Twenty-four

As the weather cools, protect your tender plants. Judith makes a surprise (and not so good) discovery in her garden. Japanese Beetles, Part 2.

Greetings fellow gardeners,

The weather is getting cooler and I know we are all watching the forecast for frost. Besides covering up your tender plants, water them in the evening and that will help as well.

So here I am dealing with disappointment. A strange plant appeared in my garden and I was so excited! It had these lovely oak-leaf shaped leaves and the buds were yellow. Was this the native wood poppy that I have always wanted? I asked all sorts of people that usually knew these things. Some said it was a wood poppy, some said they had never seen it before, and one confirmed my greatest fear. I was blessed with the newest, nastiest, most invasive plant that is spreading through Ontario, the Buffalo Bur. Buffalo Bur is in the nightshade family which was immediately obvious as soon as the yellow buds bloomed.

Buffalo Bur

This plant spreads from seed so those yellow flowers should never mature. It is covered in spines that can cause a rash, so to be sure to wear gloves when you handle it.

“It contains an alkaloid that can poison livestock and burs can become tangled in the wool of sheep, causing a loss of value. The spines can cause puncture wounds and makes this plant unpalatable as a food for wildlife and livestock.” https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/images/weeds/Buffalobur_factsheet_King.pdf

I intend to dig it up and put it in a garbage bag that will be nowhere near my compost! I am adding it to the list of nasty plants that lurk in my garden which includes wild parsnip, burdock, and goutweed.

This week I have started to collect seeds. I made sure to pick two lovely ripe tomatoes from my favourite heritage tomato so I could get those seeds. I can’t buy them anywhere, so seed collecting is important. Tomato seed collecting does not need to be complicated. I scoop the pulp onto paper towels and spread it so the seeds are exposed. It dries and I pick off the seeds and put them in an envelope which I store in a cool dry place. My red orach has started to produce seed. The seeds are beautiful, and the plant makes quite a statement. I will collect the seeds as they dry on the plant and allow some to self-seed in the planter. I have enjoyed the orach in my salads as a spinach substitute.

Red Orach seed

I am continuing to harvest as the garden continues to produce. The pole beans are young and tender and so tasty. I no longer have a seed source for my purple pole beans so I will let several beans mature on the vine and, when they are brown and papery, I will open the pod and take out the bean seeds. That will be later.

Crabapple Jelly and Bread and Butter pickles

The roses are starting another flush of blooms so I might make more rose petal jelly; for now I have my crabapple jelly and bread and butter pickles, which will be a sweet taste of summer around Christmastime.

Have a wonderful week and watch the forecast -- you do not want to lose your garden to frost. With the extra rain that is happening lately be sure that your containers are not sitting in water. Judith. Email: lapisdragonarts@gmail.com.

All Veggie Bites are available at the SGHS website: https://sites.google.com/site/sghortsoc/.

Arlene Rowe has sent us more Japanese Beetle information.

Japanese Beetles (Part 2)

Arlene Rowe

In the previous article, I went into some detail about the Japanese Beetle and its life cycle. Let's just review here the key points:

1. The beetles have one generation per year.

2. The females prefer to lay eggs in sandy soil and low growing grass during July/August and don't like clover.

3. The adults damage flowers (especially roses, hollyhocks) and plant leaves (grape, beans).

4. The grubs damage plant roots , especially grass roots in the fall and spring.

5. The adults produce a pheromone that attracts other beetles.

6. When the outside temperature goes below 15 °C, the grubs migrate from the soil surface to 8 to 14 inches in depth.

When it comes to Japanese Beetles I am a novice; as a result, I have had to research all the control methods and analyzed them to see what methods are possible for my landscape.

I live in a typical suburban area which means the soil is primarily fill (i.e., sandy with the minimum of real growing medium for the lawn) and there are lots and lots of lawns (aka Japanese Beetle haven). I grow a variety of perennials, including a couple dozen roses. I work full-time for a software company, which means gardening is restricted at best to the weekends and must compete with all other necessary activities. Although my review of the various Japanese beetle controls is based on my specific situation, I am certain that many suburban gardeners have similar experiences.

How do you know you have Japanese Beetles?

There are many signs that give you clues before you have a full blown infestation:

• Repeated visits or lawn damage from skunks.

• Damage patches in your lawn.

• Damaged blossoms, especially for roses, canna lilies, and hollyhocks.

• Surface damage (looks like someone scraped the surface layer off) or skeletonization of leaves, especially hollyhocks and grape vines.

• In my case, the beetles stripped my basil plants just before attacking my roses. Luckily I noticed them on the basil plants and eliminated many before they had a chance to significantly damage my roses.

