The gypsy moth takes over!
Greetings fellow gardeners,
Rain continues to be elusive. Little sprinkles here and there are not enough for our gardens. It is a really tough year. If you are gardening for the first time this year, hang in there! You are doing great and we have no control over the weather.
I have had several questions about the Gypsy Moth which seems to be invading the suburban landscape. This is not the moth of the tent caterpillar and it is usually more prevalent in southern Ontario, but we have had a much warmer summer and our trees are stressed from lack of water.
Good tree maintenance is the way to keep the gypsy moth away. Be sure your trees are well watered and cared for although the moths can still attack nearby areas.
This is a gypsy moth caterpillar. It has distinctive blue and red dots on its back. They can be picked off and squished or dumped in soapy water. Because this is not a native species, they have fewer predators thus their numbers continue to increase. They can do a lot of damage to many types of trees. Many of the invading species resources recommend tying burlap or cloth around the trunks of trees so the caterpillars will rest there for the day. Around early afternoon when the caterpillars are hiding from the sun remove the cloth and place it in a bucket of soapy water. It may be too late now, but you can spray them with BTK which is available at nurseries.
The female gypsy moths are larger and white and cannot fly while the males are darker and smaller. Sometimes you will see masses of them at the lower end of your trees. I use duct tape around the trunk with the sticky side out so they cannot climb higher. It will need to be replaced regularly. There is a product called Tanglefoot that can also be applied. If you do not want to put anything on your trees pull off as many moths as you can into soapy water and their droppings can be cleaned away with the hose. Heavy infestations usually occur every seven years.
Report sightings to the toll-free Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711 or email info@invadingspecies.com
This morning I decided to take a chance and plant some seeds. It is a cloudy day with a possible whisper of rain. I planted a row of rainbow carrots, the remaining beet seeds, and some turnips. All will do fine if there is a frost. I enjoy multi-coloured carrots. I find the purple ones to be very sweet. Roasting rainbow carrots is a fall tradition.
We have Part Two of S.R.Bicket’s The New Gardener to follow. Have a wonderful week and water those pots!
Judith (email: lapisdragonarts@gmail.com)
All Veggie Bites are available at https://sites.google.com/site/sghortsoc/
The New Gardener: Part 2: There is more than one way.
S.R.Bicket
Gardening is an art rather than an exact science. My introduction to gardening was as a child, my grandfather, and mother both gardened, my brother and I learnt the love of gardens by helping and a lot of trial and error. Today in Canada many of us are coming into gardening as adults, relying on books, the internet, and the odd TV program for instruction. These often seem to present conflicting information for example double digging versus no-dig. Successful gardens can be created using both these methods.
There is no such thing as a finished garden. A mature garden is quite different from a new garden. A garden is a dynamic place, change is constant. One of the great joys is seeing those first shoots in spring, the development of leaves, flowers, and seed heads, the colours of autumn leaves and finally the shapes of winter dressed in snow. As the years pass the garden matures; trees, shrubs are larger creating more shade, or one dies and suddenly there is sun where there was shade. Perennials are fuller, some have thrived others died. A garden is always a work in progress which presents huge rewards along the way and the promise of a future – “There is always next year”.
There is no such thing as a no work garden. A garden is a place where someone has chosen to manipulate nature to achieve a desired effect. That might be to grow foods, create a place of relaxation, shade a house, a safe place for children, to paint with flowers… This involves some effort on the part of the gardener. Nature will try and reassert itself, grow a few weeds, a plant or two will try a garden take-over and the gardener is constantly trying to rein nature in. As a gardener you will need to decide what is you want from your garden and how much and what type of effort you are prepared to put in to achieve your goals.
In our dig no-dig example to create a new bed:
To double dig a trench is dug, weeds (including roots) are removed compost is added and dug into the bottom of the trench, this repeated for the whole bed – sounds like hard work.
In our no-dig method we are building up, creating layers of cardboard, compostable materials, compost and mulch which sounds easier until you realize you have to first find all the material and second haul it in and you now have a raised bed.
Both methods involve work, simply different kinds. What both methods have in common is the use of compost or organic matter and plants will grow very successfully.
No garden is the same, soils, moisture, fertility, light conditions, and weather all vary from garden to garden. As gardeners we adapt our practices to suit our site, our physical capabilities, and our values. We try experiments and tests to find what suits us and our gardens. Other gardeners are often extremely willing to share what has worked, or not, for them, often it is very good advice, try it but if for some reason it does not work for you try something else. It is your garden. Gardens overall are very forgiving and grow despite us.
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