Grow Boxes and Containers

Cicadas of Utah

A shed skin from a cicada found near the U of U.

Cicadas are well known in some parts of the country, but unless they are the sexy ones that emerge in large groups after many years of hiding underground they are ignored by the public. This has caused a common misconception that Utah does not have any cicadas!

This is an odd situation because those of us that spend time in the canyons of the Wasatch Front know very well the screech of the local cicadas. Less common, much less common, is the opportunity to take a closer look at one of the natives. In all the years I have walked and hiked in this region I do not ever recall seeing a live cicada. I am sure I must have see their shed skins, I cannot for the life of me remember seeing one. Until this last summer (2022) I had never seen a live Utah cicada. Surprisingly enough, this one was not in a canyon, instead it was in a developed foothill area in Salt Lake City, not far from the U of U. 

I encourage you to open yourself up to new explorations of the common areas in your life. Whether it is your own backyard or your workplace there is something new waiting for your if you just take a few seconds to see it!

A live cicada found near the U of U.

 

I'm Back!

I have been occupied with a lot of projects in the last couple of years, and even more work since I returned to working for the man. Through all of this time I have missed doing this blog. So I am back and I hope that I can keep helping your garden become the best it can be!

Manana

Utah Apples: Red Delicious

 

Use

Flavor: Sweet.
Fruit Size: Average
Texture: Grainy, crisp only before ripening.
Storage: 1-2 months.
Best Uses: Dried, fresh and baking in a pinch.

Growing

USDA zones: 5-8
Harvest Time: Midseason.
Chill Requirement: 700 hours.
Tree Size: Average.
Self Pollinating? No
Best Pollinators: Cortland, Enterprise, Harrison, Hewe's Virginia Crab, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy, Pixie Crunch.

Disease Resistance

Cedar Apple Rust: Resistant.
Fireblight: Some resistance.
Mildew: Some resistance.
Scab: Susceptible.

General

Country: USA
Year(s): 1880

History

Jesse Hiatt found this tree in Iowa and did not like the location, so he tried to remove it multiple times. He failed in his attempts, but somewhere along the way decided that the actual variety (which he called Hawkeye) was worth keeping and sent it to Stark Brothers Nursery in 1892 as part of a contest to pick a new apple to replace 'Ben Davis'. Stark Brothers really liked the apple and added it to their line and changed the name to Delicious. The name was later switched to Red Delicious one the golden variety was named in the early 1900's.

Notes

This is my least favorite apple. I have had a good one every once in a while, but over all Red Delicious does not provide a good eating experience and if I have the choice I would rather plant any number of apple varieties rather than this. That having been said, Red Delicious is a good pollinator of other apples and makes a good dried apple whose quality surprises many people. 

Permaculture and the Art of Hate

I am on one of my separations from permaculture right now. Not that I have given up on the principals or methods, but the people are burning me out. In the last year I have seen one of the most noted teachers in field freely let religious hate be posted on his personal page unchecked and another continue his battle with native plant enthusiasts and those who's environmental concerns he doesn't agree with. Another notable permi had yet another tiff on one his Facebook groups and was handling it so poorly that I asked to be removed and blocked so that I would not leave the group for a second time and then come back later only to find that he is fighting with someone again. One of the local permies is branching out and has flooded many groups with her hunting hate rhetoric and one of the notable permies in my area has been creating a bad name by tackling folks on religious issues that he does not agree with. 

Top it all off with a presidential election has been nastier than any in living memory and I am just worn out!

The things that are giving me hope are those that are focusing on leaning good gardening without worrying about the names attached to it. This is particularly true of the middle and high school students I am privileged to teach this semester. They have not shown me the accumulated pride and inflexibility that has become the standard in our current society. 

Manana!

Ecologically Rich Border Lands

Often times you hear about hedgerows providing ecological diversity when they are used to separate fields and pastures. Out here in the semiarid parts of Utah hedgerows are unheard of. Yes, we have ornamental hedges that are sheared to oblivion and managed nearly as harshly as turf grass. So what do dry-landers do to bring diversity to our farms and homesteads?

I introduce you to the ditch bank! When Utah was first settled the only way to get a crop that the settlers from the East could recognize was to irrigate with water coming down from the mountains. Over the years an impressive number of canals and ditches were built. For decades this supplied many of the crops that Utahans relied on for food and to feed their livestock.

It wasn't long before some irrigation-less dry farming took hold, but for all practical purposes the ditches were about everywhere and a wide diversity of plants grew in them and around them. This was Utah's version of a hedgerow and hedgerow diversity.

