Wednesday, June 20, 2012


STATE OF THE GARDEN
SUMMER SOLSTICE, 2012

POTATO BUGS!!  
  • Check your plants. I noticed one row of potatoes covered with larvae. The larva is orange with brown spots. Eggs are orange-gold in clusters on the bottom side of the leaves. Adults are a brown and orange beetle about 1/2 inch long. Potato bugs (properly called Colorado potato beetle) will also feed on any plant in the nightshade family-eggplant, tomatoes, ground cherries, etc., and will consume any plant they happen to hatch on. 
  • The best control is to pick them off daily. Either squish them or throw them into a bucket of soapy water. I will put a bottle of non-detergent soap and a pail in the shed for people to use. Put a teaspoon or so of soap in the pail with water. Birds love the larvae. If you have the stomach for it, squish them and throw them in the paths for the birds to enjoy. 

BINDWEED AND THISTLE-
  • They are still in the garden, but seem to be less of a problem this year. Keep up the aggressive pulling. It works.

URBAN BACKYARD FARMING TOUR-
  • Mark you calendars for July 29, 12-4 p.m.
  • Plan on coming
  • Tell your friends about it
  • Tickets available after July 16 at  
    • The Co-op
    • The Book Shelf
    • Paperback & Pieces
    • The Winona Post 
  • A huge thank you to the fundraising committee (Jennie Rafferty, Catherine Cleery, Margaret Kiihne, Matt Cyert) for organizing this; to the backyard farmers (Rafferty's, Cleary/Flynn's, Vicki Englich, Cyert's, Bruno Borari, Kiihne's, and Wes Miller) for offering their time and expertise;  and to Tonya Van Tol for posting it on Facebook. 
JULY
  • Both Lea and I will be unavailable in July. 
  • Trina Shugart has volunteered to be the onsite go-to person if there are any problems.Thank you Trina.