Catalpa Tree, good or bad? & How do I keep the caterpillars off?
17 years ago
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- 17 years ago
- 17 years ago
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How do I tell a good stink bug from a bad one?
Comments (5)Here's some good info: http://pmtp.wsu.edu/BMSB.html#brown_SB Yes, the serrated shoulders indicate one of the "good" stink bug species at least in the Pacific Northwest. They also supposedly have less distinct banding of the antennae and less distinct checker-boarding of the abdomen edges. The native species are only considered pests in that they may annoy you by getting into your house in the winter, otherwise they are no problem. The new Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is 10 times worse in that respect, and it loves my thornless blackberries too. Note the serrated shoulders (right behind the eyeballs) on these fine fellows: http://bugguide.net/node/view/348093 http://bugguide.net/node/view/284507 I would happily share my house with these guys than share my blackberry patch the BMSB....See MoreHow do I keep a tree from splitting
Comments (4)I had a huge old mulberry tree with a total trunk diameter of about 7 feet that fit the description you provide. Meaning that the trunk looked split but still growing together for several feet and down to the ground. It had been cabled together a couple of times previously but I didn't realize it when I bought this place. The cables were attached to huge eye-bolts that were screwed into the main trunks. My inurance company insisted that I remove the weaker looking part of the tree that hung over the driveway but I still ended up losing the tree eventually. A couple of years ago a combination of heavy winter rains that softened the soil and then an ice storm on top of that. The actual demise of the tree was an electric pole that was a few feet away. The heavy ice caused the pole to come down and it took the tree with it because the wires caught the tree and caused the whole thing to come down on both of my vehicles and left us without power, phone, heat and water for three days in the middle of winter when the temperatures rarely went above freezing. Had I know the eventual outcome, I would have given up the tree earlier and planted a replacement. Good luck with yours! spiderwoman...See MoreGood Trees for Bad Air? And on Cutting Down Trees
Comments (1)Kayan, It's impossible to give you input about removing or even pruning the trees without seeing them. Unless someone has seen the site, they don't have the needed information. Pictures might help some, but even then you're only going to get guesses. If you don't have a feel for how much effort it will take, I'd recommend that you get a certified arborist to take a look. If you need the trees removed and don't have the required experience to do it, I'm not sure what other choice you have but to pay someone to do the job. You should be able to get free or low-cost estimates before contracting with someone to do the job. I'd get at least two or three estimates and check to be sure the company is properly bonded and insured before making a decision. The decision of whether to take the tree's down, prune them, or leave them as-is will have to be yours. You'll have to consider things like safety, aesthetics, and the financial aspects in your decision, but the right answer is the one you decide on. No one else is really in a position to make that decision for you unless public safety or local regulations about tree care/maintenance are involved. Also, I don't see how the decision to remove or leave the trees is going to have any real impact on your "garden's air". The trees aren't likely to block fumes. At best, they may help to block the site of the smoke coming from the trucks. Recommendations for replacement trees might be possible if we knew how much room (width and height) you had. Pictures, any specific information you can give about the site, and more information about the type of trees you'd like would also help. Below is a link to a site that has lots of good information about tree maintenance/removal and tree care in general. Here is a link that might be useful: International Society of Arboriculture's Website...See MoreHow do you keep vegetable gardening groove in the off season??
Comments (15)We have a 12 X 30' hoophouse to extend the fall and spring seasons. When the ground in the hoop house freezes in winter (as is happening today), I cover everything with remay for extra protection and wait for a stretch of warm sunny days to get things going again. It might be next week or the next thaw might not happen until April. Meanwhile, in the house, I've got potted herbs and cut and come again greens (arugua, lettuce, etc.) in all my east and south-facing windows. Tiny onions and shallots can be planted in pots for cutting too. I've found that I can dig up a piece of perennial herbs like oregano, lemon balm, spearmint from the garden in fall and put them in pots. It's best to do it early enough so they can adjust to the pot outside for a while before bringing them in. Tender herbs like basil and marjoram sometimes cooperate and let you dig them and bring them in too. This year I've got a pot of Thai basil indoors -- so far so good. My 20 year old Rosemary is trained as a standard. It goes into the ground in spring and gets potted up and brought in before winter. It loves the dry, circulating heat at a window next to the wood stove. Lemon grass, bay, meyer lemon and key lime plants all live permanently in pots, going out in summer and back in for winter. Scale is a problem with the latter 3 but occasional treatment with neem oil in summer and washing leaves in the sink in winter, keeps them healthy. For years I bought new organic potting soil for all these indoor pots but the last couple years I have dumped all used potting soil into a couple of old whiskey barrels outside and let the rain, air and outdoor micro-organisms, refresh the soil. When re-potting food plants to bring indoors, I add good compost and maybe some perlite if the soil seems too heavy. I add a squirt of fish and seaweed emulsion to my watering every week to keep the plants nice and green and producing new leaves even duing the short winter days. It works pretty well. Also last year I started a small vermicomposting operation in a 5 gallon bucket in the house. It's not an optimal container, but the worms are doing their thing and they create really nice potting soil from leaves/wet newspaper and a little kitchen waste. Amazing. We're going to start another vermicompost container and put the worms to work on our kitty litter (not for use on food plants!). The wood-based kitty litter is much nicer than the clay type and the worms should produce some good compost for use on ornamental plants outside. One more very easy winter harvest tip: grow belgian endive. Grow them as a root vegetable that you harvest in fall. I crowd the harvested roots, leaf side up, into a large plastic pot, put potting soil around the roots, water, and put the pot into a 5 gal bucket. This goes into a perfectly dark place with temps around 60 F. In a couple months you have gorgeous little white heads of endive. I like to exuse myself before a winter dinner party "to harvest the salad from the bedroom closet."...See MoreRelated Professionals
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