Over the last month, I have seen many stories related to smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting down into the eastern United States, causing muted sunsets as well as terrible air quality. Even my mom up in Michigan told me how bad the air is up there this week and friends in Wisconsin have told me that they can’t go outside without donning N95 masks to cut down on breathing in all the smoke particles. Of course, our readers in the western U.… Continue reading this article “Smoke gets in your eyes…and in your garden!”
Month: June 2023
A Toast to Agaves
Agaves, those bat pollinated, succulent, strong leaved, slow-growing, xeric- and heat-loving Western Hemisphere plants, are literally the heart of the tequila and mezcal industry. As fascinating as the bat pollinator aspect is we’re going to focus on the how agaves are used to produce liquor.
Let’s start with the differences between mezcal and tequila. These include region of origin, plants used and production methods.
We’ll start with regions and plants.
The name “mezcal” comes from the Nahuatl word “mexcalli” which means “oven-cooked agave.”… Continue reading this article “A Toast to Agaves”
Don’t get hosed: exploring the efficiencies of garden and landscape irrigation systems
As many parts of the US face drought or dryer than normal conditions and issues about water availability especially in the western states, many gardeners are reassessing their relationships with plants and irrigation. Many gardeners, especially in the west, are replacing their lawns and landscape plants with more drought and dry-weather tolerant options. But there still are times when irrigation might still be necessary, e.g., growing vegetables and fruits, establishing new plants, and more. Using water efficiently and effectively is key in these situations even when water is available and drought conditions aren’t as prevalent.… Continue reading this article “Don’t get hosed: exploring the efficiencies of garden and landscape irrigation systems”
Buying lady beetles and mantids for your home gardens is probably not the best pest control strategy
Biological control is the use of natural enemies such as predators, parasites/parasitoids, and pathogens of pests in order to suppress or control them. This is a great tool for pest control and we hear about biological control a lot, especially when we talk about IPM (Integrated Pest Management). It usually comes with the classic imagery of a hungry lady beetle (often incorrectly referred to as the lady ”bug”) munching on aphids.
People and Plants
In this edition of P&P we’ll be exploring the life of the “Father of Texas Botany”, Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer.
On May 21, 1801, Herr and Frau Lindheimer of Frankfurt, Germany welcomed little blue-eyed Ferdinand to the family. After schooling at the Frankfurt Gymnasium and a Berlin prep school, Ferdinand spent the next 30 years studying at universities in Bonn, Jena, and Wiesbaden.
In 1833, for political reasons, Ferdinand decided it was best for him to leave Germany.… Continue reading this article “People and Plants”