and they will reward you with new growth and beautiful blooms year after year. You can shear them down to between 4 and 6 inches above the ground to allow new growth to come through.

As grasses go dormant in the summer, so you may have to rake or pull out some dead foliage mid-summer to keep them looking good.  With our long growing season, they will revive with cooler fall temperatures and put on a beautiful show.

Good Grasses for Central Texas

Ruby Crystals – The puffy pink flowers of Ruby grass can grow to 2 ft. by 15” and are stunning in fall bloom.

Mexican Feather Grass – These perky little plants grow to about 18” by 18” and just keep on performing in the garden.  It self sows prolifically, but is easily managed.

Gulf Muhly – The glowing pink hue of these blooms is stunning when massed in the garden.  This bunch grass grows to about 2.5 ft. by 3 ft.

Lindheimer’s Muhly – Tall creamy plumes of this bunch grass turn to silver in winter and provide striking structure in the winter garden at 2 to 4 ft. tall.

Bamboo Muhly — With an unusual tall and weeping growth habit of 4-5 ft., this muhly has an airy, ephemeral look, instead of the straighter growth habits of most grasses.

Little Bluestem – This is a true prairie bunch grass and can survive in many different soils.  Its very upright 3ft by 1.5 ft. growth habit has a wild look and works best in a meadow.

Purple Fountain Grass – The maroon color of the foliage of purple fountain grass, topped by its buff colored plumes, is striking in any setting.  Growing up to 3 ft. tall, it demands a place to shine in the garden.

Dwarf fountain grass – Fluffy cream-colored plumes arch above a short clump of delicate green foliage that turns golden in the fall.  At about 2 ft. by 2 ft. it’s a compact bundle of pretty form in the garden.

Switchgrass – Tall, airy switchgrass with its blue-colored plumes can grow between 3-8 ft. tall.  The plumes turn to a bright orange color in fall.

Maidengrass – One of the most common grasses, maidengrass has a narrow, arching foliage and many variegated options are available, creating even more interest.  Leave space for this one – it can grow to 8 ft. tall.

Inland sea oats – This grass has a weeping style with drooping branches of seeds up to 8” long.  Inland sea oats requires shade and more moisture than many other grasses. It grows to 2-3 ft. and is a great grass for dried arrangements.

Grasses are an easy, drought-tolerant addition to the garden. They are an excellent low-maintenance option for your landscape, and typically only require cutting back once as year when new growth begins in the spring.

Their billowy plumes and interesting array of colors will add structure, form and movement to your landscape.

With minimal care, they will reward you with new growth and beautiful blooms year after year.

By |2020-05-09T08:05:22-05:00November 25th, 2011|Articles, grass, grasses, Mexican feathergrass|0 Comments
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Access your yard’s needs and consider agave

The long-term forecast for Central Texas is a little daunting for gardeners.  Some experts are predicting that our current drought pattern could hang around until 2020.  That’s a long time to wait for rain.

But die-hard gardeners are looking for ways to make lemonade out of this situation.

So what’s a gardener to do?

Shift gears.  Accept it.  Adapt.  Think Darwin.

There are hotter and drier places all around the globe that are filled with beautiful plants, though some of them are very different from the plants that we’re used to growing here.

It’s time to:

a.)    Assess what worked and what didn’t work in your garden this summer.  That means what lived, what died and what you had to baby by hand watering much too much.

b.)    Of the plants that made it, which were the hardiest, the ones that didn’t just live, but bloomed their little heads off on the hottest of days.

c.)    Think twice about replacing something that didn’t survive with the same kind of plant.  If it died, it was telling you something about its hardiness, your soil or growing conditions or its water needs.

d.)    Finally, look around and see what did well in your neighbors’ gardens and consider planting those plants in your garden.  Think outside of your traditional style box and consider how you can adapt to include more xeric and drought tolerant plants in your landscape.

Where do you start?

If you haven’t already incorporated agaves into your landscape, now is a great time to give them a second chance.  An agave is a succulent, a drought-tolerant plant that stores water in its leaves, stems or roots.  Native primarily to the dry regions of North and South America, there are more than 200 recognized species of agaves.

