Rodd's Seeds of Wisdom Horticultural tips and tricks from Rodd Moesel

We are already enjoying some really nice harvests this year on our tomatoes, peppers, squash and the watermelons, cantaloupes and okra are all coming along nicely as long as you have been attentive to your watering responsibilities.  We have been blessed with more moderate daytime temperatures than last year, and have enjoyed a big improvement with nighttime temps in the 70’s instead of the 80’s and 90’s.  That difference in nighttime temperatures is huge, giving our plants a chance to relax from the intense stress of the hot summer heat.  Last year we got almost no tomatoes across Oklahoma because we had super hot days and the night temperatures from late May on hardly ever dropped below 80°. Tomatoes were hard to find last year because they are usually not successful at pollinating above 80°.  No pollination means no fruit on tomatoes.

We are having a much better summer this year for most all of our ornamental and vegetable crops.  It is very important to be diligent about your watering.  Learn to “read” your plants for when they are under stress or very dry.  They will often wilt or display droopy leaves or stems when crying out for water.  Many plants will get pale or turn a grayish or lighter bleached out green color when dehydrated and screaming for your watering assistance.  Observe and watch your plants and they will do a pretty good job of communicating with you when they have an extreme need for water.  If you miss these early signals they will often “sunburn” or scald either big brown spots on the leaves of broadleaf shrubs or plants or will burn around the perimeter or outer edges of tree leaves.  You can reduce watering requirements by adding polymer gels or liquids to your soil or by mulching the top of your gardens and flowerbeds with a layer of 1’ to 3” of hulls or one of the many choices in bark mulches.

 There are many plants that love the heat and make their big show in the summer. One of my favorite flowering shrubs is the Crape Myrtle.  There are many varieties that do great in Oklahoma and they are making a huge splash across our state right now in many tones of red, pink, purple and white.  There are dwarf varieties that only grow a couple of feet tall, intermediate sized shrubs and varieties that are really small trees of 15’ to 20’.  Some varieties are susceptible to mildew and some are not as winter hardy and may freeze back to the ground in really harsh winters but they are a largely trouble-free plant that makes a fabulous show in our Oklahoma summers.  They are so impressive that someone needs to start a crape myrtle festival in Oklahoma! 

Shasta daisies are making a big show in the perennial garden while periwinkle or vinca, lantana and penta are starring in our annual flowerbeds.  The mornings and evenings are a great time to walk, water or enjoy your time in the summer garden.

Hard to believe but we are already at the mid-year point of 2012 when we prepare for the big July 4^th holiday.  As we celebrate the birth of our great country there are lots of things to do in the garden.  First and foremost besides enjoying your garden and harvesting vegetables, berries and fruits is watering!  Now that we have hit triple digit temperatures with hot dry winds your plants are counting on you to assist them with cool refreshing water to prevent their dehydration.  Mulching with bark or hulls is the other practice that will really reduce water use and help your plants thrive.

 With the hot weather, our bugs and pests tend to explode and give us problems.  Not only are our bug populations greatest at this time of year but our trees, plants and vegetables are more vulnerable and less able to defend themselves when they are under stress from the intense heat and drought.

 We have been battling many kinds of worms from bagworms to earworms, cutworms, webworms, and hornworms.  You can control these worms by hand picking the worms, spraying with Dipel or Thuricide, which are natural BT products or spray with Carbaryl, permethrin, deltamethrin, or malathion.

 We are seeing a lot of grasshopper problems and if they are out of control in your yard you can use malathion, orthene, permethrin, deltamethrin or imidacloprid.  Red spider mites love the summer heat and can overtake tomatoes, cucumbers or roses in a matter of days.  You can first try and wash these tiny mites off with strong jets of water.  Remember to rinse the bottom of the leaves as well as the tops of the foliage.  You can apply an ultra fine refined horticultural oil spray, soap, or Neem extract based product to smother the spiders and achieve some control.

 Squash bugs, flea beetles, pillbugs, snails, slugs or other critters that crawl across the garden soil can be controlled with diatomaceous earth which is the microscopic skeletal remains of diatoms which were a single cell algae-like plant.  There razor sharp edges physically cut the protective cover of crawling insects and kills them but will not harm humans or earthworms.  If that doesn’t work you can spray many chemicals for control.

 Aphids and other sucking insects can be controlled with products from a neem tree extract, ultrafine oil spray, horticutural soaps, pyrethrin, permethrin, spinosad, bifentrin or malathion.  If you have a lot of ants you can kill them with an orthene or an acephate based product, or by using any of a number of ant traps or ant baits.

 Just as there are many thousands of species of plants there are many thousands of species of insects, some good guys and some bad guys.  Take a sample of your problem in a ziplock bag to your local nursery or garden center and they can help you identify the problem and recommend a solution that fits your comfort zone across the organic to chemical spectrum.  Take time to enjoy your garden and Happy Birthday America.