356 Q&A - Controlling Fruit Tree Pests, Soil Solarization around trees, The Asian Garden Beetle

We talk with fruit tree expert Ed Laivo today about how to control the four-legged varmints (as well as the winged ones) that get to your backyard fruit before you do. Plus, he has recommendations for potting mixes to grow fruit trees in containers. 
Is it safe to solarize soil with clear plastic to kill weeds or a lawn, if there’s a fruit tree in the middle? Debbie Flower tackles that one. 
And in parts of the midwest and all along the East Coast, there’s a pest on the loose that feeds on over 100 different plants - the Asiatic Garden Beetle. We discuss controls. 

It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. Let’s go!

Previous episodes, show notes, links, and transcripts at the home site for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, GardenBasics.net. 

Pictured: Squirrel Eating an Apple (Photo: Joe Mabel)

Links:

Farmer Fred’s Ride for the Kids. Donate Now!
Subscribe to the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter https://gardenbasics.substack.com

Smart Pots https://smartpots.com/fred/
Dave Wilson Nursery
HeirloomRoses.com (with the FRED discount link)

Other links mentioned in today’s podcast:

Ed-Able Solutions (Fruit trees)
GroPower Fertilizer
Down to Earth Fertilizer
Coir (chunks)
Acid Based soil mixes
Soil Test Kits

Soil Testing Services:
UMass/Amherst
Colorado State U
Texas A&M

Asiatic Garden Beetles (UMass, NC State, U-KY, U-FL, U-NH

Soil Solarization for Gardens and Landscapes (UCANR)

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• Call or text us the question: 916-292-8964.
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All About Farmer Fred:
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The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter, Beyond the Basics
Farmer Fred website:   http://farmerfred.com

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Thank you for listening, subscribing and commenting on the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast and the Beyond the Garden Basics Newsletter.

Chapters

• 1:29 Q&A Fruit Tree Varmints, Container Mixes for Fruit Trees
• 12:19 Smart Pots Compost Saks!
• 14:30 Q&A Solarizing Near Fruit Trees
• 20:43 Dave Wilson Nursery
• 21:56 Q&A Asiatic Garden Beetle Control Tips
• 29:49 Farmer Fred's Ride for the Kids!

Transcript

356 TRANSCRIPT Fruit Tree Varmints, etc

356 Fruit Tree Varmints, Asiatic Garden Beetles, Solarizing near Trees

Farmer Fred

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred is brought to you by Smart Pots, the original lightweight, long lasting fabric plant container. It's made in the USA. Visit SmartPots.com slash Fred for more information and a special discount, that's SmartPots.com/Fred.

Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, you've come to the right spot.

Farmer Fred

We talk with fruit tree expert Ed Laivo today about how to control the four-legged varmints (as well as the winged ones) that get to your fruit before you do. Plus, he has recommendations for potting mixes to grow fruit trees in containers. Is it safe to solarize soil with clear plastic to kill weeds or a lawn, if there’s a fruit tree in the middle? America’s favorite retired college horticulture professor, Debbie Flower, tackles that one. And in parts of the midwest and all along the East Coast, there’s a pest on the loose that feeds on over 100 different plants - the Asiatic Garden Beetle. What controls are there to subdue the AGB?

We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. Let’s go!

Farmer Fred

We like to answer your garden questions here on the Garden Basics Podcast. We get a question from Steve who lives in Martinez, which is in the Bay Area of California. And Steve says, Fred, I'm a long time listener. By following your logic and advice of your guests, I now have an orchard of about 30 mixed fruit trees. I'm on three acres in Martinez. A creek runs through the property with lots of trees. This year due to an exploding population of rats, ground squirrels, and tree squirrels, I did not get one piece of fruit. Plus my 12 tomato plants are also being hit. I don't like poisons though. Any suggestions would be great. “

Well, one of those people you may have heard over the years is Ed Laivo. Ed Laivo, fruit tree expert, now with his own gosh darn video page too on YouTube. I believe it's called Edible Solutions.

Ed Laivo  

Ed Able solutions, That's right. 

Farmer Fred    

All right. We'll have a link to it in today's show notes, because he's the only person I know of in our age group who would dare put his face on YouTube. And he does.

Ed Laivo    

Yeah, thanks.

