Monthly Reflections on Life and Organic Gardening
by Stacey (Rosina) Newton

Stacey (Rosina) Newton is a graduate of the Texas A&M University (Aggieland) Horticulture Department, class of 1984, and has been in the environmental/horticulture field ever since. She learned everything she knows about organic gardening while working at The Natural Gardener, starting in 1997.

Her essays are a healthy blend of local gardening instruction, quotations from the wise, horticultural lore, Central Texas history, and reflections on how global issues are very much personal issues, too.

May
2002

"The word May is a perfumed word. It is an illuminated initial. It means youth, love, song, and all that is beautiful in life."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

"With stammering lips and insufficient sounds, I strive and struggle to deliver right the music of my nature."
-- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

"O world invisible, we view thee, O world intangible, we touch thee, O world unknowable, we know thee."
-- Francis Thompson

 

Last year in April, it was rainy and 50 degrees. This year in April, we were breaking records with 90-something-degree days, and when a "cool front" brought in 85 degrees here in early May, we were relieved. Welcome to Texas in spring! We are only in an illusion if we think that we, mere humans, are in control here, with our air conditioning and our flat, weed-free sidewalks and highways, and hedges pruned into circus animal shapes.

Wait a minute! Who has hedges pruned into circus animal shapes? No, we only prune our hedges into balls or rectangles - maybe a spiral if we get really bold. Mother and Father Nature must laugh at our antics as we waste all that time trying so hard to predict the weather and put our controls on what can't be controlled. The wise know that we know so little and that we do not really have that much control. How boring life would be if we really could predict and control every bit of this mysterious life!

How do we look at this mysterious life? In the May 2002 issue of The Sun (www.thesunmagazine.org - (888) 732-6736), Derrick Jensen interviews Thomas Berry, an environmentalist, a Catholic monk in his late eighties, and author of The Dream of the Earth (Sierra Club Books), and most recently The Great Work: Our Way into the Future (Crown Publishing). Thomas Berry says,

We need to regain our sense of the natural world as sacred. ...In our workaday world, we are no longer present to the natural world in any manner. (Except for those people fortunate or wise enough to work in intimate contact with the natural world...R.N.) We have lost touch with the cosmological order. The precise hour of the day is more important to us than the diurnal cycles. We're so busy worrying - Will I get to work on time? Will I avoid rush-hour traffic? Will I get to watch my favorite television program? - that we have forgotten the spiritual import of the daily moments of transition. The dawn is mystical, a moment to experience the wonder and depth of fulfillment found in the sacred. The same is true of nightfall, and of bedtime, when we pass from consciousness to sleep and our subconscious comes forward.

... There are magical moments in the yearly cycle, too. One is the winter solstice, the turning point between a declining and an ascending sun. It's a moment when everything is reborn. We have lost touch with this once intimate experience.

Then, in the springtime, humans are meant to wonder at the new life and to ceremonially observe succession. This leads to the fulfillment of summer, and then to the harvest, another time of gratitude and celebration, but also the beginning of the movement toward death.

So here we are now immersed in spring. What is your favorite part of spring? Is it the delicate greenness of the new leaves? Is it the intoxicating fragrance of sweet peas, roses, or all of the other flowers blooming together? Could it be the sound of new birds' songs as they migrate through or return for the summer? Is it daylight savings time, which allows us to play outside in the light much later? Are you mesmerized by the proliferation of new life that emerges at this time?

Kristen, our Friday design guru at The Natural Gardener, says that one of her favorite parts of spring is that now she can plant and cook with fresh herbs again. What a pleasure that is! Having some of our favorite herbs growing within easy access of our kitchen adds so much to the cooking and eating experience, it's a wonder everyone doesn't do it. Herbs work as ornamentals, too. According to Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, "There are two ways to landscape with herbs: Work them into the overall design as decorative elements, or feature the herbs in special period or theme gardens." Chives or oregano offer themselves as neat borders, lemon balm is a beautiful bright green mounding and spreading plant, and thyme is a lovely spreading and flowering groundcover. (Goodness knows we all could use more thyme!) Of course, there are the scents. Our sense of smell is so intricately laced into our memory, our health, and our well-being. To smell lemon balm, thyme, scented geraniums, and perhaps lavender and rosemary every single day as we walk out of our house is bound to enhance our quality of life. Even rushing out of the house for work in the morning, our hand stirring the fragrance of our herbs as we rush by could put a smile on our face.