Landscaping with agaves doesn’t mean a rock and cactus garden.  Creating a xeric — water-wise — garden simply means using native and adapted plants that can thrive in our climate.  It means using plants that need significantly less water, though certainly not no water.  And agaves are a perfect addition to a native perennial garden.

Agaves provide great contrast – the bold, structural look of an agave next to the soft, flowing form of Mexican feather grass or black foot daisies can be the beginning of a beautiful Texas-style cottage garden.  Agaves provide both texture and focal points in the landscape.  And don’t be worried that all agaves come in one size – huge.  There are many smaller species that won’t take over.

As with any new venture in the garden, make sure you do your homework.  Double check with your local nursery about the mature size of an agave as well as its growth habit, how it reproduces and also how cold hardy it is.  Not all agaves can survive the colder winters we’ve had in recent years.

Agaves come in just about every size, color and flowering habit.  They range from an almost blue-gray to olive to variegated — green with white or yellow.  They can grow as compact as 9 inches high, like the Queen Victoria agave, Agave victoriae-reginae, to certain species of the century plant, which is one of the largest and hardiest agaves and can reach 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide.  This agave can grow a stunning bloom stalk more than 20 feet tall.

More commonly used in residential landscapes are the Parry’s or Weber’s agaves.  Agave parryi generally grows to 2 feet by 2 feet and is more compact than some other species like the Agave weberi that can get 5 feet tall by 6-10 feet wide and are used for specimen or focal point plants in an open space.

Although some agaves are called century plants, they do not actually live for a century.  Agaves can reach maturation anywhere from 8 to 40 years, after which many, but not all, agaves bloom and then die.  Some of them bloom annually.  The time to maturation can vary depending on the species and the growing environment.  Because agaves are native to very dry environs with little water and scorching sun (like here, lately) the plant has to work long and hard to reproduce for the species to survive.  Reproduction has been underway for years once the bloom appears and at that point, the plant is already dying.  The energy required for the agave to bloom and produce seeds saps the mother plant.  Removing a bloom spike won’t prevent the mother plant from dying; it will kill a spectacular bloom.

Some agaves produce little plant offsets from underground called pups, which can be cut off and replanted.  Some produce bulbils (which are small clones of the mother plant) on the flower stalk. Other species only reproduce from seed.   Many species are actually bat pollinated and some produce sweet scents to attract insects.

Agaves prefer sunny or partly sunny spots, deep and less frequent watering and well-drained soil.  If agaves are planted with perennials or other plants, it’s helpful to place them higher than their landscape bed companions — on a berm or a bank, so they get less water and have better drainage than nearby plants.

Thomas Bintliss, the cactus and succulent expert at The Great Outdoors Nursery, recommends a 3-part soil mix for agaves.

“Drainage is very important,” according to Bintliss, “I recommend mixing soil with decomposed granite and either course sand or expanded shale, particularly for clay soils.”

One common misconception he points to is that agaves don’t need water.  “If it’s hot and dry, a little bit of love goes a long way,” says Bintliss, recommending once a week watering in dry soil.

Unlike most plants, agaves are relatively pest-free, other than the evil agave snout weevil — it even sounds bad, doesn’t it?  The weevil, a glossy black beetle-like insect, is relentless and will devour an agave.  Adults lay their eggs in the agave and their young eat their way out.  Infested plants start to wilt then collapse.  To prevent spreading, infested plants should be removed and destroyed along with any weevils and grubs you see.

In addition to providing elegant and dramatic focal points in your landscape, agaves also have culinary and medicinal uses.

Some agaves have edible flowers or are used for their sap, a honey-like substance called agave nectar that is fast growing in popularity as a sugar substitute.

Some species of agaves are used as a diuretic or to relieve itching and sores.

Fiber from Agave silsiana is used to make sisal for twine, rugs, ropes, mattresses and crafts and is an eco-friendly alternative to asbestos or fiberglass.

Some agaves were used by Native Americans to make pulque for religious ceremonies.  A similar drink is the foundation for today’s Mezcal.  Agave tequilana, grown commercially in Tequila, Mexico, is used to make the distillate called Tequila.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00October 29th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Plan to start projects now for a well-balanced spring garden

Now that we’ve had a brief hint of cooler weather, it’s time to think about fall and how we can use this time in the garden to prepare for spring.  Once the temperatures drop and we get some rain, it will be the perfect time to start planning a new landscape project.

