Oh, the joy of this week in the garden! This week’s uninvited but fascinating guest: the humble sow bug. You may have noticed them lounging under the mulch or your garden boards. Fun fact: sow bugs are like the distant cousins of lobsters (minus the fancy dinners) and are more about decomposing plant material and removing lead and arsenic from our soils. Heads up, when it cools down, these crustacean critters may want to crash your place. No worries, though, just a quick vacuum, a trip outside, and they’re back in nature. Also, seal up those foundation cracks and consider a dehumidifier – nobody likes a damp basement, not even bugs. The difference between a sowbug which is a grey color and a pill bug which is a dark color and rolls up into a ball is just that.
Weed of the week: Ragweed! You may have noticed your allergies are cranking up. You can thank ragweed, producing a staggering 1 billion pollen grains from just one 5-foot plant. Feeling sneezy? Ragweed and its pal, Marsh Elder, are to blame, not Goldenrod, who unfairly gets fingered for the crime. Goldenrod’s pollen is too hefty to go airborne, so it just drops.
A quick note on tree TLC: If your big beauties are looking a little thirsty, it might be because lawn watering just doesn’t cut it. Trees need a good deep drink now and then, especially the evergreens. Don’t forget to water until the soil freezes if they’re under two years old. And hey, if you’re thinking about planting a tree, now’s prime time. Just remember, don’t plant it too deep—nobody likes to feel smothered, not even trees.
And finally, in the battle of you vs. the garden weeds, I know you’re tired. But don’t let those pesky weeds win by going to seed. If you can’t pull them, slice ’em off at the soil line. Keep fighting the good fight!