The more tangible benefits of herbs are too numerous to describe in one single article. There is so much to know. There are more herb books on my bookshelf than books on any other single subject. Herbs provide magical, medicinal, ornamental, insect repellant, and of course culinary benefits, and they have numerous arts and crafts uses. In an informal count just now, we have almost 60 different kinds of herbs in our nursery. That doesn't even include the 12 different kinds of basil, 11 different mints, 11 thymes, 10 rosemaries, 9 lavenders, 9 oreganos, and 8 different varieties of sage that we have in stock. There are so many to choose from! Here is a list of the fifty-six herbs, just for fun.

Aztec sweet herb Catnip Chaya Chervil Chia Chives Coriander, Vietnamese Costmary Cuban oregano Curry plant Dill Epazote Eucalyptus Fennel Feverfew Garlic, society Geranium, scented Germander Gotu kola Gum weed Henbane, black Horehound Horsemint Hyssop Lamb's ears Lavender Lemon grass Lovage

Mexican mint marigold Mexican oregano Milk thistle Mint Mugwort Mullein Myrtle Oregano Parsley Pennyroyal Perilla Rosemary Rue Sage Sage, clary Salad burnet Santolina Savory Skullcap St. John's wort Sweet marjoram Tansy Thyme Toothache plant Verbena, lemon Vick's plant Woodruff, sweet Yarrow

Besides all of the culinary herbs, there are medicinal herbs. There are herbs to help us relax or sleep (chamomile, skullcap, passionflower, catnip); herbs to help our digestion (mints, dill, fennel, chamomile); herbs for wreaths or potpourri (roses, sweet Annie, rosemary); herbs to repel insects (pennyroyal, tansy, chives); herbs to make us happy (lemon balm, St. John's wort); even herbs to make our cats happy (catnip). Some of these herbs are simply ornamental, and provide us with an interesting scent (santolina, Vick's plant, Cuban oregano).

Anyone wishing to take an herb as a tea (or tincture, etc.) should consult a reputable book to learn all about the herb, in case there are cautions. For example, folks who suffer from hayfever should not drink chamomile tea (alas!) because it can produce hayfever-like symptoms. When I worked at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Children's Garden, chamomile would grow as wild as a weed in all the corners of the garden. Its scent is heavenly; its sunny flowers are cheerful. Once I discovered it was chamomile, I wanted to prove the Hayfever-Chamomile Connection wrong, and I made a pot of tea from fresh chamomile flowers. Alas! I did sneeze as though it were ragweed season, but I would do it again for the flavor of that lovely flower. For everyone else, though, chamomile is a safe, lovely, delicious tea, known even by Peter Rabbit to be a relaxant.

Many have heard in the last several years of the anti-depressant qualities of St. John's wort. The caution that one must take when drinking this tea is that some claim that it makes our skin more susceptible to sunburn. Another caution that amateur herbalists must take is to identify the herbs properly. Even nurseries sometimes mislabel their plants, so don't rely on a label. Get to know the plant and be 100% sure you know your plant and its uses before consuming it. Invest in several herb books for reference. In her new book, Family Herbal, trusted herbalist Rosemary Gladstar says,

Do your research. I've always felt it requisite, when studying herbs, to research each one I'm planning to use in at least three herb books. Because herbs are so multifaceted, no one book will give you a complete picture of what an herb is or what it can do. Reading about the herb in several books will paint a more complete picture for you and give you a broader understanding of its depths and possibilities.

Ms. Gladstar's book is very balanced in its approach to using medicinal herbs. There seem to be two ends of a spectrum when looking at herbs as medicines, and most writings on the subject fall somewhere inbetween the two: the strict scientific method approach and the intuitive approach. I can see the merits of both. Knowing the extractable, scientifically testable individual constituents of an herb which produce a certain result in the body or mind is important and reassuring information. Here is an example, again from Rosemary Gladstar's book:

Pharmacological and clinical studies confirm what herbalists have long known: The common wayside plant known as chamomile is a very important medication for the nervous system. One of chamomile's major contstituents is azulen, a beautiful, azure blue, volatile oil obtained by steam distillation. Azulen contains a whole complex of active principles that serve as anti-inflammatory and antipyretic agents. Its medicinal action is most obvious in three major areas: the nervous system, the immune system, and the digestive system.

