Plant Bulbs and Winter Vegetables

November is a great time to plant bulbs for spring flowers.  It is also a good time to divide established bulb plantings if they need it.  Bulbs that will perform year after year in Onslow County include: daffodils, star flower (Ipheion uniflorum), blue bottles (Muscari neglectum), Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica), summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and lilies (both Asiatic and Oriental).

You can harvest something out of your vegetable garden all winter long.  Onion seeds or sets and garlic bulbs can be planted for harvest next spring.  Remember that chard (especially varieties such as ‘Bright Lights’ with its red, orange and yellow stems), kale, lettuces and cabbage can straddle the line between vegetable garden and ornamental plantings.  Plant them in the vegetable bed, along the edge of the flower border or tuck into a container for seasonal interest.

Chard "Bright Lights"

Prepare Houseplants for the Move Back Indoors

As cooler weather approaches, you will want to gradually transition houseplants for the move back indoors. Tropical plants may be injured when temperatures drop below fifty degrees. Ideally, move houseplants inside when temperatures inside and outside the home are about the same.

Inspect plants, including the root ball, for insects before bringing them inside. Aphids, scale, spider mites and whiteflies are common houseplant pests. If you find insects, treat them with an appropriate insecticide before bringing them back in the house. As always, read and follow all label directions of the product you select. Some insecticides will require a second application to break the lifecycle of the pest.

Acclimate your plants for the move indoors by slowly moving them from sun to light shade and then heavy shade. This process should take about a week. The move to lower light will result in some plant stress, you may see leaves yellowing or dropping as the plants acclimate.

Once in the house, place sun-loving plants in south or west facing windows. Plants that like more indirect light will do better in an east facing window. Keep plants away from the drafts of air conditioner and heater vents. Once inside the house, avoid overwatering to prevent root rot and fungus gnats.

Kudzu Bugs - Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Area residents are seeing swarms of small, green-brown bugs clustering on trees, porches and the sides of buildings.  Many people have never seen these insects before and have lots of questions.  I’ll answer some of the most common frequently asked questions below. 

Where did kudzu bugs come from and when?

Kudzu bugs are a new pest in the US, they were accidentally introduced to Georgia in the fall of 2009.  Kudzu bugs are native to China and India, the homeland of the kudzu vine on which they traditionally feed.  These bugs are very mobile and by 2010, they had spread throughout Georgia, into South Carolina, Alabama and North Carolina.  Now kudzu bugs have been recorded in most counties across the state.

What do they eat?  Will they harm my plants?

Kudzu bugs feed on kudzu as well as wisteria, soybeans and other members of the legume (bean and pea) family.  While kudzu bugs have been found congregating on a variety of plants (including apple, pecan and fig trees), at this point we don’t expect them to feed in damaging amounts on non-leguminous plants. 

Where are all of the bugs I’m seeing now coming from and why?

In Onslow County, local farmers have been controlling kudzu bugs in the soybean fields throughout the summer.  Of course, they are also in the woods in the kudzu and wisteria patches.  Now, the kudzu bugs are moving out of the soybean fields and woodlands and searching for places to overwinter.  Often, they are attracted to light-colored surfaces but they will also congregate on brick or dark colored siding. 

How much longer will this movement last?

Kudzu bugs are expected to keep migrating for at least another two to three weeks.  As temperatures continue to drop, their activity will lessen. 

Should homeowners spray to control kudzu bugs?

Spraying with chemicals is not recommended since it is likely to provide only partial control.  Spraying insects currently gathered on surfaces is effective in the short-term but it will not prevent kudzu bugs from quickly re-infesting the site.  Preventive sprays are not recommended because it is difficult to determine where the insects will gather and these chemicals aren’t durable enough to provide protection throughout the rest of the migration season. 

What steps should homeowners take?

For longer term control, focus on physically excluding the bugs by sealing gaps and openings (like those around utility lines and making sure that weather stripping around doors and windows is secure).  Avoid crushing kudzu bugs that do make it indoors because they emit an unpleasant stinkbug odor.  Vacuum up invading kudzu bugs and quickly dispose of the vacuum contents outside. 

