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Whether It's The Weather
Looks
like the weather is going back to the warmer temperatures.
Actually, I hope it hangs around in the 50's and low 60's
for a little longer. Anyway, I still suggest you pace
yourself and not be too anxious in planting tender annuals
too early. As we have said all spring, be patient. I spoke
with a lady the other night who was very anxious to prune
back her Knock Out Roses about 3-4 weeks ago. She did and
they quickly responded with a ton of new growth; which was
quickly eliminated thanks to the extremely cold weather. Be
patient. By the way, we do suggest opening up, and cutting
back those roses next week! Yes, you have the thumbs up to
get started on the roses next week. Unless another freeze
moves through!
Don't forget you can see the current weather status and
10-Day forecast by visiting our website each day!
[When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A.]
What's Bugging You?
Funny
how this recent cold snap really did a number on new flowers
and new growth of trees and shrubs and all, but yet the
weeds and bugs came through with flying colors! I watched a
nest of Eastern tent caterpillars (yes, they have hatched
and are out and about) and they simply huddled tightly
together until it warmed back up. Today, they are out and
about and feeding on the trees leaves like nothing ever
happened. Chickweed and henbit look great. And those
dandelions are shining a bright yellow. Yet my Tiger Eyes
Sumac and Buckeye trees are toast. Go figure.
Well,
ladies and gentlemen, he is back! It's time for the first
2007 Buggy Joe Boggs Report! This week, BJB is
reporting Eastern tent caterpillars as well as Forest tent
caterpillars hatching. Remember, ETC have the white webs as
well as distinct unbroken white stripes down their backs,
where FTC have no webbing but show up in masses on tree
branches and have a row of distinct white markings down
their backs (like footprints). Both can be controlled early
on with Bt if sprays are needed. Hand smashing and foot
stomping also works quite well. BJB is also reporting
European sawflies hatching on pine needles (caterpillar like
in appearance, resembling the needles) and are controlled by
physical smashing (hand or foot) or sprays of Eight.
Painted Hickory bores are emerging, and yes, carpenter bees
are buzzing and reeking havoc terrifying homeowners.
Remember it is the male who buzzes your face and scares you
to death, but the real secret to be known, is he has no
stinger! So feel free to adjust his aggressive behavior
with a tennis racket and a swift back hand.
Looks
like we have a new insecticide labeled for the control of
Emerald Ash Borer! 'Safari' is a unique control for
certified arborists to use because it can be applied through
bark application and is quickly translocated throughout the
ash tree. This is easier and generally less expensive.
'Safari' will control a generation of EAB the same season it
is applied, and is the fastest acting solution.
Applications as late as May will still have EAB control (and
lasts all season). Joe Boggs has informed us that 'Safari'
needs to be mixed with Pentra-Bark to allow the insecticide
to penetrate the tree bark and work as a systemic.
(Preferred timing is April to mid May - Spray tree trunk
from 4" to 60" above the soil surface - Wet bark to
saturation and run-off - Do not apply to wet bark, during
rainfall or within 12 hours of rainfall - One application
per year only. Rate is 12 oz. Safari / 3 oz Pentra-Bark to
1 gallon water.)
-Catch
the Buggy Joe Boggs Report Saturdays at 8:42am on 55KRC
radio.
[If you don't pay your exorcist, you may get repossessed.]
Questionmark and the Mysterians -
Your Questions Answered
"Ron, my
cutleaf Japanese maples look awful after this freeze. All
the new growth is already turning brown. What should I
do?" -Wait and see what is damaged and what is not. Give
the plant time to show all damages and even what it will
start to do for recovery. I would imagine you'll wind up
cutting it back to help stimulate new growth and getting rid
of all the frozen stems. When this happened in the mid
80's, we lost entire Japanese maples. They do not recover
well from situations like this. Time will tell - be
patient.
"Did
this cold snap affect my pre emergent herbicides I put
down?" -Nope, not at all. What this did do is give those
who did not get it down yet, time to "get 'er done"!
"My
crabapple has some very small white webbing in 3 of the
branches. I think I see worms in it. What should I do?"
-Those are Eastern tent caterpillars. If you can reach them
with a stick, tear out the nest and stomp on the
caterpillars. If not, blow them out with a strong stream of
water. If you reach them, simply smash the nest
(caterpillars and all) with your hand. Only spray if
absolutely necessary. Use Bt, and spray around 8:30-9AM.
They're very active by then.
"You
once suggested 'Manage' to control nutsedge (nutgrass) in
our lawns. But it wasn't available last year. Not what do
we use?" -SLEDGEHAMMER! It's the new and improved Manage
and is now available. Wait for the nutgrass to have about 3
blades, then spray. Be sure to use a surfactant with the
Sledgehammer.
[Acupuncture is a jab well done.]
Success Tip of the Week
Well it won't be long until gardening will be in full swing,
so I thought we'd better go over the basics of my favorite
way to garden - container gardening - just in case you'd
like to give it a try as well.
Obviously to container garden you'll need containers - make
sure the size of the pot fits the size of the root system of
what you're trying to grow, and by all means, make sure your
pots have excellent drainage holes!
Choose a
top grade soil-less potting mix. This is really important
when it comes to container gardening. Soil-less potting mix
usually has sphagnum peat, perlite, vermiculite, and
sometimes a little bark mulch. I will usually add a little
extra pine fines or pine soil conditioner to the mix.
Your
plants need to eat, so mix a slow release fertilizer in the
soil-less mix that will feed all summer long - I like to use
Osmocote. Then, have a water soluble or granular fertilizer
on hand to supplement feed your plants as needed during the
season.
