Vol. 12, No.4
July/August 2008
University of Illinois Extension, Pike County Horticulture Newsletter
Pike County
1301 E. Washington St.
Pittsfield, IL 62363
Phone: (217) 285-5543
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate
in any program we offer, please contact University of
Illinois Extension, Pike County at 217-285-5543.
Articles in This Issue:
Upcoming Events ................................................. 1
Ladybugs in the Garden ...................................... 1
Mites Add Insult to Injury ................................... 2
Use Pesticides Safely: Mosquito Scare ................ 3
Japanese Beetles Take Toll on Plants ................. 4
Control Options for Weeds .................................. 4
Shoo Fly ............................................................... 5
Common Vegetable Gardening Questions .......... 6
Gardening Transition Time ................................. 7
Go Native – At Your Own Risk ............................ 8
The Master Gardener’s Plot ................................ 9
Bounty of the Garden Recipes ............................. 10
Enjoy Fruit .......................................................... 11
Canning Tomatoes Safely.................................... 11
Fleas in the Home ............................................... 12
Going Green with Evergreens
September 30 at 1:00 p.m.
There are plenty of low maintenance, hardy
evergreens you can add to your landscape. Think
beyond yews and learn about other evergreens such as
hemlocks and arborvitaes.
Backyard Composting
October 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Fall is a great time to start a compost
pile that will reward you with black
gold—compost! Come learn how to make this natural
soil amendment in your own backyard.
Call us at 285-5543 to reserve your packet and a seat
for these upcoming and exciting horticulture telenets!
Ladybugs in the Garden
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Fall Horticulture Telenet Series
The program cost for each telenet is $2 or $5 if you would
like color handouts. If you would like a CD of the program
there is an additional $2 charge for each CD. All telenets
will be held at the Pike County Extension office beginning
at 1:00 p.m.
Tree Identification and Maintenance
September 16 at 1:00 p.m.
Trees add value and beauty to the home landscape.
You will learn how to identify both common and
uncommon trees, and you’ll learn basic care
techniques to help insure a long, healthy life for your
trees.
Ladybugs are important predators of aphids and other
insects. If you buy these insects to put out in your yard
or garden, they must be handled properly so that you
receive the full benefit from them.
Ladybugs, or more properly lady beetles, are roundish
insects that are usually less than 1/4 inch long. Most
of us are familiar with the convergent lady beetle,
colored orangish-red with several black spots. Lady
beetles may also be brown, yellow, red, pink, orange
or tan with or without black spots, or they may be
black with or without red spots.
Lady beetle larvae hatch from yellowish-orange
eggs laid in a cluster. The larvae are usually
elongated, are black and orange, and have large
jaws.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Garden seed companies and nurserymen frequently
sell convergent lady beetles after they are collected
from large masses that overwinter together. They
primarily feed on aphids, but will feed on any softbodied slow moving, tiny animal such as scale
crawlers and mites.
Since lady beetles are already present in most areas,
you can increase the effectiveness of lady beetles in
your own yard if the insects have mulched areas in
which to overwinter and insecticides are used
sparingly. These practices will probably result in more
lady beetles in your yard than if you purchased them.
If you do purchase lady beetles, make sure that there
is suitable prey—such as aphids—on your plants
when you receive them. If they arrive too early in the
spring, store them in the refrigerator for a few weeks
until they have something outside to eat.
Release the lady beetles about sundown at the base of
aphid-infested plants. During the night, they will
crawl around on your plants and perhaps find enough
aphids to stay. Releasing them during the day
frequently results in their flying away.
Place the beetles on damp ground that has mulch or
fallen leaves on it. If the soil is dry, water it before
releasing the insects. The damp mulch provides a
humid hiding place for them.
Handle the lady beetles carefully. The more they are
disturbed, the more likely they are to fly away to your
neighbor’s yard.
Mites Add Insult to Injury
Mites are tiny animals closely related to spiders and
ticks. Several species are serious pests of ornamental
trees and shrubs, evergreens, flowers and vegetables.
Red spider mites are small and appear as small flecks
running around on the underside of foliage or in fine
silk webbing that is spun by the mites themselves. The
key is a mottled or yellow speckling to the
foliage of the plants.
Many evergreens including yews,
junipers, boxwoods and spruces are
susceptible to mite attacks. Roses are
also prone to attacks as are apples and
tomatoes.
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Mites vary in color from almost no color to a pale
yellow. Other coloration, such as orange, green or
black may be present depending on the host plant and
mite species.
Eggs are laid on the foliage and hatch in 5 to 10 days
depending on the temperature. In colder weather, eggs
take longer to hatch (10 to 12 days).
In spite of popular belief, mites are more prolific and
active during the cooler periods of the growing season
such as late spring/early summer and late
summer/early fall. However, because of the mite's
feeding habits, mite damage is usually most prevalent
and obvious during hot, dry periods.
The mites actually become quite inactive during hot,
dry spells. Mite feeding damage first appears as finely
mottled and then grayish, dry and brown. Later, a
bronzing of the foliage will occur.
