gardening

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Garden tips 7-9-02 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouch-The Battle Has Begun!

Summer is the time when we glory in outdoor life. It is also the time that our nemesis, the mosquito, has his extended fiesta. Besides all the sprays, coils, candles, and lotions we use, there are some simple steps you can take in your own yard to insure that they don't have a place to breed.

Any areas of standing water (old tires, buckets, plastic sheeting, pet dishes, etc.), must either be eliminated, or treated with a product containing Bt, a bacterial toxin that prevents the aquatic larvae from ever becoming biting adults. Bt comes in the form of donut-shaped grainy-cakes that are friendly to birds, fish, and the dog. Bird baths, fountains, ponds, outdoor planters -- anything that holds water should have a Bt "dunk," or a portion of one.

If you've done all this, but still have a mosquito problem, let your neighbors in on this little tidbit. Mosquitoes can travel a good distance to feast on your blood, so you can only do so much. That's where your coils, candles, and sprays come in handy. Repellents containing the active ingredient di-ethyl-toluamide (DEET) are very effective. Generally, the higher the percentage of DEET, the longer you will be protected. Be careful with products containing DEET and kids. Buy low percentage formulations made especially for them, and NEVER apply it to their hands!

- Mary Vaananen

Hummingbird Feeder Solution

To make up a sweet, tasty brew for your hummingbird visitors, use four parts water to one part white granulated sugar. Boil the water first, remove it from heat, and then add the sugar, stirring until it is totally dissolved. Allow the solution to cool before adding it to the feeder. Keep all unused solution in the refrigerator for up to a month.

If you have flowering plants that the birds regularly visit, position your feeder near them. Place it at a good height to view the birds, and also to maintain the feeder. The sweet, syrupy solution can be sure to attract ants, wasps, and bees. Petroleum jelly applied on and around the openings will make it difficult for the unwanted invaders to partake of the solution. NEVER use insecticides around the feeder to control pests. They can be very toxic to the birds.

Is Your Mower Height Right?

Make sure your mower height is set right for the type of grass you are growing, as well as the conditions (sun or shade, moist or dry) in your yard. The summertime mower setting for tall fescue and bluegrass lawns is normally 2 1/2 to 3 inches. This higher setting will reduce weed infestations and improve rooting depth of the grass plants. Grass growing in shadier areas elongates more rapidly than in the full sun, so mow these areas at 3 inches.

Caring For Your Mums

Not implying that your mother needs attention, rather a few quick words on how to manage chrysanthemum plants for a wonderful fall performance. Lightly fertilize plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer. To keep plants fairly compact and reduce legginess, pinch out new tip growth regularly until mid-July. For extra-large flowers, allow only one or two shoots to develop per stem. Stake these chosen shoots and remove any side buds that begin to develop. You'll have fewer, but much larger flowers.

Divide And Transplant Iris

July is a good month to renovate an old iris patch. Dig iris clumps and cut away the old, center rhizomes that are no longer producing leaves and flowers. Use a sharp knife, and have a 10% bleach-90% water solution handy to dip into in case of bacterial infection of certain rhizomes. Affected rhizomes will be mushy, and have a nasty smell. Throw these away and do not compost them.

Cut iris leaves off at about 6 inches high and replant the vigorous pieces about 8 inches apart. Keep your new plants watered during hot, dry spells.

Growing Bananas

The continuing trend for the tropical look in home gardens finds many of us buying exotic plants for containers and beds. Large leafed banana plants (Musa) are a smashing addition texturally, and there are even colorful varieties for an extra spark. Bananas are easy to grow, but unless you live in Zone 9 or below, you will probably not see flowers or fruit produced. This is because bananas need 2 frost-free growing seasons (12 months of growth) to flower. If you have access to a heated greenhouse for the winter, you can successfully get bananas to flower, or try another popular method. Dig up the banana plant, roots, soil, and all. Put it in a container in a dark, dry part of your basement. The banana will go into a dormant state. Leave all the old leaves in place on the plant. Don't remove them!

After danger of all frost in spring, plant the banana in a large hole. Backfill, adding liberal amounts of compost, and mulch the area well. Fertilize monthly with 15-30-15 and keep the plants moist. Soil moisture is important in the first few months that the banana plant is in the ground. This is because the embryonic inflorescence is formed early on determining the number of bananas that will be produced.

