Guest On Joy In Your Garden

I was a guest on Joy In Your Garden, April 19, 2014 with Joy Bossi! This was a remote broadcast from Red Butte Gardens. You can listen here.

Mosquitoes

For controlling mosquitoes in the landscape (and on you):

Empty any water containers that are unnecessary. For pet water dishes, bird baths, and ponds there is another option. Bacillus thuringiensis v. israelensis is deadly to mosquito larvae and fungus gnats but safe for pets, birds, and fish. Also called B. T. var israelensis, it is available in a liquid but also a dry form as donut shaped “dunks” and small “bits”. There are other types of B.T. - one for controlling caterpillars and one for Colorado Potato Beetle so be sure you are getting the right one.

Planting mosquito repelling plants can also be helpful especially when planted around patios and decks. This is most helpful if the plants will be brushed against as people are walking past so the essential oils of the plants are released. Lemongrass (a relative of Citronella) is a famous one but is not hardy above zone 11 so for most of us will either need to be overwintered indoors as a houseplant or you will have to buy a new one each year. If you want to cook with lemongrass you may want to just bring it indoors. More cold tolerant herbs which are also mosquito repellents are mint and lavender. Mint should be grown in a pot anyway to avoid taking over your yard. Lavender can be planted in the ground in most climates and should overwinter just fine in a pot in many climates as long as the pot is large enough to provide insulation for the roots. A pot of 14” - 16” should work for either lavender or mint. Keep in the mind that plants in pots still need water during the winter.

Lavender

Spearmint

Some other mosquito repelling ideas:

• Throwing some herbs on the grill during or after cooking may also repel mosquitoes and other insects from your outdoor gathering plus flavor your food when used during cooking.
• Essential oils of many herbs will repel insects. If using a quality essential oil lavender can be used directly on the skin. Essential oils can also be used on the cuffs of pants and shirts and brims of hats and added to the melted wax in candles.
• Outdoor sprays containing insect repelling essential oils – as always read the ingredients so you know what you are getting.
• Avoiding sugar and bananas as well as consuming garlic may help mosquitoes avoid you.  Getting enough B vitamins is also said to repel mosquitoes.

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Edible Landscaping Ideas

This article from Organic Gardening magazine has a few great ideas to get you started with an edible landscape.

Chard in the landscape

4 Edible Landscaping Ideas

Introduce edible plants into your landscape.

Michael Seliga, owner of Cascadian Edible Landscapes shares his tips for introducing edible plants into your landscape.
 
Sneaking a few perennial edibles into your vegetable garden, and even your ornamental borders, cuts down on work and increases the amount of food you can harvest.

Start with herbs. "Herbs are expensive to buy at the store," Seliga says. "So adding them to your landscape makes good economic sense." Reserve a small section of your vegetable garden for herbs or integrate them into your landscape. Rosemary, sages, thymes, winter savory, basils, and oregano all blend in well with flowering perennials.
Plant fruiting shrubs. Blueberries, currants, and elderberries...

Read more

Tabletop Square Foot Garden

Recently I taught a Square Foot Gardening class at a local assisted living center and then I helped install two tabletop style Square Foot Gardens.   The tabletop gardens were built and transported by associates from the local Home Depot (Centerville, Utah).  Some residents may return to their homes and hopefully this will give them some ideas for a way they could continue to garden. 

Residents planted tomato plants

About ten days later - after residents planted seeds

 The residents helped plant tomato plants and later planted several vegetables from seeds including beans, peas, spinach, and radishes.







Tabletop Square Foot Gardening is a great way to garden for those lacking ground space or those who are not able to get down to ground level to garden. 

This is a great way to garden on a patio!  Casters can be added to the legs for those who would like to move their box around on a patio or other smooth surface.