What is happening to my peach tree? The leaves are curled and “blistered”.
You have a fungus called peach leaf curl. It should not kill the tree or harm the fruit. The best treatment is preventative. Fruit trees should be sprayed with a fungicide when dormant in the winter. A foliar spray containing kelp extract is helpful in spring to maintain the health of the new leaves. Peach leaf curl only affects peaches and nectarines-curled leaves on other fruit trees is usually a sign of insect damage. Right now you can fertilize with a multipurpose fertilizer 16-16-16 or a fruit tree/vegetable food. There is a new product on the market “Serenade” that has shown to be effective against peach leaf curl. We carry it at the nursery.
There are little worms hanging from my oak tree! They are eating everything!
You have “fruit tree leaf rollers” commonly know as Oak worms. They arrive in spring and last just a few weeks. The best treatment is to spray the tree and surrounding plants with Bt. Bacillus thuringiensis, is a safe, organic insecticide that will just kill worms. A more natural treatment is to place Western Blue bird boxes in your yard and let the bluebirds (not blue jays) eat them for you. Blue birds have a huge appetite for worms and are very active at this time feeding their young. Use Bt, Bug Buster or Caterpiller Clobber on your petunias to stop the budworms and on tomatoes to stop the hornworms too.
Why do I have ants in my plants? The leaves are sticky and shiny.
Ants and aphids go hand in hand. The ants eat the honeydew secretions left by the aphids, and the aphids are eating your tender buds and leaves. Get rid of the ants and your aphid problem will not be so bad. Placing a band of Tangle foot at the base of your plants will prevent the ants from climbing up the plant. A strong blast of water will knock the aphids off. Monterey Take Down Garden spray or Bug Buster, both Earth Friendly products, will take care of both buggers. Ant traps placed at the base of the plant will eliminate the ants too. Releasing ladybugs will help control the aphids.
I have “alligator looking” bugs on my plants. Are they good guys or bad?
The larval or juvenile stage of ladybugs look like little alligators. These good guys eat more aphids than their adult counterparts. Provide an insecticide free area to keep your good bugs happy.
My plants have new growth but look “tired and yellow”, should I feed them. Why?
After our long, wet winters, plants need a shot of fertilizer to get growing in the spring. We recommend feed most of your plants with GreenAll Multipurpose 16-16-16 or Dr. Earth 5-5-5 in late March/early April. For plants that require more acidity, we recommend GreenAll CARE or Dr. Earth Camellia, Azalea, and Rhododendron food. Try to feed before a rain to wash that fertilizer into the soil. Do not feed too early, you do not want to encourage new growth until danger of frost has passed.
Many people wonder why we need to feed plants in our yard when plants growing along the freeway or in the forest are not fed. In nature, Mother Nature takes care of feeding by allowing leave litter, animal manure, and dead plants to break down and slowly put nutrients back into the soil. In our yard, we clean up leaf litter and therefore this process does not occur. Plants along the freeway look great at 65 MPH, a closer look will show that they too are hungry. Healthy plants are more apt to ward off disease and insect problems.
What should I do to my lawn now? It looks good, but by summer-it looks terrible
Check out our “Honey To Do” list for the spring to see what type of fertilizer you need to use. Spring is a great time to aerate your lawn, reseed, and add some compost. Aerating is important to help air and water movement to your lawns roots. After aerating, rake up the cores, apply a thin layer of Kellogg’s Organic Soil Building Compost, and reseed. A healthy lawn will withstand the heat of summer better. Lawns should not be watered daily and no watering after 3pm. See our article on lawn care for more help. Dr. Earth Lawn Food and Prohibit Fertilizer/Pre emergent are in stock now.
If pre-emergent is used on the lawn in spring-wait until fall to reseed.
I am ready to start my veggie garden-is it too soon?
The general rule of thumb is you can plant you veggies when you can sit on your soil for 20 minutes. Planting too soon will not give you veggies sooner. Plants need warm soil to grow new roots and absorb nutrients. You can plant veggies through Memorial Day! Plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, melons, eggplant, cucumbers, corn….
Do not forget to plant herbs too! Use Dr. Earth organic fertilizer to get your plants growing.
Help, I have bugs on my fruits and veggies? What can I spray that is safe?
There are many new safer/eco friendly pesticides and chemicals on the market. The “Green” trend is good for the Earth and environment. Here are a few new products.
Serenade is a beneficial bacteria that eats fungus and bacteria. It helps control bacterial leaf spot, powdery mildew, rust, grey mold, blights, scab, fire blight, and more. It is OMRI listed too.
Take Down Garden Spray by Monterey will kill all stages of insects including eggs. It can be used during the dormant and growing season. It is Pyrethrin based in canola oil.
Bug Buster by Monterey is a spray to prevent spiders, ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers. It is organic based and can be used on lawns, around plants, fruits and veggies and as a perimeter spray.
Safer Garden Dust contains Dipel, Bt and other insecticidal toxins and will control tomato hornworms, cut worms, and caterpillars on plants and veggies. It is OMRI listed.
Safer Ant and Crawling Insect Killer contains diatomaceous earth and will help control all crawling insects. It too is Eco Friendly
Many plants can be treated with systemic chemicals, such as Bayer All in One Rose and Flower Care or Bayer Tree and Shrub to prevent insects. Systemic chemicals are safer for the environment and last longer. “Systemic” means it is absorbed through the plants vascular system and works from the inside out.
What is happening to my evergreen trees? They are losing lots of leaves.
Most evergreen trees drop the majority of their “old” leaves in early spring. Magnolias. Redwoods, and Camphors are a few. You should see new growth at the branch tips. Feed your plants GreenAll Multipurpose 16-16-16 or Dr.Earth Multipurpose 5-5-5 and add the fallen leaves to your compost pile.
How do I start a compost pile? What can I put in it?
Late fall/early spring are great times to create compost piles. You can add grass clippings, leaves, weeds (that have not produced seeds yet), kitchen waste, and manure from herbivores. Adding newspaper will give your pile the needed “brown” matter and bring earthworms . Do not add meat/dairy products, diseased plant material, or animal droppings from carnivores. See our article on composting on the web page for more info.
Bright Hope Designs