Heavy mite infestations may result in premature leaf
drop, and foliage and/or branches of evergreens may
die. Remember that mite populations can build up
very rapidly, so early control is important.
To inspect for mites, simply hold a light colored sheet
of paper under the affected plant part and give a
thorough shaking. If mites are present, they will drop
to the paper and resemble small dots or flecks moving
about. If mites are not present, then another problem
may be responsible.
Applying miticides to affected plants can control
mites. Unfortunately, most available miticides are not
available for use by homeowners but must be applied
by a certified commercial pesticide applicator.
However, homeowners can temporarily control mites
by using a heavy stream of water and literally washing
the mites off the foliage. A light sprinkling of water
will not be effective in dislodging the mites.
Insecticidal soaps are also available and will suffocate
the creatures. Make sure to read and follow all label
directions.
The Pike County Extension Office
will be closed September 1, 2008 for
Labor Day.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Use Pesticides Safely: Don’t Let Mosquito
Scare Lead To More Problems
Don’t let worrying about mosquitoes
and the diseases they can spread lead
you to use pesticides incorrectly.
Some people think that if a little is good, then a lot
will be better—but that’s not true in this case. Using
pesticides or mosquito repellents incorrectly can do
more harm than good. You should always read label
directions and follow them carefully when using a
mosquito repellent or pesticide.
There are insecticides out there that people can use to
try to keep down the mosquito population in their
yards. If they decide to go that route, they need to
make sure that they are using the right material and
applying it at the right rate. The only way to do that is
to carefully follow the label directions.
The “label is the law” for a good reason. The label
directions are the safest and most effective guidelines
for using that specific pesticide. By following the
label, you will do a better job of controlling pests, and
you will know you are doing it safely and legally.
Although all sorts of products claim to help reduce the
mosquito population or protect you, the experts say
that one of the easiest and least expensive methods to
employ in protecting yourself from bites is to use a
mosquito repellent with DEET each time you go
outside. Again, you want to use the repellent
according to the directions provided by the
manufacturer on the label. That is the safest and most
effective way.
Frequent, saturated use of repellents is not necessary
for them to be effective. Apply a repellent lightly on
an as-needed basis according to its label instructions.
Pay special attention to restrictions concerning use on
small children, and remember most repellents are not
labeled for use on infants.
As for the variety of other products on the market that
claim to protect you from mosquitoes, the experts
stress that those generally are meant to reduce the
mosquito population in an area—and may not have
any effect on keeping the insects from biting you.
Almost everyone has seen the citronella candles, and
they can be effective at keeping mosquitoes away
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from a closed, relatively small environment. The
problem is that they are not very effective in the wideopen outdoors.
Of the newer high-tech "mosquito magnet" products
being marketed now, the evidence of their
effectiveness is still being gathered, and the cost of the
products can range upward from several hundred
dollars each.
Right now, there is not any independent research to
prove these devices actually result in fewer mosquito
bites. The products use a carbon dioxide generator and
other elements to attract and trap mosquitoes.
The same sort of idea applies to older "bug zapper"
equipment. They may remove some of the bugs from
an area, but that will not necessarily reduce the
number of mosquito bites a person could suffer.
Zappers may actually attract more mosquitoes into the
yard than would normally be present.
It is still pretty clear that wearing a repellent is the
most effective way to keep yourself from being bitten.
Follow these additional tips about handling pesticides
safely and using them properly:

Always choose a pesticide that is registered with
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for
your intended use.

Do not just assume it is okay to use a pesticide
anywhere or to kill any pest. Make sure your
intended uses are stated on the label.

If someone offers to sell you a pesticide that is
not in a fully labeled container, do not buy it
regardless of claims made by the seller. This
product is illegal and may be toxic. And it morethan-likely is not formulated for home use.

If someone offers to spray around your home,
ask to see certification and a license. They must
be certified and licensed to spray homes and
home grounds legally. If the deal seems too
good to be true, it probably is illegal!
For more information on mosquito-borne diseases,
pesticide safety and a variety of other issues, visit the
new University of Illinois West Nile Virus website at
www.ipm.uiuc.edu/wnv
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Japanese Beetles Take a Toll on Plants
Japanese beetles are one of the exotic insects that have
made their way into the United States. They damage
plants due to the lack of a natural predator.
Adult Japanese beetles are between
1/4 and 1/2 inch long. They're easily
identified because of their metallic
green body with coppery wings. On
either side of the wings are five tufts
of white hairs.
Like many perennial flowers, Japanese beetles are
three to four weeks late this year.
Adult Japanese beetles are voracious feeders,
especially on sunny days, and seemingly
indiscriminate. Like most insects, they have their
favorite food but will feed on anything present.
Roses, grape vines and linden trees seem to be the
favorites in Illinois. The Japanese beetles do not
discriminate—all types of roses and lindens are fair
game, even the supposedly insect- and disease-proof
shrub roses. You can find the insects on viburnums,
climbing hydrangeas, Shasta daisies, daylilies,
porcelain vine and some fruit trees.
