Solutions to some common early season problems
Only two inches of rain fell at my house last week, which was welcome and it did almost fill my rain barrels, but not enough to last or replenish the lack of precipitation we are experiencing. At this time of year, the actively growing plants are transpiring water at a rate that requires at least one inch of rain every week. Hopefully, by the time you read this, it will have rained several inches on your property!
This week, I will discuss some common earlyseason garden problems you have asked me about. Curled, twisted and deformed peach leaves are caused by a fungal disease appropriately called “peach leaf curl.” There is nothing that can be done at this time of the year, so don’t waste your time spraying fungicides right now. The proper time to treat this disease is late fall, after the leaves have dropped or early spring, before the leaves appear. The fungus overwinters on twigs and ranches and not leaves, but it is always a good idea to rake up any diseased leaves that drop.
Like most fungal diseases, it cannot be “cured” but can be prevented. Usually, only a single, welltimed fungicide spray is needed. Peaches, plums and cherries also are subject to an insect called the plum curculio that causes the fruit to drop prematurely. Look for a tiny, crescent-shaped scar on the fallen fruit as evidence. It is very important to clean up fallen fruit to prevent this pest from reproducing. It infests the tiny fruit shorty after they are formed, so an insecticide spray right after the blossoms fall off is required to prevent it.
Those small white butterflies flitting around your garden are laying eggs that will hatch into green-colored, cabbage worms, in a few days. The cabbage worms are exactly the same color as broccoli and nothing will turn your stomach like cooking some broccoli from you garden and seeing these caterpillars floating to the surface!
They also attack all other members of the cabbage family. A very effective and safe way to kill them is to spray or dust the brassicas with Bacillus thurigensis, an “organic” remedy that is derived from a naturally occurring soil bacteria. It is sold under various brand names in most garden centers.
Those of you with ponds may be experiencing algal blooms that make
swimming unappealing during this heatwave. In New York state, it is illegal to apply any chemicals to ponds for killing algae without a permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Permits are generally only issued to landowners whose ponds are spring
fed and do not drain onto other properties. Sometimes these chemicals do provide a “quick fix” that may work for a short period of time, but usually repeat applications are needed.
Cultural practices that can help are deepening the pond with a backhoe type of machine. This is very effective for getting rid of perimeter cattails and reeds that can only grow in shallow water.
A steep, four-foot drop from the bank to the water eliminates the problem. Mechanical aerators may also help if the ponds are at least six feet deep on average. It is too late to apply barley straw to intake water (no permit needed for that) and sterile “grass carp” that eat only certain types of algae are not really all that effective on most types of algae.
Ponds that receive runoff water from any animal
pastures will always have algae problems, but contrary to popular belief, golf courses these days, rarely contribute to nutrient overloads. Most golf course managers are very well educated when it comes to using chemicals on their property. Fertilizers and pesticides are far too expensive to be abused by these businesses and the DEC keeps a pretty close watch on them as well. An overzealous neighbor who
fertilizes his lawn far too often could be an issue if your pond lies directly below the lawn.
Once your lawn turns brown from heat and drought stress, there is no point at all in applying fertilizer or weed killers of any type. The white clover and other weeds in my lawn don’t seem to mind the drought at all and the honeybees working the clover are also not bothered. This is definitely not
a good time to plant grass seed!
Enjoy the natural shade provided by trees and consider planting tall trees for this purpose. Research has determined that shade trees can reduce air conditioning costs by as much as 40 percent annually.