Allium Fields

13/08/2025

You can see a lot in this photo, but what you can't see are the (literally) hundreds of pollinators swooping and buzzing all over the place right now. They are EVERYWHERE and have no interest in me or my dog at all. None.

And, while we do irrigate our fruits and vegetables (yes, I still do drip irrigation installations), none of the ornamental plants are watered, ever.

Pollinator favorites in this photo:
Sunflower
Ironweed
Monarda fistulosa/Wild Bergamot
Rudbeckia triloba/Brown Eyed Susan
Agastache scrophulariifolia/Giant Purple Hyssop
Sweet Joe Pyeweed/Eutrochium purpureum

The raspberries are irrigated and are also covered with pollinators. We walk the path through the raspberries and the bees are just bouncing off of us as they zoom from one flower to another.

If you have a yard, you can add some plants for pollinators.

10/08/2025

Longhorn bees asleep on our sunflowers this morning. There are so many different pollinators!

28/07/2025

Lacewing eggs! (Lacewings are predatory insects and will hopefully help with the non-native Oleander Aphid problem on this Swamp Milkweed.)

23/06/2025

Stay hydrated.

01/06/2025

No “weed and feed” products. Just what I think of as ‘seed and feed.’ Add more seed (clover and grass) in late winter and when rain is expected and feed with nitrogen (I like one that includes iron).

I get some dandelions and speedwell and a few other things but not much, and I can safely lay on the grass to play with my dog.

21/05/2025

Today I’ll be giving my garlic what is likely their final feeding of the season. You want to stop feeding them before the scapes form which for me is mid-June.

Remember, garlic is a “heavy feeder” that wants lots of nitrogen!

19/05/2025

Poison ivy! It is time for my annual suggestion to watch the video below about how to avoid the itch.

I work in/around poison ivy often but rarely have any issues anymore by following the advice in the video below. (When I do have an issue it is usually a very small area affected.)

-Wash your work clothing SEPARATELY from other clothing.

-Scrub (use friction) when washing yourself after working with PI.

-Any soap that removes oils is fine, including bar soap, as long as you scrub.

-Once you see the rash there's no value using Tecnu or other specialty soaps. The rash means the oil is already doing its thing in your skin and you can't get it out.

Urushiol oil in poison sumac, poison oak, and poison ivy may produce a severe skin rash. Timely urushiol removal can prevent poison ivy skin reaction. The ke...

17/05/2025

Time to start bagging apples!!

Remember, bagging apples is to prevent INSECT damage. Bags do not stop squirrels or other beasties.

12/05/2025

“What do you mean I shouldn’t plant my tomatoes yet?!? It is beautiful out right now!!!!”

09/05/2025

I hope everyone had a nice summer!

04/05/2025

With new crops come new pests! The Asparagus beetle has only one thing it likes to eat, and it isn’t cauliflower.

24/04/2025

Storing irrigation header over winter: I always encourage customers to store their irrigation header like this over the winter.

End of the season remove the batteries, clean the filter, let the unit dry out, and then STORE IT INDOORS WITH ALL THE PARTS CONNECTED!!

This means that in spring you just put batteries in, hook it up and you’re good to go. You don’t need to go looking for miscellaneous parts, try to remember how it was set up and so on. It is ready to go without any effort or time.