Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

Hi,
I’m a professional landscaper from central Ohio, zone 5 and we probably got more frost damage than you. Most everything here that had signs of tender green growth got frostbitten and is now black and crispy around the edges. That’s okay, perennials are used to it and will bounce back in no time. Just pinch or trim back the damage if it bothers you; it will shed it eventually anyhow. Even your plants that you put in last October will be fine since they proved they made it through the winter with your last warm spell. Now that it has warmed up and the weather is forcast to kinda settle in, go ahead and fertilize as you normally would. The plants need the nutrition, frost damaged or not. If you have other gardening related questions or projects you’d like help with, we have a great group at Yahoo called therookiegardener. We’d love to have you join us.
Happy Gardening!

Becki

GardenersCardiff answers:

Ants do not harm trees, they are just doing a little farming in your trees. The reason you see ants on your fruit trees is that you have an infestation of either “aphids” or more than likely “scale” which are the culprits that are damaging your fruit trees. Check the small twiggy branches where the leaves grow from and the main branches. If you see a brownish/ black sometimes spotted “helmet” shaped things all along the branch, you have scale. They are a about 1/8 of an inch round. Now, back to the farming as I know you are probably wondering what the heck Iam talking about… Aphids as well as scale suck the sap from either the leaf veins (aphids) or the branches (scale). These insects will expel their waste which is a sweet, juicy liquid called “honeydew”. The ants will stimulate aphids and scale to release this honeydew by rubbing their antennae across their bodies. In return for feeding the ants this sweet treat, they will protect the aphids and scale from natural predators. This is what is known as a “symbiotic” relationship between two animals. One gets fed and the other gets protected. Aphids are pretty easy to control with a home remedy of soapy water like “Safers” insecticidal soap. The scale however, are much harder to kill due to the fact that they have this hard crusty helmet covering their internal organs. You will need to pickup some liquid “Sevin” at any garden center to control them fully. This is the safest and most widely used pesticide on the market today. You can use it on trees and shrubs, vegetables, as well as the lawn to rid over 100+ insect pests in the landscape. When you get rid of the target pest, the ants will leave.. I am giving you a few links below to checkout… Hope this answers your question….

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dscale%2Binsects%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dush-ans%26fr2%3Dtab-web&w=200&h=275&imgurl=farrer.csu.edu.au%2FASGAP%2Fjpg1%2F850355x.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffarrer.csu.edu.au%2FASGAP%2FAPOL26%2Fjun02-8.html&size=7k&name=850355x+jpg&p=scale+insects&oid=b1dd09d6b79d7824&fr2=tab-web&no=3&tt=7334&sigr=11ii5lmc7&sigi=118jgirf3&sigb=12sqtf38q#FCar=59ce53350c41ddb2

http://www.unbeatablesale.com/bci03386.html?utm_source=shopping4&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=BCI03386&srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=20-28333432-2

Added Info:….. Liquid Sevin also comes in a handy, ready to use “hose” end sprayer bottle… This may be right up your alley!

More Added Info: *** No, the scale won’t die off from a Cali winter (too warm). They will over winter either as pregnant females or as eggs. Their hatching coincides with the new spring growth. If you have them now, you will have even more in the spring. Aphids will disappear in winter after the leaves drop,but will be back stronger than ever in spring… Read this Article, scroll down and pay particular attention to the section on “Seasonal Abundance”…..

Http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/fasulo/woodypest/scales.htm

…Billy Ray

GardenersCardiff answers:

This is the closest to a gourmet sandwich i make

Summertime Chicken Sandwich
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Garden Vegetable cream cheese
Butter
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 tomato slices
4 lettuce leafs
8 slices Sourdough bread (or whatever bread you like)
1 Tbls butter

Pound the chicken breasts out until approx. 1/2 inch thick. Melt about half of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and sprinkle with dill and garlic. Cook for about 8 minutes per side, or until the meat is firm and juices run clear. Remove from the pan, and set aside.

Spread some butter onto one side of each slice of bread, and toast in the skillet until golden. Cut each chicken breast in half. Spread some cream cheese onto the untoasted sides of the bread, and make sandwiches with the chicken, lettuce and tomato. Delicious!