I just gave some thought to that. You know, I just moved from Antioch. I was right over the hill from Martinez. OK, so,  he's over there where Muir was, and Muir had a huge orchard there. And I'm sure Muir dealt with all the problems that he's dealing with. My approach would be real simple. He didn't mention raccoons. I had raccoons. Raccoons will go down to a hardware store, get some tools and then come back and actually take out of any defense that you've got, take it out. But for squirrels, ground squirrels and rats, I trap. I mostly trap. But if you're doing size control, like if he's been an avid listener of Fred Hoffman for years, he knows that size control is everything with fruit trees. So if you're size controlling your fruit trees and keeping them down to a reasonable height, the netting actually becomes a valid way of deterring the squirrels and the rats. Not so much the rats though. Rats will find a way into everything I find. So trapping to me has always been the best alternative for those smaller rodents. I use live traps for squirrels, FYI. 

Farmer Fred

We are here at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center on harvest day. And one of the examples of netting here is over in the berry area where they have this wonderful structure for protecting their blackberries from the heat. but it is secured along the ground with a garden hose, a really thick garden hose going all the way around it. And I think that's very important if you're trying to keep even birds out, is you gotta secure it to the ground or tie it to the trunk if you're gonna net. 

Ed Laivo

Yeah, I've always tied it to the trunk because in the past when I've worked with structures, know, structures are for the advanced gardener and person who's got time and the inclination to wanna put up the structures. So that's up to you. They're easy to work with, but I've always tied just directly to the trunk and just made it a big bag around the top of the tree. That's always been the best way. But I've even found birds get into that netting too. know, how did you get in here? I don't get it, but they do. Trapping and netting seems to be it. 

Farmer Fred

Now you're here at Harvest Day. You're going to be speaking in a few minutes. Give us a little preview of what you're going to be talking about. 

Ed Laivo

I'm going to be talking about container growing. know, mean, container growing has become a real big popular thing. started working with growing and containers, started a program, called “Ideal for Container Growing” back in 1995 when I was with Dave Wilson Nursery, of course. And so I'm just gonna share some simple ideas about being successful growing fruit trees in containers and sharing some ideas. 

Farmer Fred

Give us one or two tips right now. 

Ed Laivo

Well, I think one of the things that I'm really big on is I'm really big on is to use a lot of bark in the soil mix, because a lot of these potting soil mixes that you buy at the nurseries and different stores are too fine of particle size. For these trees that you're going to be maintaining containers for maybe two, three, four years. And so consequently, you know, the pore space needs to become real important. And the cation exchange, actually nutrient can bound to in the potting soil becomes really, really important. And these potting soils that we buy  in the stores actually breaks down too quickly. So I always amend that and I'll be sharing the amendments. I'm a big, big fan of chunked coir.

Farmer Fred  

Coir. C, O, I, R.

Ed Laivo  

You got it, and I'm a big fan. And you know, I hate to say it, but it's been available at Costco now for a couple of years. Did I say that? But yeah, and they're carrying the chunk form, not the shredded form. The shredded form is real hard to get the percentage of right for your mix, but the chunk is a cinch, because it's big. Chunk adds porosity, adds water, holding capacity, expands your watering between waterings, and at the same time, breaks down and adds acidity to your potting soil.

Farmer Fred  

But how do you get it moistened in the first place? 

Ed Laivo  

Same way you do peat moss. It's no different. You know, you just pre moisten it, sticking in a wheelbarrow, stick it in buckets, chunks in a bucket. The ideal thing is that you only need to add a sixth to your entire volume to get the  positive results from it. It's just wonderful stuff. And I’v.e been an advocate of coir,  I've been an advocate of coir forever, and used it forever

Farmer Fred   

With coir, If you just buy a big bag of it, you could just open the top of the bag and fill it full of water and go do something else. 

Ed Laivo  

Well, you'd have to put it in the bag, because usually it comes in compressed bales. So, get a wheelbarrow.  I think one of those blocks compresses out to or expands out to about two cubic foot, and you don't really need that much. You would have your plants floating.

Farmer Fred 

There’s another great use for those 30 gallon trash cans that your waste disposal company doesn't pick up anymore. But those plastic cans are good for just that very purpose, for moistening peat moss or coir. 