Generally, the beetle feeds on the tender upper leaf
tissue between the veins, creating a skeletonized look
to the leaf. In many cases, what's left turns brown,
giving the plants a scorched appearance.
Vegetables tend to be one of the last things the beetles
will eat. Most summer Illinois fruits, such as apples,
peaches and pears, have a skin that is harder for
beetles to digest.
Adults can be controlled by knocking into containers
of hot, soapy water. These efforts will probably need
to be repeated daily for several weeks.
It is not recommended that gardeners use petroleum
products such as gasoline to knock the beetles into.
While gasoline or diesel fuel may work, disposal of
the dead beetles and liquid becomes a problem.
Japanese beetle traps have shown effectiveness, but
reports indicate that they actually attract more beetles
into the yard that may not be caught by the traps. The
current recommendation is to not use traps at all, or to
4
place them at least a city block or more from your
yard.
There are several insecticides that can be used as
knockdown sprays. The insecticide carbaryl, often
sold as Sevin, provides some of the best control. More
than likely, you will have to repeat applications every
five to seven days. Other products include acephate
(Orthene) and cyfluthrin (Tempo). Imidacloprid
(Merit) is often sold as Japanese beetle control, but it
is a systemic, which means it must be applied early in
the season, usually early May, to allow the plant to
absorb it.
Be sure to read and follow directions, locating
"Japanese Beetle" control on the label.
Grubs can be controlled with imidacloprid (Merit) or
controlled biologically with the use of Milky Spore
disease, Bacillus popillae, which is available in
several formulations such as Milky spore powder,
Japidemic, and Doom. The disease is a bacterial toxin
that will only have an effect on the Japanese beetle
grub when introduced into the soil. The grub feeds on
it and catches the disease then eventually will die.
Above all, maintain the health of the plant. Plants
may grow less and have a more difficult time
recovering from stress conditions such as drought,
early frosts, diseases and other insect attacks.
Plants will often recover and appear fine next year,
living on stored food reserves. But, repeated
defoliation in early summer will weaken many trees,
shrubs and vines.
For more information, contact your local U of I
Extension office for the Japanese Beetles fact sheet.
Or download it at
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/sifamily. Click
on "Around the House" and then "Tip of the Month."
Control Options for Weeds
One handy thing about a good
soaking rain is that weeds pull out
easier. Of course one person's
weed may be another person's
wildflower. My weeds tend to be
garden plants gone wild. Whatever
your definition, weed is a four
letter word to gardeners.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
As garden author Roger Swain says "there are no
pacifist gardeners". Once you decide to grow
anything, whether it's for food or beauty, you will at
one time or another find yourself in hand-to-hand
combat with weeds. The battleground is usually bare
soil. Dig a new garden bed and all those dormant
weed seeds shoot up.
By mid summer, weeds may be waist high. Weeds
have a few things in common. They grow rapidly,
flower quickly and produce vast quantities of seeds.
Supposedly one good size lambsquarter can produce
70,000 seeds. Weeds compete with our garden plants
for light, nutrients and water.
Once you have decided a plant is a weed, here are
some weed control options.
First identify the weed. Is it an annual, biennial or a
perennial? Annuals live one growing season and must
come back each year from seed such as crabgrass,
foxtail, goosegrass, lambsquarter and buttonweed.
Biennials live two years producing the seed in the
second year such as burdock and poison hemlock.
With perennials the same plant comes back each year
such as dandelions, creeping charlie, and quackgrass.
Whatever you do, do not let weeds go to seed.
Remove or mow off the tops before seed is produced.
"One year of seeding equals seven years of weeding".
Hoe, till or hand pull – These methods only control
existing weeds, therefore they must be continued
throughout the season. Hoe and till shallowly so as not
to damage the roots of desirable plants and bring more
weeds seeds to the surface. Perennial weeds will
require frequent recutting until the food reserves are
depleted.
Mulch - Mulching controls weeds by preventing light
from reaching the weed seeds or seedlings. This
method is best for controlling annual weeds. Mulching
also conserves moisture, prevents soil crusting,
reduces erosion and keeps above ground food crops
clean. Organic mulches include wood chips, straw,
dry grass clippings and even newspapers. Synthetic
mulches such as black polyethylene can be used in
vegetable gardens. However they must be picked up
every fall and have to be disposed of after a couple of
years.
5
Plant cover crops in the garden - Repeated plantings
of buckwheat will help to deplete the weed seed bank.
Winter rye can keep weeds from taking over bare soil
areas and when tilled in the spring can also enrich the
soil.
Plant something... anything, ground covers, grass etc.
- Bare areas will invite weeds. Scalp the lawn and
weeds will germinate before the lawn mower sees the
garage.
Herbicides – The most common in home gardens are
DCPA sold as dacthal and trifluralin sold as Treflan or
Preen. Both of these are preemergent herbicides which
mean they keep the seed from emerging through the
soil. Therefore they do not control existing weeds.
Also these herbicides work best against annual
grasses.