Over the years the ditches have lost influence due to urbanization and the rise of pressurized irrigation systems. This has made it vital that we provide alternate spaces planted to create habitat for the critters that bring balance to our systems.

So when you hear about hedge rows and all their glory, remember that each area has an eco system hero of its own. If you don't take the time to look for that hero, you will not be doing your landscape any favors.

Manana!

Loving Your Bees to Death

At a recent bee club meeting the idea was presented that it was ok to treat you bees with a miticide even when a varroa mite test showed only low levels of mites. The general response to this was if your bees are alive in after winter there is no problem with that. When I tried to explain why I disagreed, I was quickly shushed.

While I firmly believe that there are many good ways to keep bees, there are very good reasons to not treat unless you have to. And these are not just opinions or personal methods, they are based on science and a wide variety of experience in different fields. Let's take a look at why this may harm your bees:

• The most common miticides are toxic to your bees. Yes, it might seem ok if your bees survive to spring, but pesticides do damage even when they are not killing outright. This is especially true of the queen. 
• Many miticides have a cumulative effect. This means that the poison you used last year might still be hanging around in the bees and in the hive, bringing the dose you added this year up to honeybee toxic levels.
• Miticides do not kill all the mites. Those it does not kill usually have some resistance. They will then breed together to make even more resistant mites. With time, the miticide will become useless. While it is easy to say that technology will provide new chemicals, they may not and they will likely take long enough to produce that you will loose a lot of bees before they are available.

Now, even though I am not a fan of a lot of poisons in my bees or my garden, I am not telling you to stop treating altogether. What I am asking you to do is to test before you treat and only treat if your levels are high enough that the bees cannot handle it themselves.

This is the basic idea behind Integrated Pesticide Management (IPM) that has emerged in a number of fields to keep our pesticides from causing more problems than they solve. If you want to know more about IPM please follow this link: http://rookgardenerpoet.blogspot.com/search?q=IPM or check with your local agriculture university or state extension.

The IPM approach will give your honeybee colonies a better chance of life and keep a lot of problems from happening around them.

Manana!

Permaculture Plants: Rubber Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa

Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chamisa)

Ericameria nauseosa (Chrysothamnus nauseosus)

Asteraceae (Compositae)

This is the primary source of golden-yellow in much of the west during the late summer and early fall. When it is not blooming many people mistake it for sagebrush, but once you take a good look at the flowers it is hard to make that mistake again.

Growing Conditions

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-7, maybe higher. Similar width

Drought Tolerance: Very good

Soil: Best on well drained alkali soils, but flexible with other soils

Light: Full sun

Native Range: From North Dakota south to Texas and all points west. 

Potentially Invasive

Permaculture and Homesteading Uses

Yellow Die: A very warm yellow gold yarn can be made using Rabbitbrush.

Pioneer Plant: Rabbitbrush is an aggressive pioneer plant at home in rough and tumble roadside areas as well as any other disturbed area. If this does not grow in you area it is because your conditions are to nice for it or because it has never been tried. Use this plant in areas regions where it is already established because it will push out other pioneer plants in places it is not native to.

Soil Builder: When the leaves fall they build up in piles under the plant and enrich the soil. When the soil becomes sufficiently enriched Rabbitbrush will often dieback and give its position to more delicate and slower growing plants. 

Late Honeybee Finisher: Rabbitbrush is one of the latest blooming plants available in its home range. The honey is said to be strong and an acquired taste, but most beekeepers have already harvested by the time it blooms so it usually gets left to the bees. 

Nutrient accumulator: Since there are few roots near the surface there is an excellent chance Rabbitbrush is a top notch nutrient accumulator.

Appearance

Flowers: Golden-yellow, late August through October

Leaves: Dusty gray or dusty green, narrow and long--resembling a rabbit's ear, deciduous to semi deciduous 

Size: 1-8' tall

Roots: Deep with few feeder roots near the surface

Fruit: Achine

Pests: Nothing serious known

Ethnobotany

Used as a medicinal tea, yellow die, chewing gum.

Comments:

This is a tough plant for tough areas and so common it is nearly invisible to many people that pass it every day. This is surprising because as an ornamental it has drop dead color and needs very little maintenance. Rabbitbrush can be made into a high grade rubber, but it is not cost effective at this time.

Permaculture Plants!

With the advent of cheap energy the only two branches of design that retain their regional requirements are agriculture and horticulture. As a subset of these, permaculture suffers from the legitimate need to fill more plant niches than traditional horticulture and agriculture have plants for.

