joene's garden » aphids

Nasturtium chronicles

joenesgarden — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:23:01 +0000

I plant nasturtiums for their lovely edible leaves. No, I plant them for their beautiful blossoms. No, wait, I plant them to attract aphids … because they are easy to grow … because they offer a choice of plain or variegated leaves and multiple flower colors – not my favorite purples and blues – but many other crisp warm colors. No, I plant them because they grow equally well in garden soil and containers.

Actually, I grow nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) – also known as Indian cress - for all these reasons. Since potting up a couple in large clay pots this spring, I've had nasturtium – Alaska mix (photo at right) and Moonlight – to brighten whatever corner, edge, wall, or porch I choose. Alaska Mix flower in a range of warm yellows, oranges, deep red, and peachy tones – I could do without the orange but tolerate these blossoms when grouped with the other colors – but the creamy yellow and green variegated foliage is the real reason I like Alaska mix. It provides fresh clean interest no matter the stage of growth and on really hot days the blossoms fit right in with the sweltering atmosphere.

Moonlight nasturtiums – blooming at left with bean blossoms - are my favorites for flower color. Their pale yellow blooms look wonderful next to every other color in the garden. They grow large tasty leaves that give salads a fresh-picked peppery flair, and Moonlight sends out long tendrils to intertwine the blossoms and leaves with neighboring plants. Given the right support, Moonlight will also climb.

The downside – at least some may consider it so – is aphids affinity for nasturtiums. Not sure how or why, but black aphids love, love, love nasturtiums. I use this to the advantage of neighboring plants – nasturtiums attract aphids away from their neighbors. This season I planted aphids in the same pots as a couple of extra eggplant seedlings. I thought the purple stems and fruit, and the large dark green eggplant leaves would be nicely offset by Moonlight's pale yellow flowers. What I forgot at the time is how well nasturtium draw in aphids. In one pot, aphids lit early. I resisted temptation to yank or spray - with organic Safer - the infested plants. Almost immediately ants came in for the sweet, sticky nectar released by the stem- and leaf-sucking aphids. Still I resisted pulling the increasingly sad looking nasturtiums, even when the stems were nearly black with aphids. Then, during my early morning stroll, I noticed markedly fewer aphids. Closer inspection revealed ladybugs. I can't say they were particularly fat ladybugs – don't really know how to determine if a ladybug is fat – but I can't help but see a correlation between fewer aphids and the sudden arrival of ladybugs. Had I pulled and destroyed the infested nasturtiums who knows what other garden might have benefitted by these ladybug visits. Once the infested nasturtiums finally succumbed to the aphid attack, I pulled the plants and burned them.

My other nasturtium plantings are, as yet, untouched by aphids, as are other plants in the gardens. This happens year and year again. One or two nasturtium plants attract aphids, but with nasturtiums present aphids generally steer clear of other plants.

Besides serving as a natural aphid foil, nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible – the peppery taste punches up a green salad. One of our sons used to take nasturtium leaves to school in a sandwich bag to pull out and eat as a snack, much to the surprise and angst of his fellow students and teachers. He said they taste best sprinkled with a little hot sauce. Want to create a conversation piece salad for a neighborhood get-together? Add a few nasturtium blossoms to a green salad or as garnish on a potato salad, guacamole, or other salad or dip, then watch who – if anyone – eats the flowers. Hint: strike up a conversation with whoever eats the blossoms … good chance they will have some plant knowledge.

Nasturtiums are annual in my zone 6b region. Plant the seeds in early spring – either in thawed ground or in pots. Soak the hard-coated seeds overnight to give them a good boost. Give plants full or nearly full sun – at least 4 to 6 hours and water to maintain soil moisture until seeds sprout and to prevent drooping once plants establish. The often 8 to 12 inch tall plants are good in the front of a border, but they tend to get tired as summer progresses. I prefer planting them in a spot where they can shine in spring and early- to mid-summer and be outshined by neighboring plants if they get badly hit by aphids or just get tired of dealing with summer heat. If they get too leggy just cut them back, they will often regrow into a lovely late-summer specimen.

Nasturtium come in multiple varieties. In addition to Alaska Mix and Moonlight, I've planted Empress of India – good for people who like reds, Jewel Mix with flower colors similar to Alaska Mix but solid leaves, Whirlybird Choice Mix which carries blossoms high above the foliage, and Out of Africa also with variegated foliage. I keep returning to Alaska Mix for its leaf variegation/flower combo and Moonlight for its flower color. Still, the dark red/black blossoms of Black Velvet and the color of Peach Melba intrigue me and might find their way on my seed-buying list in the future.

