The Seasoned Gardener

Ash Borer in Chicagoland!

If you live in Chicago you have probably heard that the Emerald Ash Borer, a very destructive pest on most ornamental and forest ash trees has been found in the Chicagoland area.  The city of Wilmette and a development in Kane county are the most recent areas where the EAB has been found.  In all likelihood the insects were imported in firewood from the Detroit area, and have been infesting trees here for several years prior to being discovered. 

  To identify the Emerald Ash Borer, first you need to know what an ash tree looks like.  The EAB does not affect any trees other than ash trees.  Ash trees have easy to identify leaves and buds, and their bark is fairly unique, especially in older trees.  Landscapers choose ash trees because of their quick growth and durability in urban landscapes.  In forests, ash trees compromise about 20% of the hardwood canopy in Illinois and the wooded areas of the Midwest.  It is the beetle in it's larval stage which is most damaging to trees.  The larva lives under the bark of the tree and feeds on the cambium layer where the "plumbing" for the tree moves water and nutrients up and down from the roots to the crown.  The larvae or borer stage of the insect leaves "S" shaped feeding galleries and effectively cuts off the flow of water and food from the roots to the leaves and back again.  The adults exit the tree through "D" shaped holes (shown below) in the bark.

The EAB was first noticed in the Detroit, Michigan area in 2002.  Experts believe that the insect was  imported from Asia in packing materials delivered to a warehouse in that area, and that the adults emerged and began infecting the ash trees there.  Since then, over 15 million ash trees have been destroyed in Michigan, and the insect has spread to Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and now Illinois.  There is no easy method of control of these insects because there are so many ash trees in the area.  Homeowners who have specimen trees should ask local experts how to protect them against this insect, however, if an infestation is found within about 1/2 mile of your tree, it is likely that the tree will be quarantined anyway and will be removed.   

So what should you do? 

1. Identify any ash trees in your landscape
2. Look for weakness or die back of the upper branches
3. Check for "D" shaped emergent holes in the bark
4. Watch for green metallic insects on the bark of the tree
5. If you see or suspect an infestation call your county agent or the State Department of Agriculture. 

See the USDA/Forest Service Website for more information on this serious pest.

You can help if you know what to look for.

SG

Remember "Shimmer?"

If you watched Saturday Night Live in 1976, you may remember a classic skit with Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase featuring “Shimmer” the combination floor wax and dessert topping whose clean floors “never tasted better.” 

The idea of having a garden product doing two or more things in the garden at the same time is not new.  Weed and Feed products, for example do two separate tasks with one application.

Dual-purpose products offer gardeners the opportunity to do multiple tasks in the garden with a minimal number of applications, trips to the garage, or to the store. 

Some newer multiple use products are coming out of the Bayer Advanced products line.  One new product I especially like is Bayer Advanced All in One Rose and Flower Care.  This liquid concentrate has one big thing going for it in the fact that it is a drench and not a spray.  Drench products are mixed with water and applied around the roots of plants to deliver the control they offer.  Bayer All in One Rose and Flower Care provides three critical plant care components in one application, insect control, disease control, and fertilizer.  In effect, this product is like liquid “Roses for Dummies” allowing a single application to address the multiple functions necessary for great looking flowers. 

Another multi-use product I like which is beginning to appear at nursery and garden stores is a combination mulch and weed control product.  I admit I’m a little concerned about the effect of an herbicide in planting beds, especially around tender newly planted annuals, but the manufacturer assures us that the weed control capabilities don’t interfere with planting. 

Potting soils incorporating fertilizer, water absorbing materials, and even insect control are common now in garden centers.  Again, the “For Dummies” mentality yields a good quality product for gardeners.  Anyone who travels during the garden maintenance season can see the value of this product.  These multi-purpose potting mixes are available from a number of manufacturers. 

There are also a number of excellent tools, which serve multiple purposes in the garden.  These include carts and wagons, which also function as sitting stools for gardeners and a variety of hand tools with interchangeable blades or accessories to allow multiple tools to share the same handle, rather like a Swiss Army Knife of hand tools.

I expect more multi-function products to appear in stores in the 2007 season.  I’ll keep you aware as I find out more.

