By Cindy Poore
So just out of the clear blue sky comes a shocker! Someone, you have counted on to be there and just took for granted is suddenly not there. Leaving you with a big hole in your life. Things can change in an instant. Sometimes, you get a second chance. Sometimes not. Far too often I am complacent about the now.
You are with someone. Someone you just met, or someone you love and you are not really THERE. You are thinking ahead of what they are saying, trying to formulate what YOU are going to say next. Not really listening because of course, you already know what they are going to say, right? I am so guilty of this.
That is what I mean. The most important thing you can do today and everyday is to really listen to the person you are talking to. Don’t just jump in with a comment because you don’t want to loose the thought. Be in the now with them and be thoughtful of what they are saying before formulating a response.
This is my New Me Resolution. I don’t have to wait for January 1. I can start NOW. Be patient with me. It will take practice.
We finally got some cool weather along with a bit of rain. Not much, but a good start and just enough to start up a fire. Rain and a good fire reminds me of the restaurant scene in Harry met Sally. Yes, yes, yes!
With the cooler weather and shorter days, you need to be adjusting your sprinkler system like crazy to allow for the reduced water needs of your landscape.
If you haven’t already, fertilize your trees and shrubs soon for a healthier sleep through winter and an quick start in spring.
We just changed back to standard time. Some of you have battery operated sprinkler timers and now is a good time to change the batteries in those if we haven’t already done it for you recently.
Want a fall adventure but can’t get away for a trip? Take an afternoon and drive up to Wrightwood. The road is short and uncomplicated and the drive is worth it! Beautiful pines and fall trees and crisp air. Lots of cute little shops and tasty restaurants to temp you. Go up on a Friday afternoon and stop by the Farmer’s market. I got some terrific organic apples there and made some amazing no sugar apple butter with them.
CRAFTY? While you are there, pick up some pretty fall leaves. Spray one side of the leaves with some spray adhesive and stick to the inside of a quart Mason jar. Place a battery votive candle inside and voila! Instant Thanksgiving table decoration.
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Falling from an autumn tree”
Emily Bronte
Bark beetles. They are a big problem here in the Inland Empire and the High Desert for our pines and conifers There are bark beetles that attack pines, arborvitae, cypress, false cypress, junipers, and redwoods and many others). California has over 20 varieties of bark beetles. In years past, our mountain communities of Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Wrightwood have been hit hard. There has been a big push in the last few years to cut down the stricken trees to minimize the spread to other trees and the fire potential.
We thought we had crossed the safety mark a few years back and had turned the tide towards getting a handle on them after mass removals of the dead trees. The current drought conditions are making us rethink that as the bark beetles are back with a vengeance due to insufficient water to our trees.
The bark beetle adults are small, hard-bodied insects about the size of a grain of rice and most are dark red, brown, or black. Look for a pattern like buckshot on the bark surface of infested branches or trunks where the new adults have emerged. The adults tunnel through the bark and lay eggs under the bark. The eggs hatch and become larvae that tunnel through the inner bark, where they overwinter, creating large galleries of tunnels where they disrupt the flow of water and nutrients to the tree resulting in dead or dying branches and eventually the entire tree.
The larvae then emerge from the tree as flying adults and they look for new trees to infest resulting in a ruthless cycle of death. Their favored target is a tree that is stressed by drought, improper planting, improper pruning or other conditions.
Because the beetles live in the protected space under the bark, it is very difficult or sometimes impossible to obtain control once the tree is infested. Timing is all important when making applications to prevent infestation.
Prevention is the best way to combat these beetles with proper maintenance and watering. Most people do not water their trees well. They start with one or two little emitters that put out a gallon of water each when ran for an hour, and then they cut down the watering schedule to 10 or 15 minutes a day thinking the trees should be watered the same as a spray system for your lawn. (Hey that’s not right for your lawn either, but that’s another article). 15 minutes with a 1 gallon per hour emitter is 32 ounces. Not very much except for the tiniest of trees.