Perennial weeds can be controlled by nonselective
herbicides such as glyphosate sold as Round up or
Kleenup. It must be applied to actively growing plants
to be effective. Since glyphosate has no soil activity,
the area may be replanted as soon as the weeds are
dead. Because glyphosate is non-selective, do not
apply it or let it drift onto desirable plants. When
using herbicides, be sure to read and follow all label
directions and pay attention to the appropriate crops
and the weeds they control.
Shoo Fly
Where there are people, there are flies in
one form or another. It's not so much
that they love us. They love all the
stuff that goes with us such as garbage, food, and
grass clippings. To be fair, not all flies are bad news.
Some are beneficial to us since they are predators and
parasitoids of pest insects. For instance robber flies
are predators now seen on flowering plants. Just like
lions hanging out at the watering hole for the
wildebeests, robber flies are waiting to abduct a tasty
insect attracted to the flowers. Robber flies have really
long legs compared to their body size, large bulging
eyes, and a triangular face. Robber fly larvae are also
beneficial since they can feed on soil grubs or
grasshopper eggs.
The flies that are pests are hard to forget such as the
ubiquitous house fly. House flies are easily identified
by their gray color and 4 black lines on their back.
Flies are not particular where they hang out. House
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
flies love pretty much any kind of rotting organic stuff
such as dead animals, food garbage or excrement.
They particularly love horse manure, even more than
stable flies. Now for the "gross alert". If you are
eating a meal right now, consider yourself warned that
I will be delving into gross-but-true information. You
may want to finish your meal before continuing. Or
you may want to call in a kid and read it to them.
They love gross stuff.
The female house fly lays her eggs on rotting organic
stuff. Each female can lay up to 600 eggs. Within 12
to 24 hours the eggs develop into white legless
maggots. If the right conditions exist, the maggots
become flies in as little as 2 weeks. That's a lot of flies
in a very short period of time. Have the kid do the
math for the possible yearly accumulation of flies.
If house flies kept to garbage they would be a
nuisance for sure, but these flies go a little further on
the gross meter. House flies have mouthparts that
work like a sponge; therefore they require liquid food.
When they find something yummy that is not liquid
such as your sandwich, they don't let it stop them.
They regurgitate their saliva on the food then proceed
to use their sponge to soak up a meal. Unfortunately
their saliva contains remnants of their last meal, which
may have been at the local horse barn, garbage can or
roadkill. This is your cue to yell "GROSS". House
flies have been linked to spreading all kinds of nasty
diseases.
Stable Flies have a name they don't deserve. Their
name is not a description of their psychological state
and they aren't only found in stables.
These are one of the biting flies that
love your tasty ankles. The maggots
live in rotting vegetation such as grass
clippings.
Deer flies also bite any warm body that moves. Why
does their bite hurt so much? Imagine mosquito
mouthparts as a hypodermic needle and biting fly
mouthparts as a giant dagger. Deer flies are a little
bigger than house flies. You will most likely notice
the dark markings on their clear wings as you scream
and smash the bugger. Deer flies usually go for
humans around the face and neck, sometimes
attacking in swarms of four to five at one time. I have
had to run down hiking trails to get away from them.
6
On trails they always seem to attack the first person in
the line. Sometimes it pays to be last.
Sanitation is the key in reducing fly populations.
Insect repellants, long sleeved shirts, long pants, and a
hat can help to keep the biters away. They bring a
whole new meaning to "shoo fly."
Common Vegetable Gardening Questions
Depending on your outlook, the curse or the beauty of
gardening is it is never quite the same from year to
year. Why did this happen? It didn't happen last year
or the last fifteen years for that matter. Just when you
figure on drought, we get floods. Here are a few of the
common questions (or personal growth opportunities)
about growing a vegetable garden.
Can squash varieties cross-pollinate with one
another or with pumpkins in the garden?
Yes, and no. Squash varieties can
pollinate each other if they are the same
species. For example zucchini can
cross-pollinate with Jack O' Lantern
pumpkins or acorn squash. But butternut does not
cross with zucchini. However the cross does not affect
the
flavor of the squash, cucumber or any
number of veggies in the garden. Crosspollination only affects the resulting
vegetable if you are saving seed to
replant next year. That's when you get a
pumzinni or something to that effect.
What is a potomato?
Potato and tomato plants are closely related and can
be intergrafted. However the potomato or also called
topato commonly advertised is just a tomato seed
inserted into a potato tuber and planted together
producing both a tomato and potato plant in the same
hill. Mainly just weird and not all that wonderful.
What is a tree tomato?
A treelike plant sold as a tree tomato, Cyphomandra
betacea, is a different species than garden tomatoes. It
is a woody tree that grows eight feet or taller and
bears fruit after two years. The tree tomato is a
tropical plant and does not overwinter outside. The
fruits are small (1 to 2 inches in diameter) and are
used primarily in stews rather than in salads. Some of
the common vigorous indeterminate garden tomato
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
varieties are suitable for training and pruning such as
Ponderosa are also sold as climbing or tree tomatoes.