This scientific end of the spectrum is represented most clearly by the American Botanical Council (ABC) and their publication HerbalGram magazine. ABC is located right here in Austin and they have lovely grounds available for tours. (Contact ABC via their website at www.herbalgram.org or by phone (512)926-4900). Their website and printed catalog are filled with scientific tomes available for purchase. They often have workshops onsite, as well.

Regarding the other end of the spectrum, how did we find the healing herbs in the first place? The healing properties of herbs, used for centuries by every culture on earth, were not discovered (as far as we know) by using the scientific method. The first "herbalists" either used trial and error or more likely a keen sense of intuition or other intangible knowledge to ascertain which herbs could heal which ailments. For example, I believe that if I were to consume pure azulen, it would not be as healing as if I drank a tea from the whole chamomile flower. There are gifts from the plants that we cannot measure and cannot extract by steam distillation. It is similar to the difference between eating a fresh and juicy organic orange and taking a Vitamin C pill. The intuitive approach to healing and herbs is led by author and educator Susun Weed, and a host of Wise Woman herbalists across the country. Susun Weed is author of Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, Healing Wise, Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, and Breast Cancer?Breast Health! Find out more information on the website www.susunweed.com, or call and leave a message for more information: (845) 246-8081.

I enjoy learning from both the scientific and intuitive schools of thought. Therein, I believe, lies a balance.

Besides the joy of walking outdoors to gather fresh herbs for cooking or tea-making, a gardener may employ herbs to help him or her balance the insects in the yard. There are many plants which attract beneficial insects. Very often they are the plants which have many tiny flowers clustered together, such as the yarrow, Queen Anne's Lace, and dill flowers. Other plants which can attract beneficial insects are composite flowers (daisies, goldenrod, chamomile) and mints, including catnip. Remember that wasps, spiders, ground beetles, ladybugs, and lacewings are just a few of the beneficial insects which can keep garden pests in check. Attract them, give them shelter, and avoid pesticides - even organic - to achieve balance in the garden.

The other way to use herbs to balance the insect population is to repel pests. There is a citronella-scented geranium that is lovely and pleasant to smell. While one citronella plant may not repel the hordes of mosquitos that plague us from time to time, a yard full of scented herbs, including this geranium, might make a hungry mosquito head for the neighbor's yard instead. Lemon grass and pennyroyal can help with the same dilemma, and double as delicious teas, as well. (Pregnant women should never drink pennyroyal. It is an aid to relieving cramps during menstruation). Tansy can be planted to repel ants, flea beetles, cabbage worms, and squash bugs. It is also reported to be invasive, however. Rosemary is known in these parts to be an extremely sturdy, evergreen, (dare I say deer-proof?) plant for the landscape. It is a wonderful addition to many recipes, and is said to help with memory. There is the old saying "Rosemary for remembrance." According to Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Plant "nasturtiums against whiteflies, ...tobacco (Nicotiana) against flea beetles, ...catnip and tansy against squash bugs, and French marigolds (Tagetes patula) against some nematodes, Mexican bean beetles, and possibly against Colorado potato beetles." In addition to repelling insects, there are other benefits to interplanting with herbs which fall under the category of companion planting. There are several books on the subject. Two outstanding examples are Carrots Love Tomatoes, and its sequel, Roses Love Garlic by Louise Riotte.

The more we know about herbs, the more uses we can find for herbs in our landscape, our garden and our kitchen. For more information on herbs, consider the books mentioned above, or the following: Southern Herb Growing by Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay (Shearer Publishing); Herbs for Texas by Howard Garrett (University of Texas Press); and The Herb Garden Cookbook by Lucinda Hutson. Perhaps May is a good month to become immersed in herbs: indoors with a good book when it gets too hot, and the rest of the time outdoors in the soil, smelling the multitude of fragrances from fresh herbs at our service. Enjoy!

