Rose chafer season is here!

 I was checking my apple trees the other evening, and I noticed holes in many leaves on the tree. Rose chafers were the culprit. These beige bugs seem to love fruit trees, raspberries, and many ornamentals. The Rose Chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosus) hatches in the soil, and  thrives in sandy soil conditions. A new solution for these hungry and hard to control pests is the Beetle Bagger. This is an hourglass shaped trap has replaceable bags to catch the critters. It has a attractant that lasts the whole season, and 2 bags that you will need to empty (or replace) often. Place the traps away from other food sources (so you don’t draw them into your raspberries) and empty often. These traps also work well on Japanese beetles. I found these traps very effective last season. We have them in stock at Bauer’s Market.

Beat the blight this season

  Remember last years tomato season? You planted and things all looked good, but a humid, wet, season got going. Then the first spots came on the lower leaves of the plants. This is the beginning of Tomato blight. It is a fungus that comes from spores normally found in the soil. To help your tomatoes resist the blight, mulch around the base of the plant to eliminate soil splashing up onto the tomato plant. When watering, use a soaker hose, rather than overhead watering. This keeps the plant dryer, making it harder for the fungus to get established. The last tip to help beat the blight is to use a fungicide. There are many good ones on the market, Mancozeb, Chorathalonil, are good. For organic gardens Copper sulfate is a good fungicide. Use of a fungicide is to protect the plant from getting the blight, once a fungus has infected a plant, there is no real cure.

Rid your yard of pesky moles, and other critters!

 One of the most asked questions in the spring is "how do I get rid of the moles in my yard?" As our yards green up, mole damage becomes more evident. These pesky vermin tunnel through yards and gardens in search of grubs and worms. Moles are carnivores, and if you eliminate grubs from the turf grass in your yard, you send them looking for food in other places. Bauer's carries Grub Beater, this product kills the grub as it comes towards the surface in the spring. The active ingredient in Grub Beater is less harmful to earthworms than other turf insect products. If you don't want an insecticide on your yard, but still would like to be rid of the moles, we also handle Mole Max, this product is base on a castor bean. You could say this product leaves a bad taste in their mouths, because this is how it chases the moles away. Yet another product is Motomco mole killer. This product looks like an earthworm, an easy meal for a mole, but these are treated with a poison for moles. After moles have tunneled through your yard, lawn aeration may be needed to help the turf come back strong.

      More products for pesky critters include Snake Stopper, Animal Repellant and Repels All, these products will help you keep snakes, deer, rabbits and other vermin from invading your garden space.

Ease into the spring!

  With all of the warm weather, it is easy to rush into spring and ignore that our normal last frost is in late April. There is still many garden projects safe to do without rushing the season, like clearing old plant matter from perennial beds, spreading compost on the garden, or perhaps a yard aeration would be needed. I see many gardeners that can't wait to plant the first bedding plants, but be sure that you can chance losing them to frost. Another early project is to treat  your ash trees for the Emerald Ash Borer. As the tree comes out of dormancy a treatment with a systemic insecticide drench will help the tree resist this new pest in our area.

Fruit Tree Maintenance

  As spring approaches, and our weather is suitable, get a jump on maintaining your fruit trees. While the trees are dormant, it is a good time to trim unruly branches. March is also the best time to apply a dormant oil spray on them.This is also known as sulfur-lime spray. Spraying a dormant spray will rid your tree of insect eggs before they warm up and hatch in the spring. Pests such as scale, mites, and aphids will be less of a problem next season after this application.

Spring is just around the corner!

Spring is just around the corner, the days are getting longer and warmer. Those of us who just can't get enough gardening in have the chance to get your hands in the potting soil again. Many flowers and vegetables can be started from seed, as long you have an area that is warm, and that gets plenty of sunlight to get these plants growing. It takes patience and very regular attention to establish new seedlings. At Bauer's we have a great selection of seed, soil, pots and planting flats to help you establish these young plants. For those of you that do not have the proper area, or perhaps the time to start your own seed, Bauer's has a full line of annuals, vegetables, and perennials to help you. Our staff is knowledgeable with a vast number of plants, and can help guide you to a successful garden this season.

Your garden questions are always welcome here, please stop by to visit,
or Email at Johnh@bauersmarketplace.com, all questions are welcome.
John

Nows the time to get your Creeping Charlie !

If Creeping Charlie is a problem in your yard, now is the time to get it. Spraying Creeping Charlie in the fall is the best time to rid your yard of this pesky weed. A spray with Dicamba (trade name Trimec) will weaken the plant so it cannot survive the winter. Apply any spray according to the directions on the package. An old fix for Creeping Charlie was to spray a Borax solution on the Creeping Charlie, but most times this treatment is not effective. Overuse of Borax spray may accumulate in the soil to the extent where nothing will grow.