Ed Laivo  

Funny, you mentioned that. That's what I use. Yeah, I use one of those big garbage cans, and then I put it in there. And peat moss too. I don't use as much peat anymore, but in, like in my blueberry mixes, I still recommend a sixth peat and a sixth coir. Along with bark and the acid potting mixes.  I think I've simplified it to two standard potting mixes that I recommend now, what I call,  a basic potting mix, and then a potting mix that is more for acidic or acid loving plants.

Farmer Fred   

Well, the acid loving plant, the blueberry mix you just mentioned. We might as well finish it off there, because so in the old days it was 1/3 1/3 1/3. it was a 1/3 of an R, A, C, soil, Rhododendron, Azalea, Camellia, so an acid base soil. It was 1/3 of small bark or pathway bark, and 1/3 peat moss, correct? 

Ed Laivo

But now I've changed that into a sixth peat moss and a sixth core. Okay, yeah, that's the only difference.

Farmer Fred  

Now, what's your other mix?

Ed Laivo    

Well, the other mix is actually more just 50% and I still, I love acid potting mixes, because typically the biggest problem that we deal with with growing in containers is that our waters run, very high pH. And so you're battling that. And most of the our deciduous plants and our our citrus, and they all like a more acid mix, and so you're in a controlled environment inside a container. And so, you know, take advantage of that. That's why I always recommend to use an acid potting soil as your base, you know, because I think that's a good place to start. In the long run, I always use acid fertilizers anyways. And I'm really big into at least one application of humic-based acid fertilizer, at least once during the season. I love Gro Power. Love Down to Earth. They're both good, good products that are our humic acid based. That really gets the bioactivity going. I like it to be that that first fertilization, like in February. So that bioactivity gets going just before the plant starts launching itself in the spring.

Farmer Fred  

Yeah. And just to clarify one thing, when you're when you're mentioning pH numbers. On the pH scale, acidic soil has a low pH number like a five or a six, whereas alkaline pH is high, it could be over 7.5.  

Ed Laivo

It could be eight, could be even higher than that. And yeah, the water that comes out of your tap, if you're on municipal water supply, could be very alkaline. It's not uncommon for it to be as high as 9, or 9.5, so it can be really alkaline in this state (California).

Farmer Fred    

More importantly, like you say, would be an acid soil mix.

Ed Laivo   

Yeah, acid and an acid fertilizer as well. I think it's also good to do things like soil tests, you know, occasionally, so you definitely know what you're playing with. Containerizing plants means that you really want to know. You know what your what your chemistry is in your in your pot. So that's really important to occasionally do a soil test. And soil tests can be pretty cheap. Now, you can get some really neat soil tests for a pretty reasonable price. Well,

Farmer Fred   

I still like the fact that the University of Colorado, Texas, A&M, and UMass Amherst will do it for between $15 and $20 for anybody in the country. 

Ed Laivo  

They will. They will. And that's pretty cool. But I've actually gone to my own soil kit, and because the tests that I'm doing are so simple anyways, and I'm not really looking for the complexities that I used to be looking for. PH is probably one of the most important things. Am I hitting my numbers? You know, that's  probably the biggest one. If I'm fertilizing with an organic fertilizer, I just find that usually my nutrient balance is pretty good inside the container. If I'm fertilizing on the program that I recommend, which is a spring, mid summer and a late feeding.

Farmer Fred   

Debbie Flower wants to know why you're not talking about pumice.

Ed Laivo  

Why am I not talking about pumice? Well, Pumice is fine, but for me, I want all organic matter in that soil, because I just want the bioactivity.

Farmer Fred 

Now, come on, now, Pumice is organic. It's just rock.

Ed Laivo    

It’s just rock. That's so and I don't know whether or not the mineral extract off the pumice, and maybe Debbie could educate me in that fact is really that beneficial, as opposed to being able to add it as a supplement.  the argument was never that. What was the argument before? Bark? You're adding bark. What do you mean? Bark that robs all the nitrogen in the soil? Well, give me a break. I mean, you're in a controlled environment. Your ideas, what are you buffering? You're buffering for soil drainage over a long, long period of time. And so what you have to do to complement we have to take and understand that the fertilizer needs are probably going to be a little bit more aggressive. 

Farmer Fred  

There. That was a scenic bypass that went from rat squirrels and raccoons into soil pH.

Ed Laivo  

I think we've done that for years. All right, we are the kings of scenic bypasses.