May
2001

"Many summer standbys are already in flower before the end of May. The last season of spring is also the first taste of summer's abundance."
-- Denise Otis

 

"In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught."
-- Baba Dioum

What a nice, slow, unusually cool progression into spring we have had! As one gardener reported, there is never a normal season around here; each year brings a different sequence of weather with a different set of benefits and problems. By the time you read this, you may be asking "Cool? What cool?" and you may have forgotten the rain and the below-50-degree temperatures we had in April.

The benefits of last month's moisture and coolness were severalfold. The most obvious is that the sublime time between freezing and scorching temperatures was extended a bit, so that we could get out and enjoy spring. No need for air conditioning. Less need for hand watering; rain is so much better for the plants anyway.

One of the problems we've encountered, however, is an explosion of insects on the landscape, especially those cute little crawlies, the inchworms, or caterpillars. (And here I was, predicting a reduction in pests due to one climatic condition this winter: significant freezes. Just goes to show how vast and complex Mother Nature is, and how we will never know everything there is to know. It is certainly fun finding out more and more, though.)

There are as many different reactions to "bugs" as there are people. Some folks have a bona fide phobia for the critters; other people keep tarantulas as pets. I have one friend who likes snails. She had one for a pet one time, and she fed it lettuce. She is not, however, a gardener. If there is one big misunderstanding that people have in the garden, it may be that anytime one sees a bug, one should kill! kill! kill! the bug. Nothing could be further from the truth. One lovely statistic that has stuck in my head is that only two per cent of the world's insects are pests to humans in any way. The other 98 per cent of the bugs out there do not bother us at all, except in our head! The other mistake is that, even if one correctly determines that an insect is actually a pest, that one should bring out the BIG GUNS immediately, and spray the booger with Diazinon, or any other one of the deadly compounds known to humans. "I ain't gonna fool around with no namby-pamby spray - that's my prized ROSE bush!"

Well, even though some folks don't even want to THINK about creepy-crawlies, it pays to use this three-point plan to determine what to do in case of infestation:

1. Identify the problem/pest correctly. First of all, don't panic!
1. If you see an insect, first determine if there is any problem with your plant. If your plant looks fine, you can fairly safely assume that the bug you found is harmless. You can keep an eye on that plant for a while if you want to make sure.
2. If you DO see damage on your plant, don't assume that THAT insect is causing the problem. For example, you may see a ladybug larva, which looks like an ugly black alligator about a half-inch long with orange spots, and you may think it's the cause of the problems on your plant. If you spray insecticide, you've just killed the solution to your problem. The ladybug larva eats aphids galore, and aphids may have been the problem.
3. If your plant IS showing symptoms of a problem, snip several samples into a plastic bag or a jar, along with any bugs you see in the vicinity of the symptoms. If you have a good library of pest and disease identification books, go ahead and identify the problem through research. A hand lens comes in handy for this. Sometimes it takes several pest/disease identification books to find the right diagnosis.
4. If you do not discover the cause of your plant's symptoms through research at home, take your (fresh) plant and bug samples (sealed securely in their container!) to a nursery (or two) to get an accurate diagnosis. DON'T JUST START SPRAYING! Insecticides won't help a whit if it is a disease or overwatering stress bringing your poor plant down, even if the insecticide is organic. In fact it WILL do more harm than good. So will fungicides on an insect problem.
2. Choose the least toxic strategy for addressing the problem/pest. If you discover there is a pest or disease problem affecting your plant, that is only the first step. You may not want to take the first advise you get from a nursery, or a neighbor with the same problem. Why not? Consider the following:
1. Sometimes the best strategy is to do nothing except to nourish the plant. There is a regular guy, a cute little caterpillar who dangles from a thread from our oak trees in spring, who seems to eat up all the leaves. However, his life span is so short that by the time he eats his fill, he doesn't really do enough damage to harm a healthy tree. Under normal conditions, there is no need to spray anything. Likewise, many plants can tolerate a certain amount of "predation" from pests; if you see one hole, it is not necessary to bring out the Dursban. It is wise, however, to keep an eye on that plant so the damage does not get out of hand.
2. This year, however, caterpillars are in huge numbers. If a tree has been stressed in the past and the caterpillar damage is approaching or exceeding 50% of the leaf canopy, you can spray with Bacillus thuringensis, or B.t., to control the caterpillar. Basically, it is a caterpillar disease in a bottle. B.t. is a perfect example of how to use the least toxic solution to the problem: it will control the caterpillar and harm nothing else. It is even more effective than more toxic choices. However, it is still important to use even B.t. with discretion. Remember that caterpillars turn into either moths or butterflies, and all three are important parts of the entire system in which we live. If the caterpillar is yellow and black-striped and is eating your dill or fennel, just go out and buy more dill or fennel so she doesn't go hungry! That one will become a swallowtail.

