First of all, let’s get some housekeeping out of the way: we’d love for you to join us at the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society’s Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Show on Wednesday, August 8, from 1:00 till 5:00 p.m. at St. Gerard’s Parish Complex. This show brings you the best of the gardening year: fruit and vegetable displays, cut flowers, plant displays and flower arrangements. Admission is $3.00 and that includes tea or coffee and dainties. It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon, so bring a friend and join us!
To make the day even more celebratory, Mayor Bob Maloney and City Council have proclaimed Wednesday, August 8 as “Garden Day” in Yorkton! This is a day to enjoy your outdoor space: have a cup of coffee on your deck, tour your garden, or take a walk through your neighborhood and enjoy the many, many beautiful garden vistas that are part of Yorkton! We thank Mayor Bob and City Council for their support! Here’s some gardening trivia: did you know that the first flower show took place in September, 1906 at City Hall?
And one more thing: the Yorkton Gardeners’ Market has begun, and happens every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. till noon at Melrose and Simpson streets in Yorkton (north parking lot of the Prairie Harvest Christian Life Centre). It’s a great place to buy or sell local fresh produce! To register as a seller, email ethelda61@hotmail.com or tymiak.g@sasktel.net or call Glen at (306) 783-7040.
Does your garden have some unwanted guests in the form of potato beetles? Potato beetles are not very discriminating eaters, happy to munch on not only potato plants but tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. You’d think that if they’re eating from the nightshade family they wouldn’t survive, but they not only survive, they thrive!
Okay: crash course in potato beetles. They hibernate in the soil and come out when the ground begins to warm up. Females can lay over 1000 eggs on the underside of potato leaves (or whatever plant they choose!), and the eggs start to hatch in just over a week. You can see why timing is of the utmost importance in getting rid of them, especially considering that every hatched egg that turns into a beetle can eat up to forty square centimetres of foliage! That’s a lot of leaf growth gone in a very short time!
What to do? The best and more effective method seems to be picking the beetles off the plants by hand. This gives us the chance to inspect the plant’s leaves and remove any that have eggs hiding on the underside. Be sure to put the beetles and the leaves in a container (don’t just toss them on to the ground) and dispose of them. Yes, it’s a grim job, but it has to be done.
Ladybugs are great for helping to control potato beetles; check online to see where you can order these beautiful and beneficial bugs; they are truly every gardener’s friend!
Another possible solution is diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is actually ground-up fossilized shells, and will kill the potato beetles because the sharp edges cut into the bug’s body as the bug crosses the soil to the plant. It is easy to use; just scatter some around the infected plants. The nice thing about this product is that it is harmless to everything else except the bugs.
I’ve read about some natural remedies such as a liquid horseradish mixture or dusting with flour, but the reviews of their success seems mixed. Going in for hand-to-bug combat seems to be the best cure! Good luck, gardeners! Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca and have a great week! Be sure to wear a hat!