So.. how was I going to control them?

Methods I eliminated:

· Parasites: Milky Spore (Bacillus popilliae): This is a naturally occurring host specific bacterium that attacks the destructive white grubs in turf. Unfortunately, this is not available in Canada.

· Organic sprays (Neem oil): I have used this before when I was trying to control the Scarlet Lily Beetle and found it is truly non-toxic. My lilies are near the bird feeders and the plants the bees love; they were not disturbed. You can spray the ground and plants with neem oil, but I found that it leaves a messy residue and unpleasant smell. Since the affected roses are near the front door and public areas, this method is not practical, unless I am desperate. Moreover, the sprayer needs to be heavy duty one and thoroughly cleaned immediately after each application; otherwise, the nozzle gets clogged.

· Barriers: Not practical for my garden since most of the plants targeted are my roses. The roses are most venerable to attack when they are blooming. Placing a row cover over the roses at their peak defeats the purpose of having the roses.

· Domestic Animals: As much as I would love to have some chickens, this would not be practical in a typical suburban setting with plenty of cats and dogs about, not to say my husband's and neighbours' reactions.

· Wild animals: This is not practical except for the birds in the backyard. Front lawns are usually too exposed to noise, people and pets for birds to feel comfortable to hunt (and animals like skunks can destroy your lawn in a night.) The racoons are too interested in my compost bins to be bothered with digging for grubs.

· Japanese Beetle traps: These traps do trap some (up to 75%) of the beetles. BUT unless you have a very large yard and you place the traps as far away from their favourite food as possible, they will not be as effective as you would like. The traps have a pheromone that attracts the beetles, but if you place them near the roses or other highly susceptible plants, more times than not, the beetles will chose the roses over the trap. What you end up doing is ringing the dinner bell for them and then providing the dinner. This result has been experienced by both myself and my sister; we both grow lots of roses.

· Plant only Japanese Beetle resistant plants: Give up my roses - NEVER!

· Retail Pesticides: The pesticides that are effective in killing Japanese Beetles have active ingredients that are not allowed for use in lawns and gardens. Besides, these products are toxic to the beneficial insects (bees, wasps), birds and soil microorganisms. I would be killing or hurting some important allies in my garden.

Methods I am currently using:

· Good Horticultural practices:

• I think I have convinced my husband to keep the grass long in the summer. The thicker and longer the turf, the less likely the female will be able to lay her eggs.

• I have added clover seeds with the grass seed in spots that seem to be damaged—remember beetles don't like to lay eggs in clover. Since my husband is not quite convinced this is a good idea, I have limited the addition to the damaged patches. As an added bonus, the clover adds nitrogen to the lawn through the nitrogen fixation process.

• We resumed adding compost to the lawn twice a year. This will build up the underlying structure of the lawn and permit it to support lots of grass roots. In all the years (>30) that I have been composting, I have never encountered a grub in my compost—plenty of really well fed earth worms, but no grubs. In addition, the compost you make is not super screened as with commercial ones, so it still contains organic matter (but nothing to interfere with mowing) that feeds the microorganisms and acts like a sponge to retain moisture during July/August heat waves. Moreover, compost contains the very nematodes that attack grubs, but not in numbers equal to the retail preparations.

· Avoid night lighting: All our lighting is turned on by motion-detection.

· Hand-Picking: Surprisingly this method turned out to be the best method for me. The best time to look for them is early in the morning (if you are a morning person) or in the evening (if you are like me—just before dusk) and pick them off the plants. It is during this period that the beetles are very lethargic and will not readily fly away. Drop them in a container (with a lid) of insecticidal soap or just crush them. I prefer the container; I use cheap plastic food containers and leave them near the worst affected areas, nestled under the plant's foliage. Another reason you leave this task to early morning/evening is that you avoid getting stung (which I have been) by bees and wasps because you mistook them for the beetles.

When searching for the beetles, also look inside the blossoms since the centers are their favourites. You will often find 6 to 8 beetles in a rose blossom. In that situation rather than trying to pick the individual beetles off, I fold the rose petals over the beetles and cut the entire blossom off. This ensures that all the beetles are captured. The sacrifice of the blossom is worth getting rid of a potential breeder. I leave a pair of small scissors in a plastic container near the bush; otherwise, if I have to look for the scissors, I shall be tempted to just pull the blossom off. The pulling motion often sends the other beetles flying off to munch another day.

