Fall gardens are growing but watch out for those moths!!

By the end of September the fall garden should be well underway. If yours looks anything like ours here at the Davidson County Agriculture Center Demo Garden then you are very pleased up to this point. Yesterday I did my daily scout of the garden and to my surprise I found many eggs on the leaves of my cole crops laid by cabbage moths. Below is what the eggs of these moths look like. These eggs are generally laid on the underside of the leaves. I was surprised at the number of eggs present due to the fact that these moths are generally the most active in the spring. I have seen very few moths near the garden but it only takes one to totally devastate your crop. The two moths you need to look out for are shown below. The first one is the imported cabbage worm moth. These are noticed most commonly due to their white color. The second picture is of the cabbage looper moth.

These moths lay their eggs and when the eggs hatch the resulting worms eat the plants leaves until little is left.






The cabbage looper

The imported
cabbage worm




Infestation can be prevented by using row covers or by simply scouting your crop each day and rubbing out the eggs. These two measure are simple and easy on a small crop but for a bigger crop one my need to spray. The best way to control these worms is through use of bacillus thugensis or bt for short. This is a bacteria that infects the worms causing them to die. The bacteria is harmless to humans although one would not want to spray it on themselves. It can be purchased at most farm type stores under the name of Dipel or Thuricide. Dipel is generally sold as a powder and Thuricide is a concentrated liquid. These pesticides would need to be applied after each rain because the rain water will wash of the effective bacteria.

So if you see the moths, eggs or worms. Be ready to take action or you will end up with nothing more than a plant that is shot full of holes. Nobody said growing crops was easy but we have the means to deal with most problems so use them to the fullest!

Fall is for planting

I always wonder why all the big box stores stock so many landscape plants in the spring when it is really the totally wrong time to be planting any woody shrubs and trees. I suppose the simple answer is that that's when we want to get out and work in the yard. I know it's tempting to buy a bunch of shrubs and redo the landscape in May but it is a BIG mistake!!

Planting is always best done in the fall for woody plants like trees and shrubs. Why is this you may ask? Well I'm about to tell you. First of all in the spring the plants you are wanting to put out are in the process of growing and this can spell disaster if you disturb the plant's roots to too great of a degree. The other reasons....well I'll make a list of why spring is not the best time to plant.

• Frost! - this can cause major damage to plants that have been protected all winter in a nursery
• Summer heat - How is that little plant going to survive the hot summer sun with a scrawny root system
• Drought - Small root system = huge chance of the plant dying in the summer dry times
• Root growth - Roots grow best in the cool fall and spring. If i plant in the spring I only get one chance for roots to grow before summer. If i plant in fall i get much more root growth and time for the plant to establish itself.
• Care - many people plant in the spring only to stop caring for the tree or shrub during the hot summer. This leads to death!!

So the bottom line here is that if you can find shrubs and trees in the fall, consider yourself lucky and plant them. Do not wait until spring. I know you will be much happier with the results.

Now that you know when to plant, lets talk about how to plant. Most of us have heard that we should amend the soil in our planting holes but this is a terrible idea. This is especially true in clay soils. If you dig a hole and plant a tree in compost and peat moss all are doing is creating a mud pit that will hold water around your plants roots and it will drown! The key to planting right is to make sure the hole is no deeper than the root ball but make the hole much wider. This will give the roots some softer soil to grow into....but make sure you plant the tree in native soil and not amended soil! Truly the only thing you may want to do is to had a cup or two of lime and a handful of phosphorus fertilizer. This will help get the roots off to a good start. Also keep in mind that the roots have been growing in a pot most likely and you will need to cut or unbind them in some way. As you can see from the photo on the left, if you don't "fix" the roots your plant will eventually decline and die due to the roots girdling the plant. So don't be afraid to beat, bang and cut those roots so you get fresh straight root growth!

Plant at the right time, use the right techniques and you will have a thriving landscape from the beginning. Plant in the spring and you'll be fighting heat and drought for several years before your plants will truly become established. If you have the bug to plant in the spring; buy lots of annual flowers and compost and plant to your hearts desire!! Leave the trees and shrubs to until the fall.

Fall is a time for growth!

When we think of fall, we generally think of falling leaves and things on the decline but we can change that perception. This has been the first year of our new vegetable demonstration garden here at the Davidson County Cooperative Extension Center and as the summer crops have passed I have now planted our fall garden. One look at the garden can change the mind of even the worst skeptic about fall gardening. The plants look great this year. It's amazing what good seed, a soil test and enough water can accomplish!

As you can see from the photos the plants are looking healthy. I did a thorough scouting of the garden earlier today and found no bugs at all nor did I find any disease or fungal infections. Fall is a great time to grow and if you are looking to start a fall vegetable garden it isn't too late! Get to your local nursery or farm store and get some transplants of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and any other cool season vegetable. With proper care you will have a bountiful harvest!