The heat of the summer is stressful and this year is no exception. If you planted geraniums or petunias you may have noticed the flowers have gone missing. It would be easy to blame the Japanese beetles for this because they like everything. However, this is not the case. If you take a good…
Month: July 2017
National Moth Week: Not all that flutters is friendly
So this week is National Moth Week. Much of the info you’ll see online is about how to attract nice moths to your garden, how some moths are pollinators, and other interesting moth facts. And while most moths are perfectly nice creatures, there are some that you definitely DON’T want in your garden. These are like the lepidopterans that your moth-er warned you about. They’re insects only a moth-er (or entomologist) could love.
GRO Big Red Gardening Show Episode 6: National Moth Week
A podcast all about the majesty of those midnight fliers, the moths!
Beat the Heat with Warm Season Grasses
Want a lawn that can beat the heat? Consider buffalograss!
Hand Picking Japanese Beetles
If you have a small Japanese beetle invasion, or you’ve decided not to use an insecticide, there are some tips you can utilize when hand-picking them. First, the JB response to disturbance is to drop straight down from the plant. You can position your bucket of soapy water beneath the branch you’re tapping and use…
Satellite Coneflower
Does your purple coneflower look odd? Do the flowers look more green than purple? Do you have satellite flowers growing out of the center of the main bloom? If you answered yes to any of these questions there is a good chance your plant is infected with Aster Yellows. Aster yellows is a caused by…
GRO Big Red Gardening Show EP 5: Talking Tomatoes
Welcome to the latest episode of the GRO Big Red podcast! On the show today, John Porter makes his first appearance and joins Kathleen Cue to chat about tomatoes! This tomato talk includes tips on disease and insect management as well as helpful tips on watering and more! Here are some links to check out:…
How to do Summer Weed Control
Helpful tips on dealing with weeds in the heat of the summer
Controlling Japanese Beetles on Fruits and Vegetables
These destructive pests can decimate a landscape, but they can also do some serious damage to vegetables and fruits. Adult beetles will feed on just about anything if they are hungry enough, but they definitely have their favorites. Most commonly, they feed on fruits such as apple, crabapple, grapes, peach, cherry, blackberries, and raspberries and vegetables such as asparagus, corn (foliage and silks), beans, okra, and rhubarb.
Cow Killer: Wrongfully Accused
The cow killer is a species of velvet ant, which is neither a murderer of cows nor an ant. This insect is in fact a wasp! The female cow killer, has no wings, so they look like an ant. The males look and fly like the wasp that they are, but are seldom recognized as being the same species.