If you have a tree with conks, you should probably contact a certified arborist. They can inspect the tree for structural integrity and to determine the extent of the infection.


Conks may look cool, but you don’t want them on your trees.

Canker rot identification

Cankers are open wounds, or lesions. Cankers can be a few inches long and wide, or several feet long, depending on the fungal species. The bark next to these cankers dies, becoming discolored, often lighter or orangish, and it is tightly bonded to the canker. After a year or so, the dead inner bark turns black and stringy. This looks a lot like sooty bark canker, but canker rot can also have lenticular (lens-shaped) lighter areas in the bark. Unlike other canker diseases, canker rot affects both bark and inner tissue. ​

The world’s largest life form

Tree roots spread. Then they can send up new root sprouts, which then create more roots and more root shoots. Given enough time and space, this process can create something really HUGE! In fact, root shoots are responsible for one of the world’s largest and probably oldest life forms: the singular root system of a grove of male quaking aspen found in Utah. Known as Pando, this root system covers 106 acres, weighs approximately 13 million tons, and is believed to be 80,000 years old. Sadly, Pando, is dying. Pando’s decline is believed to be a combined result of drought, grazing, and fire suppression. The U.S. Forest Service and private groups are trying to save it, but repeatedly killing off the root shoots with grazing (or hand pruners) does take its toll.


Why do trees produce root sprouts?

Some trees are more likely than others to produce root sprouts. In some cases, it is simply the tree’s normal method of propagation. Root sprouts can also be a sign that a tree or shrub is stressed. That stress can take many forms:

• too much or too little irrigation, nutrients, or sunlight
• wrong planting depth
• frequent heavy wind
• borer infestations
• restricted space due to buildings, etc.
• too close to a heat sink

What can you do about root sprouts?
First, keep your tree as healthy as possible. Water it, feed it, protect it from lawn competition, weedwackers, and car doors. Mulch around but not touching the tree. Do a little research to find out what type of tree you are dealing with and what its needs are, and provide for those needs. This will reduce the tree’s drive to reproduce in this way.


If you spray herbicides on a root sprout, you will be poisoning the parent plant as well. Instead, you can kill the individual buds by tearing the new growth off, as close to the root as possible. Of course, this may require some soil removal. If you can tear the root sprout off of the root, you are likely to damage or kill that particular bud. If there is a section of root that continually puts out unwanted root sprouts, you can dig up the offending root and severe it from the tree or shrub. If all of that sounds like more work than it is worth, simply snip them off at soil level each time you see them.


There are also products available that you can spray on root sprouts, but I do not use them. Reviews appear to be highly mixed and applying just a little bit too much can seriously damage the tree or shrub those root sprouts came from. Other people swear by them. It's your call.


If you are really sick of all the root sprouts in your lawn, contact a licensed arborist. They can safely apply a growth inhibitor.

Prune limb borer management

Mature, healthy trees can often withstand a prune limb borer or two, but young trees can be killed by heavy infestations. Like other borers, these pests are easier to prevent than control. Inside the tree, they are safe from predators and pesticides. Use these tips to prevent prune limb borers from taking up residence in your trees:

• Keep pruning cuts smooth, so they can heal quickly
• Provide sunburn protection by whitewashing trunks and exposed branches
• Avoid mechanical injury by lawnmowers, weedwackers, and cars

Over-the-counter pesticides and insecticides are not effective against prune borers. If you have a badly infested tree, it  may be worthwhile to hire a professional to apply a residual, contact insecticide.

The angle at which branches attach to one another, known as the angle of attachment or the branch axil, determines the strength of that connection. Angles of attachment that are too narrow become areas of weakness later on. These V-shaped crotches also provide overwintering sites for American plum borers, prune limb borers, and many other pests. Branch axils of 30° or more generally result in sturdy attachments that can withstand strong winds and heavy fruit or nut crops. Downward hanging branches are highly prone to breakage. The best branch axils are 45° to 60° angles.


Selecting scaffold branches

When training young trees, you want scaffold branches that are appropriate to the species, spaced properly, and at good angles. You should avoid having more than two scaffold branches at the same distance from the ground. Scaffold branches should be at least 8” to 16” apart, vertically. Also, select scaffold branches that are positioned radially around the trunk so that they are not growing directly above or below each other.