Was it Chief Seattle or Aldo Leopold (or both) who said that if we pluck one thing from nature, we find the whole world connected? If there is a reader who knows the answer, will you please let me know? I am still trying to learn how to do a proper search on the internet, and surprisingly I could not find that exact quote in any of my books or the internet.

Why should we choose the least toxic solution? If the obvious reason of minimizing toxins in our surroundings isn't enough, here are a few more reasons. Anytime we use an insecticide (or a fungicide or herbicide), we are upsetting or stressing the balance in that system; the more toxic the product, the larger the stress. In the example of the caterpillar, what if we chose the very mild Safer's Insecticidal Soap? It is even labeled for certain caterpillars. However, it can also kill many other insects, including beneficial insects like the ladybug larva. Whenever we kill beneficial species, we leave the door open for further infestation from pest species. Therefore, the more specific we can be at controlling our target pest species, and only when absolutely necessary, the better.

Here's another way to look at it. The least toxic solution for whiteflies, thrips, and spider mites is either Ultra-Fine horticultural oil or a neem oil product. The traditional chemical product recommended for spider mites was Kelthane, which is so toxic it was taken off the market. However, those who only knew the chemical parlance for plant care cried, "But Kelthane is the only thing that will work! You can't take it off the market!" And so it returned. But those who have gone to the trouble of seeking out the organic solutions know that a regular spraying with seaweed and good maintenance practices can easily prevent spider mites altogether. And the Ultra-Fine or neem oil products, used properly, eliminate spider mites.

Notice I said, "those who have gone to the trouble of seeking out the organic solutions." You really have to want to choose organic to find any information about organic. Too often, the most common and most easily obtained information in horticulture is the most toxic chemical route. In fact, in seeking a horticulture degree, I barely even heard the word "organic," much less was I offered a class or even a specialty in the subject. Of course, that was over fifteen years ago; hopefully things have changed now. I will always remember my first major job out of college; I was teaching gardening to elementary school children in Dallas. I asked my local extension agent for some recommendations for insecticides. When he suggested Malathion, I told him that I wanted an organic solution, because I was working with small children. He replied as though I had offended him. "All these people talking about Malathion being unsafe! Malathion is safe! To prove that to some folks one time, I drank some!" I kid you not.

Thankfully, we have certain leaders in our local and statewide organic gardening community from whom we can learn. They have already gone to the trouble to learn about organics, and are passing that knowledge on to us: Judy Barrett, editor of home grown magazine, Malcolm Beck, writer and founder of Garden-Ville, John Dromgoole, host of Gardening Naturally on KLBJ-AM and owner of The Natural Gardener, Liz Druitt, author of The Organic Rose Garden, Howard Garrett, author of the Texas Organic Gardening Book and other books, Sheryl McLaughlin, host of The Austin Gardener on KLBJ-AM, and our (relatively) new Travis County Agriculture Extension Agent, Skip Richter. These folks thankfully have not only seen the need for organic gardening information, but have been willing to stick their neck out - sometimes in the face of adversity - to share that information.

Here is an excerpt from Judy Barrett's "gleanings from the editor," regarding the recent ban on Dursban for home use. "Of course, it can still be used on farms, so keep that in mind when you go grocery shopping ... The mystery is why it takes so long for people to realize that these poisons are not selective. If a substance is designed to attack the nerves of living creatures, it does just that. It doesn't distinguish between insects, gerbils, poodles, and people. Of course, the size of the creature will influence how quickly the effect is felt and how deadly the poison is, but the effect is still there." For more information about pesticides, here are two websites: the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, and Texas Pesticide Information Network.