Preparing and creating new flower beds now can actually save you money.   You can buy and put in smaller, less expensive plants this fall, letting them overwinter and get well established before spring.  This enables them to develop strong root systems so you can enjoy bigger, hardier plants when they begin to grow in the spring.

So where do you start?

Do you have a sore spot — some section of your garden that needs a little pick-me-up?  Or do you have a bed with thirsty plants that didn’t make it through the summer that you want to transform into a xeric bed?  Or are you ready for a little hardscape – an extended patio, a shed or a little garden room?

Once you determine what improvements you want to make, it’s time to start planning.

The first question to ask yourself is:  What’s my style?  Is it English cottage garden, native Southwestern, Asian contemporary, xeric, formal or informal?  What are your favorite colors?  Do you like a muted peaceful pastel garden or are hot, tropical colors your preference?  What is the architectural style of your house and my existing garden?  Do you want to do something new to complement it or do you want some contrast?

If you’re working on a garden room or new hardscape – ask yourself how you want to use the space and what you will need to make it functional and attractive.  How will it fit into the existing landscape and be a natural extension?

Next, do a little homework.  Watch the sun rise and set over your yard.  How many hours of sun does your project area get?  Knowing when and where you have sun and shade will determine what kind of plants you can use or where you might want to put a new seating area.  You’ll want to group like plants based on their water needs – if you want to create a drought-tolerant new bed, make sure all of the plants you put in it have the same water needs.

Follow a few basic rules, add a little inspiration and you can transform your yard into a fresh and inviting landscape.

Tips to designing a beautiful garden:

There are a lot of design elements to consider when creating a landscape bed.

First, think focal.  The first step is to stand back and look at the space.  Close your eyes and picture what you’d like it to be. What is your vision?  Then think about what would make a great focal point in that space. A focal point attracts the eye and creates interest. It focuses the attention of the person passing by or looking at your garden.   A focal point can be a beautiful tree, a statue, a birdbath, a bench – anything different that adds interest to your landscape.

As you begin to think of plants, harmony is your goal.  You want the plant colors in your bed to complement or contrast each other.  Colors either next to each other or across from each other on the color wheel make great combinations.

Complementary: Colors directly across from each other on the color wheel, like red and green, yellow and violet, and blue and orange. These are dramatic colors that create a bold landscape..

Adjacent: This refers to the two or three colors next to each other, such as red, red-orange and orange. Or yellow-green, green and blue-green. These are harmonious colors.

Monochromatic: This refers to a single color family with various hues or intensities. This creates combinations of subtle differences.

Primary: Red, yellow and blue. All other colors are made of these.

Secondary: Orange, green and violet

Tertiary: These are blends of primary and secondary colors; for example, yellow-orange or blue-violet. They help make the transition from primary to secondary colors.

Polychromatic: A bold mix of colors used together in a confetti fashion.

Neutral: White, gray, silver

In addition to color, texture and variegation are also important.  So that your leaves aren’t all the same green, consider combining silvery-leaved plants with lime greens to help them each stand out in their own right.  Variegated plants add interest and help brighten up shady areas.  The texture of our native agaves, yuccas and cacti work wonderfully with soft shapes and delicate blooms or fuzzy leaves.

Height and shape are also key.  A desirable combination in a bed might include some height to anchor the ends of a bed, some larger foundation plants like evergreen shrubs and then layers of slightly smaller perennials annuals or ground cover for the front of the bed.  Do your homework when planting – consider how large the plants will be at full size, not the size they are when you bring them home.  This will ensure that plants in front of a border don’t tower over the plants behind them.  If the nursery tag on the plant doesn’t have this information, you can research the plant name online and get all the data you need to know.  Most local nurseries are diligent about including all the necessary growing information.  Big box stores sometimes get unlabeled plants from far away that aren’t appropriate for our growing conditions. I shop almost exclusively at our wonderful local nurseries because my pet peeve is finding big box garden center plants labeled simply – “Perennial.”

