Migraine

I seem to find digging in the dirt as great stress relief. It's wonderful when the day is overcast and I'm not having to deal with the sun. I just finished cleaning up my herb garden and replacing the plants that didn't make it through winter.

Here is my problem. Bugs tend to stop by and chomp on my basil and such. I won't use pesticides, but I do need something to keep the plants healthy. Does anyone have a suggestion for something natural I could use to divert these unwanted pests?

Liz

Liz, do you know what's chomping on them? For aphids I either wash them off or get lady bugs. For slugs/snails I will put out beer. It's so much fun to watch them stagger about. For flying things I get these yellow sticky strips that the bugs fly into. Small brain thing!!

You might check online also for some light oils that are organic and natural to use that smother the bugs and are safe to eat and no toxic if your dog or cat get into them, or small children.

Cindy

I've always used just plain old dishsoap with water (so does my mom), and sprayed them on my plants. I don't know if it's recommendable for herbs or not, but it's definitely cheaper than buying the commercial pest sprays, and works just as well, if not better, IMHO.

I'm afraid that the majority of gardening I do is with rosebushes, so I take care of them quite a bit differently than I would other plants.

There are pyrethrins that are derived from chrysanthemums and are non-toxic and degradable. Do you have a whole foods co-op nearby? Mine has all kinds of earth-friendly cleaners and garden products.

I did a Goodsearch search -- it's like google, but you specify a charity (mine is the Alzheimers Quilt Initiative), and they get a penny for every search. It adds up.

I found a paper from a center at a college in Oregon. Pyrethrins are one of the least toxic insecticides to mammals. They degrade rapidly. However, they're toxic to fish and tadpoles. So they're out if you have a water feature.

There are also insecticidal soaps.

I haven't used any of them. I confess to using a little Sevin every now and then. A strong hosing off is great for knocking off aphids. I had leaf rollers on my cannas last year, and that's when I used the Sevin.

My garden has a wilt in it. I can't plant my favorite Sweet 100 tomatoes anymore, because they're not resistant. I'm looking for a new favorite variety. Do you have one?

My basil died in the garden three years ago (I think it was the wilt), and I've been growing them in pots on my deck very successfully. I haven't had anything chomping them. But I'm not good about deadheading. Do you make pesto? The young flower stems have intense flavor.

I've planted some showy sunflowers and okra. And transplanted some chives that I grew from seed in a pot. Have you tried chive flowers in a salad? It's an intense, gentle chive/onion taste, and the little purple florets are really pretty against romaine lettuce.

My seeds are not up yet. Okra is SO expensive at the market! I'm going to do tomatoes and peppers. I haven't had success with peppers before, but I may try some in pots, in addition to the garden. I may do squash or zucchini. They're very prone to squash borers around here, so the season is pretty short. And they take up so much room.

I've killed two rosemary plants, but I'm going to try again. My mom has a huge one in the middle of her yard. The guy at the garden center told me I was watering my rosemary too much, so I may plant it in a corner of the yard I ignore. Maybe around the mailbox?

I've got some Mexican tarragon (its real name is Mexican Mint Marigold, and it grows wild in graveyards in Mexico). It's a perennial that I ignore. Pretty in the summer, with bright gold flowers in the fall. It makes a wonderful tarragon vinegar. I use it for salad dressings and for a lot of other flavorings. And purple basil makes a beautiful and delicious vinegar. It's very easy, if you'd like to know how.

Mississippi Public Radio has a call-in show with our state garden guru on Fridays at 9am Central time. You can listen to it online at www.mpbonline.org. You can also get it on a podcast at the same address.

I'm listening to the MPB HD music channel right now. The guru's name is Felder Rushing. He's also got a website. He's a hoot, very down-to-earth.

I had some lemon balm several years ago, but it got so out of control that I had to get rid of it with Roundup. The same with mint. I had some in a pot, but it wasn't very happy. And DH doesn't want mint showing up in his food. I want some lemon verbena, and I may plant some lemon grass. Do you have any other favorite herbs?

Felder talked about Stevia a couple of weeks ago. Its leaves are sweeter than sugar. I saw it at Gardenworks, and they call it Sweetleaf. I'm going to grow some and see how it goes. Sounds like something fun to add to a salad, or maybe green beans? Wonder if it would make a good vinegar?

I can't do it tomorrow, but I think I'm going to HAVE to get dirty on Friday. This has me SO excited!

Tell me about your garden!

Gretchen in Mississippi, where it's hot and humid in the summer

I wrote a long, probably too long, post about my garden, and it got sent to moderation because of trigger words. I have no idea which one! Maybe it will show up later.

My whole foods co-op has a lot of green cleaning products and garden products. There are insecticidal soaps and oils that are good for some pests. I confess that I resort to Sevin every once in a while.

