The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be on Wednesday, June 19 starting at 6 p.m. at Skinner's Garden Classics and Greenhouse. Please note that this is a members only meeting (with significant other) beginning with a potluck supper and meeting to follow. If you have any questions about the meeting, members, please call Liz at 782-2830.
I want to also remind Hort Club members that if you are planning to go on the road trip to Neepawa on July 20, please let Liz know as soon as possible! This trip will be a one day bus tour to the Neepawa Lily Festival; people who have gone on this tour say the lilies are absolutely beautiful, so it should be a great experience for all of us! After June 21, if there are still any seats left on the bus, the tour will be opened up to any interested gardeners; so if you would like to go, please call Liz soon!
The other day a dear gardening friend and I were out looking at the garden. Part of the row of cucumbers came up very nicely; part of the row was missing. Have you ever had this happen? He suggested that I carefully move the soil to check for cutworms. I did so, and that some of the seeds were just coming to the surface with tender shoots; I don't know why they were late coming to the party, but there they were! So I planted them again very carefully, and I hope they will be all right.
But, I also found a cutworm. A cutworm is the larva of a moth, and it got its name because at that stage, it's a pesky little worm that cuts down the plants you and I are waiting for so eagerly! There are many remedies for cutworms; I guess we all have our favourites. Our friend said that he was going to put collars around his plants. This is a labour-intensive process, but will effectively keep the cutworms away from the tender stems of your plants. To make a collar, you can use paper, cardboard, or tin foil. You must wrap the stem of the plant at least three inches, and you must also wrap the stem below the soil line.
Broken eggshells have long been a favourite, and the theory behind the eggshells is that the cutworms will scrape and injure themselves as they climb over the shells and die. But if you have a garden of any size, you will have to be saving your eggshells all winter for this particular remedy. It's amazing how quickly a substantial amount of crushed eggshells gets used up once you start applying them in your garden! You can also consider using diatomaceous earth. Do you know what that is? Diatomaceous earth is a natural substance made from the fossilized remains of aquatic creatures called diatoms. Their skeletons are silica. While the product may feel like powder to us, to cutworms or slugs it is very sharp, and achieves the same end as eggshells. It is non-toxic to us, pets, and the beautiful birds that visit our gardens.
When I was reading about this problem in some of SweetPea's gardening books, other hints included tilling the garden in the spring and the fall to expose the larva, and to make sure we clean up our gardens of all debris in the fall. It's always a challenge, isn't it, gardeners! It's lucky we're a determined lot who don't get discouraged easily!
Now that spring has finally come, take time from your work to savor the sights and smells of the season. As I sit here chatting with you, the aroma of our blooming apple tree is wafting in the window: it's heavenly! Don't be so busy with your work that you miss the beauty all around you. Take a cup of tea outside and sit down for a few minutes and just be. You'll feel rejuvenated!
Have a great week, and when you're working outside, be sure to wear a hat and sunscreen!
