Final organic cherry production report
I thought you might be interested to hear how things went in our quest to grow cherries organically this year:
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Update on growing cherries organically
I wanted to do a follow-up to my July 13 post (“Keeping the birds out of the cherries“). That way, you’ll know how things are going. You’ll recall I recently purchased some 2″-wide holographic bird scare ribbon. They’re my attempt to keep birds away from the ripening cherries. Well, it has worked great! It hasn’t completely kept the robins out of […]
Read moreStink bug activity
You might recall I’ve written in the past about how there are some types of stink bugs that cause an awful lot of damage to edible crops like veggies and fruits. (see these posts: Stink bug news and Invasion of the stink bugs) While at Manito Park last week, my husband saw something a bit worrisome to both of us. […]
Read moreMay 18 column: Floating row cover
This is what floating row cover looks like. It’s terrific! Here is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Products boost plant health organically. (you can also read my column lower in this post.) This one’s about how I garden organically through the use of some very helpful, environmentally-friendly products. I hope you’ll find it interesting […]
Read moreA possible weapon against leaf miners and fungus gnats
Over the years, I’ve written about my battles with leaf miners. They are the larvae that tunnel in between the cells in the leaves of spinach, beets and Swiss chard. How do they get there in the first place? What are leaf miners? Well, the adult is a fly that lays eggs on the leaves. Once the eggs hatch, the […]
Read moreNews on stink bugs
Last fall, I posted information on stink bugs as they were damaging the produce in my garden. I am wondering if they’re going to be an even worse problem this year . I intend to keep my eyes open for the little stinkers (no pun intended). They damaged our artichokes and tomatoes last summer, which did not make me happy […]
Read moreInsect alert: Spotted Wing Drosophila in Spokane!
Spotted Wing Drosophila: Photos courtesy of Beverly Gerdeman, PhD, WSU Research Associate and WSU Whatcom County Extension. Even if you can’t pronounce the name of this dreaded insect, you need to know about this. And especially if you grow fruit trees or berry plants. The Spotted Wing Drosophila (or SWD), Drosophila suzukii, has been found in Spokane. It is very […]
Read moreThe Invasion of the Stink Bugs!
I know that sounds like a “B” movie, right? It appears local gardeners are having problems with stink bugs eating their vegetable and fruit crops. That is worrisome to me. I think a lot of us grew up thinking stink bugs were those large black beetles. You know the ones that smelled nasty if you stepped on them. It turns […]
Read moreFloating row cover
Yesterday, a friend of mine was asking what floating row covers are since I mention them frequently in my columns. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to do a post about this topic. That’s because it’s one of my favorite tools for growing a productive vegetable garden. What is floating row cover? Floating row cover is a lightweight, woven fabric. It […]
Read moreKeeping birds out of cherries
As you know, birds absolutely love to eat cherries. We have a few cherry trees in our little orchard. Every year, it’s a battle to keep them from robbing our harvest. Last year, we covered our trees with huge sheets of floating row cover. Partly to keep the cherry fruit flies from laying their eggs on the cherries. But we […]
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