SG

I was skeptical...

I have always been skeptical of Miracle Gro products as more hype than substance.  This is strange since for much of my life I've worked for companies including Scotts/Miracle Gro selling just such products to retailers across the country.  Recently though, my wife brought to my attention her overwhelming satisfaction with the Miracle Gro potting soil she used this spring to plant up some window boxes and planters around our townhouse in northern Illinois. 

I took a closer look and I have to agree, the results are exceptional, especially compared to the planters we have where we did not replace the soil this year. 

We used the Miracle Gro Potting Mix (1 cu. ft. size) with Moisture Control.  The soil was (according to my wife) easy to use and not too wet and heavy.  She put drainage holes and gravel in all of the planters and used an assortment of annuals in each.  Although watering has not been as urgent this summer as last summer, we water regularly.  The difference started to become obvious in the last 3 weeks as the summer heat accelerated the growth of the annuals.  Plants in the fresh Miracle Gro soil (right) literally "took off" when compared to their old soil sisters (left).  The plants are healthy and colorful with blooms, buds and dark green foliage. Both planters were planted on the same day, and have received the same supplemental fertilizer, watering and exposure.  They are about 15 feet from each other. 

Maybe I've been too skeptical in the past, but from now on I'm using new Miracle Gro soil in all of our planters.  As for the old soil, I dump it out in the fall in our gardens.  It acts as an exceptional soil ammendment after it's played out as a potting soil. 

SG

Gardening Trivia - Answers Tomorrow

Here are the answers to the trivia test!

1. On apples it's called scab, but it also affects roses as:
   • Rose Hips
   • Powdery Mildew
   • Black Spot - Apples and Roses are in the same family.  Black Spot causes leaves to yellow with brown or black lesions.  There are a number of fungicides which will prevent Black Spot
   • Ring around the Rosie
2. Tomatoes are related to what poisonous plant?
   • Hemlock
   • Digitalis (Foxglove)
   • Broccoli
   • Nightshade - Vegetables including Tomatoes and Eggplant are members of the Solinacea (sp) family as is Nightshade - Deadly Nightshade.
3. Whose book "The Silent Spring" was a catalyst for the environmental movement and resulted in the formation of the EPA?
   • Carson McCullers
   • Carson Pirie Scott
   • Rachel Carson - Carson's research was later disputed and some proved wrong, but the 1962 book brought focus onto the mainly unregulated pesticide industry and resulted in the formation of the EPA in 1970 and many rules and regulations we see today. 
   • Johnny Carson
4. Which of these pests is NOT an imported insect?
   • Red Fire Ants
   • Gypsy Moths
   • Emerald Ash Borers
   • Colorado Potato Beetles - all of the others were brought in from overseas either as experimental insects like the Gypsy Moth which was brought into Massachusetts to breed with silkworms, or as hitchhikers on plant materials (fire ants) or in packaging materials (Emerald Ash Borer). 
5. What is usually "Knee High by the Fourth of July?"
   • Your lawn if left unmowed
   • A basketball player
   • Field corn - Trust me, I live in Illinois.
   • Water in your basement

Look for answers tomorrow.

The Seasoned Gardener

Technology Tackles Another Annoying Task

There have been self-rewinding hose reels on the market for years.  Unfortunately they are not as durable as their manually cranked relatives, and they often tangle and kink to the point that they are not of much use at all. 

Enter Hydro-Industries, a New Jersey based company which is selling a new product in the US called the ReelSmart(r) Hose Reel.  Actually there are a number of different hose reel products sold by ReelSmart, but the common element of all of them is the rewind mechanism used to get the hose back onto the reel.  Instead of a spring activated rewind, ReelSmart products use a spiffy water pressure driven motor to slowly and steadily rewind the hose onto the reel.  A guide makes sure that the hose rewinds evenly and virtually without kinks or loops.  The motor is activated by a lever or switch on the side of the unit while the water is still on, and uses the water pressure to power a series of pistons to provide the torque and revolutions to rewind the hose. 

I saw this at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas in May and was impressed with the quality.  It certainly addresses the difficult and sometimes frustrating task of hand cranking a 50-100 ft. garden hose back onto a balky hose reel. 

