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[How many different weeds did the Indians have to smoke before they discovered tobacco?  Think about it.]

*Whether it's the weather - See above comments!  If you have roses or plants that are subject to early leaf diseases, try to keep up with fungicidal sprayings as best you can between showers.  Same goes with mowing the lawn.  Its definitely better to mow the grass when its wet, than to let it get way out of hand.  Just be careful mowing wet grass!

[Who was the first person to see a bird lay an egg, and decide it was something we should be eating?  Think about it.]

*What's bugging you? - Not too much, still, but I will say I was startled the other evening when I saw a 'metallic Emerald Ash Borer looking critter' on my windowsill!  Fortunately, it was one of the several EAB look alikes.  It was a six spotted tiger beetle, but for one quick moment, I thought I had seen the real thing.  By the way, when you have a moment, be sure to check out www.emeraldashborer.info for more information about this nasty borer and where we stand with it.  Black spot is getting a nice hold on rose leaves, so spray if needed.  Also seeing loads of ash and sycamore leaves riddled with anthracnose.  Too late to spray for this one, and impractical in most cases.  The trees should recover without much harm.  Also seeing apple scab showing on crabapples, and maple leaves raining down like, well, maple leaf rain.  That's petiole borer, and again, too late to spray and impractical anyway.  It just happens and really causes no real harm to the tree, but certainly scares the heck out of you when it seems like "all" of the leaves are falling off!  Forest tent caterpillars continue to feed and become a nuisance, but populations should be tapering off soon, as they spin their yellow cocoons and pupate into adult moths.

JUST IN - BREAKING NEWS!  BAGWORMS HAVE BEGUN TO HATCH!  KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THESE LITTLE CRITTERS ON YOUR EVERGREENS.  Now if you do see them, make sure you give them time to make sure all have hatched before you spray. 

This week, Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU Extension and creator of the new coffee drink "Buggy Joe's Mothra Latte Grande") is reporting the final stages of feeding for the European sawflies on mugho, scotch and Austrian pines, rose slugs (roseslug, bristly roseslug and curled roseslug)  have begun their skeletonizing of rose leaves, sawflies are appearing on some perennials, including columbine and hollyhocks, canker worms are having fun eating the leaves of smaller ornamental trees and a few shrubs, four-lined plant bug are feeding on perennials, pine needle scale have hatched and are crawling, and soft scales are now beginning to pump out their honeydew.  Spiny witch hazel aphids continue to distort birch leaves, and yes, other aphids are really showing their population numbers on new growth and new flower buds.    -Catch the Buggy Joe Boggs Report Saturday mornings at 8:45am on 55KRC radio.

[Who was the first person that figured out how to get milk from a cow's udders, and then determine it's something we should be drinking?  -Think about it.]

*Question mark and the Mysterians - Here are a few gardening questions from this weeks emailed news bag:

"How do I keep the squirrels out of my container gardens?  They're destroying them!"  -That's a toughie.  Prior to planting, laying chicken wire over the soil and then planting through it stops them from digging.  I have had gardeners tell me they've had success using human hair or dog hair in the top of the container, sprinkling crushed red peppers on top, using dusting sulfur (which irritates their nose), and their are a few squirrel repellents now being sold which I am currently experimenting with.  We'll see.

"When should I spray my apple trees to help improve apple quality?"   -Fruit tree spraying programs usually begin while the plants are dormant with a dormant spray.  Then it's a program that begins at flower bud break, and carries on from there.  Bonide makes their complete "Fruit Tree Spray", which has a fungicide and insecticide in it, as well as a great spraying chart that tells you when to spray.  And no, it's not too late to get started!

"I've been using the same soil-less mix in the containers for the past several years.  Should I dump it and start with new this year?"   -No.  What you can do is dump it all in one big pile, chop it up, and then add a little new soil-less mix, some pine soil conditioner or Posy Power, etc, chop them all together and then refill the pots.  That freshens things up a bit.

"What's the new dwarf climbing rose you were talking about that was disease resistant?"   -Brite Eyes.  And the extremely hardy tree rose was Northern Encore, being renamed Polar Joy.

"I'm finding white grubs in the soil as I dig.  Should I treat the soil for these and kill them?"   -Nope, they shouldn't be a problem and not worth the effort to treat the soil.  Smash them if you'd like, but otherwise, not an issue.

"My daughter sent me an azalea for Mother's Day.  Can I plant it outside?"  -Well, it depends on the variety.  You need to let me know the name or check with the source of the azalea to see if indeed it's hardy for you area.  If so, then yes, go ahead.  If not, then you'll be growing it in a pot as a houseplant in the winter.  Which can be done!  Just ask my youngest daughter!