What causes my radishes to be too hot?
The hotness of radishes results from the
length of time they have grown rather
than from their size. The radishes either grew too
slowly or are too old.
My beans appear healthy but not very many beans
have formed. Why not?
The blossoms of beans as well as other crops such as
tomato and green pepper drop and fail to form fruit
during periods of hot dry winds.
What causes small, sunken black areas near the
end of peppers?
This condition is blossom-end rot that is actually more
common in tomatoes. It is caused by a calcium
deficiency brought on by drought, uneven water
availability or pruning roots through deep cultivation.
It is more prevalent during periods of high humidity.
Regular irrigation and mulching can help to prevent
this condition. Peppers are still edible.
Seed stalks form in the center of my lettuce plants.
What should I do?
The formation of seedstalks is caused by a
combination of long days, warm temperatures and
age. When seed stalks begin to form, harvest your
lettuce immediately and store in the refrigerator.
My lettuce tastes bitter. What can I do?
Lettuce may become bitter during hot weather and
when seed stalks begin to form. Wash and store the
leaves in the refrigerator for a day or two. Much of the
bitterness will disappear.
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sipping lemonade under the shade of a tree and not
doing much in the garden. Or so it would seem.
August is one of those transition months.
It's a time to transition from summer gardening to fall.
It's a time to think about what went wrong with spring
vegetables and try to correct the problems for the next
few months if you can bring yourself out of your
hammock and summer reverie. It's a time to transition
from kids being around to kids being back at school.
It's hard to think that in about two months we'll have a
frost and winter will be right around the corner.
When it's too darn hot, it's almost next to impossible
to gather the willpower to get out in the yard. Even at
6 a.m., when the temperature is usually a mild 75
degrees and the humidity hasn't climbed higher than
80 percent yet, you need to force yourself to do some
yard work.
My philosophy has always been a little bit every day
is better than major work on the weekends.
The first thing to be done is decide on what looks
good and what doesn't. It's too easy to say, "Gosh, that
(fill in the blank here with your own choice or plant or
plants) really looks awful. It won't flower any more
and the plant has gone to seed. I think I'll go inside to
the air conditioning and lemonade and forget about
it." Of course, you'll see the same plant tomorrow and
make the same statement and get nowhere in life.
If it looks bad, get rid of it. I say that if you pull out a
plant before it's time, the sun will still come out in the
east in the morning and you're not going to be struck
down with lightning. Removing it usually only takes a
few seconds and you don't have to think about it
again.
Don't forget it's not too late to plant leaf lettuce,
mustard greens, turnip, Chinese cabbage and spinach.
These plants do well even when days grow cool in
fall. You remember cool, don't you?
For more information on growing vegetables:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies
That's important in the vegetable garden, not just to
get rid of eyesores, but to cut down on insect and
disease pests. The same applies for flowers in the
garden or containers.
Gardening Transition Time
If the plant is producing flowers or something edible,
and you're still sick of it, get rid of it. Let's face it, you
can only stand so much zucchini and you only have a
limited number of friends. When you've had your fill,
trash the plants. Letting them grow into baseball bats
isn't doing anyone any good.
Here it is August, probably one of the hottest parts of
the year. And driest. It's a time for attending the state
fair and relaxing in air conditioning. It's a time for
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
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"Trash" probably isn't the best word. "Composting the
plant debris" sounds so much more professional, but if
you don't have a compost pile, you may have to get
rid of the debris some other way. Burying is another
good option, but may require too much energy in the
hot summer days.
Black-eyed Susans, a member of the Rudbeckia
genus, are the epitome of summer garden flowers,
producing mounds of yellow, daisy-like flowers with
a dark-brown center. The flower also goes by Brown
Betty (not the tasty dessert), Gloriosa Daisy, Browneyed Daisy and a slew of other names.
Hopefully, if and when the mood does strike you,
you'll consider thinking about and planning a fall
garden. Generally, that means more vegetables than
flowers, but there are many flowers that prefer the
cooler conditions of September through November
(and even through next May) than summer's clime.
If you are going to plant some fall crops, work up the
soil just like you would in the spring. Till or spade in
some organic matter. Scatter a pound of 10-10-10
fertilizer or something similar per 1,000 square feet.
Not everything listed as a Gloriosa Daisy falls into the
same category as Black-eyed Susan, though looking at
them, you'd be hard-pressed not to see similarities.
(Trivia tidbit: Rudbeckia was named for Olof or Olaus
Rudbeck, a Swedish botanist whose son also was a
botanist and taught a student named Carl Linnaeus.)
This would apply to vegetables and flowers. Many fall
vegetables can be purchased as transplants. These
include broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower. You can
also purchase seeds of lettuce, spinach, chard and
radishes to tide you over through November. Space
everything properly, and make sure they are well
watered, but not over-watered.
For pansies, snapdragons and any of the other cool
season annuals, make sure the plants are somewhat
shaded until they get established. Old window screens
tilted like lean-to's can do the trick for a week or two.
Lean them on a stick or piece of board.
