This week in the garden, it seems a new pest is coming to our area. This is the Japanese beetle which will lay eggs on grass. The eggs hatch and feed on grass roots then hatch into adults. Like grasshoppers, they will eat most crops, especially corn. Fortunately, they have only been found in the eastern part of South Dakota. Their numbers have remained low. You may see the traps around monitoring any activity.
You may have heard the buzzing mating call of the cicadas in trees last week. The old adage is 6 weeks till frost, hopefully not true. The cicada life cycle in our state varies from 2-5 years, not the 17-year cicada back in the eastern USA. This insect rarely does any damage to the trees.
I got a few questions about plants in containers wilting and dying, however, they get watered every day. Plants wilt and die from no water or too much water especially if there is no drainage hole in the pot. Constantly wet soil reduces oxygen in the soil killing the root of the plants and causing wilting. Let the top few inches of the soil dry out before watering.
Now to the invasion of crickets. I am finding a lot of crickets around the house. In the flower beds and garden, crickets are usually not a problem. But in the home, I am looking under the stove and refrigerator spraying Raid beneath everything to kill the insect. After a few hours, I found it was on top of the refrigerator, how it got there, I do not know. I know it is dead now. To prevent them from coming into the home, use a foundation insecticide. Spray up on the home a few feet and out from the foundation. Turning off the exterior lights around the house helps.
Fertilize your annual flowers and garden one more time. Do not fertilize any trees, shrubs, or roses, allow them to enter their dormant period.
Ymker Greenhouse will have trees and shrubs throughout the summer. The best time to plant a woody plant is in late summer up to 6 weeks before the soil freezes. Keep newly planted woody plants damp allowing them to dry out the top few inches of soil before watering again. A mulch around the tree will help, keep the mulch away from the truck a couple of inches.
Do not forget the Mid Dakota Fair is going on in Winner, SD at the fairgrounds. From Wednesday through Saturday check out their exhibits.