As you train your tree, remember to avoid cutting the branch collar and do not use sealants. Sealants often trap moisture against the wound and create the perfect environment for rot. Your tree knows how to heal itself and will form callus tissue over and around the wound.


Take a look at the scaffold branches on your trees. Are they strong and healthy or do you need to do some re-training this dormant season?

Vein clearing and overspray

Vein clearing can also be seen when overspray occurs. Overspray describes the way herbicides and other chemicals can drift on a breeze to unintended plants. After landing on a plant, the herbicide is absorbed and transported throughout the plant in the xylem. Older leaves generally exhibit damage to margins (edges) and interveinal (between vein) areas. Younger leaves respond differently, showing chlorosis of the veins, especially the midrib.


Vein clearing can also be a phytotoxic symptom. Phytotoxic means “poisonous to plants”. In some cases, we apply insecticides, oils, or other treatments with the best of intentions. Whether due to extreme sunlight or temperatures or something else entirely, these treatments can go awry, causing symptoms such as vein clearing, along with wilting, leaf loss, or flower drop. In other cases, these symptoms may appear for no obvious reason at all!


Cherry vein clearing, for example, is believed to be a genetic mutation that is spread by grafting affected scions onto unaffected wood. Some researchers believe this mutation is caused by a boron deficiency in the soil, but no one is sure just yet.


In some cases, vein clearing is a short-lived symptom. As the disease or toxicity progresses, vein clearing may resolve itself and show up as completely different symptoms, depending on the initial cause. These symptoms may include dwarfing, puckered leaves, variegated yellow and green on leaves, and vein banding. Vein banding is similar to vein clearing except that bands of translucent and opaque green, yellow, or white are seen.


If you see vein clearing, take a closer look, note any other symptoms and send me pictures!

Since healthy trees are better able to withstand attack, proper feeding and irrigation go a long way toward minimizing clearwing damage. Whitewashing tree trunks and exposed branches reduces sunburn injury. If your soil is compacted, apply a thick layer of mulch or install a ground cover  to help aerate the soil. This will help keep your trees healthier, just make sure the mulch or ground cover are kept a few inches away from the trunk to prevent fungal disease. Also, avoid injuring trees with lawn mowers, weed wackers, and other landscape equipment and tools, and remove tree stakes as soon as they are no longer needed.


Pheromone lures can be used to monitor for these pests. Just keep in mind that using pheromone lures attracts pests. These lures interfere with mating, so they can reduce clearwing populations, but this method requires an intensive, ongoing program of pheromone use. It’s probably not worth the effort for backyard trees. You can also buy pheromone traps for peachtree borers and ash borers. If using pheromone traps, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions exactly.


Monitoring trees every week for signs of burrowing and pupal cases is an easy way to protect your trees. You may see partially emerged pupae, which can be crushed or skewered with a piece of wire. Gumming around the base of the tree may also indicate peachtree borers.



Beneficial insects, such as braconid wasps, will kill or parasitize clearwing moths and their larvae, so avoid using broad spectrum pesticides and insecticides. Also, you can buy certain nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae and S. feltiae) to kill peachtree borer, redbelted clearwing, sycamore borer, and western poplar clearwing. Again, follow the directions exactly for the best results.


If a truly valuable tree has a bad clearwing infestation, you should call a licensed pest control applicator. They have access to chemicals that you do not. Most over-the-counter clearwing controls are not effective.

Carbon cycle components

Carbon can be found everywhere on, in, and around the Earth. The way carbon moves from place to place, and from form to form, is what makes up the carbon cycle. The components of the carbon cycle are:

• atmosphere - carbon dioxide and methane both absorb and retain heat; carbon can dissolve in raindrops that fall to the Earth in an acidic form [carbonic acid]
• biosphere - all living things, dead things, and soil
• oceans - including living and non-living marine life and dissolved inorganic carbon
• geosphere - sediments, fossil fuels, fresh water systems, and the non-living organic material they contain
• Earth’s mantle and crust

Carbon moves through these changes because of biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes.


