July 2003

Ornamental

Look for Japanese beetles to appear on trees, shrubs, roses and flowers. The beetle is 1/2 inch long and metallic green. Adults eat through the upper leaf surface and usually through the entire leaf, resulting in brown or lacy, skeletonized leaves. Adults like to feed where they have fed before, so hand removal after they first emerge will reduce early and later feeding. Use a jar containing rubbing alcohol or detergent and water to harvest the beetles. Hold the jar under the beetle. Poking the beetle will cause it to fold its legs and drop into the jar. Feeding by the beetle doesn’t harm the plants. Damage is usually just aesthetic.

Apply controls for in the lawn in July. Eggs are laid and hatching starts in August. Water the insecticide in with at least 1/2 inch of water.

Set up a temporary houseplant self-watering system in your bathtub while you’re on vacation. All that is needed is an old dish drying rack, white cotton shoelaces and a bathroom that gets some natural light. Set the dish rack upside down in the tub and place the plants without saucers on the rack. Poke the 3-4 inches of shoelace into the soil through the drainage hole. Let the other end dangle into the tub. Run a few inches of water into the tub. The shoelace will act as a wick and keep your houseplants from drying out.

Consider the Becky Shasta Daisy – Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ for your perennial garden. The Perennial Plant Association named it Perennial Plant of the Year 2003. It has bright white flowers with a long season of bloom, June –September.

Prune hedges so that they are narrower on top than they are at the base. This will allow sunlight to reach the bottom branches increasing the density of the foliage at the base.

Edible

Improve the grip on your garden tools. Buy three or four feet of pipe insulation at a local hardware store. Place the insulation around the handle of your hoe or rake. It will improve your grip significantly.

Watch for peppers, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and beans to drop their blossoms (without setting fruit) when temperatures rise above 90 degrees. With cooler temperatures the vegetables will resume normal fruit set.

Watch for these common tomato problems:

• Blossom end-rot – This black, leathery scar occurs on the blossom end rather than the stem end of the fruit. It occurs when there are extremes in soil moisture. Control by providing an even level of water. Mulching will also help.
• Tomato cracking – This occurs when rapid growth is brought on by rainy periods following a dry spell. Water during dry periods and mulch to conserve soil moisture to reduce fruit cracking.
• Catfacing – This occurs when tomato blossoms stick to developing fruit and cause odd shaped fruits with deformed lines or marks. Uneven temperatures cause this condition. Fruits can be eaten after cutting away damaged areas.
• Sunscald – This is common on immature, green fruit exposed to excessive sunlight during hot weather. A yellow or white patch occurs on the side of the tomato that faces the sun. Sometimes the area will blister. Plants that sprawl on the ground unsupported are most susceptible to sunscald. Supporting tomatoes in cages will help to keep the fruit covered.
• Tomato Leafroll – Edges of tomato leaves will curl up and remain green. This is caused by a fluctuation of moisture in the root zone or by excessive pruning. This will not affect tomato production. Varieties susceptible to this condition include Beefsteak and Big Boy.

Keep mosquitoes out of your backyard garden. Mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water. Control the places where they breed.

• Place window screen wire securely over top of rain barrels to keep leaves and mosquitoes out. Or use mosquito Bti donuts.
• Never leave water in sprinkling cans or buckets for more than one day.
• Check garden statuary for places water may collect. Add holes for drainage or empty regularly.
• Make sure stored pots are not collecting water. Even water in a tin can may breed mosquitoes.
• Clean and replenish bird baths and pet water bowls at least twice a week.
• Empty saucers under flowerpots regularly.

Avoid mosquitoes in your water garden

• Add fish. Any fish, including goldfish, will feed on mosquito larvae.
• Dragonfly and damselfly larva in the water are good predators.
• Construct ponds with vertical sides. Sloping sides encourage mosquito breeding.
• Add a fountain or waterfall. Moving water deters mosquitoes.
• Remove fallen leaves and debris regularly.
• If fish are not present, use Bti “donuts” containing a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis or “Bti.”
• Bti donuts control larvae for 30 days and each donut treats 100 square feet.
• Bti donuts may be broken to treat smaller areas. Water treated with Bti is safe for fish, plants, wildlife and pets.

For more information about mosquito control and West Nile Virus prevention call 773-233-0476 for free factsheets.