It’s also important to consider the size and style of your yard and home so your new project matches in scope and scale.

Add movement or fragrance to the garden. We are fortunate to have a large number of pretty, xeric grasses native to Central Texas.  You can also include fragrant plants, or night blooming plants to enjoy alongside a patio space or seating area.

Now that you’ve thought about your vision for the project, start defining the space.  Sketch it out to scale on paper and include existing structures or elements like large trees.  Then “draw” the boundaries of what you want to create on the ground, using a garden hose or spray paint to outline the bed or patio and ponder it for a while.  Do you like the shape?  Is it in the right place?  Is it big enough? Too big?

Consider the other elements you might want or need to include, like irrigation, lighting, a water feature, and work inclusion of those elements into your timeline.  Sprinklers need to go in when beds are laid out but not planted to avoid having to tear out plants for sprinkler heads or lighting wires.

Creating a new garden space can freshen up your landscape and increase your curb appeal and your home’s value.  New beds and new plants can bring peace and serenity to your garden or they can brighten and liven up your entertaining areas.

As you consider new projects for the fall, remember to think xeric and look for native or drought tolerant plants that can survive our brutal summers.  Think about landscape designs that use less lawn and more hardy plants.  Using quality soils and environmentally friendly products and materials will also reward you with healthy, thriving plants once your project is complete.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00September 24th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Garden insects a hot topic: Learn their organic antidotes

Most of the time I think of my garden as a peaceful place, full of beautiful flowers and fresh, juicy vegetables.  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?  But there are also days when it seems as though my garden is a war zone.  Like other gardeners, I’m fighting battles on many different fronts – there’s the heat, the drought, the weeds…and last but not least, pests.  There are many beneficial insects that help protect and pollinate our plants.  But there are also plenty of insects can plague a garden and turn gardeners sour.  There are approximately a million known different kinds of living insects.  Thank goodness less than 100,000 live in the United States, and approximately one-third of those can be found in Texas.

Many gardeners that I’ve visited with this summer are seeing unusually high numbers of insects in their yards and gardens.  Many insects are suffering from the drought just as we are, and are thus much more visible as they look for moisture from gardens and watered lawns.

Insects are just a part of gardening.   Some I just live with.  For example, the caterpillars attack my Texas Mountain Laurels in the spring, but my trees are mature and while they might not look good for a while, the caterpillars don’t do any long-term damage to the plant because they are well established.  And I know I will end up with so many beautiful butterflies and moths.

Some insects I feed.  I usually have parsley and dill in my vegetable garden to attract specific kinds of caterpillars, like the beautiful black swallowtail.

But some insects are not so nice.

In the vegetable garden, many pests are drawn to tomato plants.  Last year, my six 8-foot tall tomato plants were under siege by leaf-footed bugs.

Leaf-footed bugs

Leaf-footed bugs attack many different fruits and vegetables, including cotton, peaches, tomatoes, beans, and black-eyed peas. They also feed on the stems and tender leaves of plants like potatoes.   Leaf-footed bugs have piercing sucking mouthparts, which enable them to feed on plants through the sap flow in their leaves and stems.   They chew on leaves, stems and roots or suck the juices out of buds, fruit or other plant parts.

By the time I discovered them last year, there were platoons of adult pests with marching orders to reproduce, seek and destroy.  And destroy they did.  I tried everything organic that I could – neem oil, orange oil, insecticidal soap.  Sadly, according to conventional wisdom, there are no completely effective organic solutions for an infestation.  If caught very early, the bugs can be picked off by hand or sucked up with a tiny bug vacuum.  But once they’ve laid some eggs, it’s all over but the crying.  And cry I did, as we ripped out all the giant tomato plants.  With nothing left but empty wire cages, I was still able to count more than 200 that I squished by hand (with gloves on!) – as the bugs left behind roamed around the cages or crawled on the ground.  Still makes me shudder to think about it.  (Okay, I have a personal vendetta against leaf-footed bugs.)