During the growing season, cut offshoots close to the base of the mother plant at ground level. Vigorous offshoots that are a foot or more away from the main plant can be removed from the mother plant in fall, and potted up to spend the winter in a bright window in your home.

Dwarf bananas are easier to handle, and ornamental bananas are grown only for their foliage and are mostly dwarf in size. These ornamentals may, if handled properly, produce fruit, but full of large, hard seeds; definitely not good for eating.

Recycle Old CD's

Do you have problems with birds flying into large windows or glass doors? Often, windows without curtains or blinds are hit by unsuspecting birds, causing them injury or death. Use CD's sent as advertisements in the mail, or old ones you no longer use, by hanging them from a thin wire just outside your window. They will swing and flutter in any breeze, reflecting light in all directions. The suspended CD's can also be used in trees to prevent sapsucker damage, to keep birds and other animals from absconding with ripening fruit, or just as a decorative ornament.

Praying (Or Preying) Mantis In The Garden

Praying mantises or mantids are fascinating insects to watch. They are out and out predators with a voracious appetite for other insects. It really doesn't matter what it is; be it a plant-damaging aphid or mite, or a beneficial lace-wing or honey bee, the mantid doesn't discriminate. These predators hunt day and night, frequently positioning themselves by a porch light, to attack night flying critters.

Harmless to humans (except for a pinch if they feel threatened), mantids do strike fear in some with their unsettling appearance. Large compound eyes, the ability to @#%$ their heads from side to side, and their spiny jointed forelegs all combine to make the mantid a superb hunter. When lying in ambush for prey, all mantises strike the same prayerful pose -- forelegs held close to the body, middle and back legs grasping the stem. Camouflage is provided by its brown or green stick-like body, and as an insect comes into reach the mantid strikes out with it spiny front legs, grasping and impaling its prey. The mantid is so fast that it can strike twice before a common housefly can even open its wings to fly away.

Each fall, females deposit eggs in a frothy, bubbly brown encasement around twigs and branches. The cases harden, giving the eggs winter protection. By clipping the twig, you can transport egg cases to a protected site in your garden. When they emerge in the spring they'll be incredibly hungry. They'll feed on the insects in your garden, and then they'll probably move on.



-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

Answers

Banana plants--I bet Narefoot knows about these too. I had some in the garden of one of the houses I rented in New Orleans. They're great-looking plants. Unfortunately, one of them was seriously encroaching on the back path and I had to cut it down. What a mess! Those things are 140% water! I got soaked! It was kinda like hacking at an enormous soft celery stick only with a lot more water.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002

I was going to post some pictures of ours but the computer isn't cooperating. After all that rain we had for two months they are all huge, and one is throwing a bunch now.

They are full of water, you got that right. I found the instructions above a little odd. Once a plant blooms, it dies. If you are cutting the pups down, then you are limiting yourself to one tree. I suppose if you don't expect fruit and just want the one tree for the space it makes sense.

We gave one small tree to a friend who wanted it for her apartment balcony. I told her that if it dies to just keep watering it, the nodes will send another one up soon enough. She has five now. LOL

if the container is large enough, she may even have bananas from it. A small container will allow the plant to tip over in the breeze, you see. Can't tie it to the railing cuz the rope would cut thru the stalk over time and damage the plant.

One thing about bananas, the wind can and will shred the leaves. Best to put it in a spot that doesn't get a lot of wind. The spiders like it like that, too.

If I can get the pictures on line, I'll come back and post them. some of our trees are taller than the house now. i mean, the peak of the roof of the house.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002


Even if the bananas don't ripen (and I seem to remember it depends on the type of plant you have?), the clumps of fruit are very pretty and impressive.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002

"Narefoot". Did I miss something? LOL

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002

Remember this notebook computer now has a regular monitor hooked up which is to my right and just far enough away to cause me to miss typos. Barefoot is looking out for a new screen for me but until he finds one I have to put up with a crick in my neck and you guys have to put up with typos.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002


ok...so what's MY excuse!!!???? hehehehahahahaheheheheh!!!!

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

You just can't type.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

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