The carbon cycle in your garden

The same processes occur in your garden, with similar results. Start with your soil. Soil is a living, breathing complex of minerals, organic matter, insects, microorganisms, worms, and more. Microorganisms break down complex molecules into smaller bits, separating carbon from whatever it happens to be bound to and making it and other minerals available to plant roots as food.


You plant a seed and water it. The seed coat softens, a first root, or radicle, emerges and starts absorbing carbon and other minerals. The carbon then becomes part of the plant. The plant matures and produces fruit or other edible parts, which we harvest and eat. The carbon in those parts then becomes part of us. The parts we don’t eat are added to the compost pile, where the carbon attaches itself to other minerals or is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. 


The sun shines down on Earth’s oceans, waterways, and soil causing evaporation. That moisture condenses and rain occurs, converting any carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into carbonic acid. This form of carbon falls to Earth, enters the soil, and hydrates any unharvested plants. Excess rainwater leaches into ground water where it ultimately makes its way to oceans. The sun’s heat causes more evaporation, water rises into the atmosphere, more rain, and so on.


How do plants use carbon?
​
You may have heard that plants take carbon dioxide in and release oxygen during the day, and that that process switches at night. The truth is, carbon dioxide is only taken in, and oxygen is only released back into the environment, while photosynthesis is actively taking place. The act of photosynthesis spilts the carbon dioxide molecule into oxygen and carbon. The carbon is used as a building material, much the way our bodies use carbohydrates. [Carbohydrates are made out of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.]


Plants also absorb carbon from the soil, but there has to be the right balance of nitrogen available for plants to use the carbon they need. Nitrogen is the steak and salad equivalent of the human diet. This balance is called the carbon-to-nitrogen, or C:N, ratio. Microorganisms that break down minerals and organic matter into plant-sized bites prefer a C:N ratio of 24:1 to 30:1. If there is too much, or not enough, carbon or nitrogen in the soil, plants will suffer.


Carbon cycling and tap water

Most soils contain a variety of carbon compounds and this can be a problem if your tap/irrigation water is highly alkaline. The chemical reactions that occur between carbonate and bicarbonate ions and alkaline water can make calcium and magnesium less soluble, and harder for plants to absorb. These chemical transformation between these molecules also tends to leave salts behind. Whenever possible, irrigate your garden with rain water.


Carbon sequestering

As we burn fossil fuels and seal the Earth’s surface with concrete, we release an awful lot of carbon into the atmosphere and make it harder for carbon to be absorbed into the soil. Carbon in the atmosphere joins with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide (and methane) absorb heat and bounce it back to Earth. This can help prevent another Ice Age and it can lead to global warming, more destructive storms, desertification, rising sea levels, and a harder time for us and our plants. 


Removing carbon from the atmosphere is called carbon sequestering. Naturally, carbon is held in plants and soil. When plants are composted or decompose, some of the carbon they contain is returned to the atmosphere and some enters the biosphere, oceans, and geosphere. 


As we disturb the Earth’s surface, we break the bonds that hold carbon in place. Instead of plowing or rototilling, you can reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by practicing no-dig gardening. [It’s easier on your back, too.]


Carbon is sequestered into the soil by plant roots. Plant roots secrete carbon in something called exudates. Root exudates feed beneficial bacteria and fungi in the soil which then help feed your plants. These root exudates also promote soil health and reduce erosion.


There are many ways that you can reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere:

• protect soil with mulch or cover crops
• plant perennial crops, such as artichoke, rhubarb, and fruit and nut trees
• compost plant debris and kitchen waste properly
• install a rain garden
• use native plants and those suitable to your microclimate
• get a lab-based soil test before adding unnecessary fertilizers
• avoid using potting soil that contains peat
• irrigate your garden with rainwater collected in rain barrels or other means
• buy used items whenever possible, rather than new, and only buy what you actually need
• avoid heating the outdoors with fire pits, BBQs, and patio heaters
• never burn trash, build bonfires, or make biochar
• plant large trees near your home to reduce the need for A/C
• if you have a lawn, allow it to get taller before mowing

Finally, growing your own food is one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Not only does it reduce the demand for highly tilled fields around the globe, it reduces the number of trucks, ships, farming machinery, and storage facilities needed to fill your larder. Just go outside and pick what you need!