Tomato Hornworms & Caterpillars

Tomatoes are also the favorite of Tomato Hornworms.  The giant lime-green squishy caterpillars can chew through tomato leaves in record time.  Luckily, the easiest treatment for them is to pick them off because they don’t multiply like other pests.  I quit squishing them when I realized that these caterpillars grow up to be sphinx, hawk, or “hummingbird” moths.  I generally relocate them to our woods to something green that I didn’t plant.  Watching a Hummingbird Moth is an amazing sight.  If you don’t want to get that close, you can use BT, Bacillus thuringiensis.  BT kills only caterpillars and doesn’t affect other beneficial insects.  But remember, using BT to kill caterpillars will mean that you will miss out on beautiful butterflies and moths.

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers will eat just about anything.  They are part of the order that includes crickets, katydids and thousands of other insects.  Katydids will eat both plants and other insects, but grasshoppers are usually only interested in your plants.  Grasshoppers have strong jaws to chew their food.

Grasshopper infestations are particularly bad this year thanks to the drought.  Grasshoppers thrive in hot, dry conditions.   One of the things that holds down the grasshopper population is the growth of fungus in the spring.  But with no moisture, there has been very little fungus growth and that has helped grasshoppers thrive.

A swarm of grasshoppers can fly up to 15 miles a day.  Females can lay up to 120 eggs in a mass, and can lay between eight and 25 masses in her lifetime.

Neem oil, garlic oil or a blend of molasses, orange oil and compost tea are recommended organic treatments to control grasshoppers.  Another product used to control grasshoppers in the spring when they are in their nymph stage is Nosema locustae, which is sold as Nolo Bait.  This contains a parasite that specifically kills grasshoppers, but is safe for use around humans, pets, birds, and wild life and won’t contaminate waterways. It won’t harm beneficial insects and is widely approved for organic use.  But it must be used in the spring before the grasshoppers reach adulthood to work well.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are the some of the most prolific insects in the garden.  They are brown with eight legs and they lay their eggs on plants.  Lucky us — they like dry climates.  With conditions like our current drought, they can double their numbers in only 4 days.  They pierce plants and suck off the juice, causing leaves to curl and turn silver or yellow and covering them with fine webbing.  The key to controlling spider mites is to keep applying treatments every few days for 2 weeks.  Organic controls include orange oil, garlic pepper tea, insecticidal soap or liquid seaweed.

Pill bugs and sow bugs

Roly-polys are often the first experience young children have with bugs in the garden.  Many a child has been delighted watching pill bugs crawl around in shady places — picking them up to watch them curl into little balls.

These insects like shady and moist conditions. Young pill or sow bugs can live up to eight years.

Cayenne pepper, diatomaceous earth powder, and citrus oil can all help eliminate pill bugs.  Or, try the old home remedies of beer or grapefruit.  Cut in half and hollow out grapefruits or oranges.  Set them out like cups and the bugs will collect in them overnight.  The next day, empty the bug-filled rind into a bucket of soapy water to kill them.  Or, you can place some beer in a very shallow dish in your problem area overnight and you will awake to find dead pill bugs floating in the container.  At least with this method they will have died happy!

Aphids

Aphids are teensy little bugs, usually green, that feed by sucking plant sap.  They will attack most plants, usually on the underside of leaves and stems on new growth, causing leaves to curl and stunting new growth.    They can multiply by as many as 50 generations in a year.

There are many ways to combat aphids, including a good, simple spray with the hose.  Orange oil, garlic spray, insecticidal soap, and liquid seaweed are also effective.

Thrips

Thrips, often confused with invisible, biting no-see-ums, are actually plant pests. They are not no-see-ums.  They are less than 1/25” long and barely visible light green or yellow insects.  They suck the juice from plant cells and leave silver streaks or speckles on leaves.  On flowers, they will cause the edges to turn brown and stop opening.  Heavy rainfall can help control them, but in lieu of that, you can treat them with garlic tea, orange oil or neem oil.  They are natural predators of spider mites, so you might want to put your plants together to eradicate your mites before you kill the thrips.  (That would just be too much to hope for.)

Our extremely hot temperatures make it very difficult to treat plants for pests in the garden right now.  Applying any of these remedies at any time other than first thing in the morning will surely burn your plants and cause more damage than you started with.  Holding off until the weather cools just a little bit would be the safest approach.