3. Correct any cultural conditions contributing to the problem, and maintain plant health.
1. Why did the plant get the problem in the first place? If it is a native or well-adapted plant, planted correctly and in the right place, and maintained properly, it is unlikely to have many pest and disease problems, if at all. For example, if a gardener asks me what is wrong with their Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) or Lantana, and if these natives have bugs or look puny, what we usually discover is that it was planted in too much shade and/or it is being overwatered. (Or else we are getting an unusual amount of rainfall.) Anytime a plant is not getting just what it wants, it is stressed. Insect pests and diseases are more likely to attack a plant under stress than a healthy plant.
2. If we have plants in our landscape which are not well-adapted, like Boxwoods, Indian Hawthornes, Photinias, Hostas, and Japanese Maples, they are under almost constant stress from growing in, to them, hostile conditions. Boxwoods can easily get spider mites. Photinias and Indian Hawthornes inevitably get Black Spot fungus, or they may get the equally fatal Fire Blight bacteria. Hostas simply fry like bacon in the summer, and for Japanese Maples to survive, they require coddling and special treatment.
3. Why incur an uphill battle, when there are so many beautiful plant choices which require only simple maintenance practices? Sometimes the best solution is to remove any poorly adapted plants that have consistent disease or pest problems.

While aphids are pests which can attack both organic and chemical gardens alike, they do seem to prefer that unusually fast growth that the soluble chemical fertilizers produce. As last month's column described, simply using chemical fertilizers on a regular basis can stress the system by making the soil less and less healthy. I have a true story which explains this principle perfectly.

Last year, at the height of chinch bug season, a gentleman came into our nursery with a sample of his St. Augustine lawn. He said it was yellowing and he wanted to know what the problem was. I may or may not have resisted the temptation to say, "The problem is, it's St. Augustine." But sure enough, we found a few chinch bugs. He told us that his neighbors on either side of him had lost most of their lawn -- dead, brown, kaput -- from chinch bugs already. How in the world had he and his lawn escaped such a fate, to the point where his lawn was just yellowing and not dead? "I've been maintaining my lawn organically for ten years," he said. Even though St. Augustine is not well adapted here, even though chinch bugs were an epidemic last summer as we started hitting 112-degree temperatures, the organic practices that this gardener used gave the lawn just what it needed, and enabled it to be more immune to such attacks.

To empower the novice or even intermediate organic gardeners out there, here is a list of some of our most common problems and their organic, or least-toxic, solutions. The solutions are ranked in order from the least toxic(1) to the most toxic. (This is a general, non-specific ranking. A number 1 for aphids is not the exact toxicity as a number 1 for chinch bugs. A number 2 for fire ants may not be all that much more toxic than a number 1 for fire ants. It is simply meant to be a helpful guideline). Whenever possible, choose the least toxic. Remember, these recommendations should only be used AFTER any cultural practices have been corrected and the "do nothing" strategy has been considered. Generally speaking, liquid products should not be sprayed on plants in the middle of the day, only in the morning or evening. Follow package directions accurately. Continue only until control is achieved.

APHIDS:

1. Spray a blast of water every 3 - 5 days.
2. Release ladybugs & avoid all pesticides thereafter.
3. Spray with fish emulsion every 5 days.
4. Spray with insecticidal soap every 5 days.
5. Dust with d.e. every 3 - 5 days.

BLACK SPOT: (Spraying seaweed on leaves on a regular basis can help reduce this).

1. Pick off the most damaged leaves.
2. Spray milk. Yes, milk. You can dilute one part milk in nine parts water. (This remedy was recently discovered as a very effective solution for another fungus, powdery mildew. At my suggestion, a customer tried it for his Black Spot, and reported improvement. Please let me know your results on this one.)

CATERPILLARS: (Tomato Hornworm, Mountain Laurel worm, etc.)

