Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Gardening
Here’s what you don’t want for Christmas . . . houseplant pests
David Hobson, In the Garden
Fri Dec 17 2010
Tuesday marks the winter solstice, when the sun begins its return from Florida. It may not be in any kind of hurry, but at least it’s on its way.
It’s a happy time for gardeners to know that, eventually, spring will return. It’s a funny word, solstice. Take out the ‘t’ and it sounds like soils ice, which is a pretty darn good description of gardening conditions at this time of year. There’s nothing much happening in my garden, other than a squirrel trying to outwit our squirrel hound, Sophie, so I’m taking a break until the new year when I’ll begin revving up with columns about seed catalogues, garden plans and early garden events.
Once the Christmas tree is down and decorations have been stored away, you might want to give a thought to your houseplants, as they may have been feeling a tad neglected when the Christmas tree was getting all the attention. If they start shedding leaves like a tree sheds needles, it could be that plant pests have been having their own Christmas celebration while no one was paying attention.
The usual suspects are spider mites, mealy bugs and white fly — and believe me, they all know how to party; so it’s worthwhile to take a few moments from your festivities to put a damper on theirs.
Spider mites look like tiny, reddish brown specks on the underside of leaves. They do move about, but you may need a magnifying glass to see them. If you don’t have a magnifying glass, put one your Christmas gift list.
Control of spider mites on house plants can be particularly frustrating as there are few effective chemical controls other than soaps and horticultural oils. Besides keeping your plants watered, you should hose down small ones in the sink or shower. Wipe the leaves of larger plants with a soft, damp cloth.
Next on the list are mealy bugs and they’re as unpleasant as they sound.
Mealy bugs are white, soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. They cleverly cover themselves with white, waxy threads to ward off predators. They look like bits of cotton and you usually spot them where leaves join stems or along leaf veins. These pests can also be controlled with insecticidal soap, so a spell in the shower will help.
For serious infestations, spray directly with a mixture of 10 per cent alcohol and 90 per cent water. Some leftover party liquor might well do the trick, but I doubt it’s been thoroughly tested, so stick with rubbing alcohol. But first test the mixtures on a small portion of the plant, as some plants may be sensitive to soap or alcohol.
The last of these three unwelcome guests is the pesky white fly and they’re easy enough to see. A severe infestation can resemble indoor snow flurries. Horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps are effective controls for whitefly at the immature stage and yellow sticky strips will trap the adults before they take advantage of your plants. But if you are already having snow flurries, it may be too late to save the plant.
Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone . . . and a pest free new year.
David Hobson, In the Garden
Fri Dec 17 2010
Tuesday marks the winter solstice, when the sun begins its return from Florida. It may not be in any kind of hurry, but at least it’s on its way.
It’s a happy time for gardeners to know that, eventually, spring will return. It’s a funny word, solstice. Take out the ‘t’ and it sounds like soils ice, which is a pretty darn good description of gardening conditions at this time of year. There’s nothing much happening in my garden, other than a squirrel trying to outwit our squirrel hound, Sophie, so I’m taking a break until the new year when I’ll begin revving up with columns about seed catalogues, garden plans and early garden events.
Once the Christmas tree is down and decorations have been stored away, you might want to give a thought to your houseplants, as they may have been feeling a tad neglected when the Christmas tree was getting all the attention. If they start shedding leaves like a tree sheds needles, it could be that plant pests have been having their own Christmas celebration while no one was paying attention.
The usual suspects are spider mites, mealy bugs and white fly — and believe me, they all know how to party; so it’s worthwhile to take a few moments from your festivities to put a damper on theirs.
Spider mites look like tiny, reddish brown specks on the underside of leaves. They do move about, but you may need a magnifying glass to see them. If you don’t have a magnifying glass, put one your Christmas gift list.
Control of spider mites on house plants can be particularly frustrating as there are few effective chemical controls other than soaps and horticultural oils. Besides keeping your plants watered, you should hose down small ones in the sink or shower. Wipe the leaves of larger plants with a soft, damp cloth.
Next on the list are mealy bugs and they’re as unpleasant as they sound.
Mealy bugs are white, soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. They cleverly cover themselves with white, waxy threads to ward off predators. They look like bits of cotton and you usually spot them where leaves join stems or along leaf veins. These pests can also be controlled with insecticidal soap, so a spell in the shower will help.
For serious infestations, spray directly with a mixture of 10 per cent alcohol and 90 per cent water. Some leftover party liquor might well do the trick, but I doubt it’s been thoroughly tested, so stick with rubbing alcohol. But first test the mixtures on a small portion of the plant, as some plants may be sensitive to soap or alcohol.
The last of these three unwelcome guests is the pesky white fly and they’re easy enough to see. A severe infestation can resemble indoor snow flurries. Horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps are effective controls for whitefly at the immature stage and yellow sticky strips will trap the adults before they take advantage of your plants. But if you are already having snow flurries, it may be too late to save the plant.
Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone . . . and a pest free new year.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Gardening
The perfect gift for me? Heck a bag of potting soil would be nice
December 10, 2010
David Hobson, In the Garden
Last minute Christmas gifts for gardeners? Oh, I usually try to come up with a few suggestions, but really, I’m not an authority on gifting. Still, I’ll give it a try.
Top of my list for a useful and well-received gift for a gardener would be a big bag of potting soil — but that’s just me. Not everyone would appreciate a bag of dirt at Christmas, I suppose, but it never goes to waste and it’s always handy to have a supply around whenever something needs re-potting.
If you want to be creative, you could put together a gift pack of pots and potting soils. Say a cactus mix, an orchid mix, an African violet mix and a general purpose soil. You get the idea. In fact, a gift pack of fertilizers along the same lines would be fun. Imagine, ripping the wrapping from a box full of those cute, multi-coloured, plastic jars.