Farmer Fred  

Ed Laivo of Ed-Able Solutions.

Ed Laivo  

on Facebook, Instagram and on YouTube.

Farmer Fred   

We'll have a link in the show notes. Ed, thank you.

Ed Laivo   

Oh, you're always welcome. Fred,

SMART POTS!

Farmer Fred

I’ve been using the Smart Pot Compost Sak for a few years now, and it is coming in very handy for amending or protecting the garden soil year round.

I like to amend my planting beds before putting in any of the seasonal crops or improving the bed before I plant, anytime. One of those ingredients that gets worked into the soil in my raised beds is compost.

And, making up the bottom half of my Smart Pot Compost Sak right now is some of the richest-looking fine compost I’ve ever seen, made from last fall’s oak leaf collection. Yep, it’s beautiful leaf mold. The design of the Compost Sak, with a little help from Mother Nature, turned those shredded leaves into beautiful, ready to use compost. And I use some of the existing leaves that haven’t broken down near the top of the Compost Sak as a few inches of mulch, year round. 

The Smart Pot Compost Sak is a large, 100-gallon fabric bag that is lightweight yet extremely durable and lasts for years, and can hold 12 cubic feet of pure compost. This rugged fabric is entirely porous, containing many micropores that allow for air circulation and drainage. The fitted cover is a flexible plastic top designed to increase heat and help manage moisture in the mix, accelerating the composting process.

Smart Pots are proudly made 100% in the USA. Smart Pots are available at independent garden centers and select Ace and True Value hardware stores nationwide. You can find the location nearest you at their website, smart pots dot com slash Fred, where you can get 10 percent off your Smart Pot order by using the coupon code, fred. f-r-e-d, at checkout from the Smart Pot Store.

Visit smartpots.com slash fred for more information about the complete line of Smart pots lightweight, colorful, award winning fabric containers as well as the Smart Pot  Compost Sak. Smart Pots - the original, award winning fabric container. Go to smart pots dot com slash fred.

SOLARIZING SOIL AROUND FRUIT TREES? SOME TIPS

Farmer Fred

We like to answer your garden questions here on the garden basics podcast, lot of ways you can get your question in. You can go to speakpipe.com/garden, basics, and just yell at your computer. You don't have to use a telephone. We'll hear your question that way. Okay, use your phone and you can reach us at 916-292-8964, 916-292-8964. Email. Sure. Send it to Fred at farmerfred dot com. you can also leave a question in the box available at Garden basics.net. From the email, Lisa writes in from Roseville, which is here in California, a suburb of Sacramento. She says, “I would like to solarize an area of my landscape to get rid of existing lawn and weeds. However, right in the middle sits a 25 year old Mandarin tree that I would like to keep. What considerations do I need to make in regard to solarizing up to or near the tree? I'm worried that I might hurt the Mandarin tree by driving up the soil temperature around it. As always. Thank you for your time and advice. Love the podcast. Sincerely, Lisa.”

Farmer Fred   

 Let's talk about that, Debbie Flower. That's a consideration that one does have to consider if you're doing solarization. Summertime is solarization time, where you use the heat of the sun to your advantage, to kill off what was your lawn, and basically getting rid of a lot of the pathogens that are in the soil down to eight or 10 inches. Because the whole goal there is to get the temperature up to around 120 degrees in your soil. And you can do that with just a layer of clear plastic. And yes, there is special clear plastic you can buy, but it's very hard to come by. You're better off just going to a Home Depot or a Lowe’s, go to the paint department and buy a big roll of their clear plastic. It's usually about a mil and a half or two mils thick. Any thicker than that, not enough heat will get through. But briefly, and we'll have links to solarizing soil in the show notes, but briefly you would want to after you have basically mowed down the lawn as short as possible, is to thoroughly, thoroughly water it. Then you're going to put down the clear plastic, (sound of barking dogs) as we broadcast from Barking Dog studios here, put down the clear plastic, secure the edges all around.

Debbie Flower    

Meaning, to bury them. Well, okay, bury them so they're complete. Every inch of every micro inch of the edges is covered. 

Farmer Fred

I had a lot of bricks when I did it, so I just had did the whole thing with bricks, and it was successful. Yeah, I'm amazed. Well, it worked. Had a lot of bricks. Wow, that was fun. But it held it held the plastic in place. Okay, all right. So anyway, unfortunately, I didn't have any trees to deal with, and that way I did, I cleared out something like 1200 square feet of Bermuda grass. Now, in consideration of tree roots and Solarization, I would avoid going beneath the tree at all.