There are many natural and organic treatments to control pests in the garden without harming the environment or other beneficial insects. Chemical pesticides in kill beneficials, upset the balance of nature, and leach harmful chemicals into wildlife habitats and our groundwater.  Using organic methods can help preserve our families and our environment for generations to come.

By |2020-06-15T11:28:03-05:00August 20th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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Garden’s bountiful harvest can feed the community

In the spring, so many gardeners get excited about the prospect of planting a vegetable garden.  But right about now, many of them are passing out veggies faster than they can pick them – neighbors, relatives, friends, and friends of friends.  Sometimes the summer veggie harvest yields far more than one family can possibly eat at a time.

It happens to me every year, and when I run out of recipients, I hate to see it go to waste.

Now, it doesn’t have to.

Whenever we have a big party at our house, we get boxes from the Capital Area Food Bank and ask guests to donate cans of food.  Most people who donate to the food bank through donation drives give non-perishable items.

But I never knew that the food bank also welcomes donations of fresh produce until I stumbled upon a website called Ample Harvest.

This organization created a database to enable home gardeners to easily find local food banks and pantries eager to receive their freshly-picked fruits and vegetables.  And it allows food banks and pantries to register and provide information to gardeners.  There are more than 30,000 food pantries in the United States.  There are currently 3,956 food banks and pantries registered in the database.

When I searched the database for Austin, I learned that the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin is one of those registered with Ample Harvest.  And I was surprised to learn that it provides as much fresh produce as it can to all the local food pantries, soup kitchens and other non-profits it serves.

Last year, the food bank distributed more than 25 million pounds of food to feed the hungry in the Austin area.

Of that, approximately 22 percent consisted of fresh produce and dairy products.  Most of that comes from commercial food rescue operations.  Retailers like HEB, Sams, and Walmart donate perishable food that is close to, but not at, its sell-by date.  The food bank carefully inspects the food for quality and freshness and makes it available to its recipients.

And while the scale of individual donations certainly can’t match that, the food bank happily takes fresh produce from local gardeners who have an overabundance of fruits and vegetables in their gardens at the height of the growing season.  On average, they receive approximately 500 pounds of fresh produce a month from local gardeners.  Because many of the non-profits that the food bank serves are small providers, a bag of tomatoes could easily be the base for the day’s soup in a soup kitchen.  Your harvest doesn’t have to feed thousands, but combined with other donations, it all adds up.

So, I decided to make a donation of fresh vegetables from our garden.  My daughter and I picked our overabundant veggies, washed them, and boxed them up and drove to the food bank.

We were met by eager staffers who happily showed us around the facility.  We went with them to weigh the produce and were then taken to the enormous cooler that houses all their perishable items.  Our box of greens went right up on a big shelf with lots of other small and large quantities of fruits and vegetables.

Then they showed us their teaching garden, where volunteers and employees plant a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs.  They use the teaching garden with groups – particularly school children – to show them how food grows before it reaches the store, to educate them about the importance of fresh foods, and to emphasize the need for a balanced diet.   The food bank has a dietician on staff and works with nutritionists – going into classrooms to help teach those lessons to children.

Next year, the food bank will expand on these programs as they break ground on a new building, significantly larger than their current facility.

According to John Turner, Senior Director of Marketing and Branding for the food bank, “One of the great features of the new building is that it will drastically increase the size of the cooler and freezer to four or five times the size of our current ones.  This will enable us to provide much more fresh food to the community through our programs and other providers.”

While the food bank receives high volumes of donations around the winter holidays, the bank serves hungry people and families year-round, not just during the holidays.  In the summer, they have additional needs as they help support summer food programs for children who get breakfast or lunch assistance in their schools throughout the school year – assistance that isn’t available when school lets out.

So, if you are looking for some way to make use of your overabundance of tomatoes or cucumbers, consider sharing your harvest with the Capital Area Food Bank.  You don’t need great volumes of produce to make a contribution.  They are happy to take what you can give them.  Tell your gardening friends and neighbors; take your kids with you.  It’s a great way to share your love of gardening and make a difference in someone else’s life.

The Capital Area Food Bank at 8201 South Congress is open weekdays from 8-5 and Saturdays from 9-4.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:22-06:00July 30th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments
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