You might look for something with pyrethrins. They're non-toxic to mammals and degrade quickly in the environment. They're derived from a variety of chrysanthemums. Google them. I found some good links.

Check out our Mississippi Public Broadcasting weekly Think Radio call-in gardening show. You can listen to it online at www.mpbonline.org. It's at 9am Central Time on Fridays. It's also available as a podcast. The host, Felder Rushing, is a retired state horticulturalist and very down-to-earth. We welcome out-of-state callers. Felder is very eccentric. He also has his own website. His house is eggplant, with pumpkin-colored trim. He's covering over where he removed a fireplace with old hubcaps and has a "truck garden" where he grows things in the bed of his pickup truck.

All this is making me want to get out in my yard. I can't do it tomorrow, but I'm going to get dirty Friday!

Gretchen in Mississippi, where it's hot and humid in the summer

I tried posting twice, and got sent to moderation both times because of trigger words. Beats me why.

Try your local whole foods co-op. Mine has lots of green cleaning and garden products. Check out pyrethrins. They're derived from chrysanthemums and are non-toxic. Google them.

Maybe this one will post.

Gretchen in Mississippi

Liz I agree with Gretchen on the pyrethrins. Companion plantings are also good. White geraniums and chives keep a lot of bugs off roses. Marigolds keep bugs off tomatoes. There's a good book called Roses Love Garlic - has a whole lot of suggestions. And you can make a spray with garlic, hot peppers and water, grind them up real fine in the blender and spray in a garden sprayer - lots of bugs can't stand it.

Can't wait to get out in my garden, either. Every nice weekend I've had to be in a course or had a migraine - got to get going soon. I'm working my way around the house, fixing up the old beds - we moved in two years ago, 94 year old house. We have a new herb bed we put in. We have a comfrey plant there that grew five feet tall last year! I don't know what to do with all that comfrey! It's a beautiful plant, though.

Last year I filled 1/2 the front bed (which is 3X bigger than it should be) with pachysandra, and put daffodils in front. I pruned way back these old azaleas there that weren't doing too well - they looked real scraggly last year (and scratched me half to death as I pruned them) but they're budding now and don't look half bad - it'll be a few years before they have a good shape again. I want to pull out some old railroad ties along the side walk and fill in the space with mountain pinks, but that's got to happen real soon or the pinks will be gone for the season.

Enjoy everyone!

- Megs

I like to garden, but I don't think I'm that good at it.

I tend to have a black thumb I think. Maybe because I tend to forget about things for too long (because it's not like cats that will meow when hungry).

But I'm glad this link was started! I'm planning to get out there this weekend and clean up around the house. I have some raking and mulching to do. I'd like to dig up some of the plants I don't like and plant some new ones....when I figure out what I'm going to do, I'll stop on back for some advice!!!

Cindy, I'm not sure who the culprit is for my herb garden. I know have have terrible aphids every year in my potted plants, so I suspect those pests in the backyard too. I didn't think of ladybugs--wonderful. I usually have a collection of them that gather at the windows in the early summer. The children call them "little bugs." I haven't seen any slugs. I did read that a sprinkle of yeast works for slugs too.

Megs, I'll have to look into garlic, and I like the idea of the "spicy spray". I hesitate on the pyrethrins only because I worry about putting in on herbs and then eating it. It might be great for my other plants though!

Gretchen, I've never tried to eat the chive flowers. I learned at some point that I should prune my herbs before they flower to keep the intensity of the flavor. Thanks for the Goodsearch search tip. That's great.

My herb garden is a strip of land up against the back of the house, next to our patio. The kitchen door opens up to it. I have basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, Italian parsley, and mint. I've started some lavender in a bed toward the back of the yard. I'd love to create a vegetable garden, but the wooded area behind our house is home to deer and rabbits who love to snack on such things. Perhaps one day I'll fence in a small area. I'd love to start a compose pile, but I can't talk DH into the idea yet. Give me time.

One of my favorite marinades is to mix fresh lemon juice & olive oil, garlic & coarse salt chopped together fine, a pinch of red pepper flakes, with a good handful of chopped rosemary, basil, and parsley. It's great on thick pork chops, chicken, beef or veggies. Marinate for a few hours and grill.

I researched the Whole Foods site and found that aphids don't like coffee grounds. We do have a Whole Foods about 45 min. away. Hhhmm. Who knew?

Eileen, enjoy getting dirty! I'm not great at the gardening thing, but I love it. I've terrorized rosemary in pots for years until I finally put it in the ground. It seems to like that much better. My former plants gave their lives for my education. My current plants thrive because of it. I'm still trying to figure out how to get my basil happy. Keeping the pests off of it is step one.

