Archive for the ‘Lawn and Garden’ Category
From the Milton Patch by Joseph Markman
Monday, July 12th, 2010
July 9, 2010
Milton on Lookout for Asian Beetles
Milton’s tree caretakers are taking extra precautions after the discovery earlier this week of an infestation in Jamaica Plain of the same Asian longhorned beetles that have destroyed thousands of trees in Worcester County.
Worcester and several surrounding towns have lost 25,000 hardwoods to the insect menace. Earlier this week, in the first Massachusetts sighting outside of Worcester’s 74-square-mile quaratine zone, an infestation felled six trees across from the world-class Arnold Arboretum nature sanctuary in Jamaica Plain.
This latest discovery of the white-spotted Asian longhorned beetle and the subsequent removal and chipping of the infected trees only five miles from Milton on the grounds of Faulkner Hospital has stirred extra vigilance among local hardwood caretakers.
Thayer Nursery, on Hillside Street at the foot of the Blue Hills Reservation, grows many species of hardwood trees in its fields, including elm, ash, birch, maple and willow. Up until now, the nursery had little concern for the Asian beetle, instead focusing on other common insects like aphids, mites and leaf miners.
“Because we are a Massachusetts farm, we do get inspected yearly by the Department of Agricultural Resources,” Maggie Oldfield, managing partner of the nursery’s garden center, said in an email. “They walk around our farm inspecting for diseases and insects.”
Recently the department added the longhorned beetle to its inspection list. The latest DAR check was in early June, Oldfield said, and it found Thayer Nursey “very neat and clean.”
At the end of May, a coordinated search by federal and state forestry agencies failed to turn up any of the beetles at more than 200 vacation homes and campgrounds from Pennsylvania to Maine.
But now, with the insects found just a few miles away, the nursery is boosting its tree observation.
“There really is not anything we can do except to monitor our farm,” Oldfield said. “We try to be as organic as possible and as of now, there is not any organic preventative for [the Asian longhorned beetle].”
The beetle, barely an inch and a half long, has devastated Worcester County residents since 2008 by boring into and killing thousands of hardwood trees. Only recently have the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture gotten a handle on the situation by way of the quarantine, keeping vigorous watch and spraying insecticides.
DCR spokeswoman Wendy Fox said the agency is encouraging keepers of hardwoods to watch for perfectly-round, pencil-sized holes that can indicate infestation in a tree. The beetles, thought to have come to the United States from China in shipping crates, kill trees by digging into their heartwood, which transfers water and nutrients to other parts of the plant.
“It’s something everybody can keep an eye on,” Fox said.
She also said that so far there have been no sightings of the beetle outside of Faulkner Hospital and Worcester County.
Meanwhile, the DCR has cordoned off a 1.5-mile area around the Boston infection where the transportation of firewood or other woody material is banned. Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles said the state is “working as quickly as possible to determine the extent of the issue.”
Joe Lynch, director of the Milton Department of Public Works, said the town’s tree crews have been following state protocols for identifying invasive insects and disease for the past five years. The regulations include looking out for Asian longhorned beetles. Following this week’s new sighting, identification guidelines were rebroadcast to crews, who are watching for egg masses, holes and the beetles themselves.
If infected trees are found, Lynch said, they will be removed and destroyed and the area will be quarantined.
“We went from a warning level yellow to a warning level orange,” Lynch said. “We haven’t gone to red because there have been no confirmed sightings [in Milton].”
Forestry officials working in Worcester have found some success fighting the beetle, which has no known predators, by removing infected trees and spraying healthy specimens with a pesticide called Imidacloprid that prevents infestation.
Anyone who thinks they’ve spotted a beetle can compare the insect they’ve found with similar-looking species at the website of the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project. The project is a collaboration between the state DAR and the UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program, funded by the USDA. The site also includes a form for reporting pests.
Oldfield said Thayer Nursery can help by staying sharp-eyed and quickly notifying officials if beetles are spotted to ensure rapid eradication.
“And probably the most important thing we can do is to replant our own landscapes with non-susceptible trees thus creating a more diverse landscape.”
Most Un-Wanted: Aphid
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Wanted For: sucking the life out of innocent rose bushes with their needle-like mouth
Description: pinkish, greenish white; 1/16″ long & soft-bodied
Hangout: rose bushes; especially on stems, buds and young leaves
Kryptonite: Saf-t-Side Horticultural Oil, Bt & Lady Bugs
So Long, Suckers!
There are almost as many kinds of aphids as there are kinds of plants –rose aphid is just one example. Rose aphids prepare for next spring’s assault by laying hundreds of eggs on the branches of the rose bush. After the young aphids hatch, they spend their entire lives gorging on their victim’s life juices and producing more criminals. Too many on one bush can force some aphids to move and begin attacking another rose bush. Unless winters are mild, adults will die and only the eggs will survive until the next spring.
Not only should you learn about aphids, but you should also get to know the squadron of beneficial insects covering the area. Many hunt down aphids, restoring law and order.