The Indian Summer Gloriosa Daisy won an All
America Selection award a few years ago, and is an
outstanding garden-cut flower with 4- to 5-inch
flowers instead of the common 1- to 2-inch flowers of
the Black-eyed Susans. It also is a
richer yellow-orange instead of the
somewhat muddied yellow of the
Susans. The orangish color creates a
psychologically cooler effect in the yard
compared to the smaller yellow flowers.
Sometimes, Indian Summer Gloriosa daisies come
back annually, but they often don't. There's an
advantage to a plant that acts like an annual instead of
a perennial: you can plant them in different locations
year after year for different effects. On the downside,
you have the associated costs of new plants year after
year.
Just make sure the lean-to isn't big enough for the dog.
Go Native - At Your Own Risk
The line between a weed and a plant is
sometimes as wide as a highway, and at other
times as narrow as a dime. The same goes for
wildflower and cultivated garden specimens.
Some are obvious; some are not.
Something can start out as a prized
possession, and then within a year or two in
the garden, be the object of countless epithets
as you try to rid yourself of that plant that has found
every bare centimeter of soil.
We tend to look at native wildflowers with restrained
vision when they overrun our yards. After all, they
were here first. We also have an ingrained respect for
plants with the "wildflower" designation.
True Black-eyed Susans are perennials, with the root
system overwintering. This is just the weirdness of the
plant world with two seemingly related plants.
Few insects, including Japanese beetles, bother the
Rudbeckia group, though you may find slugs feeding
on the spent blossoms. Occasionally, a borer might
take up residence in the plant, chewing on the inside
soft tissue of the stem and causing the plants to keel
over. On the whole, whatever tends to plague
Rudbeckias doesn't kill them.
The root system allows them to weather the highs and
lows of Illinois summers, from too much to too little
rain, cool 80-degree temperatures to three-digit highs.
They'll thrive in full sun to partial shade.
They may wilt a bit during the hot part of the day, but
revive in the evening or with a good watering. Not
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
totally drought-friendly like sedums, they do well in a
water-challenged landscape with their close cousins,
the purple coneflowers.
In the garden, though, they have one other
characteristic, which is both beneficial and
detrimental: they produce lots of seed.
Seed production is one way in which nice, sweet,
pretty little plants turn into ogres. That's where Blackeyed Susans fit in.
The birds like the seeds. Many people leave the dead
plants standing during the winter, providing free seed
to the birds, though some of it gets blown away or
simply drops beneath the mother plant.
And the next thing you know, come spring, you have
plants sprouting up here, there and everywhere. The
plants sometimes choke out other, more desirable
plants in the vicinity.
You'll spot the light-green, hairy leaves, which are
easily hoed or dug out; however, they have this
"cuteness" about them, so most people leave them
where they are until midsummer, when the plants
decide to grow rapidly and bloom.
All this comes down to you as a gardener and the
realization that Black-eyed Susans can take over your
yard. You may like that, and that's great.
Or you may hate that, in which case, the best thing to
do is not plant any to begin with, instead choosing to
enjoy the plants from the air-conditioned seats of your
car as you travel the highways of the state.
“(She) inspected her nails. ‘Garden dirt.’ she said. ‘I was
pulling weeds this morning. There’s something to be said for
meditative gardening, for solo gardening - just you and your
weeds.’”
The Other David Guterson
The Master Gardener’s Plot
by Duane Lanchester
I was on vacation for ten days in the
middle of July. While I was away that hot, wet
weather did not ripen my tomatoes, grow my peppers,
or set new potatoes. It did produce an abundance - a
plenitude, a prolifera - of weeds; enough to provide
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me potentially with hours of solitary meditation. My
weeds are beyond the pulling stage; I can’t even
control them with a hoe. I attacked one batch with a
weed-eater and discovered a sixteen inch pepper plant
completely hidden in bindweed and chickweed and
ragweed, several different grasses, some tree
seedlings, and surviving relics of last summer’s onion
crop.
The weeds are not my only problem. My cherries had
- and now my plums have - some kind of viral rot.
(When I have time I’ll try to look it up. I would like
to know it’s name and see if there is any non-chemical
control.)
And the deer are still here. (Last summer they ate all
my beet tops and then came back the next night and
ate the beets themselves.) And there is the usual shipload of rabbits. (A “Watership Down” load of
rabbits? Oh, never mind.) But there is something else
that gets on our porches and leaves its scat. (Scat is a
master gardener word which has the same meaning as
a common four-letter anglo-saxon noun.) I can tell
deer scat and rabbit scat, although I can’t always tell
them apart. This is different. It looks like a pile of
course coffee grounds. It might be a raccoon with
loose bowels. We never had a master gardener scat
class, but identifying scat would be a handy way to
tell what animal was bothering our garden. (Maybe
after I've looked up that viral rot on my plums...)
Other pests? I found the first tomato horn worm. It
was easy to spot because it had eaten the tomato
leaves and left the nubby looking stems. That’s a sure
sign you should look for the green sagging-cigarshaped worm. It has to be one of the scariest insect
creatures with it’s single spike sticking out of what
looks like its head. If left undisturbed, it will grow
into a common sphinx, or hummingbird moth.