I'm grabbing the coffee grounds and finding some "little bugs" for my plants.

Happy digging!
Liz

Liz you can buy ladybugs and all kinds of other good bugs and natural stuff at "Gardens Alive!" Check out their web site. Once you get on their mailing list you will get catalogs galore, but you can avoid that and get everything on line too. Terrific selection of organic products.

- Megs

I love to play in the dirt even though I never know what I'm doing. I tend to plant "pretty" flowers but never remember their names. My biggest problem in my front yard is tree roots, lots of them! So, we built a stone edge around one tree and filled it with dirt and I put annuals in it last year and more this year. (I know I have daffodils (sp) and tulips at least).

The other tree in the front is on a slight hill and has azelea bushes all around it and then in the middle another annual that will "creep" down the sides with purple flowers. Looks cool!

In my back yard the dogs have total freedom so all of my flowers are in pots or window boxes. I love it! So many colors to enjoy. Although I have no idea what I'm planting, I keep them alive (for the most part) and they look great. There is just something so relaxing about getting dirt under your fingernails!

I deem myself the most uneducated gardner on the forum!!

I actually did my first gardening of the season today! There hadn't been a day yet when I wasn't working, in a course, entertaining guests, migraining or fatigued. of course, thought I feel behind, our last frost date isn't even until next weekend, so I'm not as behind as I would be if I lived further south!

Today I was mainly on destruction duty - digging out dandelion roots and pulling maple saplings out of my beds. I pulled lots of other little weeds and dead grasses, too. Our neighbors have huge maple trees overhanging our yard and everything gets full of maple saplings. I completed three of the six beds. I also got all the dead stalks off the perennials.

I see I'm going to have to split up a bunch of stuff - I wish we could share perennials with each other! Anybody want to come over and get some? I'm going to have to split coreopsis, catmint, yarrow (it's this gorgeous magenta flowered yarrow), and sage. My bearded iris are ridiculous, too. Ready to take over the world, let alone the garden. I'm going to have to separate them.

We live right next to the park - at our end it's just a big open field with a dirt lane along it. People pile their pruned branches and such along the edge of the lane and the town guys come by and pick it up to shred/recycle it. Anyway, someone pruned their lilacs & pink dogwood today and left these huge piles of blooming branches along the lane! Lilacs & pink dogwood are both things we don't have at this house and want to put in - but anyway I went across and scavenged me a beautiful flower arrangement! I just adore lilacs! They are making my family room smell wonderful.

- Megs

For a good day of gardening. Personally I find weed pulling very theraputic. Standing back and seeing all the mess out of an area is very statisfying and pulling those little (ok sometimes large) devils is a great stress reliever for me!!

How great to get the dogwood and liliac arrangement for your house. I wouldn't think people would be pruning something in bloom, but that's just me.

Last weekend I broke one of my clay pots I have on the patio. I replaced it in migraine depression this week. It took me 1/2 hour to undo the roots and get some of the dirt out of the old pot. I guess it was time to clean it out. It was a mess. I added some worm composte to it. Moved a geramium that wasn't doing well in it's location into the pot, it needed some more in it and it now looks lovely.

You have maple saplings Megs, our oak trees last fall put out about 3 times, maybe more, the usual number of acorns. Something about a self presevation thing they do every 10 or 12 years. I have got litte oak tress growing EVERY where. Need an oak tree? I could send you one.

I do wish we could trade our plants. I would love some iris. I have sme beautiful Siberian iris. They have thinner grass like "leaves" than the beaded iris. They also like being ignored. I have a herd of them. I'm thinning the main planting of them and moving them around the yard. They are actually very good for erosian control. I have a few places I'm putting them in specifically for that. They move so easily.

Happy gardening. When I met DBF one of his "criteria" for a girlfriend was someone who did mind getting her hands dirty. Well did her score with me or what!!

Cindy

I bought a strawberry pot 3 years ago. Today Danny planted strawberry plants in it for the first time. You know, one of those ones where there are little "balconies" in the sides of the pot for a strawberry plant, so you put one in each of those and two or three in the top. It holds about a dozen. Anyway, that's on our deck. But he got another dozen strawberry plants so we're making another little bed for them.

Three years ago we were doing construction on this house and had our other house on the market, we moved perennials from the other house but that's it on the gardening. Two years ago we were finishing the construction and were still unpacking and we only got to restoring the lawn, no real gardening. Last year I did a massive amount of work to the bed in front of the house, and a little on some of the other beds. (It's a 94 year old house so it has established beds.) So this year we're finally getting some of what we really want started, including berries!

- Megs

Hey gang -

3 day weekend + nice weather + no migraine = 3 days in the garden. I am so happy! And the work we did last year really shows; I love that.

I'm going to put some pictures in tomorrow.

- Megs