Getting Rid of Whiteflies

These tiny pests can do a lot of damage to flowers and fruit trees. Whiteflies suck all the juice out the leaves of flowers, flower buds and stems. I don't know how may times I have reached for a piece of fruit off one of our fruit trees and had a bunch start flying around my head.


Signs that you might have whiteflies:


Weak or stunned plants


Sticky coating on leaves and fruit ...we sometimes get this on the bark of our peach trees.


Yellow eggs the size of tiny pinpoints on the underside of leaves.


When we get them really bad we have to cut down a tree or pull up a flower bush. I hate to do that but when you have them really bad that is what you have to do. Here is one way that I have tried to get rid of them:

http://crazygardening.blogspot.com/2009/05/tomato-or-fruit-tree-white-fly-trap.html


I just found this recipe that I am going to try:

Whitefly recipe:


1 cup sour milk


2 tablespoons flour


1 quart water


mix together and spray of infected areas.


I really hope this helps kill our whiteflies. I will let you know!

Happy Gardening...


Lynn

Grow Potatoes On Your Deck?

I went to a friends house yesterday and guess what she was growing on her deck? Potatoes! She was growing them in a small garbage can! She took a small old garbage can and filled it with about a six inches of soil she then planted about 2 sets of potatoes. After the plants have grown but before they flowered she added another layer of soil....she continued building the soil as the plants appear until it reached around four feet. They were not ready to harvest but she said that when she dumps it over she should have a heavy crop of potatoes. I thought I would try this next year!

Happy Gardening...

Lynn

Crazy Ways to Water........

We have had a lot of rain lately....I was thinking about last year and how dry it was..it had to be one of the driest. Here are a few ways you can keep your garden growing through the driest times.

1. Soaker hoses: you can get these in any garden supply store although I think they are a little expensive for my whole garden.

2. Plastic Milk Jugs: I poke about 25 holes in the bottom of a plastic milk jug. I make sure cap is off and fill with water. I usually do this in the evening.

3. Red Flower Pots: These are great! I dig a hole in the middle of my plants I place the red porous pot and fill back just leaving a lip of pot. I then only water in the hole of the pot...this has seemed to really work and it also keeps my garden tidy without the jugs everywhere.

4. Place a bag of ice near your plants in the cool of the evening.

5. Sprinklers: I remember my parents keeping the sprinkler on all night to water there vegetable plants...that was before water conservation.

6. Save your water that you cook your vegetables in....let cool and water your plants.

7. Rain Barrel: We have one of these in our garden nothing fancy and old garbage can. I have found that if I put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in it...it really keeps the mosquitoes away.

Happy Gardening...

Lynn

My Favorite Herb that are Perennial?

I love the fact that I can plant a herb plant and it will be there next year. Here are a few of my favorite Perennial Herbs.

Chives and Garlic Chives: Chives: often grow their spiky onion favored leaves in early spring..these can be picked or cut through spring. In May they will grow many purple-pink flowers these can be eaten in salads. Garlic Chives: These produce flatter garlic flavored leaves which can be cut from April to late autumn they grow white flowers in August which can be eaten in all sort of dishes.

Lovage: The leaves of this has a celery taste. Harvest time March- November


Mint: This can have a minty or fruity favor such as apple mint. This starts growing early spring and dies back late fall.


Sorrel: This has pale green leaves like spinach but has a lemon flavor. This starts growing in early spring and you should have the herbs leaves until late summer. If it gets to hot it will begin to die back early.

Happy Gardening..

Lynn

What to use as mulch in your gardening beds?

I had a friend ask if she could use anything else but regular hardwood mulch to mulch her garden and I said Yes! Here are the few suggestions I gave her.....

hay

straw

leaves

grass clippings ( always make sure you use grass clippings that have not been sprayed with a chemical weed killer)

saw dust

ground corn cobs and stalks ( you can place these in a chipper shredder)

coffee grounds

pebbles

partly finished compost

newspaper ( I do not use any that have color)

shredded paper (old mail through a paper shredder works great)

Spanish moss ( you can get this at a garden supply store)

pine needles (blue berries love them)

But..... what about black plastic?

I just don't like the look of black plastic but I have seen people roll it out and place dirt over the top and that looks pretty good.


One thing about black plastic it really heats up the soil to several degrees and that could make a big difference on your planting time.

I have been asked what you should use as mulch on onions and garlic? Grass clippings applied right after you plant should help with this problem. ****(always make sure you use grass clipping that have not been sprayed with any chemical weed killer)

I always recommend that if you use a natural mulch on your garden beds such as hay, grass clippings ect... remove these in the fall. I really think that helps prevent diseases to grow through the winter monthes...you can always plant and replace in the spring.

Happy Gardening....

Lynn

Minty Mango Salsa

My mint is doing great and I have been trying to find recipes to use it in..... here is one that I thought was Terrific! Enjoy!

Minty Mango Salsa

1 large ripe mango peeled and diced

1 medium sweet red pepper diced

1 can 4 ounces chopped green chilies

1/4 cup green onions

1 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons minced fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger ( I left this out and it was still very good)

Tortilla chips

In small bowl mix together mango, red pepper, chilies, onions, lime juice, mint and ginger. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Gardening.....

Lynn

Squash Vine Borers

We haven't grown squash in years but we do grow cucumbers, zucchini and melon. They used get attacked by the squash vine borer and the thing about these pest is you can't see them until it is to late...the first thing you will notice is wilted stems and leaves.

We have had very good luck getting rid of these pests by placing pieces of heavy aluminum foil 15-18 inches square around the base of each plant. The reflection seems to keep the borers away at least for a time.

I have never tried this but I have heard that if you do see some wilting you can look along the stem to see where the borer went in...the borer may not be far behind...cut the stem lengthwise just a little bit on both sides of the hole to see if you can find the borer and take it out. You still might lose the plant?

Happy Gardening...

Lynn