Garden Pests

Powdery Mildew in Gardens

Powder mildew is showing up in gardens and flower beds earlier this year. It used to not have been a major problem years ago. As our summers get more humid, this fungus is now common.

Powdery mildew on squash
Powdery mildew on squash

It starts out as a few brown spots on leaves, then you notice a powdery substance on the leaves like talcum powder. This reduces a plant’s growth and fruiting ability. It is spread by the wind and can carry for over a mile. Different types of fungi fall into this category attacking mostly vine crops. I have also seen it on beets, tomatoes, and beans.

A variety of fungicides like Daconil will protect leaves that are not affected giving the plant more time to produce fruit. If you do not want to use chemicals, you can use baking soda (1 Tbs per gallon of water). Another “chemical” which is becoming more popular is Neem oil (follow the directions carefully). This is made from an extract of the Neem tree native to India. Neem oil has been used for a thousand years as an insecticide and anti-fungus treatment. All of these are more of a preventive than a cure.

Watering

Vintage Lawn Sprinklers

There is a group of people collecting vintage lawn sprinklers. Surprisingly, there are many designs of old water sprinklers.

Lawn and garden sprinklers have not changed over the years much. The vintage ones were most likely made of cast iron and produce the spray over a smaller area because the water pressure was lower in the 1920s. They were garden and lawn décor shaped like frogs, toads, swan, duck, and people. As for function, they have not changed much.

Today they are made mostly of plastic, however, have a longer range due to higher water pressure. A  common sprinkler sold is the pulse (impact or cht-cht-cht) sprinkler. It throws water in a circle either 10 to 360 degrees and does well in larger lawns. These sprinklers do not plug up like others. Some have through connectors so you can link several together. Needs higher water pressure.

The most common sprinkler in the side by side (oscillating) sprinkler which throws the water in a rectangular area, which you can adjust the square feet. Some are a simple design and others are more complex with controls adjusting the water pressure and control knobs.

Rotary sprinklers have the arms coming going in a circular motion. Good for small lawns and flower beds because it is a gentle spray. Works well in lower water pressure areas.

Traveling (either impact or rotary) has been around for 100 years. Guided by your hose placement it can reach larger lawn areas as long as the ground is level.

Sprinkler hose popular in the 1950’s acts as a low impact sprinkler. Longer the hose, the more water pressure you need.

If you have hard water from a well, you might want to use a filter to prevent dirt from gumming up the nozzles.

Flowers (annual and perennial)

Snow on the Mountain

Snow on the Mountain is a native weedy plant found around in pastures in the area. Belonging to the family of Euphorbias, which are a family of succulents. This means they are drought tolerant and need full sun. Like its relative the poinsettia, the plant has colorful bracts (mostly white) with tiny yellow-green flowers. Like all Euphorbias, the juice in the stems is a bitter, milky-white sap. This makes them resistant to deer, rabbits, grasshoppers, and other pests.

Snow on the mountain

The new cultivars are more colorful (white bracts) and come in height up to 4 feet. This makes them useful for a focal point, borders, or as a cut flower (being careful of the sap which causes some people skin irritation). This was one of the plants that Lewis and Clark found interesting and took back with them.

Snow on the mountain

The photo of this plant, stands 4 foot tall and 3 foot wide.