Petee

There are only so many Japanese Beetles hatched out every year. There's not a limitless supply, although it may seem so, so any that you kill or remove will not be able to lay eggs for next year. We just came from a neighbor's house and they tried putting the Beetle traps way away from their trees. It's working.

We also would welcome any kids. Just come to a meeting with kids and an idea. Our meeting is set up so anyone can come for the educational talk and refreshments and then leave before the boring business part, or stay as they choose.

This is more of a trap than a cure all, but if they are put where they will not be near any of your garden plants, it could reduce the Adult population. You could also add a couple of geese which love Japanese Beetles, a soil treatment of Bacillus popilliae (milky spore disease) and do some hand picking. Reducing the breeding adults will pay off the following season. Japanese Beetle Mix This recipe is to be used in the height of the Japanese Beetle season. Ingredients: ? 1 cup water ? 1/4 cup sugar ? 1 mashed banana ? 1 pkg yeast Mix all ingredients in a milk jug. Place the jug (with the top off) in an area where Japanese Beetles gather. The bugs go in but not out. A very organic way to go after those beetles. http://www.emilycompost.com/pests.htm

If you're doing a crack in a sidewalk then salt might do it but I wouldn't put it near other plants. If you have a salt problem in a planting bed then add powdered Gypsum.

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/muscadinegrape.html I'd leave a drop cloth there, shake the tree and pour off the grapes into a bucket once every day or two. The only real grape pests we get here are Japanese Beetles and birds.

Once I thought about it, I remembered that most of the gardeners I know on here are over 60 years old! No wonder we all hurt.

I ruined my knees years ago falling and bashing them three times, and then not dealing with it. Now I'm going to pay the Piper in a few weeks at the knee doctor. If there's an underlying problem, then get it fixed. Otherwise, a good soak in a hot tub followed by a soak in cold water will help strained muscles relax. I do this three times a week, evenings, at the Y, and other than being tired from swimming for an hour, everything seems to feel and work much better. There's no dealing with the knees anymore......arghhh! Now I do container gardening on my deck and hire the yard work done. I point and he digs! :-)

Buy a couple of traps and give them to neighbors who do not garden to lure them away from your own garden. If you happened to spray on a day when the sun came out, that may have fried some of the plants. Otherwise, hand pick.........ick!

Every fruit has a direct link to the top growth and to a specific section of the root system. I don't think you want to cut off the (top) growth point. However, you may want to use a fertilizer with a lower first number and a higher middle number, possibly something meant for flowers. That should slow down the greenery and encourage the fruits. Use some Epsom Salts (1 tsp per gallon or plant) to help develop fruit. Heck, tie it to a rope on the garage if necessary. All of my plants are all tall this year.

We (the BUDS) have always welcomed children to come and attend meetings, garden with us, borrow books, whatever it takes to encourage the children to learn to grow. That's our job. We had a boy who was brought from Ridgway to the meetings specifically because no other club that they had called would take him. He was wonderful and a couple of us even took him overnight to Longwood Gardens. He was ecstatic and he made our visit so much more fun! Children are the most important seeds to nurture. We will even fund projects for children. Bring the kid and an idea.

You can also set a gallon jug of water or a 2 liter pop bottle in the plant if there's room, or even beside one in the garden. Loosen the lid just a teeny bit and poke one tiny hole in the bottom. Depending on how large you made the bottom hole, it can water for 24 hours. Start with a very small hole and make it larger as needed. Tightening or loosening the lid will help adjust the flow too.

http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/birds You can listen to the call of the bird you select.

Mockingbird? They copy all kinds of sounds and repeat them. I think this is a little out of their normal range but it's not impossible.

I just bought the seed packet and plopped them into starter cells this spring. I must have gotten the lucky packet!

If any of you live where Master Gardener classes are available, take them! It gives you tools for identifying and caring for nature in general.

Ah Ha, the house with the boxes. Please e-mail me with a phone number so we can make arrangements. Thank you.

Yes, we can use all the Peonies we can get. I'll have to get a transplanting effort together. How soon?

I have about 10 in the greenhouse and they will be looking for homes. Our last sale will be sometime in late July.

Try Kohlhepps for some of these older products too.

When the foliage finally withers on any spring bulbs, just clean it up and discard it. Leaving it in the garden can carry over diseases. Also, be sure to cut back your Irises in the fall when they start to dry up. The old foliage on those can carry over pests like Iris Borers.

The dried heads also smell good in pot pourrie.

Watch the sales at Lowes. They usually have them at one time or another.

Tradescantia is definitely right for the first one. Calendulas and African Daisies can reseed themselves but it has to be in an excellent environment for them.

Guesses! 1. Jacob

Someone recently said that dropping Bubble Gum down Groundhog holes will kill then too. They eat it and die.