As the tree grows, it will require a lot more water. A typical tree with a 15 -20 foot spread can use as much as 50 gallons of water a day. BUT you should not water every day either. The best way to water trees is to water infrequently, perhaps 2-3 times a week in summer. Water deeply when you do water so that the soil is wet down at least 12 -14 inches. Depth and frequency will depend on tree type. soil type and weather.
A key component of prevention is to provide proper maintenance and have a licensed pest applicator apply a systemic insecticide to prevent the beetles from getting established. Systemic insecticides are taken in by the tree’s vascular system and distributed throughout the tree so that when a beetle bores into the tree trunk to lay it’s eggs, it is killed by the insecticide, thus preventing it from laying eggs that will hatch into the larvae that will kill the tree. There are many methods of application for the insecticides.
Give us a call. We are licensed pest control applicators and we are experienced to help you with your tree pest issues.
(760) 868-6104
The last few years have been crazy dry ones. California is solidly into drought territory now. Oh, I know, we toy with it every year. We hear the same old stuff like “fix leaks” (duh) , Take shorter showers” (awww) and ”Make every drop count” (YES!), and my favorite “If it is yellow, let it mellow, if it is brown, flush it down” (ugh!).
But this is serious stuff folks. According a recent news report, since California has been mandated to save water, like it or not, we have managed to cut back water use 15%. That is a really good start. And everyone that uses water can help. But those of you who have lawns and gardens are going to have to do the most adjusting.
Your landscape uses the majority of your water bill and starting there will bring the most effect on saving water and money. I still find people who are watering their landscapes twice a day, every day, all year long.
Drought or not, just like YOU need a certain amount of calories to maintain your health and proper weight, so do plants need a certain amount of water to THRIVE. What is the definition of thrive?: To grow or develop well or vigorously, prosper, flourish.
Compare that to just surviving: to continue to live or EXIST especially in spite of danger or hardship. Which do you want for your landscape? Or for your life for that matter?
Below are some quick tips that will help you gain better control of your garden water usage.
♦Walk your sprinkling system while running and check for leaks and repair them. Have a kit for fixing drip systems with plugs and replacement emitters and fittings. Keep them in a small tackle box so you can cart it around with you when you do the check.
♦Watch the weather. Adjust your run days and times according to the heat and wind and rain or lack thereof.
♦Which brings us to the percent button on your sprinkler timer/controller. Most timers have one. And in this busy world who has time to go out and change the time for each station and run days and so forth? The percent button is your friend. Use it. Run times should be set for July, the hottest month and at 100%. Then adjust up or down the percentage for temporary or seasonal conditions. We have a chart we recommend for the percentages for each month. This is convenient for quick and minor changes and will only adjust the time each valve (a station on the clock) runs.
♦ Adjust your watering DAYS so that your lawns and especially your shrubs and trees are not watered daily whenever possible with the conditions. If you can wean your lawn off daily watering in the months building up to the summer heat, Your lawn will respond well when the really hot days hit us. The goal is to develop strong healthy plants which THRIVE in your landscape.
♦Don’t water both am and pm. It keeps the root zone wet. Unless we are establishing a new lawn, we want the upper soil to dry out so the roots have to grow deeper to get moisture. Deeper rooted plants, trees and lawns will weather the hot season better. We want to have a dry space between waterings to encourage deep rooting.
“We are living on this planet as if we
had another one to go to”
By Cindy Poore
Where did the time go? It is almost fall. I long for fall the way a kid longs for Christmas. (that’s just around the corner too!) Fall is my time. The time for shorter, hopefully cooler days. Time to regroup and plan that last frenzy of activity you just HAVE to get done this year before the weather goes to heck. We are busy planning and planting some awesome new landscapes to get in before fall right now.
Fall is the BEST time for planting. Even in Wrightwood where winters are cold and frosty. Who doesn’t love a frosty morning, sipping something hot while sitting in the chill air outside and gazing on a beautiful scene in your yard?
So you are going to the nursery to buy some plants? Go with knowledge. I haunt the nurseries. It is like Disneyland to me. I want to take one (or more) of everything home. I was just at a big box store yesterday and saw some lovelies I would like to own.
These beautiful Morning Glories would be a great choice! They will look great,
until they don’t when it gets cold and then they will sleep until spring and decorate your yard next year.