What will happen next season?

Expect to see kudzu bugs swarming for a short period in the spring before they move back into the soybean fields and kudzu patches.  This is a nuisance but not a major concern for most homeowners.  For gardeners, kudzu bugs may swarm on trees and shrubs but should not cause a problem for most plants.  However, ornamental wisteria, beans and peas may need protection throughout the growing season. 

Will the kudzu bugs always be this bad?

Some entomologists think the high populations we are seeing right now is a result of the “colonization effect” and that populations may stabilize at a lower level once the kudzu bugs have been here a while.

For more information about kudzu bugs, check out the following link:
http://insects.ncsu.edu/Urban/kudzubug.htm

Kudzu Bugs Moving into Residential Areas

I have received several phone calls about kudzu bugs this week and expect more. This is a relatively new pest in our area and many people are still unfamiliar with the little olive-green bugs that feed on kudzu, wisteria and other members of the legume (bean and pea) family.

(Photo - G. Kirby, Supply NC)

Kudzu bugs have spent the summer in soybean fields but are now on the move looking for places to overwinter. They can be found congregating in trees and on the sides of houses.

According to NCSU entomologists, "Pesticides have limited ability to stop the bugs from entering homes. So, it is also important to seal gaps and openings (such as around plumbing and AC lines) to prevent the bugs from entering home. Avoid crushing Insects that do find their way indoors as this may stain surfaces and/or result in unpleasant odors."

Learn more about kudzu bugs and steps homeowners can take for control here: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/kudzubug.htm

Pecan Weevils

Pecan weevil larvae. Photo courtesy of USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org.

Pecan weevils are one of the most serious pecan pests for the home owner.  If you have ever opened a pecan to find a small white worm inside it, you have seen the larva of the pecan weevil.  The adult pecan weevil is a light-brown or grayish beetle with a long beak.  The beak of the female is longer than the body.

The adult weevils emerge from the soil from August through September, frequently after rains of 1 inch or more.  Adult pecan weevils feed on green nuts causing some green nuts to drop.  The more serious damage is caused by female pecan weevils drill holes in nuts and lay eggs.   The resulting larva feed within the nut.  After the pecans fall to the ground and the larva chews their way out of the shell and burrow into the soil.  They will remain in the soil for 1 or 2 years before emerging as adults to continue the cycle. 

Since the lifecycle of pecan weevils can span three years, control requires consistent treatment.  Good orchard sanitation and judicious spraying will help control this pest.  First, promptly sweep up fallen pecans from under the tree each fall and dispose of them.  This will help remove pecan weevil larva from the area underneath the tree. 

Secondly, consider spraying the root zone and trunk of the tree with an insecticide such as carbaryl when the adult beetles are emerging from the soil and moving into the tree canopy.  Start monitoring the beginning of August and spray when adult weevils are found.  Continue to monitor and treat as needed through September.  

Adult pecan weevil.  Photo courtesy of USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org.

An easy way to monitor for pecan weevils is to wrap a burlap bag around the base of your tree several feet off the ground.  Adult weevils crawling up the trunk will be trapped under the burlap.  Daily monitoring will allow you to target your spray when the weevils are most active and it will provide a limited amount of physical control.  If you are handy, you can find information about building more intricate pecan weevil monitoring traps here:  http://pecankernel.tamu.edu/insect_update/weeviltraps.html

Garden Storage Ideas

The Onslow County Master Gardeners held their summer social last month and Nancy graciously hosted us as her home.  We had a great time socializing and enjoying Nancy's beautiful home and garden.  I particularly liked her neat idea for storing small items in her garden.

Nancy saw a discarded mailbox tossed in the ditch one day.  Instead of leaving it or throwing it in the trash, Nancy scrubbed it up, painted it and mounted it near her vegetable garden.  She dressed the mailbox up with some fun garden art and hung a basket from the support post.

