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New Mesquite green bursting. Scissor-tailed fly catchers are here, Painted Buntings arriving soon. Seniors counting days til high school graduation.
Feed and mulch!!
Due to the lack of rain and harsh winds, many of our pollinators are without the abundance of food they are accustomed to in our areas. Please keep your bird feeders and watering holes full.
We can plant, plant, plant!!
Plant bright warm colors: allamanda, bougainvillea, hibiscus, mandevilla and penta. Plant warm seasonals: Begonias, Caladiums, Cosmos, Inpatients, Lantana, Periwinkle and Zinnias. Any and all herbs! Also, hot weather vegetables.
Plant perennials for summer and fall. Here are some to choose from: Columbine, Coreopsis, Fall Aster, Firebrush, Geraniums, Plumbago, Rock Rose, Sage, Shrimp Plant, and Verbena.
To take care of itchy nuisances, our working soldiers the beneficial nematodes to the rescue for fleas and tick “challenges”. For chiggers, apply elemental sulfur at 4lbs per 1000 sq. ft. When the ground is dry you may apply diatomaceous earth for ants, fleas and roaches. Diatomaceous earth can be found at your local nursery and hardware stores.
Thin the peaches on your peach trees. Remove bunches that are at the end of a thin limb, the ones that resemble a bunch of grapes. The bunch of peach grapes could become too heavy for the limb and since they are so close together the fruit will not have ample opportunity to evenly ripen. Thin your peaches so that they are a hands breadth between peaches, for yummy results.
No burning on RED FLAG days!
The thrill of Dill!!
We’re going to plant some Dill. Want to know why? Dill attracts lots of beneficial insects to your garden!! For instance, Dill attracts Ladybugs. Green Lacewings, Braconid Wasps, Tachinid Flies, Hoverflies, Mealybug Destroyer, and Aphid Midges. By planting Dill, you can lure beneficial insects to help control aphids, tobacco hornworm, tomato hornworm, whitefly, leafhopper, mites, fleas, Colorado potato beetle, cutworms, squash bugs, and some species of mealy bugs. And then, when your cucumbers are ready for harvesting, use the dill for pickling.
And while we’re planting herbs, don’t forget the mint. Mint repels the less desirable visitors such as aphids, cabbage moths, flea beetles, fleas and ants. (Side note: there are over 500 species of mint: spearmint, pineapple, orange, chocolate (favorite), lavender, calamint, grapefruit, basil, ginger, pennyroyal, licorice… they will each get the job done.)
Melissa from Burnet inquired about more ways to control grasshoppers. Melissa, you can plant some Marigolds and Zinnias in your garden which will draw Soldier Beetles. And Soldier Beetles prey on Grasshopper eggs.
Till next time. Keep your souls and soles in your garden! Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, “I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1 Have questions or comments? Contact Martelle Luedecke (512) 769-3179 or at luedeckephotography@gmail. com or Bill at (512) 577-1463 or email bill@texasland.net.