However, aphids aren’t just sitting ducks-they have ants for bodyguards. Ants will tend aphids for their honeydew and protect them from aphid-eaters, so look for ways to deter ants, too.
Aphids reproduce quickly, actually giving birth to females that are already pregnant, so keep good records of changes in population size and tactics you used to control them.
CAUTION
aphids let diseases hitch a ride on their backs to new plants & then puncture plants for them so watch out for a fungus popping up at the same time as an aphid infestation
Planting for the future.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery
Eight Tips for a Lush, Thick, Healthy Lawn
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
If you love your lawn, top dressing with compost will make your lawn love you back.
New England turf lawns actively grow in the spring and in the fall; in summer they are dormant, so now is the time is for “Black Gold” to do its magic. It takes patience to adopt this organic approach, but with top dressing, your lawn will be green earlier and stronger throughout the summer.
Here’s how it works.
Cut your lawn extremely low; use the lowest setting on your mower as possible.
Aerate the lawn. Aeration is the process of using a mechanical or manual lawn aerator to make holes in the surface of your lawn. Making holes in the surface of your lawn allows deeper root growth and reduces soil compaction. When you aerate your lawn, you allow air, water, and nutrients direct access to the root system.
Spread (also called “broadcasting”) using a shovel, ¼ “layer of compost on the lawn.
Comb the compost into the lawn with a level rake.
Spread fertilizer, lime and seed.
Drag rake across the lawn to till in these items.
Sprinkle a bit more compost, adding peat moss to cover and retain moisture.
Water in and keep seed moist for 3 weeks; try to water twice a day.
This approach is very beneficial to your lawn, and when coupled with proper cultural process, i.e. mowing high in the summer heat, and watering deeply and infrequently, (watering in short intervals does not create a sustainable lawn) your lawn will love you!
If you have any questions, or want to learn more about top dressing, stop by the nursery at 270 Hillside Street Milton MA or give us a call at 617-698-2005.
5 Tips for an Outrageous Vegetable Garden
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
LOCATION
Choose the sunniest location in your yard. Most edible plants prefer 6 or more hours of sun. Placing a SUN STICK in your yard will help determine the best location.
SOIL PREPARATION
The key ingredient to a great veggie garden is soil. Put some extra effort into preparing your beds before planting and you will save time and effort in the future. Dig the bed up to break up compacted soil and add ORGANIGRO compost with VERMICULITE to improve drainage. Adding MAG-I-CAL with humates encourages microbial soil life and attracts and increases the population of earthworms. ACTINO-IRON is a biological soil additive that helps prevent early blight as well as contain iron to enhance root development and plant vitality.
CROP SELECTION
Base your selection on what your family likes to eat. For example, plant several varieties of tomatoes, one for munching (CHERRY), one for cooking (ROMA), one for slicing (BIG BOY) and one for conversation (ZEBRA). Don’t forget the some herbs (basil, oregano, cilantro & rosemary.)
WATER
Vegetables need a bit of extra care when it comes to watering. Consistent watering will produce successful results. If you have a large garden, you may want to consider a soaker hose. This will ensure that your plants get an even watering without getting the leaves wet. All you have to do is remember to turn on the hose!
SUMMER CARE
Fertilizing consistently with NEPTUNE’S HARVEST every 2-3 weeks will give your garden the additional boost it needs to ensure a bountiful crop.
Notes:
Low soil moisture combined with high humidity levels at the plant surface favors disease growth. BI-CARB OLDFASHIONED FUNGICIDE is an organic contact fungicide that disrupts the potassium ion balance in the fungus cell, causing the cell walls to collapse.
Spraying with FOLI-CAL Calcium will help prevent and treat plant disorders associated with calcium deficiency & complement good soil fertility by supplying nutrients directly to the foliage and fruit of crops during critical growth stages (blossom end rot on tomatoes, peppers & melons.)
Put some color in your Memorial Day weekend.
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Thayer container gardens provide “right now” color.
Okay, we know that June 21st is the official start of summer, but, really, we know it starts with the Memorial Day weekend. This is when the yard begins to come to life in earnest, when we carefully examine the damage of winter and see who made it through. We scrutinize the lawn. We frown. We buy new work and garden gloves, rakes, shovels, whatever we may have misplaced or thrown away the previous year. And we start to sweat.
We replace a shrub that just couldn’t take the northeast wind on the northeast corner of the house. We smile at those hardy types who are straight and tall and happy to be back. We get the annuals in if we can, and we perhaps a few more perennials here and there.
We rake.
We dig.
We mulch.
And our backs begin to hurt.
We’re satisfied, yet something is missing. We want bright bursts of color up front and visible. And we want it right now. Not on June 21st.
We want container gardens!
We want our pots of every imaginable shape, matter, and color, stuffed with colorful growing plants that are fragrant and full of personality spilling over on our stairways, ledges, walls, and walkways.
And we want them ready right now.
So at Thayer this weekend, we‘ve decided to set aside time and space all weekend to make your wish come true. Container gardens, right now. Just bring in your pots, buckets, barrels, containers, whatever pleases you, to have filled with flowers and green, and we will help you put it together.
Right now.