Not to be confused with the other black spot (Diplocarpon rosae), which primarily affects leaves, Ascochyta blight can infect any aboveground portion of your chickpea plants, as well as your lawn. Lawns infected with Ascochyta blight suddenly develop brown patches of dead-looking grass. Ascochyta blight is caused by Ascochyta rabiei (formerly known as Phoma rabiei).


Ascochyta blight symptoms

Brown lesions that start at the base of seedlings may start out looking like damping-off disease, but these lesions continue to move up the plant, eventually affecting everything aboveground. ​

Ascochyta blight management

Ascochyta blight can be spread by infected seeds, so always start your garbanzo bean crop with certified disease-free seeds. Do not use that bag of garbanzo beans from the grocery store. The price might be appealing and those seeds are safe to eat, but they may also carry any number of pests and diseases that might take years to get rid of. You can also select disease resistant varieties. According to UCANR, the following varieties of garbanzo are currently resistant to Ascochyta blight: Sierra, Dylan, Sutter, San Joaquin, and the Airway Farms (AWF) series. That resistance can and will change because fungi evolve faster than plants.


At the first sign of infection, the affected plant should be removed and tossed in the trash. You don’t want to leave infected plant material in the garden or compost pile because this can simply spread the disease to more plants. 


Ascochyta blight does not survive in the soil, so crop rotation is a good way to break the disease cycle. 


If Ascochyta blight has been a serious problem in past years, space plants out more for better air flow, and plant seeds as late in the season as possible.


Fungicides can be used at the first sign of disease and reapplied according to package directions.

How to grow curry leaf

Curry leaf plants can be started from seeds, suckers, or stem cuttings. Only fresh, ripe berries contain viable seeds and the husk must be removed before planting. The seeds contained in dried berries will not germinate.


Containerized curry trees

Curry leaf trees can be grown in containers, as long as they have nutrient-rich potting soil and good drainage. They need to be moved to slightly larger containers every few years. By the time your curry tree is 10 years old and at its mature size, it should be in a 30-gallon container. ​

Caring for curry trees

These trees prefer full sunlight but can grow in partial shade. Scorching summer sunlight can sunburn the leaves. If grown indoors, grow lights may be needed. If grown outdoors, your curry leaf tree will need to be brought indoors in winter if you live in Hardiness Zones 1-8. It will also need protection from wind. In either case, be sure to allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings to avoid root rot.


Curry trees should be fertilized once a month, March through October. Also, curry trees use a lot of iron, so iron sulfate should be added every other month, or so.


Curry tree pests and diseases

Mites and scale insects are the two most common pests of curry trees, along with aphids and citrus mealybugs. Asian citrus psyllids may also be present and this poses a serious problem. Asian citrus psyllids can carry a fatal disease called huanglongbing. Infected trees must be destroyed. Before accepting curry tree seeds or cuttings, make sure they are not from a quarantine zone. Leaf spot is another disease that may occur in curry leaf trees.


If you love curry, starting your own curry leaf tree is one way to enjoy the very freshest ingredients.

Rough stink bug diet

Like other stink bugs, a rough’s favorite foods are plant-based. While other species prefer fruits and vegetables, the rough stink bug diet is predominantly the leaves and developing seeds of ash, boxelder, walnut, willow, and many other trees. The thing that makes the rough stink bug beneficial is that they also feed on caterpillars and leaf beetle larvae.


Rough stink bug lifecycle

Rough stink bugs spend their winters hidden under logs or the bark of trees. They may also try to get in your home. If they do, keep in mind that their name is an important clue. If you vacuum them up or squash them in your home, there will be consequences. Stinky ones. Instead, sweep them up with a dustpan and drop them into a container of soapy water or feed them to your chickens.


As spring temperatures rise, rough stink bugs become active again and start looking for a mate. Mated females lay clusters of 10 to 20 white, elongated eggs before they die. Two weeks later, the eggs hatch and pale colored nymphs emerge and begin feeding. There is one generation per year in most regions.


In most cases, getting rid of stink bugs is a good idea. The rough stink bug is an exception.

