Diatomaceous Earth to Get Rid of Pests By David Wall
An easy, safe, and effective ways to prevent garden pest outbreaks and prevent them from starting, is to use food grade diatomaceous earth (DE). It’s harmless to humans and safe for animals. The pest list thatDE is effective on is long, while the time to control is short. It’s a jack of all trades and master of all of them. For those unaware, DE is fossilized algae in powder form. The fossils were tiny...
Pruning Tomato And Pepper Plants By David Wall
Many have never heard of pruning tomato plants except for those pesky secondary branches and the central stem top a month before frost to force the plant into ripening the final fruit. Now, we’re learningthere’s more to do. For tomato plants, is pruning necessary? For determinate plants, the answer is usually no. They produce a crop and are finished by late July to early August, so why bother. For determinate...
This And That For June 2023 By David Wall
Water availability will continue to be a problem now and in the future. You can help by storing rain water, saving bath water wasted by running until the water gets warm, drip garden irrigation, saving the water from boiling vegetables which contains nutrients plants will love, enlarging ponds when they are very low, and so many more ways. In the NETSEO area, there are probably several hundred thousand gardens. If each of us could...
Should You Prune Cucumber Plants? By David Wall
We’ve discussed pruning tomato and pepper plants, but the literature suggests you should consider pruning cucumber plants. Yes, it seems weird, but better results can be obtained by pruning. The problem is most of us never heard of such pruning. So, how can pruning help? If growing bush cucumber plants, you can probably forget this article. They grow very little laterally, so there’s little to be gained by pruning. Also, if you allow...
Growing Cucumbers In Containers By David Wall
If you don’t feel you have enough garden space to grow cucumbers, consider growing them in containers. It’s easy and you can get a really good crop of this second most popular vegetable after tomatoes (which can also be grown in containers). Since cucumbers have a smaller root structure than many vegetables, there is little worry about them becoming root-bound in the container. Your first requirement is 6-8 hours of...
A Potential Danger In Sweeteners By David Wall
For so many of us, especially for diabetics, it’s important to check the sugar content in products. We normally think “no sugar,” “less sugar,” or “lite” must be better for us, and in most instances, such is smart thinking. Recently, however, an ingredient often found in regular or no-sugar products has been found to be unwanted, an in some case, perhaps downright dangerous. Some years back, I wrote an article about artificial...
Are Your Cucumbers Tasting Bitter? From Master Gardener David Wall
July 26, 2024 – Ever bite into a whole cucumber or slice and find it bitter? Basically, the bitterness is caused by plant stress. It seems weird for a cucumber to be in stress, but the stress is caused by several factors such as genetics, widely fluctuating temperatures, poor soil, or inconsistent watering. Cucumbers belong to the cucurbit or gourd family, and all members of this family produce cucurbitacin. It’s produced...
Murder Hornets Coming to our Area? From Master Gardener David Wall
July 21, 2024 – Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia) are considered a serious danger in the United States. At 1.75” in length with a .25” stinger and a 3” wingspan, they’re well known for killing people in their native Asian environment, and unlike our European honeybees, they can sting repeatedly. After being found in the northwestern coastal area (fortunately, only a few nests), people became concerned as to how long it...
Are Fresh Vegetables Poisoning us From Master Gardener David Wall
July 14, 2024 – It seems like weekly we hear of pesticide use is slowly poisoning us. This is not over the short term, but over many years. Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables are now recognized that along with nutrients, they also come with dangerous pesticides. While our government has forced some pesticides off the market, it has been slow to move on others. Then, when one product is banned, growers often switch to...
Make Your Own Hot Pepper Spray From Master Gardener David Wall
July 7, 2024 – Many of you probably have or carry pepper sprays in your pocket or purse to deter bad guys. These containers are compact and can quickly deter a bad guy. The only problem with a spray is its short duration. It would be nice to have a spray bottle that could be used repeatedly at home, and in the garden. Pepper sprays are safer that chemical pesticides and repellents. They are non-toxic to your vegetable plants and...
