Timi DeBusk
Master Gardener, Master Naturalist
July 2007
Feels like the ‘dog days of summer’ are here! How I long for those cooler spring days when we could work in the yard all day. A few minutes in the garden and I am soaked from sweat now. With all the rains and warm (hot) weather, weeds are everywhere and I need to be in the garden more than ever. Hot, humid days are bugs' and weeds' best friends. I am at the point of giving up on my veggie garden for the season.
I planted my tomatoes in a different area this year (crop rotation) and I think they are going to be okay, but the areas where my garden plots are, are overrun by weeds. I have been hearing a great deal about SOLARIZATION of the ground for weed control. This is the process:
Soil Solarization
First, rake the problem area smooth, getting rid of any clods along the way, and level it. Then water the area, soaking it more than usual. The next day, cover the area with 3- to 3-millimeter clear plastic, covering the edges with soil to hold it in place. Within four to six weeks, the greenhouse effect caused by the sun hitting the plastic will cause soil temperatures beneath the plastic to reach between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to kill almost everything in the soil. At that point, you can remove the plastic and plant away.
The Highland Lakes Master Gardeners have a test garden for earth-friendly roses in cooperation with Texas A&M in Marble Falls. They were having quite a problem with weeds and decided to try solarization around the perimeter of the garden site. They had great success with it. I am going to give it a try and I will report on the results in a couple of months. If I do it now, my plots should be ready for my fall garden.
I recently read an article on global warming and how it relates to gardeners and I would like to share a few of the highlights with you. A lot of food for thought in this article. “As gardeners, we are both guardians and stewards of our environment,” says Patty Glick, author of the report and Global Warming Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation. “There are many simple and thoughtful ways we can manage our gardens that can make an enormous difference in reducing the impacts of global warming.” As any gardener knows, even just one degree difference between 32 and 33 degrees Fahrenheit over a period of time can make a huge difference in a garden.
Scientists are now finding what many gardeners have already been noticing; earlier leaf out and bloom times, earlier emergence of butterflies and other insects, and arrival of new bird species at the backyard feeder.
Planting trees near your home can significantly shield your home from the elements, reducing energy use for air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter. One study showed that shade trees can reduce energy use for air conditioning by up to seventy percent. Trees also absorb and store carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the gas primarily responsible for global warming. Over an average life-span for a tree, it can remove a ton of CO2 from the atmosphere.”
A few thoughts on pest control. Rule #1: Don’t panic. Not all bugs are bad. Just because you see aphids doesn't mean you have to grab a bottle of bug spray. If the damage is only minor, there's no need to act. Sometimes natural predators or a weather change will fix the problem for you. Broad-spectrum or nonselective pesticides kill almost any critter they touch, including the good bugs that prey on the bad bugs. Don't use fungicide, either, unless you know for sure what's wrong with an ailing plant.
Let good critters get rid of the bad. Birds, ladybugs, spiders, dragonflies, damselflies, wasps, parasitic nematodes, praying mantis and worms eat harmful insects. Snakes, cats and dogs will help rid your garden of rodents and nocturnal pests like raccoons. Be very prudent about using chemical insecticides.
Each year that passes and each article that I read about herbs the more convinced I am that basil (in all of the varieties; holy basil, sweet basil, lemon basil, purple basil, Thai basil, etc) is one of the greatest annuals (often coming back as a perennial). The birds and butterflies love it, it smells so good, and it is one of those ‘foolproof’ plants that anyone can grow successfully and it is pretty tucked into most any garden and you can eat it!
Stay cool and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Happy gardening - Timi
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