It's late summer here, and my yard is alive with insects. Wasps and bees dip in and out of daylily blossoms, butterflies flutter between the zinnias, and spiders have made an intricate network of webs ...
Extend the Season and Keep Pests Out with Floating Row Covers
Every gardener out there can benefit from having floating row covers on hand. They’re lightweight, easy to store, and inexpensive. And their uses go well beyond frost protection. Don’t be ...
Doing Battle with Japanese Beetles: Tips for Banning Them From Your Garden
It just isn’t summer in the northeast without Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) tearing through raspberries, roses, and other plants gardeners tend to hold near and dear. Their voracious ...
Bats Beat Bugs: Welcoming Bats Into the Garden
Ever since I was a child, a favorite pastime during the summer evenings was watching bats fly over an open yard. I’d lie down in the shaggy grass and watch them hunt, admiring their acrobatics. ...
How to Rid Your Garden of Cockroaches
We’re going to do a little test. Cockroach! Did an involuntary shiver just go through your body? You’re not alone. The very mention of these vile pests can send folks running for the ...
Doing Battle with Stink Bugs
More than 200 species of stink bugs call North America home, and you may very well think most of them have taken up residence in your garden. These shield-shaped munchers are known for the odor ...
The Best Natural Methods to Protect Your Garden from Slugs and Snails
April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring those slimy pests, slugs and snails. Raiders of the night, they have a discerning appetite for succulent foliage and flowers. And from dusk ...
Death by Black Walnut: The Facts on Juglone Toxicity
I grew up in a part of the Nebraska river bottom where black walnut trees (Juglans nigra) were abundant. I enjoyed picking the nut meat from the shells each year, after my grandmother ran the hard ...
Diatomaceous Earth: Effective Natural Pest Control
Nobody wants to see this first thing in the morning when they head out to the berry patch. And if you’re visiting my homestead during the gardening months, you’ll hear us refer to “D.E.” almost ...
The Buzz About Bees: Why Do We Need Them?
To understand why we need the little bumblebee, we need to understand how it helps us and why it is in danger. If the bee faces extinction, then the planet risks losing a great variety of ...
