by Greg Alder | May 26, 2023 | Fruit, Pests |
I am not afraid of so-called fruit tree pests and diseases. They’re just critters who also like to feed on our fruit trees. I say “also” because they’re just like us, they’re looking for a tasty snack too. They don’t munch on our...
by Greg Alder | Nov 11, 2022 | Pests, Vegetables |
It had been a few years since I grew wheat so I sowed the ‘Pima Club’ variety with optimism last week. Then a flock of white-crowned sparrows arrived. I walked up to the bed as they fluttered off, and I found a fuzzy mess. It looked like they had scratched...
by Greg Alder | Jun 17, 2022 | Pests, Vegetables |
Over the past few summers, some of my vegetables have performed worse and worse because of damage from root knot nematodes. What are root knot nematodes? They’re microscopic worm-like creatures that live in the dirt and bore into the roots of plants and...
by Greg Alder | Aug 20, 2021 | Citrus, Fruit, Pests |
Back in the winter of 2015, a neighbor noted how poor my lime tree looked. She said her lemon tree didn’t have those “curly leaves” because she sprays it. A couple days later she brought over a blue bottle of the stuff she uses: Bayer Advanced...
by Greg Alder | May 28, 2021 | Fruit, Pests |
Earlier this spring, a friend from Fallbrook was visiting and he mentioned that his peach tree had had a lot of leaf curl last year but this year there was no infection. “I finally got the spraying right!” he said. Slowly, I said, “Those results might not be just...
by Greg Alder | Feb 26, 2021 | Pests |
With hope, I planted 24 seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts on an October day. By mid-November only two hadn’t been eaten down to the ground by rabbits. This was my first fall in a new house and gardening in a new location, and I hadn’t...
by Greg Alder | Feb 19, 2021 | Pests, Vegetables |
I’d long heard of people using dish soap mixed with water to spray on broccoli and cauliflower in order to control aphids. I was curious to test that out. In early January, I had a row of plants and I had three kids that might enjoy helping me experiment. Control...
by Greg Alder | Jul 24, 2020 | Pests, Vegetables |
I planted cucumbers on June 19 and expected them to take off in the warm weather and soil, but they kept wilting in the noonday sun. So I watered more. They continued to wilt every afternoon. When they weren’t wilting, they were barely growing. Finally, I yanked one...
by Greg Alder | Jan 3, 2020 | Fruit, Pests |
“Here’s a minimum spray program for mixed fruit tree plantings: In December or January, or after pruning, apply a dormant spray such as oil and lime sulfur to apples, pears, peaches, plums — all fruits except those noted below — for control of scale...
by Greg Alder | Jul 12, 2019 | Pests |
When we moved into our house six summers ago, no one had lived here for a few months, and squirrels dominated the yard. The boulder in front of the house (pictured above) had oranges filling its crack. I soon learned that this was the squirrels’ stash. Over the course...
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