Extermigate is a word I just made up. ​

I was looking for one of those lovely, lengthy German words that describes something so well, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I was hoping for a word to describe the act of interrupting an insect’s lifecycle by wiping the eggs off before they hatch. No such word. So, I took extergimus, the Latin word for “wipe off”, and gave it a little twist. From now on, if anyone asks, extermigate refers to the act of wiping insect eggs off of a host plant. Ta da!


Why extermigate?

In many cases, it is the larval form of an insect that causes the most damage. Voracious eaters, they can sever seedlings, turn leaves into lace, and hollow out cabbages before they have a chance to form. Imported cabbageworm butterflies are a perfect example.


Tiny pale eggs are laid by the dozens on the underside of young leaves. In no time at all, these eggs hatch into tiny larvae that don’t stay little for long. All day, they chew holes in leaves, growing larger by the minute. Since they tend to turn the color of the leaves they are feeding on, they are difficult to see until the damage becomes extensive. Instead of losing crops to pests like these, you can extermigate the eggs and be done  with it.


How to extermigate

Much like tree rubbing, in which you use a gloved hand to rub off unwanted new shoots before they get large enough to require pruners, exterminating insect eggs is a lot faster and easier than hunting down fat green larvae, removing shredded leaves, and hosing all that frass (bug poop) out of your decimated plants

Every few days, simply take a walking tour of your susceptible plants. In the case of the imported cabbageworm butterfly, that would mean all of your cruciferous vegetables: broccolis,  Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, chard, and kale. Inspect the underside of leaves for signs of eggs. If you see any, simply wipe them off. They will fall to the ground where, when they hatch, they will have no food and die.

Generally speaking, milk or whey, applied before exposure to powdery mildew does reduce disease incidence. This may be because the benign microorganisms that start growing on the milk make it more difficult for powdery mildew organisms to take hold. Another theory is that the fatty acids contained in milk have antifungal properties. It may be for another reason altogether. We don’t know yet. Note that none of these studies succeeded using nonfat milk. 


Research has also shown that foliar sprays of milk are effective in treating viral diseases, particularly tobacco mosaic and other mosaic diseases on barley, beans, beets, celery, peas, spinach, sunflowers, tomatoes, and zucchini. It is believed that the milk may either deactivate the viruses, or physically isolate them, but no one knows for sure. The milk spray may also prevent aphid attack, thereby reducing the number of aphid-borne viral diseases.


Problems with milk in the garden

The main problem associated with milk in the garden is that there has been very little scientific research conducted. Most of the information available is anecdotal, at best. Besides being expensive, there are three problems you should keep in mind before deciding to use milk in the garden:

1. Rotten milk smells bad.
2. Dried skim milk, in particular, has been shown to induce, rather than prevent, Alternaria leaf spot, black rot, and soft rot on cruciferous crops.
3. Benign fungal organisms that grow on the milk can make your plants unattractive.

How to apply milk

If you decide to use milk to prevent disease, it is recommended that whole milk be sprayed on soil prior to planting and again when insects appear or just prior to when powdery mildew and similar diseases are expected to occur. You can also dump sour milk into your compost pile or around acid-loving plants, such as blueberries.


So, can milk help improve your plant and soil health? Yes, and no. Used as a preventative antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial treatment, milk may reduce disease incidence by 50% to 70% on some plant species.

Asian lady beetles are also known to swarm in summer, creating a nuisance for picnic-goers.


Asian lady beetles have good eyesight. When threatened, Asian lady beetles release a foul odor, staining bodily fluids (“reflexive bleeding” from their knees), and they bite. Yes. That’s right. Asian lady beetles will bite you. And some people are allergic.


Asian lady beetle diet and host plants

Asian lady beetles are commonly found on apple trees, alfalfa, Christmas trees, grains, maple trees, pecan trees, rose bushes, walnut trees, and wheat. A single adult Asian lady beetle can eat 90 to 270 aphids each day, and one larva can devour 600 to 1,200 aphids as it develops. Adelgids, asparagus beetle larvae, mealybugs, moth larvae, psyllids, scale insects, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies are also popular food stuffs. So are other lady beetle species - and other Asian lady beetles. These predators are voracious!


