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 →
How to Control Aphids
How to control aphids. It's simple. Put down the spray bottle of home remedy and do what the professionals do. Learn how, here.
Garden Update: Week 22 (2021) A few pests.
Happy Victoria Day, Patriot's Day or regular weekend, depending on where you are. What a weekend it was for the garden. Sun and warmth until Monday when we got overcast and - I hate to say it - some much needed rain. First, a few pests to mention: My cherry is unhealthy to begin with,... Continue Reading →
Week 19 Garden Update
An update on all 20 beds. What's growing and what isn't.
Stop babying your seedlings: Hardening-off and Leaning-out
In various garden groups I've been a part of, there is an annual debate (and sometimes a heated-one) about when to set out tomatoes. To a lesser extent there is the same discussion about all sorts of other annuals. There is an immeasurable amount of experience, which should trump most of the rest, but there... Continue Reading →
Why I Put Aphids In My Garden
Warning: This is not for beginners. If you like the “squirt squirt” of a spray bottle, don’t even read this. I’m in a unique position working with aphid and other plant pest control in commercial crops. With my experience comes an understanding/tolerance for pests: I can tell if a pest population is something to worry... Continue Reading →
Know Your Bugs: Aphidoletes aphidimyza – The Aphid Eliminator.
Aphidoletes aphidimyza (common name: Aphidoletes [a-fid-o-lee-tees]) is among the most used aphid controls in agriculture, horticulture, landscapes, greenhouses and especially ornamentals. Like all the best biological control agents, Aphidoletes works with a combination of eating lots, but also by multiplying quickly, overcoming the pest. Aphidoletes larva searching for aphids Where it comes from: Aphidoletes were... Continue Reading →
How to Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden: Lesson 4 – Compost, patience and thresholds
If you’ve read along with my previous three posts on attracting Beneficial Insects and Mites, I thank you. And I think you’re prepared for something a little more academic, regarding Economic and Cosmetic Thresholds as well as tolerance and patience. Really, it takes little to attract good bugs. A healthy garden is all. But first,... Continue Reading →
What’s Growing: Week 11, 2021
What’s Growing: Week 11, 2021 I just had a fantastic weekend! It actually felt - almost - like a non-covid weekend. We had an outdoor birthday to attend for our daughter, and an outdoor gathering with my family for some mutual birthdays. And for parts of Saturday and almost the entire day Sunday I spent... Continue Reading →
How to Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden: Lesson 1 – Should you plant flowers?
How to promote beneficial insects in your garden. Lesson 1: Flowers