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...
Making Easy Compost Tea From Master Gardener David Wall
July 1, 2024 – Pure compost tea (CT) is almost magical, as it’s made from just two ingredients, compost and water. While were talking about vegetable gardens, it works on annual flowers, vegetable plants, herbs, perennials, shrubs and even trees. CT feed plants in two ways. First, they supply nutrients by absorbing into plant roots into the soil. To a lesser degree, they can provide energy by soaking into plant leaves....
The Pests have Arrived From Master Gardener David Wall
June 23, 2024 – We’ve had our two weeks of spring while receiving Noah’s flood, both of which slowed pollinators. Now, the heat has set in, tomato pollination is slowing and insect pests have arrived. Not much we can do about the heat, but we can aid pollination by grasping the plant a few inches below the flowers and gently shaking the flowers and doing it daily. Now, what about the insect pests. Among the worsts pest expected...
This and That for June 2024 From Master Gardener David Wall
June 18, 2024 – Bananas are great until they get overripe and turn mushy. To slow down ripening, wrap Saran Wrap around the crown to. Better, separate the bananas and wrap each one. Also, when the bananas are ripe, stick them in a refrigerator to greatly slow the overripening! Grass-fed beef only requires one days of eating grass. They can eat corn or other products the rest of their lives. Grass-finished beef means it had to...
Pepper Corking From Master Gardener David Wall
June 9, 2024 – Several of you just said to yourself, “What is pepper corking?” I know I did the first time I saw the name! I have no idea who came up with the name, as it makes no sense to me. OK, so what is pepper corking? Actually, it’s nothing more than scar marks on the pepper surface. They give the appearance of the pepper not receiving enough water, but the opposite is true. The scarring is caused by excessive water. I...
Killing Thistles for Good From Master Gardener David Wall
June 2, 2024 – Thistles are a great attraction for pollinators. The flowers are very attractive, and the plant has several medicinal qualities. On the other hand, they’re as tough a weed as you’ll find anywhere. Their tap root is known to go down as far as over 15’, and it annually puts out many thousands of ultralight seeds. When living in the country, I used to go out with a hoe and chop them down, which really amounted to...
Is a Garden Soil Test Worth the Effort From Master Gardener David Wall
May 28, 2024 – While I take great pride in studying multiple sources of the literature and using the information to put together my articles, every few years one source is so good or different, I just cite it. This article comes from “Soil Science for Gardeners” by Robert Pavlis. It’s the best book I’ve ever read on soils that explains without getting too technical. Just about every extension agent,...
