Home of "Gardening with Bugs" and "Spencer Brewing".
Diatomaceous Earth is consistently misused. But despite the negativity in this article’s title, we’ll begin by explaining the positives, before focusing on the mistakes. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) actually works. It actually kills insects. It does so through one and maybe two mechanisms. First, DE is made up of (usually) ground up diatoms, which are essentially... Continue Reading →
You’re not alone. Wireworms are a huge problem, and the problem is getting worse. A simple search of wireworms will let you know all about them, so I won’t spend too much time on it. But know these basics: 1. Wireworms are the larvae of Click Beetles. Therefore they are grubs, not worms. 2. Click... Continue Reading →
Lady Beetles are just another ladybug. They won't kill your dog, and they'll bite just like other ladybugs. But, they prefer to bite aphids. So, what's with all the negative press. This article will break down the Myth of the Asian Ladybeetle.
Epsom salts are a sometimes overused and misunderstood soil amendment for plant growth. It must be MgSO4 (Magnesium sulphate) and it must be a deficiency in your soil to have any benefit. But when it's recommended, off the shelf products may do more harm than good. Here is why.
If you're like me, the first sunny day after New Year's is the start of the growing season - at least in my head. I'll wander the garden looking for some gardening task, and finding none, I'll go inside and start thumbing through seed catalogues. Then from week 1 to mid summer I'll be seeding... Continue Reading →
The dreaded, unsightly silver-grey spots on your leaves will eventually reduce plant health to a noticeable point. While most powdery mildews will not kill your plant, they are often associated with plant decline from other processes. So it's no surprise you've come here searching-out how to control it. Listed below are some methods to control... Continue Reading →
The ladybug lifecycle is a long one. It can be as longer than 8 weeks from when an egg is laid until when it emerges as an adult. So that means that the great flush of ladybug eggs that you’ll get in late spring won’t produce the great number of adults that you hoped for... Continue Reading →
See below, or watch the video here. Shortly after dawn on a summer day that woke with the promise of sunshine, fluffy clouds and a cooling breeze, two government researchers set out into an orchard in Ontario. Their task was simple: Determine what - if anything - had survived the damaging chemical pesticide initiative that... Continue Reading →
You're a home gardener and the cost of of buying; the labour of applying; and the difficulty in sourcing beneficial insects seems - all together - like a mountain to climb. You're not alone. And while it is my goal to make beneficial insects better understood and more readily available to you, this is still... Continue Reading →
We've been lucky....so far. Other than one or two gentle overnight periods we have been without a freeze since February. However, nothing is any more established than in years previous, largely due to below average temperatures. Yes, no freezing, but it has still been cold. The south coast of BC and Seattle recorded their first... Continue Reading →