Check out recent shots of the amazing hanging nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum outside of Boston, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Do you plant nasturtiums? Share your nasturtium story.

Categories: Edibles, Gardening, Sites to see, Techniques.
Tags: aphids, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, nasturtium.

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Gardening Oops – February 2010

joenesgarden — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. That's my gardening oops this month. Here at joene's garden, the first of each month is Gardening oops - GOOPs for short – Day. On GOOPs day, I fess up one of my gardening blunders in the hopes that you might avoid a GOOPs of your own after reading one of mine. I figure we all learn from our mistakes, and often from mistakes of others. So why not share our mistakes with each other and, therefore, enhance everyone's overall chance to learn.

This month I present a cared for but not nourished basil plant I brought inside last fall before frost. Yes, I watered it regularly, and gave it as much natural light as possible, but you can see it did some serious toward-the-sun leaning . I shoulda picked more of its leaves. I woulda enjoyed their flavor in tomato sauce or on a home made pizza. I coulda done this had I paid a little more attention. But I didn't, and last week when I noticed tiny white specks on its leaves, I knew that aphids had hatched. I shoulda and coulda given my tender herbal companion regular bi-weekly showers to stave off any budding aphid infestations. Had I done this I might have been able to keep the aphids at bay. But I didn't. I have a pretty strict policy of banishing any small, replaceable plant from the house when aphids take hold. I've tried fighting serious infestations in winter's past and it's not anything I choose to do again … I never seem to win the battle. So when the aphids moved in, the basil moved out. Here it is, on the front porch on a relatively warm January day – temperatures in the high 30's F. The plant did remarkably well for the first few hours, then quickly drooped as night time fell. By morning it was dead, aphids and all.

Caring for plants, just like caring for any other aspect of life, requires vigilance … sometimes more and sometimes less. At times, growing plants also means making tough choices, like banishing one to never-never land. Gardening, real gardening, means making mistakes. Joining in on GOOPs day means admitting some of these mistakes. Here you have yet another of mine, and the chance to share any mistake you've made in a comment below. If you choose to share your GOOPs on your own blog, I'm thrilled. Just leave a teaser in a comment below, along with your link, and anyone who reads here can pay you a visit too.

And if you really thrive on delve into past mistakes take a look at GOOPs – Gardening Oops for all the gritty details. Here's hoping my GOOPs do not become yours.

Categories: Edibles, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: aphids, basil, Gardening blunders, GOOPs Day.

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Creatures leave their mark

joenesgarden — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:23:27 +0000

Many creatures have left their calling cards in my gardens. The wet, humid weather has caused a bumper crop of slugs. They usually only feed at night, but not this year. Maybe it's their numbers, maybe the lack of sun has kept the slimy crawlers from seeking daytime cover. Regardless, the telltale shiny trails left on this petunia, and on many of my lettuce and tatsoi plants, show slugs are feasting quite well.

I can only hope the concurrent explosion in the garter snake population will eventually decrease the slug population. I am NOT even slightly enamored of snakes … but I have learned to tolerate garter snakes., and identify their favorite basking spots so I know where to expect them. Usually one or two 'regulars' and I develop a mutually tolerant, but still standoffish, acceptance of each other through the growing season, but this year my tolerance is being stretched. During a brief bout of sunshine I came across four garter snakes sunning in a three square foot area of a stone pathway and two more among nearby vegetation. An hour later I nearly stepped on one in a different part of the yard … trust me, profanities flew from my mouth faster than the snake slithered away.

Aphids are also thriving in our lovely swamp-like weather. Theoretically, planting nasturtiums helps keep aphids away from other plants. Here, on the underside of a nasturtium leaf, black aphids have set up housekeeping (I doubt the aphid-eating ant is an invited guest). However, to deal with this year's aphid population, this ant may need backup from an army of ladybug beetles to help chomp the aphids away.

What caused holes in my moonflower and morning glory leaves was a mystery until one of my sons noticed a small – ladybug sized – metallic gold beetle climbing nearby. A little research identified it as a golden tortoise beetle – a bug with the admirable ability to change its color at will. Cool, except this beetle's favorite food is ipomeas.

Voles have found the small group snow peas planted directly into the ground at one end of the garden – notice the hole where a pea vine once grew. These tunneling vegetarians also find the in-ground planted lettuce an easy meal. This is why I plant most vegetables in pots.

Lastly, these coneflowers used to be about a foot taller – proof that deer have moved back out of the woods after delivering their young and are teaching a new generation where to find the best eats.

Categories: Creatures, Gardening.
Tags: aphids, Creatures, deer damage, garter snake, golden tortoise beetle, slugs, voles.

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