1. Pick off offending caterpillars.
2. Spray B.t. (Bacillus thuringensis)

CHIGGERS:
Use dusting sulfur. This product harms microorganisms (it is a fungicide). Therefore, after chiggers are under control, apply compost and boost microorganisms with Medina "Soil Activator" and Molasses or Ladybug "Terra Tonic."

CHINCH BUGS: (all areas of lawn in full sun need to be treated)

1. Spray with insecticidal soap & repeat as needed.
2. Spray with neem oil, as above.
3. Dust with diatomaceous earth. (d.e.) (not the swimming pool kind)
4. Dust with a d.e./pyrethrin product.
5. Spray with a pyrethrin product.

FIRE ANTS:

1. Apply beneficial nematodes.
2. Use a mound drench such as "Citrex," citrus oil, Erath Earth's "Compost Tea."
3. Use a dust or a mound drench of a d.e./pyrethrin product.

FLEAS:

1. Apply beneficial nematodes.
2. Dust with d.e.
3. Dust with a d.e./pyrethrin product.

FUNGUS GNATS:

1. Allow potted plants to dry out more between waterings.
2. Crumble "Mosquito Dunks" onto the soil in containerized plants and water in, to control the larvae.
3. Put yellow "sticky traps" around plants to catch the adult gnats.

GRASSHOPPERS:
Apply "Nolo Bait" early in the season when grasshoppers are still small.

GRUBWORMS: (There is no need for control if there are fewer than five per square foot).
Apply beneficial nematodes.

LACEBUGS: (not Lacewings)

1. Spray insecticidal soap.
2. Spray Ultra-Fine horticultural oil.
3. Spray a pyrethrin product.

MOSQUITOES:

1. Drop "Mosquito Dunks" into standing water or crumble over wet areas of soil.
2. Spray "Garlic Barrier" or "Skeeter-Defeater" throughout yard as
   repellents.

ROOT-KNOT NEMATODES: (not the same thing as beneficial nematodes)

1. Grow elbon rye as a cover crop in the winter. Till in before it gets a foot tall.
2. Till in "cedar flakes" to the soil. (See "Snails & Slugs" below)

PECAN WEBWORMS:

1. Release Trichogramma wasps in early spring (at the first sign of the moths).
2. Spray with B.t.

PILLBUGS or SOWBUGS: (a.k.a. "Roly-Polies")

1. Sprinkle a somewhat granular product called "Cedarcide" over the top of your mulch.
2. Sprinkle cayenne pepper over the area.

POWDERY MILDEW: (Once under control, spray "Cloud Cover" on leaves as barrier).

1. Spray milk. (See "Black Spot," above).
2. Spray baking soda solution: 4 teaspoons baking soda in 1 gallon water with a teaspoon of mild soap. Keep shaking solution as you spray to keep baking soda in solution. Do not overuse - it builds up salts.

SCALE:
Spray with Ultra-Fine horticultural oil.

SNAILS & SLUGS:

1. Sprinkle "cedar flakes" over the top of your mulch. This is a specific by-product of the cedar oil industry; not just any cedar product will do. It acts as a repellant.
2. Sink half-full containers of beer into the ground. For better results, shade the container of beer with some sort of covering. (An overturned pot works well, but one side needs to be propped up to allow the slimy ones to access it).
3. Apply "Sluggo."

SPIDER MITES:
Spray Ultra-Fine horticultural oil or neem oil products.

THRIPS: (also known as no-see-ums)
Spray Ultra-Fine horticultural oil or neem oil products.

WHITEFLIES:
Spray Ultra-Fine horticultural oil or neem oil products.

Of course, this list is by no means complete. Hopefully it will be a
helpful guide for the most common problems and how to approach them. Always remember that there are beneficial creatures out there, assisting you in your garden and landscape. Learn how to recognize bats, ground beetles, birds, fireflies, frogs, ladybugs, ladybug larvae, lacewings, praying mantids, garden snakes, spiders, and even wasps as allies. Cultivate a low toxicity outlook on maintaining your outdoor, and indoor, environment.

Take time to enjoy your garden this month, and all the life there!

See our May Garden Tips

See our May To-Do List

Jump to other articles for these months...

January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
September	October	November	December