And I found the first Japanese beetle. It has to be one
of the prettiest insect creatures; a metallic green with
coppery wing covers. If left undisturbed it will
devour your garden.
That is only a slight exaggeration. A hundred miles
east of Pike County, gardeners are suffering the third
year of a Japanese beetle invasion. Insect-proof shrub
roses? The Japanese beetles are eating them up!
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Vegetables Japanese Beetles don’t like? The beetles
are snarfing them down! Apples Japanese beetles
can’t digest? All gone, along with the leaves! If the
beetle horde comes our way, what should we do?
Your University of Illinois Extension Service says we
can control the beetles by knocking them into hot,
soapy water. They say, “These efforts will probably
need to be repeated daily for several weeks.” Since
my garden is larger than a window box, I’m not likely
to do that.
Japanese Beetle traps are easier and they do work.
But a trap will attract even more beetles to my yard
and then won’t catch them all. Therefore the
Extension Service does not recommend we use traps
unless we put them at least a block from our garden.
(If the Japanese beetles come to Pike County, I could
buy three or four traps and give them as gifts to three
or four friends who live at least a block away in
different directions from my house.... No, that
wouldn't be nice.)
But I have more immediate problems than Japanese
beetle. My best garden is being taken over by
volunteer dill and volunteer pumpkins. These are
really healthy plants which are more than holding
their own against the weeds. But what do you make
out of dill and pumpkins?
The non-native, invasive, porcelain vine my wife’s
stepfather gave her for a long ago birthday has done
such a great job of converting one end of our dog pen
into a green screen that I haven’t wanted to pull it
out. I thought if I just keep the berries from ripening
the birds won’t eat them and “scat” their seeds in
other places. But I got back from vacation and
discovered a porcelain vine growing in the midst of
my raspberry bramble.
There is always another problem.
But this morning as I solo gardened - just
me and the weeds in my bed of Walla
Walla onions - I had time to meditate. I have four
pies-worth of sour cherries already pitted in the
freezer - and summer apple applesauce boiling away
on the stove. I have unpleasant thoughts about rabbits
when they ruin my plants - but they sure are cute.
And that caterpillar I saw on the parsley may eat part
of my herbs, but it will become a Monarch.
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(I couldn’t remember if that was right, but I knew it
became a beautiful butterfly.)
And do the moles tunneling through my lawn to reach
more grubs prevent a scourge of Japanese Beetles?
Well, there are limits to the positive aspects of
meditative gardening.
Bounty of the Garden Recipes
Fresh Salsa
This salsa recipe and other recipes can be found at the
University of Illinois Extension Fiesta of Flavors website:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/diabetesrecipes_sp/
Ingredients:
6 tomatoes, preferably Roma (or 3
large tomatoes)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/8 teaspoon oregano, finely crushed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 avocado, diced (black skin)
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a glass bowl.
Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve within
4 or 5 hours.
Summer Squash with Dill
4 yellow summer squash or zucchini, about 5-6” long
and 1 ½” in diameter, washed
1 tablespoon liquid margarine
1-2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1. Slice squash. Steam in vegetable steamer or in
small amount of water until color has changed, about
5 minutes.
2. Remove from steamer and place drained squash in
bowl. Drizzle liquid margarine and toss lightly.
3. Sprinkle dill weed on top and serve.
Nutrition Information per serving: 54 calories, 2 grams
protein,6 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fat, 34 milligrams
sodium. Exchanges: 2½ fruit.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Calabacitas
1/2 cup frozen (or canned, drained) corn
1 cup diced green chile (roasted and
peeled, fresh, or frozen)
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced (or 1/4
teaspoon garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1. Combine all ingredients in a large frying pan
or medium saucepan.
2. Cook on medium heat until tender.
Note: this recipe can also be prepared in the
microwave. Combine all ingredients and cover.
Microwave on HIGH 5 to 7 minutes. Let stand
covered 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 servings, ½ cup servings
Nutrition Information per serving: 25 calories, 1 gram protein,
5 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams fat, 110 milligrams sodium.
Exchanges: ½ vegetable
Enjoy Fruit
Fruit is a good source of fiber. The latest
recommendations from USDA suggest a healthy adult
should have about 14 grams of fiber for every 1000
calories consumed each day.
Some ways to enjoy fruit all day long include adding
fruit to ready-to-eat cereal or hot cereal or topping
pancakes with fruit for starting the day with a good
breakfast. For lunch or dinner, top lettuce and spinach
salads with fruit or serve fruit for dessert.
For snacks, keep fresh fruit and dried fruit handy or
make a quick fruit smoothie with milk and frozen
fruit. Remember smoothies can be made ahead and
frozen to enjoy later. A quick and easy smoothie
recipe is given for your enjoyment.