Tools are essential to the enthusiastic gardener, although I’d never say you can’t have too many, because you can. A shed full of tools leads to confusion — like, which of the dozen pairs of pruners shall I take with me when I walk around the yard? Will I need the heavy pruners, the bouquet snippers, or the long handled rose pruners? Should I use a bypass or anvil cutting action?
Swiss tool manufacture Felco and Swedish toolmaker Fiskars appear to be competing for sheer number of hand pruners offered — they have at least 30 or so between them.
The poor novice gardener is likely to throw his or her hands in the air and settle for a machete. What did impress me, though, was the Felco 810 power-assisted electric hand pruner. Now we’re talking. Can the power-assisted rake be far behind? What about a power-assisted spade?
If you’re at the age where “power-assisted” is a strong selling point, this may be the pruning tool for you. Powered by a battery pack that hangs from the belt, it cuts through branches up to 30 millimetre (or 1.2 inch) branches. Do note, though, that it’s really designed for the professional who prunes all day long.
My own principle pruner is a pair of bonsai snips that came from Japan. They used to cut anything up to thumb thickness, but I must admit that after 20 years, they’re now limited to skinny twigs — I’m the one that’s weakening, not the snips. That power-assisted idea is looking good.
If soil and tools are a difficult choice, there are always garden books and magazines to offer as gifts. Garden books are like cookbooks; there is one for every dish and one for every plant.
But for fun reading, I’d take a look at Des Kennedy’s latest book, The Way of the Gardener: A Life’s Journey. Kennedy is an award-winning B.C. writer and gardener. I read his first book, Living Things We Love to Hate, years ago and I’ve been impressed with his writing style ever since — humorous, irreverent and informative. What else from a monk turned pilgrim turned gardener and activist?
For a handy dandy book, The Toronto Gardener’s Journal, a popular source book produced by Margaret Bennet Alder is a perfect stocking stuffer. Order it online at www.torontogardenbook.com.
A magazine subscription is always an easy and acceptable gift. A brand new magazine that just celebrated its first year of publication is Garden Making, produced by Becky Fox. It has an excellent how-to style about it that will inspire gardeners at any level. Subscribe online at www.gardenmaking.com.
Finally, you can’t go wrong buying plants for a gardener. It’s not the time to be in the garden, but for a last minute idea, give the gift that gives twice — a gift card from a local nursery. And there’s always plant tags or even a Chia pet, but don’t let me influence your decision.
December 10, 2010
David Hobson, In the Garden
Last minute Christmas gifts for gardeners? Oh, I usually try to come up with a few suggestions, but really, I’m not an authority on gifting. Still, I’ll give it a try.
Top of my list for a useful and well-received gift for a gardener would be a big bag of potting soil — but that’s just me. Not everyone would appreciate a bag of dirt at Christmas, I suppose, but it never goes to waste and it’s always handy to have a supply around whenever something needs re-potting.
If you want to be creative, you could put together a gift pack of pots and potting soils. Say a cactus mix, an orchid mix, an African violet mix and a general purpose soil. You get the idea. In fact, a gift pack of fertilizers along the same lines would be fun. Imagine, ripping the wrapping from a box full of those cute, multi-coloured, plastic jars.
Tools are essential to the enthusiastic gardener, although I’d never say you can’t have too many, because you can. A shed full of tools leads to confusion — like, which of the dozen pairs of pruners shall I take with me when I walk around the yard? Will I need the heavy pruners, the bouquet snippers, or the long handled rose pruners? Should I use a bypass or anvil cutting action?
Swiss tool manufacture Felco and Swedish toolmaker Fiskars appear to be competing for sheer number of hand pruners offered — they have at least 30 or so between them.
The poor novice gardener is likely to throw his or her hands in the air and settle for a machete. What did impress me, though, was the Felco 810 power-assisted electric hand pruner. Now we’re talking. Can the power-assisted rake be far behind? What about a power-assisted spade?
If you’re at the age where “power-assisted” is a strong selling point, this may be the pruning tool for you. Powered by a battery pack that hangs from the belt, it cuts through branches up to 30 millimetre (or 1.2 inch) branches. Do note, though, that it’s really designed for the professional who prunes all day long.
My own principle pruner is a pair of bonsai snips that came from Japan. They used to cut anything up to thumb thickness, but I must admit that after 20 years, they’re now limited to skinny twigs — I’m the one that’s weakening, not the snips. That power-assisted idea is looking good.
If soil and tools are a difficult choice, there are always garden books and magazines to offer as gifts. Garden books are like cookbooks; there is one for every dish and one for every plant.
But for fun reading, I’d take a look at Des Kennedy’s latest book, The Way of the Gardener: A Life’s Journey. Kennedy is an award-winning B.C. writer and gardener. I read his first book, Living Things We Love to Hate, years ago and I’ve been impressed with his writing style ever since — humorous, irreverent and informative. What else from a monk turned pilgrim turned gardener and activist?
For a handy dandy book, The Toronto Gardener’s Journal, a popular source book produced by Margaret Bennet Alder is a perfect stocking stuffer. Order it online at www.torontogardenbook.com.
A magazine subscription is always an easy and acceptable gift. A brand new magazine that just celebrated its first year of publication is Garden Making, produced by Becky Fox. It has an excellent how-to style about it that will inspire gardeners at any level. Subscribe online at www.gardenmaking.com.
Finally, you can’t go wrong buying plants for a gardener. It’s not the time to be in the garden, but for a last minute idea, give the gift that gives twice — a gift card from a local nursery. And there’s always plant tags or even a Chia pet, but don’t let me influence your decision.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Happy Happy Holidays
These children are having fun. Look at what they put in the empty box the doll came in.
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