gardening – Page 7

June 6, 2022Paul Hetzler

Invasive jumping worms

Raise your hand if you’re tired of hearing about new invasive species. I’m right there with you. Aside from the fact that there’s way too much bad news these days in general, we still can’t find good solutions for “old-fashioned” invasive species like Japanese beetles, European chafers, buckthorn, wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed.

We don’t need a new invasive species every year, but try convincing the invaders, right? I half-expect that one of these days we’ll get a tropical soil-shark that stowed away in a shipload of potting mix. Probably it’ll feed on moles and woodchucks, but will also burst out of lawns to swallow pets, and gardeners might lose a finger while weeding. That will sure put the lily-leaf beetle in perspective.

I’d be a lot more hesitant to tell you about a new and significant threat to forests, landscapes and gardens if it wasn’t for the fact that you can make a real difference in preventing its spread.

The new pest is actually a coterie of Asian earthworms in the genera Amynthas and Metaphire. These super-size (20cm. long) earthworms are variously known as invasive jumping worms, Alabama jumpers, snake worms or crazy worms. Unfortunately, they can be sold as bait, and also hawked online as a substitute for red wigglers used in worm compost bins. They move rapidly on top of the soil, resembling snakes more than worms. Lively and strong, they can flip out of your hand. Assuming you want to touch them. Read more Invasive jumping worms

May 6, 2022Juli Pomainville

Create a cut flower garden Part II: Planting

Read Part I of this series, here: Create a cut flower garden: Planning

When choosing a location for a cut flower garden, look for an area where you’ll be able to pass comfortably, even when carrying a basket or bucket of flowers. Consider a border against a south facing wall of your home, a designated garden patch, or even adding clumps or rows of flowers to an existing vegetable garden.

Cut flowers need well-drained soil that’s rich in organic matter so that it will hold water for your blossoms. Plan to work in 2-3 inches of compost or well-rotted leaves to your soil. Add a dose of a balanced, slow-acting granular organic fertilizer at the beginning of the season. If you notice blooms fading later on, fertilize them during the season as well.

Transplant your seedlings after the last spring frost (May 15-31 for Zone 4). Be sure to check the heights of your mature flowers and plant the tall ones to the north of the shorter flowers to prevent shading. For direct seeded plants, sow a few extra seeds – we have a short growing season and don’t have time to reseed if they don’t germinate the first time. It’s better to thin them later than to start over. To control weeds and retain soil moisture, add a 2-3” layer of mulch around the plants, staying at least an inch away from the plant on all sides. Read more Create a cut flower garden Part II: Planting

April 29, 2022Amara Dunn

When can I clean up my garden…and still protect beneficial insects?

The days are getting longer and (sometimes) warmer, trees are beginning to leaf out, spring bulbs are blooming, and lots of people are anxious to clean up their gardens. But you may have heard that cleaning up your garden too early is bad for pollinators and other beneficial insects like natural enemies of pests. Is this true? How long do you need to wait?

Garden bed next to a house still full of dead plant stems from last year’s flowers — Don’t clean up your garden too early this spring! Pollinators and natural enemies of pests need to stay cozy a bit longer.

What’s the concern with early garden clean-up?

There are two aspects of garden clean-up that pose a risk to beneficial insects in your garden: cutting out dead stems and clearing away leaves or other debris on the ground. Some species of wild bees nest in dead stems, so cutting down and disposing of these stems before the bees emerge for the spring is problematic. Dead leaves and other plant debris on the ground provide shelter for natural enemies like lady beetles, fireflies, and ground beetles. Pristinely-raked garden beds remove this shelter. You can read more about the benefits of messiness in this ThinkIPM blog post.

When should I clean up my garden?

First, please don’t clean your garden up in the fall. With the exception of removing and disposing of diseased or insect-infested plants (especially annuals), let your garden rest in the fall.

Ok, so you’ve waited until spring. But when? It’s complicated. You are trying to protect a diverse group of wild bee species, who are nesting in diverse settings (including both the ground and dead plant stems), in addition to many different species of beetles, spiders, and other arthropod natural enemies of pests. It should come as no surprise that all of these different arthropods emerge from their winter homes at different times. For example, around here (NY) bumble bees, carpenter bees, mason bees, and mining bees emerge earlier (early April) than sweat bees (May). Even within two species of mason bee, researchers found that the temperature during the winter, the sex of the bees, and their size all significantly impacted when they would emerge in the spring (varying by up to 40 days). Winter temperatures also impact when alfalfa leaf cutting bees and other bees emerge.

metallic green bee perched on a pink cosmos flower — Sweat bees nest in the ground, and emerge a bit later in the spring than some other bee species.