If you want to know more about my garden, check out the June 2012 issue of Garden Gate magazine. It gives a quick look at my garden in full bloom and production, and provides design ideas and tips for creating an edible landscape in your own yard. Right now, my article is featured in Garden Gates eNotes. If you want a copy of the magazine itself, you can ask for a preview issue at their website, www.gardengatemagazine.com.
On Mother’s Day, I treated myself to some time in my garden, including photographing my roses and harvesting some artichokes for dinner with my son Bob and his wife Julie. I cleaned them, soaked them in water to make sure there were no earwigs hiding in the folds, and then boiled them up for about 25 minutes. I served them with some aioli for dipping. Yum!
With their giant silver leaves, artichokes add a dramatic touch to an edible landscape. My 2 year old plants shown here thrive in my street-side border. I’m sure that applications of composted chicken poop that my ladies provide keeps them so healthy.
It’s planting time in most parts of the country, and many of you are growing squash in your landscape. This week, Ros received a reader question about dealing with those nasty squash bugs. Read on for more information…
Q: (…) how do you keep the squash bugs away. I have them every year with no way to rid them. I would not put toxic poison out, I want it ito be free of bugs and snakes with out poison.- Pearl
A: Hi Pearl,
Squash bugs can be a persistent problem along the East Coast and in Midwest gardens. To keep them under control, choose summer squash as they are more resistant than winter squashes and pumpkins. Two suggestions for control: keep mulch well away from squash plants as the bugs congregate under loose material to avoid the heat of the day and cover young plants with floating row covers. When they start to bloom, remove the covering so bees can pollinate the flowers. By that time the plants should be large enough to withstand the bugs but if you occasionally hand gather them in the early morning while they still move slowly and drown them in a can of soapy water, you can keep the hoards at bay.
As far as the snakes, of course they are great for the ecosystem, but certainly not welcome in the garden under your squash. Visit the website: http://www.chiff.com/a/garden-
Great Gardening,
Ros Creasy
Adult Squash Bug
Photo Credit: By Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
by Rosalind Creasy