 

Nancy uses the mailbox to store gloves, hand tools, seed packets and other items so they are protected from the weather and always handy when she needs them.  That's way better than my technique of carrying my pruners around in my purse.

I'd love to hear about your innovative garden storage ideas.

Heat Problems With Tomatoes and Vine Crops

--Carl J. Cantaluppi, Jr.
Extension Area Agent, Horticulture
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
Granville and Person Counties

When we experience high temperatures, we can expect some problems with vegetable fruit set and quality.  The ground around snap beans may be littered with aborted flowers.  Flower and fruit abortion are common responses to heat stress as a result of the general failure of successful pollination and fertilization.  The reproductive structures can become unreceptive, pollen can be killed, and the pollen tube may fail to form.

Many people are concerned most about their tomatoes and cucumbers.  In general, cucumbers are more heat tolerant than tomatoes.  Another problem can be a lack of female flowers, often noticed in summer squash.  As the heat increases, the ratio of male to female flowers changes to more male flowers.  When cooler weather returns, the plants will shift back to a more normal ratio.  

Female squash flower

Day temperatures over 90 degrees F. and night temperatures over 70 degrees F. reduce fruit set in tomatoes.  As few as 3 hours at 104 degrees F on two successive days may cause failure of fruit set.

Tomato problems related to heat stress on fruit set prior to the stress include sunscald and yellow shoulders.  Sunscald occurs when previously covered fruit are exposed to direct sunlight from having poor leaf cover.  

Solar yellowing (yellow shoulders) is a type of sunscald that occurs when lycopene (the red pigment in tomato) fails to develop in some varieties, leaving only the carotene (yellow pigment) to show at the shoulder where the dark green portion was.  This occurs when tissue temperature rises above 86 degrees F.  Even with temperatures under 85 degrees F., the surface temperature of exposed fruit can become high enough to inhibit normal red color development.

Symptoms of more severe sunscald are that the tissue starts off as a pale area of leathery dead tissue that becomes sunken, turning tan or light gray, later turning white, and dying.  Many times, the dead tissue will turn black from fungi that are feeding on the dead tissue.  This lethal sunscald occurs when tissue temperatures rise above 104 degrees F.  Damage usually occurs when fruits are suddenly exposed to sunlight.  This most frequently occurs after a harvest or a storm when leaves are moved around and fruit is exposed.  Over pruning can also increase sunscald problems especially with fruit in the upper part of the plant.  Good spray programs to ensure good foliage cover can reduce the problem.

Sunscald and yellow shoulders are most common in mid-summer when the sunlight is most intense and when temperatures exceed 85 degrees F.  Fruit that is sunscalded is edible but not if the scalded area has turned black with a secondary fungus.

Another problem in high temperature tomatoes is internal white tissue.  The white tissue is only noticeable when the fruit is cut.  The hard, white areas tend to be in the vascular tissues in the outer walls of the fruit, although it can also appear in the center of the fruit and in the cross-walls.  High temperatures during the ripening period seem to trigger the symptoms.  Sometimes there is a relationship with low potassium levels, which can be a problem in sandy soils and only rarely in clay soils.  Some varieties are more resistant to the problem, especially the very dark red varieties.

As always, and especially during hot temperatures, make sure that garden soils are wetted down to a depth of 6-8 inches.  Poke a long-handled screwdriver into the soil until it becomes hard to push.  Then pull it up and you can measure how deep the soil is wetted.  Then water until you reach that depth.  After gaining experience, you will know how long it takes to water your soil down to 6-8 inches, once the top of the soil starts drying out.

Problems with blossom end rot of tomatoes can be virtually eliminated by keeping the soil moist so the plant can take up calcium through the water stream.  Calcium deficiency in the developing tomato fruit causes blossom end rot, which is worsened by dry soils not allowing the calcium to be in the soil solution to be taken up by plant roots.

 

Adequate moisture prevents blossom end rot on tomatoes.