Archive for the ‘Chemical Free’ Category

Back To The Garden

March 3rd, 2010

Mina Lobata

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may have noticed that I’ve been away for a very long time. But, I’m back. That could be bad, it could be not so bad. Time will tell!

 

The reasons for my absence are varied. One is time. Or lack of time more correctly. We’ve given the interior of our home a major facelift this winter. – lots of painting, plastering, ceiling work, trim etc, etc, etc. It’s been difficult to find time (energy) to blog and work on the house. And now, all I can say is, if I never see another paint brush again it will be too soon!!

 

Another reason is all the spammers out there that made my blogging life hell for a while. I can’t believe they actually believe that anyone they spam would actually accept their spammed comments, let alone read/open them!!! How stupid can they be?? I guess some people have nothing better to do.

 

In addition to the above reasons, I briefly (?) went through gardening burn out. Yes, what I thought would never happen, did! I got tired of gardening. I got tired of weeds, tired of flowers, tired of shrubs, tired of grass, tired of watering, tired of writing about gardening.  Guess all that’s understandable since I’ve been doing it personally and/or professionally for most of my adult life. And, since arthritis became my constant companion, gardening is no where near as easy as it was just a few short years ago. But this year, I’m ready to go at the gardens full tilt.

 

We have many plans for our gardens this year; new projects to start, old ones to finish. Today, I’ll be starting some seeds. Not in the greenhouse this time, but in my plant stand. That should work out a little better than previous attempts since our cats are older now and a little less curious. Again, the seeds I’ll be starting are varieties that are not commonly found at the local greenhouses.  The other seeds I’ll be sowing are for plants that are too expensive to purchase finished.

 

Among the gardening tasks I’ve let slide are the cuttings I’ve rooted. They are well past the potting up point, but over the next day or two, they will finally make into soil filled pots. While I’m potting up cuttings, I have a number of houseplants that are crying to be transplanted into bigger pots, so that task will be taken care of too.

 

Powdery mildew had infected the rosemary plants I overwintered. Rather than resort to chemicals, I trimmed the infected stems off, and rinsed the plants under the tap. That method worked quite well, (I repeated the treatment three times) and now, six weeks later, there is only a very slight trace of powdery mildew left. One more time should do the trick.

 

Enough of writing about gardening for one day. It’s time to actual do some.

Catch you later!!

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Posted in Chemical Free, HOW TO GARDEN, In Our Opinion, Pests and Diseases | Comments (0)

Raining Weeds

June 22nd, 2008

Rain, rain, go away…..After the last couple of summers with next to no rain, I can’t believe I’m wishing the rain would stop! Let’s see, this must be day ten in a row that it’s rained. And, rain is expected for the next three days. Glad we own a canoe!

Seriously, the rain is a good thing for our trees and plants. All the watering we do is nowhere near as effective as a good rain! The down side of all this rain, is the weeds are loving it as much as the plants. And, because it’s raining so often, we don’t have as much time to spend in the garden getting rid of those weeds! During the few hours of sunshine we had today I looked at the plants and smiled. I look at the weeds and groaned! Never have they been so plentiful, not to mention lush and vigorous! I very briefly wished I believed in using chemicals rather than hand pulling to rid the gardens and yard of weeds. Matter of fact, I went so far as to vocalize that wish as I was taking the scuffler out of the shed.

There are eco safe alternatives to chemical weed control besides hand pulling for large areas or in between cracks in sidewalks and driveways. I have tried many of them, with varying degrees of success. Here are two of the simplest.

Boiling water: pour boiling water on the weeds and they instantly shrivel up, and the foliage dies. This method does not always kill the roots so it will have to be repeated several times. Not my favourite method.

Vinegar: A more successful approach is to mix three parts vinegar with one part water and add a few drops of liquid dish soap (to help the solution stick to the leaves). Spray on the weeds being careful not to spray on anything you want to keep. The weeds die quickly, but again, not always the roots, so several applications may be required to eliminate all weeds, especially perennial weeds.

For someone who is not comfortable using a sprayer for fear of taking out desirable plants, there are tools that make the task of weeding easier.

Scufflers and Hoes: This is my preferred method for weeding large areas, but obviously impractical for eliminating weeds growing between cracks. These tools basically take off the tops of the weeds. Occasionally you’ll get lucky and the roots will come up too. How can this be possibly effective? At least one new member of my crew will ask that question every year. Simple; Plants need chlorophyll to live. Without leaves, they have no chlorophyll. The roots will sprout new leaves, which are again, lopped off. Eventually, the roots become so weakened from constantly putting all their energy into sprouting new leaves, they die. No more weed.

Cultivators: I’m not a big fan of cultivators. I find them awkward to use and less precise than a scuffler or hoe. Cultivators often take out the entire weed, roots and all, so they are very effective.

Of course there is always the alternative of hand pulling the weeds. Hand weeding is the most effective method without a doubt. And, yanking those weeds out of the ground, roots and all, is the greatest stress reliever! It is my favourite method of dealing with weeds but no longer possible since arthritis of the hands and knees have become my life partner. Otherwise, I would not be using tools and home made sprays. Instead I’d be on the ground pulling to my heart’s delight, getting my knees black and enough dirt under my nails to pot up a small plant, and thinking at the end of the day, I’d managed to stay fairly clean. Considering.

Posted in Chemical Free, Garden Maintenance, HOW TO GARDEN, Pests and Diseases | Comments (0)

The Gall Of It!

April 12th, 2008

Making our annual spring yard inspection, we noticed a swelling on a branch on one of our variegated willow standards. (Photo above)
The swollen area is the start of a gall disease, caused by insects, bacteria, or fungi.
Galls ususally only look unsightly, but cause no serious damage to the tree.
To prevent the gall from spreading, remove the afflicted branch. Do this by making an undercut first (Photo at left). The cut should be started several inches from the trunk of the tree. Cut into the branch about one inch.
Next cut the top of the branch, right above the undercut.
The reason you make an undercut first, is to prevent tearing of the bark which can cause more damage.
After you have removed the branch, cut the stub back to the trunk. Make a straight cut, never angled. Straight cuts generally expose less inner bark and tissues of the tree. That in turn, gives insects, and diseases less area to invade.
Cross section of the inside of the gall. The blackened portions are insect eggs waiting to hatch.
The tree should now be safe from further infestations of gall.

Posted in Chemical Free, Garden Maintenance, HOW TO GARDEN, Trees and Shrubs | Comments (0)

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