The problem with Asian lady beetles

Being slightly larger than other lady beetle species. Asian lady beetles have been devastating to native populations. Suddenly, beneficial ladybugs went from predator to prey. In addition to eating indigenous ladybugs, Asian lady beetles outcompete our more gentle ladybugs, leaving them without adequate food supplies. Also, Asian lady beetles are highly resistant to common lady beetle diseases. If that weren’t bad enough, Asian species carry a parasite to which they are immune, but other lady bugs are not. This parasite infects and then kills local lady beetles.


As Asian lady beetles devour, outcompete, and infect local ladybug populations, biodiversity is reduced and a domino effect occurs in ways which we have only partially identified. Asian lady beetles are now considered one of the world’s most invasive species. 


Asian lady beetles are causing problems for grape farmers, too. As grapes are harvested, Asian lady beetles are often caught up in the harvest, ultimately altering the taste of the wine produced by those grapes.


Experts predict that things will settle down, once Asian lady beetle predators appear on the scene, but that can cause yet another set of domino-effects to become active. The delicate balances that evolve slowly over time have a difficult time dealing with the sudden changes we humans tend to create.


Asian lady beetle management

It is probably too late to do anything about this invasive insect. You are urged to not use pesticides. If Asian lady beetles appear in your home, you can gently sweep them up and toss them outside. Some people vacuum them up only to discover that alarming these insects results the stink and stain mentioned earlier. After kicking out the interlopers, inspect your home for points of entry around doors, windows, and pipes, and fill those spaces with expandable insulation or caulk.


Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Asian lady beetles are here to stay.

Whichever treatments you decide to use, ALWAYS apply them exactly as package instructions state and wear protective clothing and goggles. Using these products incorrectly can harm you, your trees, and groundwater supplies.


Other actions you can take to ensure the health of your fruit and nut trees during delayed dormancy include:

• remove mummies to interrupt navel orangeworm and brown rot
• remove deadwood and twigs with cankers and lesions
• remove fallen leaves which may contain pest eggs or disease pathogens
• whitewash trunks and exposed branches to reduce frost and sun damage

February may seem like a quiet time for gardeners, but it is the perfect time to get outside and take a closer look at stems, twigs, bark, buds and spurs. Identifying potential pest and disease problems ahead of time, and treating your trees at the ideal time to combat those problems can make the rest of your year that much easier and your trees more productive.

Insect pests can damage garden plants by feeding on them, burrowing into them, or by carrying diseases. ​

Insecticides can be repellent or non-repellent. Repellents discourage insects from bothering a plant in the first place. Non-repellents are especially effective against social insects, such as ants. Being a non-repellent, the insecticide is not offensive to the pest, so they walk through it and end up carrying it back to their nest, ultimately killing the entire colony.


Types of insecticides

There are three basic types of insecticide: natural, inorganic, and organic. Natural insecticides are enzymes and other protective substances made by plants as part of their arsenal against insect pests. These natural insecticides include nicotine, neem, and pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is made from the dried flower heads of two chrysanthemum species: Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum. Other natural insecticides include the chemical that gives horseradish its fiery bite, rosin, and wintergreen.


Inorganic insecticides are made from metals. Organic insecticides are organic chemical compounds that are generally work by making contact with an insect.


The problem with insecticides 

Being poisons, insecticides can affect our health, as well as kill insects. Insecticides can also remain in the food supply, increasing in concentration as they move up the food chain. This is important because we are at the top of our food chain. [It is a lot like mercury in fish.] Many of these problems can be reduced or eliminated by understanding the different types of insecticides and using them responsibly.


Broad-spectrum insecticides

Like weedkiller sprays, broad-spectrum insecticides are very appealing. A problem appears. You spray it. The problem is gone. Fantastic. Except that the problem is not gone. In fact, the problem just got worse. By spraying broad-spectrum insecticides, all insects are affected. Beneficial predatory insects, pollinators, burrowing soil arthropods, and our beloved honey bees are all subject to the same poisoning.


