How to promote beneficial insects in your garden. Lesson 1: Flowers
How to Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden: Lesson 1 – Should you plant flowers?
Alternatives to Lady Bugs
It's going to be another difficult year for plant pests. It’s always a bit of a guess, and largely has to do with localized weather, but generally, those pests that develop chemical resistance are stronger every year. So, whenever you're reading this - it's going to be a bad pest year. But, before you head... Continue Reading →
Greenhouse Winter Clean-Out Technique
When your final plants have been pulled and it’s time to sweep-up the leaves and dirt, you look forward to the month or two when you won’t be carefully tending to plants in your greenhouse. You tuck a ‘pet plant’ in a corner or two to keep it in a comfortable dormancy and you shut... Continue Reading →
The Winterized Garden
The winterized garden: November, 2019. The rains have come. It was actually a wet September, which for us, is unusual. For the trees and my garden, it was welcomed - besides splitting my tomatoes and abruptly putting an end to the season for some more sensitive crops. October had been relatively nice, and we have... Continue Reading →
Know Your Bugs: Whitefly
No one knows how many whitefly species there are, but most of the ones we are concerned about seem to arrive to North America via Florida, and the bad ones stay. If you’re not a total bug-geek like me and you have chosen to read this article it is likely because you are familiar with... Continue Reading →
Know Your Bugs: Phytoseiulus persimilis
Since the popularization of the modern greenhouse in Victorian England, non-chemical, greenhouse pest-control, as we know it, has been practiced. It was before modern chemical pesticides were available, and it was at this same time that Phytoseiulus persimilis (common name: Persimilis) became cosmopolitan and the standard for two spotted spider mite control. Without the sophistication... Continue Reading →
A Sample Veggie Garden Rotation – what I’ve got thus far.
A Sample Veggie Garden Rotation It’s time to take a closer look at what is growing, now that the heavy work is out of the way. I’ll walk you through what I am growing in each bed - in the order through which they will rotate. But first, I’ll discuss the reasons I am rotating... Continue Reading →
Stethorus – The Ulimate Spider Mite Predator
Quietly gaining recognition for spider mite control amongst the giants (figuratively-speaking) of the industry like phytoseiulus persimilis, amblyseius andersoni, fallacis and californicus, stethorus punctillum is making itself known to growers thanks to its’ flight, hunger, and suitability for hot crops, low humidity and sticky plants. The “giants” previously listed are all predatory mites. Stethorus is... Continue Reading →
This yard is producing!
Late July, I’ve slowed down, and I love it. Time to enjoy what has been done and what is being produced. I’m training tomatoes daily, watering profusely, pulling weeds and eating produce directly from the soil. Let me show you what I have on the go: At the back, tall amaranth is just about to... Continue Reading →
Rainy-Day Update
Work in the yard has slowed down. Deep rooted weeds grow inches a day in these final days of June, but the months of dry weather has slowed the shallow-rooted villains. Today it’s raining, however. All the weeds I left will force themselves into producing seeds in the next few days. It’s time to bust-out... Continue Reading →
