Tent caterpillar control

In our zeal to eradicate the destructive tent caterpillars we may be inadvertently hurting the beautiful butterflies we love to see flitting around during the summer. If at all possible, cut out the conspicuous nests instead of spraying so that butterfly larva like Western Tiger Swallowtails and Mourning Cloaks can survive to grace our gardens every summer.

Garden Tip #431

Believe or not, but when the first cherry tomatoes ripen in July it’s time to start planning the fall and winter vegetable garden in the Pacific Northwest. Beets, beans, kale and other cold hardy crops need to be sown in July or August so that they have a few weeks to bulk up before night time temperatures drop after the autumn equinox. The idea is to get the plants to almost harvestable size before the weather really turns cold, and then gardens acts as a kind of refrigerator, keeping the vegetables in stasis until we’re ready to eat them. If you miss the seed starting window there is still time to buy transplants from local nurseries until early September.

These two publications from Washington and Oregon State University Extensions have all the details to ensure success.

Garden Tip #428

Curious about what “alternative” agriculture is all about? Here is a playlist that explores why farmers grow food, growing food in cities, raising animals on pasture, restoring soil life by storing carbon in the ground and new methods of getting food to people. 9 videos, just shy of 3 hours.

Garden Tip #430

The pollinators need our help. Not just because humanity’s food supply relies on pollinators, but because invertebrates are the backbone of a healthy ecosystem. Concerned gardeners will find guidance and an action plan in The Pollinator victory garden: win the war on pollinator decline with ecological gardening: how to attract and support bees, beetles, butterflies, bats, and other pollinators by Kim Eierman (2020).

Eierman’s Tips for a Pollinator Victory Garden

Don’t use pesticides of any kind, including organic; and avoid buying nursery plants treated with “neonics.” A quality nursery should be able to tell you whether their plants have been treated with this systemic pesticide.
Create over-wintering habitat by leaving some fallen leaf litter on the ground. Soil organisms will also appreciate the leaf litter.
Create growing season habitat for solitary, ground-nesting native bees by leaving a sunny, sandy patch of soil free of mulch. Then watch out for little mounds with a hole in the center, kind of like a tiny volcano, for evidence of a bee making a nest for her larvae.
Native pollinators prefer native plants, and some rely exclusively on native plants. Eierman compiled a list of plants for the Pacific Northwest on her website, Ecobeneficial.com.

Eierman makes the case for pollinators

Garden Tip #61

For some people the bulb season starts with planting in the fall and ends with the late tulips of May. In fact, gardeners can have flower bulbs throughout summer and into fall. The most common and well loved summer bulbs are ornamental onions, lilies and dahlias, but there are so many more to try. A few of the lesser known summer bulbs include harlequin flower (Sparaxis tricolor), African corn lily (Ixia), and Mexican shell flower (Tigridia pavonia).

Summer bulbs are available to plant in spring. While many are hardy in our mild climate, new bulbs shouldn’t be planted until the danger of hard frost has passed. In other words, May is the time to plant summer flowering bulbs.

A good little primer on these plants is called Summer-Blooming Bulbs, edited by Beth Hansen (Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, 9.95). Chapter topics include botany, care, design and a mini-encyclopedia. Contributing authors Brent and Becky Heath, owners of the top American bulb nursery (Brent and Becky’s Bulbs), suggest a few summer bulbs that will come back every year without lifting in Pacific Northwest gardens:

Crinum lily (Crinum ‘Bradley’)
Pineapple lily (Eucomis autumnalis)
Guernsey lily (Nerine bowdenii)
Crimson flag (Schizostylis coccinea)

A great majority of summer blooming bulbs (and other swollen-root plants) come from the Cape Province of South Africa. To learn more about these wonderful flowers invest in the Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs by Manning, Goldblatt and Snijman (Timber, $59.95).

Garden Tip #429

Get familiar with alternative agriculture, urban farming, food systems and permaculture by reading a few good books. Peruse these curated collections of titles:

Borrowing Guidelines

Garden Tip #144

Garden Tip #54

Advanced vegetable gardeners who want go to the next level of self reliance will enjoy the attractive book by John Seymour, The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It (Dorling Kindersley, 2003, $30.00). This very practical book gives “how-to” instructions for a wide range of traditional living skills. How to raise (and butcher) poultry and rabbits, how to grow grain crops, how to make a methane digester to create energy and how to spin flax are just a few examples. The author’s intention is to encourage readers to question how truly satisfying the modern life is compared to an honest day’s work on the homestead. But even urban dwellers will find ideas for making their own food and craft products.

The simple life has gone digital, too. For articles and ideas on living a self-sufficient life, check out Mother Earth News and www.homestead.org.

Garden Tip #46

Seattle’s average last frost date is April 20, but with signs of the garden coming to life all around us it’s tempting to ignore that mid-spring date. With a little knowledge a gardener can predict frost and take measures to temporarily protect tender plants. If the sky is clear and the wind is blowing from the northwest, get ready to take action. One simple technique is covering a tender plant with an old sheet. For more frost prediction signs and protection tips go online to A Gardener’s Guide to Frost

Garden Tip #146

Research shows that watering container plants in the afternoon leads to healthier, stronger growing plants compared to containerized plants watered early in the morning. Warren and Bilderback, Journal of Environmental Horticulture, September 2002, Vol. 20(3), Pages 184-188. However, watering the rest of the garden in the morning reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation, which is better for the utility bill!