Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist. Education: B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley Appointment: 100% Cooperative Extension Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information. Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture: * IPM references and resources * Preventing pest problems * Natural common enemies * Making less toxic pesticide choices * Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects. You can watch the programs now online: Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on: Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. ;) If you type in leafminers in the search engine, it will take you to their page on How to Manage Pests: Leafminers page.

Stefaniechamo, I have sent you an e-mail. Bea, good to hear from you. :) Let me know what you would like to get from me. Le me know what else you have to trade. Thanks Just to add to the want list, I would love to get some heirloom lettuce as well, and I am looking for summer squash.

Sproradic diseases triggered by bad weather are such a bummer. The UMASS reference would say to pull the plants and start over, but that it won't spread beyond the beet/spinach family. At least there is time to start over. I often have good luck with chard planted late and set out in early to midsummer. Here is a link that might be useful: UMASS Cercospora

Yes, I blanch the chard before freezing. I roll up the leaf, and cut it crossways into thin strips (1/2" - 3/4"), then either chop up some of the stem or slice it thinly, and add it to the leaves. The amount of stem to add is up to your taste. Personally, I like the amount of body that the stem adds to the cooked greens... especially if I use the chard in soup. The best way to freeze chard (or any other vegetable in quantity) is to use a stainless steel kettle with a large strainer basket. It makes quick transfer simpler, and avoids over cooking. If you have two identical kettles (which I highly recommend) one basket can be cooking while the other is cooling. I just use cold running water (into another kettle shorter & wider than the basket) to cool the veggies after blanching, for a period equal to the blanching time. Then pour them out into a strainer, drain, and pack into containers. I've seen recommendations for blanching greens for only a minute or two, but in my experience, 3 minutes is the minimum. I base this upon a pound of chard at a time... and while this is a fairly large amount of chard, it will shrink down quickly once stirred into the boiling water (though not as much as spinach). After the initial weighing, I use a bowl filled to the same volume for subsequent batches. If you mix slices of stalk with the leaves, or if the leaves are larger & heavily veined, it may be necessary to use a longer blanching time, perhaps 4-5 minutes. Blanching is not a precise science, since it varies with the volume of the kettle, the heat setting, altitude, and the weight of the vegetables being blanched. The first time I blanch something, I use the recommendations of the Ball canning book as a starting point, then look for signs & make adjustments. Insufficiently blanched veggies may float after cooling, while fully blanched veggies generally sink. Blanching also causes color change, and if the color change is incomplete, then a longer time may be required. The best way to freeze chard (or any other green) is to pack the blanched chard tightly into a freezer box, freeze until solid, then vacuum seal the frozen "brick" (this avoids the bad seal you can get from vacuum sealing wet veggies). Protected this way, the chard will not get freezer burn. Alternatively, freeze the chard packed in just enough water to cover it. The ice will give some protection from freezer burn, although not for as long as vacuum sealing. This post was edited by zeedman on Fri, Jun 14, 13 at 20:53