Many writers have given lists that are expected to fill the international hunger for more information, but all of these lists fail by including so many plants that it is impossible to sort out what works in your area, or the list plants that are simple not going to work with your soil and climate.

This is a series of permaculture plant posts for my home and county, but those in Utah and the surrounding states will find many of the plants in the series useful for permaculture and homesteading.

The first in the series will be posted later this week. To get the whole series enter Permaculture Plants into the search box in the upper right. I will try to make each plant in the series searchable by the most used common names and botanical names.

I hope this will become a useful tool for all my gardening and permaculture friends in the region. Good luck and let me know how well these plants work for you!

Manana!

Powdery Mildew in the Fall

Late summer and early fall bring a lot of changes that are frustrating to a gardener. In particular this year I have seen folks worried about late season powdery mildew on many of their plants. While powdery mildew can be a big problem when it attacks plants early in the year, later in the year it is simply a part of the overall changes in the seasons.

Some organic gardeners recommend spraying with milk or other treatments, I say that late in the year you just need to accept change and let autumn come. Besides, the best use for milk in the fall is turning it into a hot cup of cocoa to sip while you watch the colors change!

Manana!

Late Summer Sick Trees

Do you know what is ailing your tree in late summer?

This time of year I always get a few questions about sick trees, often times they were planted within the previous year. Sometimes the conversation goes like this:

Me: When did you notice the problem?
Client: Oh, for a while.
Me: Beginning of September?
Client: Yea, I guess so.
Me: What tells you the tree is sick?
Client: The leaves don't look right.
Me: What color are they?
Client: Kinda yellow and maybe some red. I guess there is some brown around the edges of the leaves.
Me: Are there spots or anything that might look like a fungus or infection?
Client: I mean the leaves are really sick looking, but there are no spots.
Me: I think I know what is causing the problem.
Client: Really? You didn't even look at the tree!
Me: You know I am good at what I do, don't you?
Client: Come on, please just help me. I don't want to lose my tree!
Me: Ok, your tree is having an onset of Early Autumn.
Client: What?
Me: Your tree is going dormant early. Some trees do it quicker than others. Some are a little stressed, but they got everything they needed in the summer, so they are turning color early. They will be fine.
Client: Are you sure they don't need to be sprayed or something?
Me: No they are fine.
Client: Could you come and look at them anyway?
Me: Sure, at my usual rate.
Client: What is that again?
Me: $100 an hour. One hour minimum.
Client: I'll let you know if things get worse.

Fight Orchard Pests with Flower Power!

A parasitoid wasp. Most of these wasps are under a quarter-
of-an-inch and none are able to sting humans.

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago and he told me that he never sprays his apple trees, but he regularly has 25% of his apples worm free. He didn't know why, but I have a pretty good idea what is preventing his apples from being damaged.

My friend lives on his old family farm in Lehi, Ut and it is full of "weeds" that are left unsprayed and usually un-mowed. These feral plants feed all comers including small parasitoidal wasps. These wasps lay eggs on a number of pests, including apple codling moths. When the eggs hatch they start eating the pests.

This is not a perfect system, but it is a sensible way to have better fruit with no added chemicals. And you don't need to live on a farm to make it work! All you need is to plant more flowers.  Not all flowers are created the same and some flowers will do more to attract predators.

Below is a list of some of the more useful plants for attracting parasitiod wasps. They are all readily available in seed or plant form at your local nursery or on line.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Growth Type
Achillea spp.	Yarrow	Perennial
Agastache foeniculum	Anise hyssop	Perennial
Artemisia spp.	Wormwood, sagebrush	Perennial
Aster spp.	Aster	Perennial
Astragalus spp.	Vetch	Perennial
Baptisia spp.	False indigo	Perennial
Bellis perennis	English daisy	Perennial
Borago officinalis	Borage	Annual, reseeding
Caragana spp.	Peashrub	Shrub
Chamaemelum nobile	Roman, English chamomile	Perennial
Chrysogonum virginianum	Green and gold	Perennial
Coreopsis spp.	Tickseed	Perennial
Echinacea purpurea	Purple cone flower	Perennial
Foeniculum vulgare	Fennel	Perennial
Helianthus spp.	Sunflower, Sunchoke	Annual, perennial
Lupinus spp.	Lupine	Annual, perennial
Medicago satvia	Alfalfa	Perennial
Robinia hispida	Rosa acacia	Shrub
Robinia pseudoacacia	Black locust	Tree
Solidago spp.	Goldenrod	Perennial
Trifolium spp.	Sweet clover	Biennial

The best places to plant these plants is as need your orchard area as possible. In the case of the annuals and perennials, planting them under and around the fruit trees is best. If that is not possible, a flower bed near the trees would be the next best thing.