Debbie Flower   

I would, yes, same here.

Farmer Fred  

Stay outside the drip line of the tree. Drip line. When I say that, it refers to the outer canopy of the tree. Now, even though the roots of trees can go beyond that, at least you're giving it a Head Start by staying away from any roots that are underneath the tree.

Debbie Flower   

I agree. Stay outside the drip line. I did some solarizing. There was a peach tree nearby, and that's what I did, stayed outside the drip line, and I did not see any negative effect on the peach tree, all right. 

Farmer Fred  

I had trees along the perimeter too, but again, the plastic was just beyond that, much beyond the drip line of those taller shrubs and the trees, and they weren't adversely affected at all. So I really think just staying away from going beneath the trees, you'll be fine, right?

Debbie Flower  

 I was just looking at the temperatures in one of the links you posted, they said it's in the top six inches, Solarizing maintains the soil between 120 and 125 degrees. And that's the feeder root zone for  trees, the top six inches. 

Farmer Fred  

It might set back fruit production a year because they are now setting fruit, citrus are now setting fruit, including Mandarin trees. They spend the summer setting their fruit right. 

Debbie Flower  

So I might not do all sides of the tree at one time. Hmm.

Farmer Fred   

Okay, so make it a two year project? I don't know. I think as long as you avoid the drip line of the tree, you'll be okay, but you  can exercise caution and do it that way,

Debbie Flower   

Right? So that's an option, yeah. 

Farmer Fred  

The other thing, I don't think it'll adversely affect the tree as far as its overall health, like I say, you might lose that year's crop that was developing, but give it another year, it'll be fine. Look at what we put plants through.

Debbie Flower   

Yes, that's very true, amazing that they manage to survive. I've often thought that when I'm teaching all these rules, yes, yes. Is that the plant is thriving, even though it shouldn't be thriving in that condition, right? And it will make new feeder roots. 

Farmer Fred

What you may not want to do is fertilize the tree. 

Debbie Flower

Oh, really, yes, you don't want to, because  that's just going to be more stressful.

Farmer Fred    

And how do you irrigate a tree in the summertime, if you've got clear plastic down for four to six weeks, right? Mm.

Debbie Flower  

Yeah, I'm concerned about doing the whole thing at once. 

Farmer Fred  

all right, I can see one reason, then for leaving one side open, just if you want to put a soaker hose down there. Yeah.

Debbie Flower  

So the tree can can live off of half of of its roots, yeah.

Farmer Fred    

That's not a bad idea, either. As far as putting down a drip or a soaker hose, a portable one, in that area beneath the tree, while the other parts may be be solarized, right? All right, but still I wouldn't fertilize the tree.

Debbie Flower    

No, I wouldn't fertilize the tree, and I still would stay, keep the plastic outside the drip line, yeah.

Farmer Fred   

Okay, Lisa, I think the tree will be okay if you just maintain a distance or so. 

Debbie Flower    

All right, thank you, Debbie, you're welcome, Fred.

DAVE WILSON NURSERY

Farmer Fred

Fall is in the air, the perfect season for planting, and planning. And if you’re planning to buy and grow some fruit trees this fall and winter, you need to check out the home garden page at DaveWilson.com. Dave Wilson Nursery is the nation's largest grower of fruit trees for the backyard garden. At Dave Wilson dot com, you’ll find planting tips, taste test results, fruit variety recommendations, and links to nurseries in your area that carry Dave Wilson fruit trees. 

Just go to Dave Wilson dot com, and click on the Home Garden tab at the top of the page. There, you are just a click away from their informative You Tube video series. Especially popular in that video lineup is Dave Wilson Nursery’s Tom Spellman explaining Backyard Fruit Tree Basics. Viewers have raved about that episode, calling it “absolutely the best single video for growing backyard fruit trees.” Check it out before you plant. The Backyard Fruit Tree Basics video is on You Tube. Find a link to it after going to the home garden tab at DaveWilson.com. Click on “Getting Started”, and you’re on your way to your best fruit garden ever.

Your harvest to better health begins at DaveWilson.com.

