There are several bugs in the garden and flower beds making their appearance. First of all, the squash beetles, while not particularly problematic, the beetles do lay eggs on the undersides of the leaves. These eggs hatch and the borers bury into the stem close to the ground causing damage and death to the plant. Since these borers do a lot of damage, I recommend using chemical sprays like Sevin or some of the Bayer products. Spray or dust around the base of the plants every 10 days till the end of July.

Squash bugs are soft-bodied, grey bugs that are a type of stink bug. They suck the juice out of the plants causing wilting and deformation of the leaves. These pests are hard to control since they do not eat the leaves. A contact insecticide like Malathion or others helps when the numbers are large.

There have been a lot of blister beetles in flower beds. These beetles rarely are in numbers that cause a lot of harm. They can be sprayed but do not pick them off and squish them in your hand. They have a toxic chemical that causes blisters on your skin using this as a predator control.

Lastly with bugs, is the stripped or spotted cucumber beetle. They do not cause too much harm to larger plants, but some carry a bacterium that infects cucumber plants causing them to wilt. It is best to use Sevin when you first see them and discard any wilted plants, so the bacterial disease does not spread. Always follow label directions especially the waiting time before harvesting.

This week in the garden, with the wet, cool weather a lot of fungus diseases are showing up. One is a scab in cucumbers and other vine crops. It appears on the leaves as a halo of yellow surrounding a darker area. On the fruits, it is a brown sunken area. To control this, use a garden fungicide to protect the nonaffected leaves. There are scab-resistant cucumbers varieties on the market.

My pepper plants are setting fruit although the plants are relatively small. I have been picking these fruits off to give the growing plants more energy. There is plenty of time for the fruits to set and mature.

About picking off fruits, fruit trees like apples can be thinned. For instance, where there are two little apples, remove one. You will get a larger apple and the quality will be higher.

Also because of the weather, there are many mushrooms growing in lawns where a tree was taken out. These mushrooms are breaking down the organic material of the roots. They are not hurting the lawn or beds, just do not eat them!

This year has been a lot of fasciation. This is where a plant has unusual growth like a flat curly stem of asparagus or a double flower of a zinnia. There are many causes like aphids feeding, mechanical injury, mutation, herbicide injury, or cool weather. One major reason for fasciation in which the flower and leaves are distorted is a virus that causes flowers like roses, asters, and other flowers is called aster yellows virus. If something looks odd, remove the plant. Aster yellows virus is spread by chewing insects and pruning.

As for the grasshoppers, it helps to create a barrier by mowing around the garden at least 10 feet in rural areas. Using baits helps to control the number of grasshoppers.

There have been some questions in the gardens this week about strawberries turning black and shriveling (grey mold). This is a fungus called Botrytis which affects fruits, flowers, and sometimes leaves. It is worse in cooler, wetter weather also affecting roses and marigolds or other flowers and other fruits. Fungicide like Daconil helps prevent the fungus from spreading and affecting new buds and fruits. Also increasing air flow helps by thinning or increasing spacing.

If you have hackberry trees, you will notice bumps underneath the leaves. This is from a little fly (midge) that lays an egg, and the portion of the leaf grows around the newly hatched insect protecting it until it emerges. Since the tree and insect are both native, all hackberry trees will get this condition depending on the weather which does not harm the tree. I live with it.

Be on the outlook for squash borers. The adult lays eggs around the base of the plants. These hatch and the tiny grubs burrow into the vine causing wilting. Tests show that aluminum foil around the stems where they come out of the ground confuses the borers when they hatch. Also, a Malathion spray around the ground kills the insect.

It is a good idea to tour your garden or flowerbed every day scouting for disease and insects. Please keep a look out for cucumber beetles, cabbage worms, and potato beetles.

The weeds of the week are the foxtail barley (neither a foxtail nor barley) and downy brome grass (cheatgrass) not to be confused with the perennial smooth bromegrass. The plants are easy to pull out in the flowerbed or garden. In the lawns, do not let them set seed. A good stand of sod will crowd these weeds out.

I have noticed that many Alberta Spruce get winterkilled. The dead will not grow back and if the whole side or top of the plant is dead, replant with another hardier plant.

Stop harvesting asparagus when the spears get to the diameter of a pencil. Let the spears grow until a hard frost for next year’s crop.