For more information on the latest MyPyramid and
Dietary Guidelines released in 2005, visit the
government’s website at www.mypyramid.gov
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Favorite Fruit Smoothie
1 cup orange juice
1 banana
1 cup frozen fruit, unsweetened (i.e., strawberries,
peaches, mixed fruit)
Mix together in blender and serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.
Nutrient Analysis per Serving (using strawberries): 149 calories,
1 gram protein, 38 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, ½ gram
fat, 0 cholesterol, 19 milligrams sodium. Exchanges: 2½ fruit.
Canning Tomatoes Safely
Twenty years ago, in the spring of 1988, the U. S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the
recommended processing times for home canned
tomato products. USDA’s purpose was to ensure the
safety of home-canned vegetables.
The major USDA recommendation on all homecanned tomato products was to acidify tomatoes prior
to canning. Research shows common garden bacteria
breaks down the acid in a jar of tomatoes as the
bacteria multiply. This bacterium, Bacillus
licheniformis, survives the old processing times.
While the bacteria itself are not harmful to us, the
bacteria break down the acid within the jar, and
botulism spores may begin to grow. It is critical to
avoid this growth, as botulism is a deadly form of
food poisoning.
Acidification of tomato products is accomplished by
adding 2 tablespoons of bottled or frozen lemon juice,
or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid, per quart. For pints, add 1
tablespoon of lemon juice, or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.
Tomatoes can also be acidified with vinegar.
Unfortunately, this gives a taste that is objectionable
to many. For this reason, Extension suggests using the
bottled lemon juice or citric acid, as this is less likely
to be tasted. If vinegar is added, a quart requires 4
tablespoons. A pint needs 2 tablespoons. Add the acid
directly to the jar to be sure you have enough acid in
each jar.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Salt is recommended in home canned tomatoes, but
may be omitted if desired.
Tomatoes used in home canning shouldn't be green or
over-ripe. Don't use decayed, softened or freezedamaged fruit either.
Boiling water bath is the recommended processing
method for tomatoes, but they may be processed in a
pressure canner.
Processing time for raw packed tomatoes is 85
minutes for pints and quarts in a boiling water bath
canner. The processing time for pressure canning is 25
minutes for raw packed pints and quarts. Dial gauges
must be operated at 11 pounds pressure and weighted
gauges at 10 pounds pressure.
Processing time for hot packed crushed tomatoes in a
boiling water bath is 35 minutes for pints and 45
minutes for quarts. The processing time for pressure
canning is 15 minutes for pints and quarts. Dial
gauges must be operated at 11 pounds of pressure and
weighted gauges at 10 pounds pressure.
For more information on home canning tomatoes and
tomato products contact your local University of
Illinois Extension office or visit the National Center
for Home Food Preservation website at:
www.homefoodpreservation.com.
Fleas in the Home
Insect bites on the lower legs and ankles are common
on people who live in flea-infested houses. Fleas enter
homes on pets and people. During the summer they
reproduce in the house, reaching high numbers by late
summer. Flea eggs hatch 10 days after being laid into
slender, whitish, worm-like larvae. The larvae feed on
debris in carpeting, upholstered furniture and pet
bedding.
After a short pupae stage, adult fleas emerge that feed
on blood. This entire life cycle—from egg to adult—
takes about six weeks in the home.
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where they can be easily killed.
Pet owners should dust their pets monthly with a
veterinarian-approved insecticide dust during the
warm months of the year. Flea collars may also be
used, but the pet may be allergic to the chemical and
develop a rash under the collar. On large pets, the
collar may only be effective on the head and
shoulders, and an insecticide dust may be needed on
the rest of the animal. Flea control on puppies and
kittens should be done only after consulting your
veterinarian.
Pyrethrum foggers or aerosol sprays such as flying
and crawling or household insect sprays
used in the house can also eliminate fleas.
Most foggers will only cover a single room,
so several will be needed to treat the entire
home. Check the label for the number of
cubic feet it will cover. You will have to leave the
house for several hours after the foggers are activated.
Apply the aerosol spray as a light mist to rugs, the
underside of upholstered furniture and into cracks and
crevices. Vacuum the carpets about 30 minutes after
treatment with either the spray or fogger. Three sprays
or fogging at two-week intervals should eliminate the
fleas.
The articles in this newsletter have been
provided for you by University of Illinois
Extension, Pike County office.
The following have contributed articles to this
newsletter:
Duane Lanchester
David Robson
Martha Smith
Sandra Mason
Jananne Finck
Pike Co. Master Gardener
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Educator
Nutrition and Wellness Educator
Compiled and Designed by Cheryl Westfall, Secretary
If you have any questions or comments regarding the issue of
“Down To Earth”, please contact University of Illinois Extension,
Pike County, at (217) 285-5543.
Jennifer Mowen, County Extension Director
Fleas will rarely attack people as long as
a pet dog or cat is present. Pet owners
returning from vacations should release
the pet into the house before they enter.
The hungry fleas will then attack the pet
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
United States Department of Agriculture • Local Extension
Councils CooperatingUniversity of Illinois Extension provides
equal opportunities in programs and employment.