Chicagoland Gardening, "Ask Our Experts"

Craig is in the May/June 2009 Issue of Chicagoland Gardening Magizine .

What are you doing to promote green gardening this year?
	Craig MacLean, co-owner, The Pure Gardener, Geneva.
“We’re trying to make beneficial insects more accessible so we sell them in season—nematodes to go after grubs in the soil, live ladybugs for aphids, and praying mantis egg sacs. We sell worms for indoor composting and mason bee nests to encourage pollinators. We’re also huge on heirloom vegetables.” Our Live lady bugs, red worms, and praying mantis egg cocoons just arrived! Come in today for best selection!

Japanese Beetles! The Madness is Almost Over!

OOOHHH! Those nasty little buggers. They are out of control! First they were devouring our hibiscus trees and roses- at the shop- and then they decided to attack our Contorted Filbert tree at the house. We tried the Neem sprays and I don't have time to stand around all my plants knocking the invaders into soapy water or spraying all my plants- repeatedly with a soap concoction. So, I opted for the bag ( now sold out at The PURE Gardener, but we do have the refill bags ).

The way to reduce the beetle's population, if it’s possible at all, is to reduce the population of grubs they come from, with natural inoculates like beneficial nematodes or Milky Spore. The Japanese Beetle is the adult stage of a grub that starts out underground.I've applied Milky Spore ( available at the shop) to my yard last fall but haven't re-applied the additional treatments needed to knock out the nasty intruders. I am going to opt for the beneficial nematodes ( available at the shop ) treatment. Both Milky Spore and Beneficial Nematodes need to be applied in the Spring and Fall. The Japanese Beetle emerges from the ground- like a bad Godzilla movie, or Godzilla vs. Turtle Monster, anyway-in June and retreats back into the ground sometime in August to lay its eggs and start the cycle all over again. So the madness is almost over! Then it is our small window of opportunity to fight back. I have used Beneficial Nematodes in my back vegetable garden around my garlic a few years back and had success. A fall day like today, a rain day, is perfect for watering in the microscopic beneficial invaders. They multiply (in the ground) on their own and also go after other nasty pest like flea eggs which will make my 4 chihuahuas happy! What horrors are you experiencing with your own gardens? I would love to hear about your battles!

We LOVE Father Dom!

Father Dom's Duck Doo

Craig and I met Father Dom several years back. He is a wonderful person who really believes in his product- and so do we! We use Father Dom's Duck Doo in our gardens every year and have excellent results. The product is made by mentally challenged children & adults and is weed seed free and made entirely of recycled duck poop, cranberries, rice hulls, wood shavings, pickles and vanilla beans, Duck's Doo Compost is surprisingly sweet smelling. All profits go to charity. You could say it's "heaven scent"!

Duck's Doo is an award winning soil conditioner that can be used in vegetable and flower gardens, tree and shrub plantings, and lawn seeding and sodding projects. The condition of the soil will determine how much to use.

Father Dom's Duck's Doo Compost is also useful for indoor gardening. It can be used in potting soils for houseplants, or in soil mixes for starting flower and vegetable seeds. Father Dom's Duck's Doo Compost should be mixed with other materials, such as potting soil, perlite and vermiculite, for indoor gardening purposes.

Red Worms for Composting

Red earthworms for composting are now available at The PURE Gardener- ask cashier for more information. They can be added to your kitchen composter, vermi-composter, or your outside composter ( provided that the composter is put in the shade and not allowed to go over 80 degrees.. They also can be added directly to your garden ( but they will not over winter).
Earthworms eat and burrow twenty-four hours a day! All of this tunneling aerates the soil (getting oxygen to the roots), allows for easier root growth, and improves water retention. They are a natural tie in for cold composting. Earthworms help keep the soil loose. Mother Nature doesn't own a spade! Earthworms consume ordinary soil and cast it back with more nutrients available to plants. These "castings" release their nutrients slowly and do not leach out with watering. Read below for directions.

EARTHWORMS

NUTRITION:

These earthworms will eat the soil in your garden and cast it back with 5 times more nitrogen, 1.5 times more calcium, 3 times more magnesium, 7 times more phosphates, 11 times more potash and 40% more humus.

Plant nutrients from earthworms (odorless castings) retain moisture, don’t leach out with watering and are released slowly instead of in one large dose. Worm castings feed plants for weeks, even months. They will neutralize acid or alkaline excess and they don’t use up organic carbons, as chemicals often do.

Looks like Mother Nature knows what she’s doing!

AERATION:

On their endless journey through your garden (worms don’t sleep), earthworms leave behind a vast network of nutrition-lined tunnels which are valuable air spaces. This gets oxygen to the roots and allows the roots more room to grow. The castings-rich soil will hold more water so there’s much less run-off. Hard packing is impossible -- Mother Nature does not own a spade.

All Plant life benefits enormously from nutrition and aeration by earthworms. Production goes up. Color is better. Fruits and vegetables taste better. Susceptibility to disease goes down. Best of all, you get more pleasure from your gardening and your garden.

DIRECTIONS:

Garden Areas: Dig 6 inch diameter, 1 foot deep holes several feet apart though out the garden. Fill with water and let drain. Put one or two handfuls of worms in each hole, fill loosely with soil and compost (cuttings, table scraps, etc.) This will give the worms a quick meal. Water the area and apply mulch if possible over and around the holes. Keep the area watered.

Tree and Shrub Treatment: Dig several 6 inch diameter, 1 foot deep holes around the drip line of the tree’s branches. Continue as above.

Compost Pile: Place worms on the bottom of 4 inches of loose soil. Keep damp as you continue to add decaying organic material. Red worms need betweedn40-80 degrees to survive.

For best results, add some organic material and shredded newspaper along with the worms to get them feeding. You may use moist corn meal, coffee grounds, table scraps, grass clippings, or other organic material.

Vericomposter Video w/ TerraCycle

This is the video that was referred to in the ASK CRAIG & Annette section...