One of Natures Insecticides

Bt, or Bacillus thuringeiensis, is a useful addition in the arsenal
against plant-eating insects. Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria
that is common all across the world, and early in the twentieth
century it was discovered to be an excellent form of insect control.

Bt became available to home gardeners in the 1950s but in recent
years new strains have been developed that attack an even wider
range of insects.

The kurstaki strain of Bt kills only caterpillars that feed on
leaves and needles. Bt kurstaki is especially useful for eliminating
corn earworms and those little green cabbage worms, that like to
infest broccoli, along with tent caterpillars and webworms that
damage trees and shrubs. Because Bt kurstaki will kill most any
type of caterpillar, it should be used carefully and sparingly if you have a
butterfly garden or seek to attract more butterflies to your garden.

Another type of Bt, the israelensis strain, will kill the larvae
of mosquitoes, black flies and fungus gnats. This is good news
for those of you who suffer through black fly season each summer!

The san diego strain of Bt is a good choice for controlling the
Coloradopotato beetle. Potato beetles can quickly reduce potato
plants to shreds, but Bt san diego stops the larvae in their tracks
before they can do significant damage.

Each strain of Bt is specific to certain pests. Bt israelensis and
san diego will not harm caterpillars, and likewise, Bt kurstaki will
not harm black flies or potato beetles. Bt acts by producing
proteins that react in the gut of the insect, paralyzing their
digestive system. The insects stop eating and quickly starve.

Bt is not harmful to plants, people or pets, although you should
avoid breathing the powder or spray when applying Bt to your plants.
Bt also degrades fairly quickly in sunlight, so it will not persist
in your garden. Some strains persist for less than 24 hours while
others remain viable for about a week.

Composting, It really pays

More and more people these days are composting, and for good
reason. Composting is a simple process which offers many benefits.

When you turn your garden refuse and kitchen scraps into compost,
you are creating fertilizer for your plants and conserving
landfill space. Compost will improve your soil, giving it the
ability to hold moisture and drain well. Even hard clay soil
will be improved by adding compost.

Composting can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.
Compost bins and tumblers can be purchased or you can make your
own, or simply leave your compost materials in a pile without
a bin.

To make compost, you'll need a good mix of "brown" and "green"
material. Brown materials are things like dried leaves, coffee
grounds, shredded paper and straw. Green materials are grass
clippings, fresh garden refuse and kitchen scraps. Add the brown
and green ingredients in layers.

Manure is also a good addition to compost, but manure only from
herbivores should be used. Manure contains a great
deal of nitrogen and also beneficial microbes that will help the
composting process. Manure makes a great fertilizer, but it
should be composted before adding it to the garden because fresh
manure is so strong or "hot" that it will burn tender plants.

A compost pile will heat up and cook more quickly if it is kept
moist. Compost should be as moist as a sponge that has been
wrung out. Too much or too little moisture will slow the
decomposition process. A compost pile that is working properly
will feel warm or hot inside the pile. If the temperature inside
the pile is no warmer than the air temperature, the pile needs
more green material and perhaps more moisture.

Air circulation is also important for a compost pile. A compost
pile that is regularly mixed or turned will decompose much faster
than one that is never turned. But given enough time, even a
compost pile that is never turned will eventually decompose.

Concerned about the smell of a compost pile or worried that it
will attract rodents? Simply bury fresh materials in the middle
of the pile or cover the smelly material with some soil. Burying
the material in the pile will add some needed air circulation,
and the addition of soil will also include some helpful microbes.

Finished compost will look like good black soil and can be added
liberally to your garden. Make you own compost for your garden
and you will soon understand why it is called black gold.

Your garden wiil love you for every pound of compost you add,
and will show it in beautiful flowers and vegatables.

Happy Gardening!!!

Pruning Grape Vines

If you want your grape vine to produce an abundance of
really good fruit, then you have to properly prune your
grape vines in late winter.

1. Grape vines should be tied to a wire trellis during the
growing season so they get plenty of sunlight and air circulation.

2. Grape wood more than 2 years old will not produce fruit
so when pruning, all of the old wood should be removed.

3. Vine growth from the previous growing season should be
left, but only enough to cover the wires on your grape trellis.

4. If your grape trellis has two wires, then two nice vines
should be left on each side of the plant so all of the wires
have grape vines attached to them.

5. You should also leave two sets of replenishing vines on
each side of the plant. The replenishing vines should only
have two or three buds each. These replenishing vines are
left to produce new grape vines for the following season.

6. Each winter you remove the old wood, tie the new wood
to the trellis, and leave two more sets of replenishing vines

Fall Rose Plant Care

Proper care of rose plants in the fall will help ensure that
your plants come back strong and healthy next spring.

Roses love the warm days and cool nights in the fall and often
put out their best blooms for fall enjoyment. Fall weather
encourages the plants to form more perfect blossoms, but the
weather can also encourage blackspot, one of the most common
rose problems. Blackspot can defoliate a rose plant, and a
plant that loses its leaves too soon will struggle to survive
through winter. Maintain a regular schedule of fungicide
sprays for your roses until the plants go dormant and drop
their leaves naturally.

Cold climate gardeners should stop fertilizing their roses
in early September. No matter where you live, a general rule
for roses is to stop applying fertilizers one month prior to
the first frost date for your area, or a month before the
deciduous trees typically drop their leaves.

Pruning your roses will encourage new growth and will also
cause the sap to run in the stems. Tender new growth is
vulnerable to winter damage, so rose plants should not be
pruned in the fall. During the growing season, the spent
blossoms should be deadheaded often, and this will also
encourage new growth. But stop deadheading spent blossoms
about a month before the first frost. This will allow the
remaining blooms to develop into rosehips and signal the plant to
prepare for winter and go dormant. Go ahead and cut a few of the
more beautiful blossoms to enjoy indoors if you want, but try to
limit any pruning or cutting of the plant in the fall.