Just as amazing are these hibiscus and particularly, the YELLOW hibiscus which seems uncommon. Unfortunately, hibiscus will not tolerate temperatures below 30 degrees and will die come winter unless extreme measures are taken to protect them all winter long.
So why do the nurseries up here sell these guys and temp us with this contraband? Just to make money off us? Well not entirely.
People forget that plants are living things and do not live forever. Both large and small plants and trees. If we keep in mind that everything has a place and time, we can enjoy all the world has to offer.
Plants, are just like everything else in your life, such as places, opportunities and especially people. They come into our lives and decorate them. But not forever. Appreciate this. Embrace this. Enjoy what you have while you have it.
~
“Gratitude Changes EVERYTHING”
August Garden Tasks
August is the peak of the garden season. Wonderful harvests from your fruit trees and veggies are pushing out produce like little mad scientists. Pick them quick or they will morph into something a bit unusual. Or the birds or squirrels will get them. You reap what you sow, so now is the time.
` Problems with worms in your apples or pears? I’m sorry to tell you that this is a MAJOR deal! Coddling moth is no joke. You should rip every one off the tree right now and pick up the ones on the ground and throw them away. Sad but necessary. Then for sure, apply dormant spray in winter. When leaves are gone but before new buds show up. This will help, but may not cure. Other treatments for Coddling Moth are expensive, repetitive and have to be timed expertly. Do this at a minimum. Don’t let fruit or plant debris sit on the ground overwinter.
`Idea for your next evening party? I’m just so into tea lights. Put some pretty tea lights into a quart Mason jar the light with long wooden matches and place on tables and little spots here and there in the garden. Want to hang them? Get some sturdy Florists wire and wrap several times around the mason jar just under the threads and create a “handle” out of the wire. Make the handle long enough so the heat from the flame is not a problem. Hang from branches of trees or hooks on your patio cover. Instant ambiance.
` Divide Iris July is best, but it is not too late to divide your iris now. Go out and multiply!
` Plant seedlings of fall crops such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts now. Sow, carrots, green
` Harvest herbs for drying right now. Keep from direct sun and place between two screens to air dry.
`Drought Priorities. Drought is everyone’s problem. You invested a lot of time and money into your landscape. Don’t loose it all because of crappy weather. Managing your yard’s watering system is critical! Our priorities for water for your landscape is to wean your plant off too-often watering. PLEASE work to manage your watering schedule so you will have healthier plants and a smaller water bill. Water your plants deeply and less frequently. If you have slope areas, water shorter multiple times with some time between waterings so water can sink in instead of rolling off. But you should not be watering multiple times and every day unless your landscape is brand spankin new! Call us and we will help you manage your water, not waste it.
Let Us Help You With All Your Landscape Needs
(760) 868-6104
My Favorite Recipes
Get your GRILL ON!
Keep grillin. Summer is not over yet! Try these for a tasty vegetarian snack or side dish at your favorite BBQ party. You can leave out the chopped kale or substitute fresh spinach or other green. I just try to incorporate more healthy greens into our meals when ever I can.
Cheese Stuffed Peppers
1 cup (8 oz) cream cheese room temp.
½ cup (4 oz)Shredded Parmesan
¼ cup Kale ( chopped fine)
4 mini bell/sweet peppers
4 Anaheim chilies
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Take several wooden tooth picks and soak in water while preparing dish. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, parmesan, and kale if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.
Wash peppers and with a sharp knife, cut ¾ the way through the stem end near the top. Gently fold back the stem end being careful not to separate from the chili and scrape the seeds and membrane from the peppers. Fill peppers with the cheese mixture and replace top. Secure top if needed with a wooden tooth pick soaked in water. Brush with olive oil and grill on a hot grill for 5 to 7 minutes just until pepper skin blisters and cheesey mixture starts to melt.
Yum. Enjoy with a glass of tea or wine!
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- Weeds are Back! March 10, 2018Is your yard Exploding with weeds ? You may think a few weeds here or there aren’t much to worry about, but did you know most weeds are capable of producing over a thousand seeds each? Rain and the warmer weather that will follow will make conditions just right for hose little land mines […]