It will take a few years to start attracting wasps, so be patient and take the time to work with nature. Any other flowers, especially perennials, are likely to help, so feel free to add more flowers and flowerbeds to your property. All the good critters will love you for it.

Manana!

Utah Beekeepers Under Threat!

A fuzzy photo of a bee for an even fuzzier proposed law!

A new bill in Utah threatens the health of bees and the future of Utah's entire beekeeping industry. Here are the key points:

• Removes the requirement of a moveable frame for inspection.
• Prohibits the county inspector from inspecting unless a specific complaint is given.
• Eliminates mandatory yearly inspections.
• Encourages limitations on migratory beekeepers.
• Prohibits cities from making their own beekeeping codes.

From facebooking with one of the authors, it seems that this is intended to be an anti government move that is supposed to liberate the beekeepers from the tyranny of government. As I asked questions, I found that there seems no reason for this change other than deregulation for the sake of deregulation.

I haven't myself felt oppressed by the beekeeping regulations and those I have talked to in the state may have gripes, but they can't really point to what damage is being done to them by our beekeeping code.

On the flip side there is a real fear with experienced beekeepers that our ability to combat bee health issues will be limited by the proposed deregulation. Certainly, we will have fewer tools for the next big fight with American Foul Brood, or any other pest that comes along. I personally think beekeepers will loose personal property rights as we will have a bigger risk to the bees that we have worked so hard to keep fit and healthy.

For a link to the new changes click here. This will also allow give you a link to Representative Marc Roberts, the sponsor of the bill.

For all of you Utah residents that want to let your representative and senator know what you think click here to find them.

I encourage you to be engaged whether you agree with my opinion or are opposed to it. The greatest threat to liberty has always been complacency.

Manana!

Sugar from Grass?

Syrup is not easily made from bluegrass, but it can be made
sorghum grass.

This interview has some great information on sorghum grass in Utah. It is in the first segment, let me know what you think.

http://www.backcountrynetwork.com/Download/WesternLifeRadio59-1-25-15.mp3

Manana!

Killing the Field

A puddle in the middle of the lawn?

I looked at landscapes at Utah public schools last year, and I am frustrated by what I saw. Many schools were clearly over watered, but this school took the cake. It had water sitting in puddles of fetid water in front of the school.

While it seems that poor management like this is in bad character, especially during a drought year, it is even worse when you know that this level of over watering can require mowing up to three times a week. All this time and money from the mowing could easily be shifted elsewhere.

While it seem easy to blame the custodian, the problem is systemic through the school systems and American society in general. I encourage you to become educated about good gardening and plant care and to respectfully and appropriately approach responsible leaders in the community when you see such horrible miss use of public resources.

Manana!

Late Season Veggies

The gardening season is almost over and all that remains to be done is harvesting, a bit of weeding, and putting the garden to rest, right?

Not so fast!

Most of the same vegetables that you planted in the spring are also happy in the cool autumn weather. So go over your list for your March and April plantings and most of them that mature with out a lot of fussiness will be good for planting mid August.

Here is a quick list:

Beets
Turnips
Cabbage
Kale
Lettuce
Onion
Rutabaga
Spinach
Peas
Garlic
Swiss chard
Mustard greens
Dandelion

Have fun with your fall garden!

Saving Bees with a Bee Feeding Guild

A honeybee on an ornamental crabapple.

When the subject of bees comes up with my friends many of them are worried. Often they talk about becoming beekeepers as a way to help. While I try not to discourage beekeeping in general, in these cases I encourage them to think of other ways to help the bees first. I always recommend that they cut back on or quit using pesticides, ask them to read books about bees and beekeeping, and I ask them to grow more plants for bees.

While any plant with a flower is an improvement, not all of them are great for helping the bees. This is a list I put together to provide lots of bee food on a quarter acre lot. I focused very heavily on late summer blooms because that is when the bees in my area struggle the most to find food. I highlighted those plants, so if you are limited on space you can focus on those first.

This is only one set of plants I could have used, so feel free to study and come up with your own bee guild (community) that meets the needs of where you live. And remember to plant in groups so that clusters of the same plants are at lease three feet across. The bees will find them easier that way.

Oh, this plan leaves enough space for a veggie garden and some grass. The clover is on the list to make the grass more bee friendly!

