I enjoy gardening. I hate it too, sometimes. I could use some advice, ideas, etc. and I can give it. Where to go for more ideas, or to purchase something? Maybe I can help, or maybe you can.
I have, in the past used a fair amount of chemicals in my garden and as the years roll on I am learning that chemicals are costly and not necessarily worth the price. I’m finding it more fun and much cheaper to go “green” or “organic” than not. Although, I don’t consider myself either of those. I’m just too cheap, too ignorant and way too lazy to use the chemicals. I still use some fertilizers though. Inside my house I have a Schefflera that has a bad case of scale. So I gave it a healthy dose of a systemic pesticide. The kind you put into the soil. Didn’t work. I called my friend who has battled with scale off and on for years said two things: 1) wash every single leaf thoroughly and the stems, repeat in a week or 2) throw it out. I washed it, twice and so far it hasn’t come back. It might, but it’s so much better to just wash off the plant. It looks so much better to, you know? Not so dusty!
Outside I have an apple tree that gets bugs every year. Every year my husband sprays the tree all summer long and we still end up with buggy apples. Still makes good juice though. An orchardist told me to use a fly bait. The kind you hang on the tree limbs. The baited cards have glue on them so the flies stick to them. He said I should only need about 3 cards. He told me I would still get some wormy apples but not nearly as many as in the past. Really, the sprays used by orchardist and those used by home owners are not the same.
So, I’m heading in a different direction in gardening. I guess I have been heading this way for some time and now I’ve finally realized it. I have been using worm castings for years and composting too. So I’ll talk about that as well. Now if I can just get my lawn to look good and get rid of the nasty weeds! Yeah, I still rely on RoundUp occasionally.
I live in Eastern Washington, zone 5 for those you are interested.
So, I’m hoping to learn a lot about gardening using more of what I have and less of what can be harmful to other people, animals and plants. It’s a learning experience!