Every few days or so, depending on the infestation and when I have time, I empty the containers. The nice thing about this method is it takes only a few minutes to clean the beetles off the flowers, and it takes no preparation or equipment (not even gloves) that I invariably can't find to complete the task. As a result, when we go for our daily evening walk I spend 5 minutes inspecting the plants and eliminating the beetles, even my husband joins in—he looks but won't touch. The key to this method is consistency; find a ritual that you can incorporate this task into and it will help mitigate the damage and lessen the population of the next generation.

· Parasites (Nematodes): I have never used nematode preparations before. I have just recently finally found a supply, so the jury is still out.

What are nematodes?

Nematodes are related to the earthworm, but are much smaller. Many are useful as decomposers and parasite predators and can be found in compost and any healthy garden soil. For infestations though, the natural occurring nematodes in your soil are not a large enough population to combat it. In that case, concentrated populations can be obtained from any place that sells garden supplies. Note: Preparations containing the Heterorhabditis bacteriophora species seem to be the most effective against the Japanese Beetle.

How do Nematodes work? (For the garden geeks.) The “mode of action” of beneficial nematodes is like something from a horror film (at least for the target pests). Once applied, the tiny juvenile stages seek out their specific prey. The Heterorhabdtis nematode uses a “cruising” strategy, seeking out and destroying pests. They either follow the trail of excrement of the pest, or seek it through changes in temperature and carbon dioxide levels.

Once found, the beneficial nematodes enter the grub or other pest through body openings, such as the mouth or openings to the breathing tubes (“spiracles”). These juveniles carry a bacterium (safe for plants and the environment) that they release into the pest blood. These bacteria multiply, killing the pest in two days or often sooner, and converting host tissue to food for the nematodes. Since these bacteria work to help their host (the nematodes), they are called “symbiotic.”

The grubs change from a beige-white to reddish brown when infected, die and turn slimy, and are soon hard to even find. The nematodes feed on the dead pest from within (hence they are called “entomopathogenic”), and can go through several generations of adults in a couple weeks. Once their food source is gone they exit and move on to new prey.

When to apply Nematodes?

It is best to apply them during August (preferably before mid August) since the female beetles have just laid the eggs and the larvae are still small, vulnerable and accessible at this time. By August most of the summer heat has dissipated and rainfall increases; the nematodes need moisture to thrive and penetrate the soil. They need time to multiple and find their prey to be effective. After the soil temperature goes below 15 °C, the grubs start their migration down into the soil for protection against the cold. This makes them inaccessible to the nematodes.

A spring application is useful since the grubs are close to the surface again once the soil temperature reaches 15°C , but it will not be as effective as the summer application because the grubs are much bigger.

How to apply them?

Previously the only nematode preparations available needed to be refrigerated until they were applied. There is now on the market a non-refrigerated preparation; most local garden supply stores carry only the non-refrigerated ones. I chose the refrigerated preparation, since I had read the reviews about the non-refrigerated ones (sprayer clogging and the need for a special sprayer). The preparation I used, which was double packaged in plastic, consisted of a sponge impregnated with the nematodes; it looked like a brown stain on the sponge. The sponge is rinsed in water ( I used water from my rain barrel) and then the resulting water mixture is poured in a hose sprayer (no special sprayer is needed, but it must be clean!). Then it is sprayed on the lawn and garden until the bottle is empty.

A word of warning,

• Secure your supply early (in July is best), because everyone else is looking for them too, especially in August.

• Be prepared for sticker shock! The preparation is dear, but it should cover your lawn and garden. Don't use pesticides at all before or after application; you will be throwing away your investment. If you can only apply them once, summer is the most effective time.

· Organic sprays (Insecticidal soap): I spray the plants at least once a week with insecticidal soap and then spray the leaves with water 30 minutes later. I am not convinced it affects the beetles per se, but it eliminates the pheromones left by the beetles. It is not a major control, but every bit helps.

· Companion plants: Several publications claim that certain plants can be used to discourage the beetles. Alliums (onion, leek, garlic, chives, etc.), catnip (Nepeta cataria), rue (Ruta graveolens) and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) are the most commonly named plants. I have some experience with using this type of method with the Scarlet Lily Beetle. I bury citrus (e.g., lemon, lime) rinds in the soil all around my lilies to discourage the beetles from over wintering around my lilies. I am currently trying garlic chives and garlic near my roses, but I'll pass on the catnip, rue, and tansy for the time being. The catnip may attract cats, the rue’s essential oils can cause photodermatitis and the tansy is invasive.

I now have my plan and have set my calendar with the crucial dates and tasks. I expect that next year will be approximately as bad as this year, since you usually don't discover the infestation until it has progressed significantly. If I am lucky, we shall have a cold winter and that will help lower the population.