August 2010

As I write this in mid July, the heat wave is just breaking and I have been able to go out into the garden without feeling as though I am smothered in a wet blanket. I’ve had to water my container plants every day and I’m keeping up with fertilizer for them. Now, though I see my first Japanese beetles and these adults are present until mid August. Then they will mate and the females will lay the eggs in the grass and they hatch into grubs later in the month. The grubs will feed on plant roots until the cold weather gradually drives them deeper into the soil for the winter. What this means to us is that from late August through the end of September is a very good time to put down grub control.

Controlling the grubs in your yard doesn’t mean you won’t have any next year. Japanese beetles are good fliers and can travel ten miles or more from where they emerge but if you have had problems with great numbers of beetles then putting down grub control will help, especially if you can persuade your neighbors to do the same. Milky spore is a bacterial control but it prefers soil that is moist with soil temperatures in the 70s for an extended time to work most effectively so in our area it is helpful but perhaps not as effective as some other grub controls on the market.

There are sprays that will kill the beetles such as carbaryl (Sevin) but most of these sprays are toxic to good and bag bugs alike and picking them off by hand is just as effective. It’s best to do this early in the morning when the beetles are sluggish and you can drop them into a can of water as you wander around your garden in the morning with your coffee.

Grackels, cardinals and meadowlarks feed on the beetles so if you plant trees, shrubs and flowers to attract birds to your garden they will help you. Some insects also attack the beetles so protect these natural enemies by avoiding pesticides.

Be careful if you use the beetle traps because they attract beetles from several miles away to your garden. If you do use them place them downwind at the edge of your property.

Some other things to think about this month: take cuttings from plants such as impatiens, coleus, geraniums and wax begonias so you can overwinter them indoors as potted plants. Root the cuttings in perlite or potting soil.

 Mid August though late September is an excellent time to seed a new lawn or treat bare spots on established lawns. Remember to water, the ground should be kept moist both before and after the seedlings emerge. The seedlings will appreciate the cooler weather going into Fall. Don’t do any fertilizing in your garden now, we don’t want to encourage new growth. We want the plants to start their shut down process for the winter. If you see the tent caterpillars starting their tents, prune out the infected branches and destroy them. Often the tents are high up in the trees but fortunately they don’t defoliate enough of the trees to cause permanent damage.

In your veggie garden, direct seed carrots, beets and later in the month plant more lettuce, spinach and green onions. Harvest potatoes and onions after the tops yellow and die and leave them out to cure before storage.

Bulbs – as you know by now, I love spring bulbs. I have my catalogs and I will be adding more daffodils all around my yard. I use the full size daffies in my front yard and the smaller, multi stemmed ones in the garden beds where they look tidier than the big ones. I’ll be planting the smaller daffodils in our planting at the Blue Star marker Chionodoxa is a minor bulb looking somewhat like a small hyacinth, I will add more of these bulbs to the planting I started last year. More crocus, much more crocus! Plant them in your lawn, the leaves will mature just about the time you do your first mowing in the spring. Naturalize bulbs everywhere, in the early spring the insects need the pollen they provide when there is not much else in bloom.

The Garden Club will reconvene on September 9 with a picnic in the town park next to the Bradt Building. If you would like to join us just drop me a line at POBox 675 Northville NY 12134.
http://www.visitsacandaga.com/sacandaga_garden_club.htm