I’m not going to sugar coat it – I’ve been too cavalier in recommending iron phosphate for slugs and snails.
A few days ago Erin Harris put a comment in my post about dandelions asking whether those iron phosphate baits you can buy for slugs might also be toxic to earthworms. The answer is yes – they might. And not only that, these iron phosphate baits can also be toxic to other animals such as dogs.… Continue reading this article “Upon Further Review…Iron Phosphate for Slugs and Snails”
Well, students just finished finals here at MSU so I suppose it’s appropriate we put our faithful GP readers through their own gauntlet of quizzes…
Top marks to Terry for determining the damage on the conifer seedlings was due to incomplete overlap on the sprinklers the grower used for frost protection during our most recent freeze. Our record-setting March warm up pushed budbreak ahead by about a month in most locations in the state. Fruit crops (cherries, grapes, blueberries, and peaches) have been devastated but nursery crops and landscape trees came through relative unscathed until the freeze the weekend before last.
I know Linda normally handles quiz duties, but I received a couple of intriguing pictures last week. Rather than just tell you all what’s going, I thought we’d have a little sport with it.
The photo below was taken last week ago at a container seedling nursery in western Michigan. These are trays of container-grown spruces. Most of the seedlings are green and growing but some are tip-damaged – with a specific pattern. What’s going on and what caused the pattern?… Continue reading this article “Monday pop quiz time!”
We recently had a question sent to us about GMO seeds – whether they were being foisted upon us at the store. The simple answer is no. You can’t just go to the garden center and buy genetically modified seeds of any plant, they’re not available yet. I suppose, theoretically, you could call yourself a farmer and purchase genetically modified corn or soybeans, but the corn isn’t sweet corn (for the most part), and soybeans – who grows those besides farmers?… Continue reading this article “Are GMO seeds available for purchase?”
Last August I posted some photos from a field tour in Austria where we saw an organic Christmas tree farm that used Shropshire sheep as their principle form of weed control. The particular breed of sheep is suited to the task since they will graze on grass and weeds but not on conifers. Since then I have shared the pictures elsewhere and found out the Shropshire sheep are also employed in the U.S. and the U.K.… Continue reading this article “Something sure to get your goat”
Why does everyone want to kill dandelions? I like dandelions. I like that my kids go and pick them and give them to me. I like that they break up the monotonous green of my yard. I like that they can be used to make wine (though I’ve never had any). I like that I can pick one and take it apart to teach my kids and the kids in my classes about the basic morphology of flowers.… Continue reading this article “Dandelions”
Well, things continue to run fast and furious as we get rolling for a new round of field research projects. But we did find a little time to break out the Cornhole set and initiate a new season at Daisy Hill farm. Life is good!
After Jeff’s recent eclectic musical selection of Rasputina’s 1816, I thought I’d go a little more mainstream with Lynard Skynard’s ‘Swamp music’. Turn it up and remember; if it’s too loud, you’re too old. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wJWBcj7lsY
So, what got me thinking about the swampy backwoods down South and the late, great Ronnie Van Zant? The arrival of pallet after pallet of bagged cypress mulch at every gas station/convenience store in the area. Like the first robin, the annual appearance of bagged cypress mulch is another harbinger of spring. … Continue reading this article “Cypress mulch re-visited”
Rotenone is an organic insecticide that has been voluntarily withdrawn by its manufacturer because it’s quite toxic, it’s dangerous to the environment, and there is some evidence that it causes Parkinson’s disease. And there are safer choices. For my post today I was thinking of posting about all of the places I could still buy rotenone, but after doing a web search I couldn’t find many – and most of the places I found to purchase it don’t really have it (I don’t think) – they’re just old pages that weren’t taken down.… Continue reading this article “Rotenone in Dog Medication”
Despite Linda’s assertion to the contrary, I was not cow-tipping nor was I sampling micro-brews last week when I missed my regular post. As usual, the beginning of spring is a busy time on the research side of my appointment. This past week we began setting up for a major new project. The goal of our newest study is to look at physiological traits of street trees that may enable them to better withstand future climate change. … Continue reading this article “Here we go again…”