And
here's a real key to successful container gardening - it's
called Soil Moist. These small polymers are added to the
soil-less mix, and when you water, they absorb water, hold
it, and then re-release it back into the soil-less mix,
helping to cut down on your watering.
Those
are the basics to get you started with container gardening.
And as far as I'm concerned, if it grows in the ground,
chances are you can grow it in a pot, and even better.
Unless, you decide to grow it in a straw bale. Got your
attention?
[A calendar's days are numbered.]
From the Garden to the Kitchen
"Hey
Rita what's Cooking?"
Yardboy,
Now that the weather has turned warm for good (hopefully), I
know our readers are busy outside, whether it's with yards,
gardens, or kids' activities. Here's a favorite slow cooked
supper that everyone at my house loves.
SLOW
COOKED PEPPER STEAK WITH SCALLION SESAME RICE
1-1/2 to 2 pounds round or sirloin steak, sliced into
approx. 1/2" thick strips
1/3 cup
soy sauce
1-1/2
generous cups chopped onion
1
generous teaspoon minced garlic
1
teaspoon salt
1/2
teaspoon pepper
1/4
teaspoon ginger paste (buy this in the Oriental section of
the store, or simply use 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger)
2 bell
peppers, cut into julienne
5-6 plum
tomatoes, cut into wedges
If steak
needs more flavor after it's cooked: stir together and add:
1/4 soy
sauce and 1/4 cup cold water
1
tablespoon cornstarch
Spray
inside of crockpot. Place steak, soy sauce , onion, garlic,
salt, pepper and ginger into crockpot. Stir. Cook on low
4-6 hours until meat is tender. Taste and if steak is
flavorful enough, make slurry of just the cold water and
cornstarch. If it needs more flavor, make slurry of equal
amounts of soy and water with the cornstarch. Stir into
pepper steak mixture. Add peppers. Cook on low l hour
longer or high 1/2 hour just until peppers are crisp/tender.
Stir in tomatoes. Serve over scallion sesame rice.
Serves
6-8.
Scallion
Sesame Rice
1-1/2
cups Uncle Ben's long grain converted rice
3 cups
water
1
teaspoon salt
1 bunch
scallions (green onions), sliced thinly, root ends included
Pure
sesame seed oil
Cook
rice according to package directions (bring water and salt
to a boil, add rice, lower to a simmer, cover and cook 20
minutes). Stir in scallions and shake in enough sesame oil
to taste.
Tips
from Rita's Natorp's Kitchen: Ginger is a healing spice,
good for the tummy and joints.
-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 / Part time Witchdoctor / Maker of
strange potions /
www.abouteating.com
[Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with
stalking.]
Yardboy's "Plant to Ponder"
Let's look at 2 plants today, both being early spring
bloomers. Phlox subulata, or Creeping Phlox (also called
Moss Pink, Moss Phlox, Flowering Moss, Ground Pink, and
about 25 more names) begins flowering in early to mid spring
in a wide assortment of colors. Hardy to Zone 3, this plant
grows 3-6 inches tall and about 24 inches wide. Loves the
sun, loves well drained soils, and loves to forma carpet
like mass, perfect for rock gardens, edging, walls, cracks,
or on sunny slopes. By the way, shearing the plants back
1/2 way after flowering will promote a little re-bloom and a
more dense plant.
Our
second early bloomer is Helleborus orientalis, or commonly
known as Lenten Rose. This shade to partial shade loving
evergreen perennial grows 15 x 15 inches, and produces
'nodding' flowers late winter through early spring, again in
an assortment of colors. Hardy to Zone 4, this is one
perennial that the deer will not eat!
[When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.]
A
Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
2 weeks
of unseasonably warm weather followed by several days of
unseasonably cold weather equals bad news in the garden.
And right now, as we look around, it's bad news in many
gardens. So the question is - what happens now?
The
answer to what happens now is simple - only time will
tell. As we look through the yards and gardens right now,
it's evident that the early warm weather accelerated early
spring growth, including flowers, and the sudden extreme
drop in temperatures has all but wiped out what had gotten
started.
And the
amount of cold damage will vary from neighborhood to
neighborhood, yard to yard, areas within that yard, and from
plant to plant. Same types of plants in the same yard may
show different degrees of freeze damage. And whether you
covered or not, the extreme cold probably took some toll on
all plants.
Flowers
that were open or close to open have generally been lost.
Some may still make it into flower, but for the most have
been frozen. New leaves have also been damaged or lost
totally, but fortunately, most trees and shrubs have the
capability to re-grow new leaves after the first set has
been frozen off. They may be thinner and the leaves
smaller, and there may be some twig dieback, especially with
Japanese maples (who may suffer severe damages and are very
slow to recover), but in most cases, the majority of trees
and shrubs should recover - again, I say should as some may
not, and some will recover quicker than others.
Perennials that have been frozen should recover as well -
early bloomers may not flower this spring, but the foliage
should recover - again thinner than usual, but should
recover. But again, time will tell.
My point
for you today is this. Be very patient with your plants
this spring. It will take time for those that have been
damaged from the freeze to show all the damage, first, and
then to begin to recover. And we're talking several weeks
and maybe months. So be patient, give them time, and do
expect the worst. That way if they totally recover, you'll
be a happy camper. And if there's a plus to all this,
here's one. These young maple seeds were frozen - that
could mean fewer whirlybirds flying around the yard this
spring -and that's a good thing! Again, be patient with
your freeze damaged plants this spring.
[I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it
hit me.]
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