Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer! Hot Hot Hot, and "a bit" buggy. On these days, your garden will need to be watered daily, ideally early morning or evening. It can be discouraging to lose plants to heat and pests. Each season in a little different depending on when we get moisture, how much, and how long the heat waves last, but don't lose hope. Gardening teaches us resilience, and offers the opportunity for life long learning! But what to do about the bugs?!
Squash Bugs!
They slice and chew the plant stems leading to sudden wilting and death. They lay eggs in June and later in the summer. Warm temps enable the second round of nymphs to grow and they can survive mild winters.
For organic control, CSU extension suggests: 1) For small plantings, pick the bugs and their eggs off the leaves when you see them.Start surveying for eggs once a week in June and continue throughout the season. 2) Pull mulch away from the squash and pumpkin plants as that provides habitat for squash bugs. Yes, sometimes mulch is good but in this case, not around squash and pumpkins. Just grow squash in bare soil. 3) The area around the base of the plant is also a site where insecticide applications should be concentrated. Diatomaceous earth/pyrethrins applications around the base of the plant can be an effective method to control squash bug and is a treatment allowed in Certified Organic vegetable production. 4) If your plant dies please bag it up, including the soil around the stem and toss it in the dumpster, located near the barn
Source: CSU Extension Fact Sheet 5609 - Squash Bug Management in Home Gardens, Photos by Julie Lesnick
Bumble Flower Beetles!
Gardener Amy Ahrent discovered and identified these feisty guys decimating her plot, but she will not be deterred! She is currently researching ways to control them as none of the organic methods have worked so far including insecticicle soap, diatomaceous earth powder, Neem oil spray, and cutting and physically removing them from the Hollyhock plants and gardens. They always return the next day.
Garden VP Patty circled up with Pollinator Garden lead Nicole who suggested using a garlic solution, but the little beasts are persistent. Nicole suggests using ground garlic with the granular fertilizer when you fertilize the flowers. When the plant draws up the fertilizer and garlic it is absorbed by the plants / acts systemically and the bugs don't like the way the garlic tastes.
Also, make sure the plant is watered deeply every few days and cultivate / hoe the soil around the plant so that it is not compacted around the root zone. The plant should also be mulched to conserve moisture.
These pests love decaying organic matter, of which there is plenty at the gardens. They also love sap flowers and Hollyhocks are those.
Here is more info on these beetles.
Japanese Beetles
Gardener Bonnee Basso shared that Jeffco county is tracking the location of Japanese Beetles within Jeffco. If you choose to report a Japanese Beetle problem, Here is the link.
Jeffco Information:
Japanese Beetle | Jefferson County, CO Japanese Beetle. Japanese beetles have become established in the Denver metro region in Colorado. The adult feed on over 300 types of plants. The larva feed on the roots of plants and can be very harmful to sod and lawns. More Info Here.
Encouragement!
At least know, as a gardener who rides the challenging waves of pests munching your veggies and flowers, you are among many cultivators over the centuries who try innovative organic solutions each season to prevail, and like weeds, pest control is part of gardening.
Innovative Pest Control
We are discussing making bird boxes to encourage birds to nest nearby and eat more pests. We may also spray beneficial nematodes again in the Fall if we can get them to evenly spread with more testing of various spreading methods.
Community Event Round Up
On July 21, after a slight evening rainshower, the sun set over 25 gardeners, who were treated to an evening of music with singer-songwriter Tim Merkel. We enjoyed Tim's selection of original songs as well as music by the likes of John Gorka, Neil Young, the Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel.
This year was Tim's third or fourth evening at the garden, in as many years, and we hope to have him return next summer for another lovely evening of song amidst our blooming flowers and succulent vegetables. Thanks for coming out everyone!
Produce Donations
If you have extra produce, please bring it to the barn for donation on Mondays to the Community Table and Thursdays for Veggie Van. Gardeners may drop off produce in the barn, and leave in the refrigerator if the produce is perishable or on the bench in the black trays if it is non-perishable. Thank you for helping bring your local community up by sharing your bounty!
Upcoming Events
Tuesday August 16: 6:30 pm Rose Roots Steering Committee meeting, at garden. All gardeners welcome.
Thursday August 18: Third Thursday work party and potluck. Bring food to grill and we will have refreshments. It would be great to see everyone!
Garden Leadership
We are accepting nominations for leadership roles for the 2023 Season until September 15. We will send out an online ballot with those who accept nominations in October. Garden leadership is a rewarding, innovative, inclusive experience where you can learn more about gardening, leadership, and make some great friends! Positions run for two terms. Elected positions available are President, Vice President, Administrator, and Membership Coordinator. Leaders are required to attend a 2 hour monthly meeting during gardening season which runs from May to October and several planning meetings outside of the season. Please read more about these positions Here. Let us know at leadership@roserotosgarden.org if you or someone you know would like to get more involved. All gardeners are welcome!
Gardener Gratitude
On the morning of July 16, six energetic volunteers showed up to work on West Side project related tasks, in what, once again, proved to be extreme heat. Thank you all for coming out!
We would like to thank Maggie Alcorn for continuing to work on the West side composting piles.
Appreciation to John Chisum and Maggie Alcorn for working on the drainage at the west gate near the portable toilet. John also mowed and "weed whacked" at the west side and fence line surrounding the garden.
Thanks to Jennifer and Ruby Yanez, John Malito, and Gary Williams for a heroic effort. They shoveled and hauled our rocky soil from our proposed picnic area to our tree planting locations for the West Side project.
Thanks to Patty Sacks for lining up grading equipment and special thanks to gardener Daniel Yanez for operating it with style and grace.
Thank you also to Jim Richards for fixing the leak on the west side, and to the City for fixing the leak next to the pollinator garden.
Thank you to all you gardeners donating produce and helping with deliveries and especially to Cindee Malito for coordinating the effort.
We hope to plant some perennials in August, when it begins to cool down, and will wait until next spring to plant trees, as there is no water source at the garden during late Fall and winter months. We must ensure the trees have an opportunity to establish successfully.
Wishing you all a Pestless rest of your garden season!
See you out at our beautiful garden,
Rose Roots Leadership Team
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