ASIATIC GARDEN BEETLE CONTROL TIPS

Farmer Fred

Debbie Flower is here, America's favorite retired college horticultural professor. We're answering your garden questions here on the Garden Basics podcast, and we get a question from Nancy in southwest Michigan, and she writes in and asks, “How can I get rid of Asiatic garden beetles in my vegetable garden? They're chewing on the leaves of my cabbage and broccoli. They're also chewing on my beans that are just coming up, and they're eating the hosta plants too. They chew large holes in the leaves and eat sometimes half of a big leaf. I have seen two of the beetles in the evening, and I've squashed them well.” 

Nancy, thank you for alerting us to this pest of Southwest Michigan, which is also in many other areas of the east. It’s called the Asiatic garden beetle, it looks kind of like a Japanese beetle, but a little smaller. It's attracted to over 100 host plants. The grubs in the soil are usually active in May and June, feeding on young roots of plants. Then the adults emerge to feed on the plants themselves. University of Massachusetts has a good description and overview of the Asiatic garden beetle. Fortunately, Debbie, we don't have it here in California.

Debbie Flower  

Not so far. Yeah.

Farmer Fred   

We battle every year, it seems,  Japanese beetles, right? But we keep them out. And now this Asiatic beetle, this Asiatic garden beetle, is around and spreading through the east. According to University of Massachusetts, it's a native of China and Japan. It's been in the Northeast since the 1920s, established in New Jersey. It's commonly seen in Massachusetts, in the Connecticut River Valley and throughout southeastern Massachusetts, particularly on Cape Cod. But it's likely more widespread than that, the Asian garden beetle. And by the way, when these universities and pest experts get around to just referring to it by its initials, you know, it's a big pest, AGB, they like to call it.  the Asiatic garden beetle, feeds on many plants in the landscape, causing widespread damage on both foliage and the blossoms of its host, it goes undetected, perhaps more than any other beetle, because it feeds at night. Over 100 plants are potential hosts for the Asiatic garden beetle, and that includes many fruit, vegetable, perennial and annual flowering plants, trees and shrubs, as well as weeds and grasses, but they prefer the longer overgrown areas to short, well maintained turf. As an adult, it's a scarab beetle, by the way, that'll feed on both agricultural and horticultural species, including beets, Box Elder, carrot, cherry, eggplant, peach, pepper, strawberry, turnip, viburnum and flowers too, such as asters, chrysanthemums, dahlias, Goldenrod and roses as an immature grub. The Asiatic garden beetle prefers to feed on the roots of ornamentals, garden plants and blueberries, especially when found in or near weedy areas. While grubs do not historically prefer the turf as a host. They will utilize it if  necessary. the Asiatic garden beetle, it can do its damage. I think, since there are no known natural controls yet found for right, that basically it's up to us to do the hunting.

Debbie Flower   

Yes, Cooperative Extension offices, other research facilities, will go into overdrive on this, where this is occurring, and try to find the natural controls. That has happened in the past. The researchers have gone to places where this pest is native, found the predator, but then you have to bring it back and contain it to be sure that it won't eat something here that we want, that is native to us. So it's not an easy process, and it's not fast.

Farmer Fred    

No, it takes years to do all this testing and research on it, and until then, the biggest clue we have is that it feeds at night, right? And the fact that it's attracted to a light, and one of the recommended controls for it is to put a light bulb out in the garden with a pan of water, soapy water, soapy water, yes, and have that light dangling a couple inches above that pan of soapy water, and let them go swimming at night, right? And maybe they can't swim.

Debbie Flower  

And apparently they do fall into that soapy water and kills them and needs to be soapy because that affects the chemicals on their body and helps them drown. Yeah.

Farmer Fred  

In fact, it says here they may become numerous at doors, windows or wherever there is a bright light. 

Debbie Flower 

That's odd to me, that they feed at night, but they're attracted to bright lights, yeah? Well, yeah, there are some insecticides, apparently, that are labeled for use to kill the adults. And that makes me worry, because  one of them is a pesticide, an insecticide, that has been banned in California because it causes nerve damage in humans. The other one, both of them that I read about, can kill bees. So for instance, if your hosta is in bloom, you do not want to apply these pesticides to the hosta, because, yes, the beetle might be eating the flowers, but a bee might come by and visit that flower the next day, and this would kill the bee. So it's better to use the trap. And if you're digging in the soil and you find grubs, the thing to do is to put them in some soapy water so they too will die, hopefully/ Over time, it's going to reduce the population. But this is  a marathon. It's not a sprint.

