Q. What is the right time of day to water?
A. If you are watering lawns, ornamentals and vegetable gardens, it is best to water in the early morning hours. There are several reasons for this: low winds for better coverage, evaporation from midday heat is lower and the reduction of conditions favorable to diseases is diminished.
Midday and evening winds can disrupt sprinklers so lawns are not evenly irrigated, leaving areas that are over-watered and other areas under-watered.
Midday and evening watering during high-heat days can be affected by a large amount of evaporation, therefore requiring more time to get adequate coverage. Midday and evening watering leaves moisture on and around leaves overnight, exposing them to diseases that require moisture.
Q. How does one safely keep aphids off of vegetables that are prone to get them?
There are many management techniques used to protect vegetables from invading insects. Some are more easily done than others.
Inspection: Check your plants often. If insects are observed, hand-pick before they become an infestation.
Beneficials: Create a nearby bed or border of native plants that attract beneficial insects that feed on harmful insects.
Mix your plantings: Plant small areas of each type of plant, intermixing other types. This slows down the spread of insects.
Healthy plants: Keep your garden healthy, as healthy plants don't attract harmful insects as quickly as those that are in poor health or are stressed. A quality soil keeps the plant nutrition good; if your soil isn't too good, make sure to fertilize enough.
Sanitation: Remove discarded plant material from the garden, as it can hide damaging insects and breed more. Remove all plant material from the garden at the end of the season and till to expose insect eggs to weather and birds.
Row covers: Use lightweight covers that can physically protect plants from invading insects.
Organic insecticides: There are more organic insecticides available today. Check with your local nursery for quality organic insecticides.
Q. My peach trees have lots of fruit, and some are falling off. Is this OK? Should I be concerned about insect pests of peaches?
A. It is normal for peaches to shed some fruit when they have a high crop load, which most peaches do this year. However, they need to have many more removed than typically fall off. Only one peach should be on a branch for every 8 to 12 inches. Peaches have far fewer disease and insect problems if (when full-sized) "no two peaches touch each other." Thinning of peaches should be done right now, if not a week or two ago. But still do it, as they will be bigger and sweeter, and fewer will rot. If the tree is too big to hand-thin, contact our office for instructions.
There are several insect pests on peaches. They do not always occur. If you want to spray the tree to control the most common, spray ASAP and then two more times spaced about 10 days apart. A good natural product to use is Fertilome Borer, Bagworm, Leafminer and Tent Caterpillar Killer. Please read the label and follow instructions. If other insecticide options are desired, consult University of Missouri Extension's free publication on this, which can be found online at extension.missouri.edu/p/G6010, or stop by the extension center and pick one up.
The local Master Gardener hotline is staffed from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday afternoons; call 634-2824 then or anytime to leave a message. The Central Missouri Master Gardeners are a volunteer group of 191 members, 122 of whom are Cole County residents, who maintain 11 beautification sites in Cole County. Master Gardeners must complete a basic training program of at least 30 hours of horticultural training including landscaping, lawns, vegetables, flowers and fruits, as well as 30 hours of volunteer service.
Have a gardening question of your own? Submit it via email to [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future "Ask a Master Gardener" column.