Anyone in tune with popular media has heard that bee populations are dieing out and have been in decline for several years. In my own very diverse garden I’ve noticed a huge decline in honeybees. I use no pesticides, and I provide a diverse array of food sources for all bees. Still, this year my [...]

As a garden consultant, I hear this question a lot: What do I spray to get rid of the fruit flies in my house plants?
The first thing I try to determine is whether the pest is truly a fruit fly or is actually a fungus gnat. They’re both tiny and truly annoying. Fruit flies tend to invade our kitchens, particularly [...]

I just read that an Asian Longhorn Beetle infestation has erupted in New England. I also learned from this article that once the eggs hatch in trees there’s nothing to eradicate them. The pest has only been in the Eastern U.S. for about 10 years now, and there are no known natural predators or good methods. [...]

If you’re growing chard, spinach or other leafy greens in Seattle this month, you may be seeing widening lines of twirling damage running through your crops. Fall and Spring seem to be the season for the leafminer to go crazy on our food crops. And, they’re tough to remedy.
Leaf miners are small maggot creatures that live in [...]

It’s September. Our edible gardens are overflowing. Delicious, sun-ripened tomatoes and peaches and melons are filling up our counter space as we make our way through the season’s edible bounty. If you’re like me, you avoid refrigeration for these freshly harvested items (and others) to ensure they retain great texture and flavor. Sure, eventually some [...]

Here I am in Seattle at the end of August — a month noted for being dry and sunny in Seattle. From about July 5th until early September you can usually rely on having warm lovely weather here. This year? Well, as my brother-in-law warned me years ago when I asked him what the weather [...]

R. Hawkins of Olive, IL writes in with two questions:
“have red twig dog wood bushes, starting in august a blackspot covers the beautiful leaves, what caqn this be and how can i prevent it? also i hear that there is a boor(or bore?) coming my way and will kill my ash trees, help!”
Let’s start with [...]

W. Maalouf of Marshall, VA asks:
“We have a two year old fruit cherry tree orchard. I had business out of the country, so asked my 19 year son to be sure to spray the trees when I was gone because there were worms and the start of the Japanese Beatles. Anyway..I just got home and [...]

The holes have started appearing on my just-budding purple brussel sprouts and my cabbage. The green loopers are starting to emerge. I’ve seen their white fluffy butterfly parents flitting about the garden; they’re out there every year and near possible to chase away. I cheer when a sparrow snatches one in mid-flight or the cat [...]

I’ve had an ongoing problem over the last couple of years with aphids eating the tender summer growth on my Acer triflorum. Summer growth is the second surge that the tree puts on, and each year the aphids have distorted the leaves and made the last new growth of the season look pretty sad. The [...]