A few days ago I noticed a fresh pile of dirt near one of my tomato plants. Looking closer I noticed a hole in the ground next to the pile and recognized the excavation as that of a cicada killer wasp. That’s a descriptive, but unimaginative, name for them since they really do kill cicadas. … Continue Reading →
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Party at the park
It’s on! We’re going to hang out at Fletcher Field on Saturday, Sept. 8, starting at noon to welcome Fraternite Notre Dame to the neighborhood … to honor Holy Name and Shield of Faith for all they did in the community for almost 100 years combined … and to celebrate the 11th anniversary of our … Continue Reading →
Join in on the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz
By now, most people know we are in danger of losing the monarch butterfly migration in our lifetime. This critical situation was addressed in 2014 when President Obama met with President Pena Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Harper of Canada about it. At that meeting they agreed to establish a working group to ensure … Continue Reading →
Quilt Gardens tour
It’s not often in this blog that I write about places to go. Recently, we visited the Quilt Gardens, a really fun, ongoing garden tour in the Elkhart, Indiana, region. Volunteer gardeners from that area installed more than a million annuals in 18 gardens. Flowers and colorful foliage plants are arranged to reproduce quilt patterns … Continue Reading →
High temperatures can damage tomato blossoms
Last week I saw a lot of gardens having having problems with tomato plants not producing fruit. When discussing this problem with gardeners, the first thing I hear from them is usually,” I’m growing lots of leaves but no tomatoes”. Then they go on to attribute it to an overabundance of fertilizer of one sort … Continue Reading →
Wild bees need love, too
By now, most people are aware of the declining honeybee population. What is not as well know is wild bees are having the same problems. Wild bees are important because in many instances they are more efficient at pollinating some crops than are honeybees. They are also highly adapted to pollinating wild flowering plants, making them … Continue Reading →
The lawn of the future
Imagine self-propelled robotic lawn groomers, too sophisticated to be called merely lawn mowers, taking care of your lawn without any help from you. Miniature drones with intelligent eyesight hovering over your lawn identifying weeds insects and diseases, zapping them with pin-point precision accuracy. All this guided by on-board artificial intelligence leaving behind an absolutely flat, … Continue Reading →
The lawn of the future
Imagine self-propelled robotic lawn groomers, too sophisticated to be called merely lawn mowers, taking care of your lawn without any help from you. Miniature drones with intelligent eyesight hover over your lawn identifying weeds insects and diseases, zapping them with pin-point precision accuracy. All this guided by on-board artificial intelligence leaving behind an absolutely flat, … Continue Reading →
Liking that lovage
Every once in a while we’ll be making something that calls for celery, such as potato salad or chicken soup. I’ll check the fridge only to find out there’s no celery in the crisper drawer. Not to fear, there’s a perennial plant growing in the garden that’s always on standby for such an eventuality — … Continue Reading →
The case of the missing apples
At a social function I attended this past weekend, the conversation turned to gardening. A friend mentioned his apple trees were being raided by an unknown animal. This animal was very stealthy, so stealthy in fact, that it left virtually no trace of ever being there. The thief left no footprint despite the fact that … Continue Reading →