Enjoy yourselves, manana!

Common Name	Scientific Name	Start of flowering	End of flowering	Width
Trees
Bigtooth Maple	Acer gandidentatum	April	May	25'
Peach	Prunus persica	April	April	18'
Apple	Malus domestica	April	May	25'
Black Locust	Robinia pseudoacacia	May	June	30'
Linden 'Green Spire'	Tilia cordata	June	July	30'
Shubs and Perennials
Fragrant Sumac 'Lowgrow'	Rhus aromatica	April	May	6'
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	April	May	6"
Blackberry	Rubus spp.	May	June	As pruned
Chives	Allium schoenoprasum	May	June	10"
Woodland Sage	Salvia nemorosa	May	July	18"
Lavender	Lavandula angustifolia	June	July	3'
Red-Flowering Thyme	Thymus praecox	June	July	Creeping
Catmint	Nepeta x faassenii	June	August	18"
Melissa, Lemon Balm	Melissa officinalis	June	August	18"
Fireweed	Epilobium angustifolium	June	September	3'
Oregano	Origanum vulgare	June	September	2'
Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	June	September	2'
Milkweed	Asclepias spp.	July	August	2.5'
Peppermint	Mentha piperita	July	August	3'
Russian Sage	Perovskia atriplicifolia	July	September	4'
Bluebeard	Caryopteris x clandonensis	July	September	4'
Blanket Flower	Gaillardia aristata	June	October	10"
Anise hyssop	Agstache foeniculum	July	October	3'
Garlic chives	Allium tuberosa	September	September	12"
Stonecrop	Sedum spectabile	September	September	12"
Aster	Aster spp.	September	October	2'
Goldenrod	Solidago spp.	September	October	4'
Lawn Addition
Dutch White Clover	Trifolium repens	May	August	Creeping

April Classes and Events 2014

Hall's Hardy almond in Highland, Utah 2013.

Mills Park Clean Up
April 12 at Mills Park (by Taco Bell on Second West) in Provo
10:00am, all day long!
Free

• Help Provo City residents take care of a forgotten historic site.
• Learn about local history from neighbors.

Fruit Tree Care Workshop
April 19 at Pioneer Book in Provo
3:00 to 6:00
$15 early $20 at the door.

• Organic pest control.
• Keys to quality fruit.
• Basic pruning and thinning.

Eco Garden Fundamentals (Permaculture Fundamentals)
April 24 at Pioneer Book in Provo
3:00 to 6:00
Free

• Learn what it takes to care for the environment and people.
• Start your brain working in different ways.
• Learn to look at your yard as an integral part of your life and health. 

For more information and to register email Alex Grover at:
utahsustainablegardening@gmail.com

If you really want to help honey bees...

I have been seeing bees for over a month now. They have been gathering pollen from the early blooming trees: maple, elm, poplar, and willow. Pollen provides protein for growing bee larva, but does not provide energy for flying bees. Early in the season, that still comes from the sugar stored as honey.

Some of the early bulbs give a little nectar and I am sure the bees manage to find a bit here and there in the wild. The most important time for nectar is when the dandelions start blooming. Dandelions are rich in pollen, but they are also rich in early nectar. This early nectar helps honey bees fuel long flights while searching for later nectar flows, as well as fuel the growth of spring bee populations.

Dandelions are also markers for when the fruit trees and other early bloomers start producing. But you should never forget that dandelions are a major source of bee energy all by themselves.

If you care about bees, stop killing dandelions!

2014 Dormant Oil Spraying

It is too late to spray this apple.

The apricots are now blooming, so it is too late to do a dormant spray on them. But you can still treat your apples, peaches and nectarines, and pears.

If you had problems with any of these pests last year you can use organic dormant oil on them right now:

• Aphids
• Blister mites
• Brown mites
• Peach twig borer
• Pear psylla
• San Jose scale

Check the oil before you buy it to make sure it is listed as organic. Then mix 5 tablespoons of oil per 1 gallon water and shake it well. Oil is not a "poison," so you need to spray the tree heavily enough that the oil can plug up the breathing holes on the pests. This happens when the entire tree is dripping after being sprayed.

Temperatures should be between 50 and 70 degrees when you spray, and should not go below freezing in the 24 hours after spraying.

Start spraying right now, but you need to stop as soon as your:

• Apples have buds that are half green.
• Pears have a cluster of smaller buds bursting through the main bud.
• Peaches and nectarines show pink through the bud.

Dormant spraying does not help with codling moths or greater peach tree borer.