"How often should I be watering my newly planted trees?"  -Very good question!  Here's the way we attack this.  Water in well when you finish planting, and do it again the next day.  Then, from this point forward, check the soil and see where the moisture levels are.  As a general rule of thumb, for trees and shrubs in normal soils, a good soil soaking every 7 days to 10 days usually works.  Smaller plants, annuals, perennials and groundcovers may require watering more often.  But check the soil and see how quickly it dries out.  One exception is large container grown trees, which we'll water every 3-4 days for the first 2-3 weeks, and then go into the 7-10 day cycle, again checking the soil regularly.

"Just wanted to thank you for recommending a certified arborist to come look at our trees.  The visit fee was well worth the information we received, we feel better about our trees, and now we have someone we can count on to make sure our trees stay healthy.  We should have done this a long time ago."  -You're welcome.  And it is true.  Anyone with larger trees in their landscape should already have a certified arborist looking at their trees on a regular basis, and keeping them healthy, rather than waiting until something happens and then calling one.  They're the doctor and your trees are their patients!

[He was a brave man who ate the first oyster.  Think about it.]

This week's Success Tip for your garden - Did you know there’s a list of the top 10 most invasive non native plants for the state of Ohio?  There is, and chances are at least one of them is growing somewhere in your yard!  Especially bush honeysuckle.  Take a look in wooded areas as the leaves have fallen from the trees, or along creek beds, or fence rows or unmaintained fields.  Even in your own landscape.  See the large bushes with the leaves still on - the ones with the bright red berries?  Or see the ones who came out early in leaf in the spring, later flowering with the yellow and white fragrant flowers.  Those are bush honeysuckle, they’re everywhere, and they’re spreading quickly.   They spread by the berries, which are eaten by birds, mice and other rodents, and then re-distributed wherever the animals go.  Once bush honeysuckle gets started, its invasive actions take over, and actually eliminate any other low growing shrubs and vegetation trying to grow around it.  And if you’re asking what’s so bad about that, well as they eliminate the other natural plants, they’re actually changing the natural environment.  Where they take over, it’s all honeysuckle and nothing else, besides larger trees and that’s not a good thing.  So, it’s important to make everyone aware of this problem, so we can all work to help get it into check.  There are 3 basic ways to get rid of bush honeysuckle:

1.)    Physically dig them out.  Younger plants, with good soil moisture, will pull out fairly easily. Honeysuckle roots are generally close to the surface of the ground.  Or, take a sharp spade and dig them out, making sure you remove the center crown of the plant’s roots.  If you get rid of this crown, typically they won’t re-grow from the remaining roots.

2.)    For larger plants, simply cut the plant off at ground level and immediately treat the freshly cut stump with concentrated Roundup, straight.  Do this as soon as you make the cut, or the stump will seal over within a couple hour period.  If next year it sends up sucker growth, spray immediately with Roundup.

3.)    Try using The Honeysuckle Popper.  This tool was developed here in town, specifically for popping out the center crown of the honeysuckle.  It uses leverage action to exert over 1500 pounds of upward force under the root crown, and pops the plant right out of the soil, thus the name Honeysuckle Popper!

If you would like more information about the top 10 invasive plant list, bush honeysuckles, or the Honeysuckle Popper, visit www.misterhoneysuckle.com.

[If I push the elevator button 10 times, does it come any faster than when I push it 4 times?  Think about it.]

*From the Garden to the Kitchen / Hey Rita, what's cooking? - Yardboy, first I want you to know that I had to pinch back the basil plants I purchased last week from Natorp's, because they were already starting to flower.  And like all herbs, the flower heads should be pinched out until late fall.  The reason is two-fold: if you let your annual herbs flower and go to seed, that process tells the plant it's time to die.  So for a healthier herb plant and longer harvest, keep pinching off those flowers.  Of course, I had a handful of wonderful basil buds and leaves, so I used them in a stuffed mushroom appetizer I was making!  Now, today I’m sharing a wonderful pasta salad recipe just perfect for those family gatherings.  When I first tasted this, I loved it and couldn’t believe the strange combination of ingredients used to make this.  This salad is a great keeper so you can make it at least a day ahead if you like.  That way, you’ll have more time to hold court and wave your grill-sized tongs over your hungry and appreciative audience!

FAMILY REUNION PASTA SALAD - 1 pound twisted pasta or regular macaroni, cooked according to package directions.  Measurements for the veggies don’t have to be exact. Salad: 2 generous cups chopped bell pepper, 1-1/2 generous cups chopped carrot, 1 generous cup chopped onion.  Dressing: 2 cups mayonnaise, regular or low fat, 1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated), regular or fat free, 1 cup sugar or Splenda or less to taste, 1 cup clear vinegar.  Mix vegetables with pasta.  Blend rest of ingredients together.  Pour over pasta and toss.