Checkout the products on the Hydro-Industries website.  ReelSmart products are available in some local garden stores and online. 

The Seasoned Gardener

Fiskars Understands The Importance of Ergonomics

One of the innovation leaders for hand tools for "Seasoned" gardeners is Fiskars, a Madison, WI based producer of quality hand tools for gardening and crafts.  In business since 1649 in Finland, Fiskars has been leading a quiet revolution in the development of ergonomic tools inluding pruners, loppers, rakes and other hand tools. 

Known best for orange colored handles on their products, Fiskars has recently come out with lines of pruners and loppers incorporating lightweight handle materials and innovative geared cutting heads.  The Power-Lever(r) Bypass Pruner (Left) and the PowerGear(r) Anvil Lopper (Right) are some examples of these tools.  they provide excellent leverage and cutting power with minimal strenght requirements.  The lightweight handle materials also make an afternoon of pruning less of a chore with products weighing up to 25% less than standard wood or metal handled tools. 

The Fiskars website has a number of nice features for gardeners including the normal links to retailers and an online purchasing tool allowing you to buy direct from Fiskars.  Their site also has some good information on aging gardeners and how they are addressing the Ergonomics issue. 

Fiskars products get a very strong endorsement from the Seasoned Gardener as innovative and very user friendly.

The Seasoned Gardener

Summer 2006 - What a difference!

For the most part, this summer is a totally different gardening summer than last year.  By this time in 2005, we were in the midst of a serious drought which resulted in dormant lawns, stressed trees and shurbs and wilted vegetable and flower gardens across the Midwest. 

This year it's different.  Begining with some serious wet weather late in the winter and through the spring, we are now in a much more favorable growing season.  Homeowners should still monitor rainfall to make sure that lawns are receiving about 1" of rain/irrigation per week.  Trees and shrubs may require some additional watering, but not to the same degree as last year. 

Because of the abundance of water this year, insects and diseases will be more normal, with a wider variety of buzzing visitors including wasps, yellowjackets and mosquitoes enjoying the wetter weather as well. 

Look for signs of moisture enhanced diseases such as powdery mildew and blackspot on your shrubs and flowers, especially as the weather warms up. 

Continued rainfall will be very helpful when establishing or re-establishing turf areas this fall.  Look for more information on this project later in the year. 

Until next post, enjoy your yard and garden and enjoy the rain when it comes. 

This year it's different.  Begining with some serious wet weather late in the winter and through the spring, we are now in a much more favorable growing season.  Homeowners should still monitor rainfall to make sure that lawns are receiving about 1" of rain/irrigation per week.  Trees and shrubs may require some additional watering, but not to the same degree as last year. 

Because of the abundance of water this year, insects and diseases will be more normal, with a wider variety of buzzing visitors including wasps, yellowjackets and mosquitoes enjoying the wetter weather as well. 

Look for signs of moisture enhanced diseases such as powdery mildew and blackspot on your shrubs and flowers, especially as the weather warms up. 

Continued rainfall will be very helpful when establishing or re-establishing turf areas this fall.  Look for more information on this project later in the year. 

Until next post, enjoy your yard and garden and enjoy the rain when it comes. 

Introducing the Seasoned Gardener

Been a gardener for a long time? 

You probably have if you consider yourself a "Seasoned Gardener." Many of us are fast approaching the time when we can kick back a little and enjoy things such as gardening and garden related activities more as time allows.  I've noticed recently though that what used to be easy and fun has become more of a job and a little more painful as I get more "Seasoned" myself. 

Many garden product manufacturers have acknowledged the fact that American gardeners are aging, and are producing products to address the special needs of those of us with a variety of age related needs, aches and pains, and less strength to do the things we enjoy so much. 

My goal here is to take what I know and add it to what YOU know to create a blog where Seasoned Gardeners can share ideas and inspiration.  We all have things that we can add to the mix of experience and information for all of us. 

The gentleman in the illustration for this blog is my great-grandfather who, although he lived near Newark, New Jersey in the late 1800's was an avid gardener and yard care expert.  He is among those from whom I inherited my "Gardening Gene."

Please post often and enjoy the conversation.

The Seasoned Gardener