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This Week in the Garden

July 25, 2023

This week in the garden, some people who bought or raised pepper plants from seed are getting different types of peppers than they anticipated. They call this Jalapenogate, Peppergate, or the Great Pepper Mix-up of 2023. This happened when a seed supplier mislabeled pepper seeds and then distributed the seeds to vendors and consumers. Various pepper varieties were affected especially jalapenos, poblanos, and some bell pepper varieties.

With the moisture, chiggers are back hiding in the lawns and gardens. They are tiny mites that you cannot see but leave an itchy red spot on your skin. Chiggers will attach to your skin and feed for up to four days then drop off and become adults. They do not burrow under the skin and lay eggs. The adults will lay eggs in overgrown vegetation or debris. There may be 2 or 3 life cycles depending on the weather. Jiggers will burrow and lay eggs under the skin, but jiggers are found in the Caribbean and Africa, not in the United States. Prevent chiggers from getting on you as you would do for ticks, wear protective clothing, and use a Deet-containing product, and shower after being outside.

Iris can be dug and divided now because they are dormant. Leave 4 to 6 inches of leaf area on each plant with 4 to 5 leaves. When you plant the rhizomes, do not bury the top of the fleshy root, leave exposed.

If your fruit trees have suckers coming up from the ground, remove them because they take energy from the tree itself. While you’re doing this, remove any sprouts growing straight up from branches. They are called waterspouts which will never bear fruit. Avoid any major pruning till next spring.

A couple of people were wondering if warm-season lawns would do well in our area. You will find a few Zoysia or Bermuda lawns east river in places like Sioux Falls, they are not hardy for western South Dakota. The one that will grow is Buffalo grass. It is very drought-resistant, slow-growing grass forming a dense sod requiring fewer mowings. It has been growing east of my house for years. The cons of the grass is the seed is more expensive, it does not green up until the temperature warms up, and it will not grow in the shade. The variety ‘Prestige’ matures at 4 to 6 inches.

Angular leaf spots are more common on cucumbers now. Usually, this bacterium is not a problem since many cucumber plants are at the tail end of their production. The only remedy is to avoid overhead watering. There are resistant varieties like Diva, Fanfare, Marketmore, and many others.

My problem this week is the number of flies outdoors and indoors. I do not like to use sprays indoors. As for the sticky tapes or pads, if you ever had a dog attached to one of these, you will never use it again. I have been seeing indoor bug zappers ranging from around $40. I am going to order one and see what happens.

Garden almanac, Garden Pests

In the Garden this Week

July 19, 2023

In the garden this week some vine crops, especially cucumbers have been forming brown to black spots on the leaves. This is a fungus disease called anthracnose. Usually, the disease shows up after the plants have mainly produced their season’s crop. The best remedy is to rotate the crop each year and not overhead water which spreads the fungus. If you want to control this, a copper-based fungicide works well.

The next problem coming up is sunburning of tomatoes. This will appear as a discolor of the tomato skin at the shoulder or side. It is different from blossom end rot which appears on the bottom of the fruit. This is the main reason not to prune tomato plants. Also, I have noticed the beginning of blight on the lower leaves of the plants which I have been picking off and discarding to prevent the spread of the disease.

People have noticed bumps on the undersides of Linden and some maple leaves. These are galls caused by a tiny fly or wasp laying an egg on the leaf as the tree was leafing out. The leaves grow around the eggs which hatches into the tiny adult. They will not harm the tree.

If your lawn is patchy with irregular light brown patches with wilted turf, you may have a fungus called summer patch. This is a fungus that attacks the roots of the grass spreading outward. It is particularly bad in all Bluegrass lawns that are drought stressed. To control, water deep but infrequently and fertilize regularly. There are turf grasses that are resistant to the fungus. This damage looks similar to grub damage but pull back the turf and you will see the grubs underneath. Also, grub damage shows up later in the summer.

I was going to give some dill away but noticed I have swallowtail caterpillars on them. Think I will let the caterpillars have the dill so I will get the swallowtail butterflies. Thinking back to pollinators plants bringing in butterflies and hummingbirds, I need to plant more butterfly weeds (orange-flowered milkweed called Asclepias), Echinacea (coneflower), Phlox, Flowering Onions, and Trumpet Vines for the wildlife.

Landscaping decor

Lighting your Landscape

July 17, 2023

Lighting your landscape areas gives you an interesting look at your back or front yards at night. It provides interest, security, and color. The easiest way to do this is to use solar lights. They do not cost anything to run, are easy to install, and can be moved around. Solar lights come in many different styles and colors of light.

The main ones are pathway lights which will give you a lighted walkway, especially steps. Low-level lighting can be flushed to the outside of the walkway.

Accent lights can be used in the landscape to focus on certain planting areas. That can be placed around the perimeter to create textures of light and dark. Place stringed solar lights (fairy lights) along a fence or for climbing plants. Christmas rope lights along the edging work great giving a warm colored glow.

Add a little whimsy to the area by using lighted butterflies, garden globes, or lanterns. Flickering tiki torches not only add light but motion to an entrance area.