There are several type of broad-spectrum insecticides, in order of toxicity, all of which interfere with nerve cell transmissions:
    

• organochlorides (e.g., DDT)
• most organophosphate (e.g., malathion, dimethoate)
• carbamate (e.g., carbaryl–Sevin, methomyl–Lannate)
• pyrethroids (e.g., beta-cyfluthrin–Baythroid, fenpropathrin–Danitol) 
• neonicotinoids (imidacloprid–Admire, acetamiprid–Assail)
• ryanoids (e.g., Rynaxypyr)

Educate yourself about ingredients

Before applying insecticides, you can protect yourself and the environment by learning more about the ingredients. For example, some beneficial insects, such as lacewings, are tolerant of pyrethroids, while beetles, parasitic wasps, and predatory mites are very sensitive to the same chemicals.


You should also ask yourself how long the ingredients of any particular insecticide will remain in the environment. Insecticides are commonly grouped by persistence: short (days), intermediate (up to 6 weeks), or long (months). 


Finally, are insects developing a resistance to an insecticide? If so, it should be avoided and another product used.


Reducing risks associated with insecticides

Before resorting to the use of insecticides, be sure you have done the following:

1. Properly identify the pest in question.
2. Decide on a tolerance level.
3. Practice Integrated Pest Management.
4. Consider the area - who and what will be exposed if insecticides are used?
5. Select a product specific to your pest.
6. Educate yourself about the ingredients before applying the product.
7. Read the label completely and follow the directions exactly, including safety equipment.
8. Buy only what you will use during the current season.
9. Always keep insecticides away from pets and children.

In many cases, it is against federal law to use insecticides improperly, and for good reason.


As quickly as insects can reproduce, it often feels like a losing battle. This is what makes the use of modern insecticides so appealing. Insecticides are an easy way to kill insects. But not all insecticides are safe to use on edible plants. And many insecticides interfere with the delicate balance that exists in a healthy environment. Knowing more about the different ways insecticides work, and how and when to apply them properly, can prevent longterm problems while still reducing the damage done to your plants by insect pests.

Your spinach, endive, escarole, lettuces, mustards, and Swiss chard are all susceptible. So are your lentils, strawberries, beans, peas, okra, and many cucurbits.


What is leaf rot?
​
You’ve seen it in your refrigerator. You place a fresh head of lettuce in the crisper drawer. The next time you look, leaves have turned brown and mushy. What happened? What happened is fungi or bacteria found a hospitable location and started reproducing and feeding. Rotting is the breakdown of complex structures by those tiny life forms. 


Causes of leaf rot

Leaf rot can be a case in which leaves were exposed to too much moisture and decomposition set in. Leaf rot can also be a symptom of any number of fungal or bacterial diseases, most often caused by Fusarium, Pythium, Phytophthora, and Rhizoctonia. These leaf rot diseases include cherry mottle, cucurbit wet rot, carrot leaf rot, lentil leaf rot, pigeonpea leaf rot, and white mold.


Like most rots, moisture is a critical component. Allowing water to sit on your leafy greens invites trouble, as does saturated soil.


Preventing leaf rot

Rather than losing your leafy greens and other garden favorites to leaf rot, there are steps you can take to prevent this problem. First, healthy plants are better able to protect themselves, so select plants best suited to your microclimate and avoid overwatering. Good drainage will also help prevent conditions that lead to leaf rot. Instead of overhead watering, use drip irrigation, a soaker hose, or furrow irrigation. ​

If leaf rot does occur, dig up infected plants and throw them in the trash. This will reduce the chance of neighboring plants suffering a similar fate.

Eating lead-based paint is a bad idea. You don’t want it in your garden soil, either. But how do you know if it is there and what can you do about it if it is?

How to manage lead contaminated soil

If your soil is contaminated, your biggest health risk is breathing in dust that contains lead. One of the easiest ways to reduce the risk of inhaling lead dust is to grow cover crops or mulch over the area. You can also cover the contaminated area with 4” to 6” of clean soil, to reduce the risk of dust.


You can also use certain amendments that bind to the lead, making it less likely to be absorbed by plants or released into the air via dust. Lead will bind to organic matter, such as aged compost, but this treatment needs to be repeated as the compost breaks down. Depending on your soil’s phosphorus levels, the addition of more phosphorus may improve the binding action. Too much phosphorus is bad for plants, so check your soil test results before using this method.


