Slugs

Good Morning!  Are your Hosta's & other perennials starting to look like the Hosta pictured to the left?  Then you have slugs and snails.  All the rain & cooler temperatures has the slugs & snails out in force eating everything!

There are several different ways to try and combat these slimy little pests.  I start by checking the soil under the leaves around the base of the plant.  Any slugs I find there I kill on the spot.  Diatomaceous Earth can be applied to the soil at the base of  your plants.  The snails & slugs can't crawl on it.   You can also try Ortho Slug Bait.  For the Earth chemically adverse gardener, crushed egg shells applied around the plant and shall bowls of beer can be put out in the garden. The slugs & snails are attracted to it, go in for a drink & drown.  "Attack pattern Delta, go now!"  Sorry, couldn't resist a good Star Wars quote!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Dear Mother Nature....

Dear Mother Nature,  please ease up on the rain in Chicago for a little bit.  Generally speaking I love rain, but we've had so much this Spring that my garden is floating, heck some of my friend's entire yards are floating.  So a little respite from the rain would really be appreciated.  Say maybe a two week gap between the rain on schedule for this week and the next rain would be super duper!

Seriously, my garden is floating!  I know I have blogged about this already, but with all this rain and the diseases & insects that have come with it is all I can talk about because I can't even get into the gardens in my care to work, my own included!  The worst is that there is really nothing you or I can do about it but watch our gardens slowly decline.  Unless you have planted plants that can handle standing water, as in a Rain Garden, all you can do is watch as your plants start to die from root rot & crown rot brought on by over saturated soil.  When the rain does finally stop for a bit, dig out your perennials that are really showing signs of root or crown rot( check some of my earlier blogs for pictures of plants with these diseases), cut back the leaves and let the roots dry out some on a hard surface. You can pitch fork the soil and try and air it out as well.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Rain, rain,rain

Good Morning!  It is raining again here in Chicago.  Hopefully it will be a nice slow & steady rain and not another deluge.  The ground is so saturated here it can't hold anymore water and parts of my yard are still wet from the last deluge!

Be vigilant for signs of plants struggling with root rot from too much water,in your garden & in your containers.  Containers dump out any standing water and use a small hand trowel to turnover the soil as much as you can to help dry it out without disturbing your plants.  Perennials in the beds that are struggling will have leaves that are starting to yellow and show signs of black spot.  Try and move away the mulch and turnover soil around the plants to help dry it out or if the plant is really fading dig it out ,cut it back and let the roots dry out before you replant it!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

The Japanese Beetles are coming!!!!!!!!

Good Morning!  Pest Armageddon 2010 continues....it's June that means the Japanese Beetles are coming.  


The Japanese beetle originated in Japan,hence the name... They came to North America in the early 1900s. The first  Japanese iris bulbs arrived in the United States in 1912. Japanese beetles were noticed in 1916 on iris bulbs.   These beetles, which live in woods, gardens and open meadows, are found throughout most of  the United States except for the extreme southeastern region.

Japanese Beetle larvae overwinter in the soil and move upward in the soil as the ground warms in May & June.  They begin emerging as adults in June & July. 

Chemical insecticides such as sprays or granules can effectively control Japanese beetle larvae that live in soil.  Insecticidal spays work on adult beetles. There also Pheromone Traps that lure adults.  There is some debate over whether this method helps control the problem or exacerbates it by attracting adults into your garden/yard to the trap.  If you use the Pheromone Traps hang them AWAY from your garden. Another control method is to spread a sheet under infested plants and then shake the plant so beetles fall on the sheet to be dumped into a container of soapy water.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Everyday I find a new pest or disease in the gardens

Good Morning!   Wow, did we get some rain here in Chicago.  I STILL have standing water in my back yard!

I really can't stress enough to be alert for signs of trouble in your garden beds.  All the rain has our soils waterlogged.  This leaves plants open to root rot & crown rot.  Plants that are already stressed are more susceptible to disease & pests.

I have posted some more pictures of some pests that I am seeing popping up in garden beds.  The top picture is the Striped Cucumber Beetle, the lower is Red Aphids.   If you find red aphids cut the infected stems off and seal them in a plastic bag to kill the aphids.  The Cucumber Beetle treat with safer soap.

Look for signs of root & crown rot.  Yellowing leaves that are turning slimy.  I am pulling the waterlogged mulch away from my perennials to expose the soil and let it start to dry out.  Perennials that are in dire shape I am digging out and letting dry out before I replant.

Be on alert! Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Water Logged

Good Morning!  I woke up this morning and my garden, pictured to the left, was floating.  It's hard to tell from the picture I took but there is two inches of standing water in the garden bed & the mulch is floating.  I think I am going to build an Arc for my perennials.... 

This surely will not help with all the powdery mildew, black spot,root rot, crown rot, etc. that I have been seeing everywhere.  It probably won't help with the mosquitoes either. 

Be sure to spill out any standing water in pots in your yard, that will help with the burgeoning mosquito population.  Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do to get rid of the standing water in your garden.  You can however, try and help it dry out..  as the water goes down I will be moving the mulch away from the base of my plants  to expose the dirt and try and let them dry out near their crowns.  The mulch will only hold the moisture and exacerbate the conditions that can lead to root rot, crown rot, black spot etc.  So for the moment, I will move the mulch away and try and help my garden dry out...if that doesn't work I will have my Arc ready!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Foggy & Humid

Good Morning!  I hope that everyone had wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

Herein Chicago our weather has been hot & humid.  We got more rain over the weekend and have an ethereal fog floating around this morning.  I can not stress enough how on the alert you need to be in your gardens for plant diseases and insect infestations in this weather.  To date I have seen powdery mildew, scale, black spot, phytophora rot, leaf miners, caterpillars, spittle bugs...the list goes on and on and it is only June!

There are systemic sprays that you can use to help control powdery mildew & black spot a swell as insects.  You can also take a chemical free approach and start thinning out and spacing your perennials to allow better air flow.  Make sure to water your perennials at the base, not overhead and that will help with the powdery mildew & black spot.  Good garden hygiene will help as well.  Keep it clean.  Pick up any diseased leaves from the garden bed.  As for the insect explosion...the only non chemical solution is to try safer soaps.It is my experience that they can help, but if you have a major pest infestation only a systemic chemical will really help.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!