 Tips from Rita’s Kitchen:

• Don’t peel carrots unless you have to. Scrape your nail along the skin.  If it comes off easily, you can simply wash and use. Remember, the skin of most vegetables contain lots of nutrition!
• When a recipe calls for onion, regular yellow onions are fine to use.  And if your onions are starting to sprout, go ahead and use the sprouted part for a more mild onion taste.
• Toss in some chopped onion chives and reduce the amount of onion called for.

-Rita Nader Heikenfeld, CCP / Macy’s Regional Culinary Professional / Herbalist / Author / Local TV and Radio Cooking Expert / Adjunct Professor U.C. Clermont College / Community Press Papers /  [life@communitypress.com attn: Rita or www.abouteating.com]

[If dogs hate it when you blow in their face, why do they stick their heads out the window when riding in a car?  Think about it.]

*Yardboy's plant to ponder - Today, let's look at a couple  herb garden winning plants.  The 2006 herb of the year is Pelargonium, or commonly known as “Scented Geraniums”.  There are many, many varieties of scented geraniums, and I guess you could describe them as living potpourri for the home.  These annual plants aren’t typically grown for their flowers (although many will flower lightly), but grown more for their spicy, fruity, floral and other food fragrances produced by their very attractive, deeply cut, often silvery like foliage.  The scents are contained in the glands at the base of the leaf hairs, and bruising or crushing the leaves releases the scents.  Scented geraniums can be grown in the ground, but do a wonderful job in containers, and can be brought indoors over the winter.

And if you like cilantro, here’s the 2006 All Amercian selection called “Delfino”.  Now what makes Delfino so unique compared to the other selections of cilantro is this; its fine fern like foliage and multiple branching habit produces more leaves than regular cilantro, and with these fine leaves, less chopping is needed!  And, Delfino bolts at a much higher temperature, making it last longer in the garden before going to flower, and then to seed.  It’s great for containers; make sure you plant it on the edge so it can cascade over the sides.  By the way, when cilantro bolts and goes to seed, those seeds are coriander, which is also used in cooking.

[If we weren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?  Think about it.]

A little bit of this and a little bit of that - Have you seen those advertisements in magazines for the "Earthbox"?  It's a 30" L x 15" W x 12" H self watering container growing system that has a water reservoir in the bottom, setup for trellis system, etc, and used to be available only through mail-order.  Well now they're available in the garden stores!  Natorp's now has the "Earthbox Ready to Grow Kit", which has the box, the screen, the fill tube, fitted covers, potting mix, fertilizer, and lime all in one box.  Check them out.  It may the way you'd like to container garden!

-The Yardboy goes "coast to coast"!  I'm not very savvy with today's technology, but it looks like "In the Garden with Ron Wilson" has gone high tech.  The Saturday morning show is now being broadcast on satellite radio XM, TalkRadio 165, 6-9am Eastern standard time, and 3-6am on the west coast! And, I'm being told the show is being podcast on the web (55KRC.com), so my 2 daughters can download good old dad on their I-Pod Christmas gifts!  (Yeah, right.)   Of course, the yardboy's gardening knowledge is based around zones 4,5,and 6, and maybe down through 7. But what is interesting to know, is that these zones actually go coast to coast.  So, it'll be interesting to hear from gardeners all "across" the country!

Classes, Seminars, and upcoming Special Events - Come visit with Ron Wilson tonight (5/18/06) from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Handcrafted Amish Furniture store, 6017 Wooster Pike.  He'll answer your gardening questions and be giving away 55KRC goodies, as well as Natorp's coupons!  Come say hello!

Can't make it to Handcrafted Amish Furniture tonight?  No problem.  Ron is scheduled to be found "working" at the Natorp's Garden Stores next week on the following dates and times:  Tuesday, May 23, 3 -5:00pm at the Mason Garden Store, and Wednesday, May 24, 3-5pm at the Florence Natorp Garden Store. Stop by and say hello (and see if he really is "working"!).

That's it for this week.  Next weekend is Memorial Weekend!  Can you believe it - I can't!  Oh well, do yourself a favor.  Go out and have the best weekend of your life.  See ya.  RW, the Yardboy.

[Catch Natorp’s own grown yardboy Ron Wilson every Saturday, 6-9am, ‘In the Garden’ on 55KRC Thee Talk Station (home of the Big Dog Tony Bender and Joe "without Joe this show just wouldn't go" Strecker) , every Friday morning 8:06am on ‘The Morning Show’ with Jerry Thomas and Craig Kopp (55KRC), every Thursday and Saturday morning on Local 12 –WKRC HomewoRx Team, and occasional appearances on 'HomewoRx' (Sundays at 11:30am Local 12).