As soil pH increases, becoming more alkaline, plants absorb more lead. Maintaining a soil pH of 6.5 to 7.5 is ideal, both for plant health and to reduce lead absorption.


Can I grow edible plants in lead contaminated soil?

Plants can grow in soil with lead levels as high as 500ppm. Lead moves very slowly through plants, staying mostly in the roots. According to the University of California Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, “Fruits such as tomatoes, peppers, melons, okra, apples, and oranges and seeds such as corn, peas, and beans generally have the lowest lead concentrations and are the safest portions of the respective plants to eat [when] grown in lead-contaminated soils.” 


Crops that should never be grown in lead contaminated soils include leafy greens, such as chard and collards, and root vegetables, such as beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips. These crops are better grown in raised beds with clean potting soil.


Also, if you know your soil contains high levels of lead, be sure to wash all produce thoroughly to remove any lead dust that may be present.


Finally, pencil leads have never been made from lead. They are made with graphite.


Now you know.

When I first read the name drugstore beetle, I conjured up images of an 1800s mercantile being harassed by a gunslinging beetle wearing spurs. I have no idea why. ​

Drugstore beetle lifecycle

Female drugstore beetles can lay up to 75 eggs at a time, and the egg-laying season can last for months. That works out to a tremendous number of offspring. Those eggs are usually laid in dried foods, such as cereals, dried fruit, grains, herbs, and nuts. Eggs may also be found in dried meat, hair, wool, and candy.


As those eggs are laid, they are covered with a yeast fungus. This fungi and the beetles cannot live without each other. This is an example of obligatory symbiosis. In less than two months, larvae pupate into adulthood, protected by tiny cocoons, and the cycle begins again.


Damage caused by drugstore beetles

After the eggs hatch, it is the larvae that cause damage by burrowing through and feeding on a wide variety of materials. They also leave frass (big poop) and webbing behind, as well as stray hairs and secretions.


Drugstore beetle larvae love dried plant products, such as cereals, beans, pasta, rice, bread, flour, and spices. Apparently, paprika and chili powder are drugstore beetle favorites, though they will eat practically anything. Larvae are also commonly found in tea, potpourri, tobacco, wreaths, and birds’ nests and they have been known to damage books, leather, hair, and museum specimens.


In the garden, drugstore beetles are a major pest of cumin.


Drugstore beetle control

Drugstore beetles are often carried into the home, garden, or landscape in bulk items, such as grass seed, bird seed, or dry pet food. They may also hitch a ride on packaged food. This is why it is important to look for holes in food packaging and avoid those products. While adult drugstore beetles do not eat, they often chew holes in plastic, foil, and paperboard food packaging. You may also see pockmarks in crackers and pasta. Inspecting foodstuffs and bulk items before you bring them home can prevent infestation.


When bringing crops, such as beans and other seeds, into the home., it is a good idea to freeze them overnight to kill any larvae that may be lurking. This is an easy way to keep your home from becoming infested. Diatomaceous earth (DE) can also be used lightly in areas where drugstore beetles may be lurking.


Pheromone traps and insecticides are not effective against drugstore beetles.

Chlorine toxicities and deficiencies

Chlorine is a relatively mobile nutrient, which means it moves around freely within a plant, going wherever it is needed. This means that deficiencies are most often seen in older growth. Chlorine deficiencies appear as wilting, leaf mottling, and a highly branched but stubby root system. [Cabbages that are grown in chlorine deficient soils do not smell like cabbages.]


More often, chlorine toxicities occur close to swimming pools and in areas with hard water. [San Jose tap water ranges in pH from 7.0 to 8.7.] Symptoms of chlorine toxicity appear as scorched leaf margins, excessive leaf drop, reduced leaf size, and reduced overall growth. Too much chlorine can also interfere with nitrogen absorption, causing chlorosis, or yellowing, but that might not always be a bad thing.


We know that new growth tends to be more susceptible to disease than older growth. It ends up that chlorine’s interference with nitrogen uptake may be a method of reducing disease severity. As a disease occurs, plants absorb more chloride anions, blocking nitrogen uptake, and reducing the amount of vulnerable new growth being produced.


Now you know.