Farmer Fred  

They're basically saying, hand picking the Asian garden beetle at night can reduce small populations. Adult beetles may drop to the ground when disturbed. So capturing them in a bowl of soapy water when hand collecting by placing the bowl beneath the infested foliage before disturbing the beetles may be useful. So you shake the branch and they fall in. They fall into soapy water, the light trap that we described with a pan of soapy water. Also, they talk about fabric covers in ornamental and vegetable garden beds may also help deter adults unless they are already present in the soil beneath the plants. In that case, you're just locking them in the restaurant. 

Debbie Flower  

yes. And even if the adults aren't there, if the larvae are there, they eat the roots. They eat through its first or earlier in the season, may ish, and then they the adults feed the above ground parts of the plant in the ends of the summer. And so many hosts, this is a big problem. 

Farmer Fred  

And the other part of the controls that I don't think we stress enough is how important cleanup is around the perimeter of your yard. Yes, cleaning up, removing weeds and tall grasses, can help deter Asian garden beetle populations for the next season. 

Debbie Flower   

I have have not experienced Asian garden beetles, but I have experienced chafers, and they were eating all the white flowers in my garden, and my neighbor was not maintaining a portion of her yard. once she started maintaining that portion of her yard the numbers went down. I would see hundreds of them normally. This year, I think I saw four. It makes a big difference to cut down those weed patches.

Farmer Fred 

There are a lot of good resources for controlling Asian garden beetles. Most with similar information.  But North Carolina State, University of Kentucky, University of Massachusetts, University of Florida, University of New Hampshire. All have papers on the Asian garden beetle. I'll have those links in today's show notes. And I would say stock up on light bulbs and pans, right?

Debbie Flower  

Pans, yes, and extension cords and stakes to hang them from.

Farmer Fred  

Yes and losing sleep at night that too. Yeah, all right. Asian garden beetles. good luck. 

Debbie Flower   

Really, good luck. 

Farmer Fred

Thank you. Debbie, 

Debbie Flower

you're welcome. Fred.

FARMER FRED’S RiDE FOR THE KIDS!

Farmer Fred  

On Saturday, September 28th, I’ll be riding my bike. “Well, what’s so unusual about that?” you might be asking yourself.

September 28th is the date of the Sacramento Century Challenge, a 100-mile bike ride along the Sacramento River that starts in downtown Sacramento and heads south to the Delta farmland region and back.

And yes, 100 miles is part of the challenge,  as is the bike I’ll be riding, a heavy, steel-framed Surly Midnight Special, that, by the way, is NOT an e-bike. Adding to the challenge will be the route’s pothole-filled river levee roads, as well as the ferocious headwinds that are usually in your face on the way back.

Making it even more of a challenge, I’m helping out the Sacramento Rotary Club raise money for the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery.

The Sacramento Children's Home Crisis Nursery is the only program of its kind in Sacramento County and directly prevents child abuse and neglect by supporting families with small children at times of crisis. The nursery allows parents to bring their children ages newborn to five, for emergency hourly or overnight care during difficult times, with the goal of keeping families together and reducing the number of children entering foster care. 

We are calling it “Farmer Fred’s Ride for the Kids”, and we will have a link in today’s show notes with more information and how you can donate to help out The Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery.

So, how about it? Maybe pledge 10 cents a mile (that’s $10) along with a hearty, “You go, Fred!” Or a more generous one dollar a mile ($100), to give me the mental endurance for this all day ride. At my age, I’ll take my time, thank you, and enjoy the farmland scenery.

Again, please support Farmer Fred’s Ride for the Kids. Look for the link in today’s show notes, or at FarmerFred.com. Your support will help provide a safe place for local small children in need. 

Thank you for your support, let’s go!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/fred-hoffman-1723683653132?utm_term=GzewG4KyZ

Farmer Fred

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred comes out every Friday. It's brought to you by SmartPots and Dave Wilson Nursery. Garden Basics, it's available wherever podcasts are handed out. For more information about the podcast as well as an accurate transcript, visit our website, gardenbasics .net. And there, you can find out about our newsletter, Beyond the Garden Basics. And thank you so much for listening and your support.