Farmer’s Market Time Again

Farmers and greens.

Spring is in full swing and the seasonal farmer’s markets are starting to open up to sell the fruits, vegetables and products of our local farmers. The variety and quality are outstanding. Everything from in-season asparagus, spinach and greens to soap, mushrooms, cheeses and preserves. Wool natural and dyed are animal products often sold too.  Farmer’s markets give the producer access to consumers that normally would not be have access to their farm. Farmers do sell to grocery stores, but that involves a middle man and the prices becomes higher or the farmer makes less money. Farmer’s markets give direct contact to the grower where people get to meet the person growing their food. Larger markets are a one stop shopping experience with numerous growers at one site. For a 2012 list of Connecticut Farmer’s Markets organized by the CT Dept. of Agriculture, click on http://www.ct.gov/doag/lib/doag/marketing_files/certified_fm_by_county_05-04-2012.pdf

Recently I traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to visit my daughter and she was very excited to take me to her farmer’s market “under the highway and next to the prison” at 7 am on Sunday morning. The highway over head provides protection from rain and sun. This historic market and bazaar is 35 years old with many vendors including meats, fish, cheeses, plants and even arts and crafts. 8,000 people visit on a typical Sunday between 7 and 12. We brought the camera to share the many offerings  on a sunny morning in mid-May.

-Carol Quish

Hand spun and dyed wool.

Bison meat frozen and as jerky.

Live Maryland Crabs.

Beautifully artistic goat cheeses and cheese pies.

Many varieties of mushrooms.

Rhubarb and Ramps!

Many varieties of potatoes.

Basil plants in six packs.

 

Earwigs Everywhere!

European Earwig, Forficula auricularia

This wet spring has brought a high number of earwigs to the lawn, garden and even in homes.  Earwigs do not hurt people. They feed on vegetation outdoors. They can crawl inside homes by going underneath siding and through cracks and crevices.  Thorough vacuuming will remove them from inside the house as well as banging on the siding outside to disturb their nesting sites. Perimeter insecticidal sprays aimed at the cement foundation just below the bottom of the siding will keep them from going back up the siding.

Earwigs have pincers on the end of the abdomen called cerci. These are strongly curve in the males and  are straight-sided on the females. Earwigs have a gradual metamorphosis hatching from an cluster of eggs laid in the soil into white  nymphs that looks pretty much like the adults shape-wise. They will gain the brown color after their first molt. The mother earwig feeds the newly hatched white nymphs until their first molt after which they forage for food on their own. There is usually one generation per year, but each female will produce two broods of eggs. Some populations will overwinter as adults.

Earwigs are nocturnal, mostly, preferring to feed at night and hide under anything during the day. Personally, they love my mailbox requiring me to shake out the pile of envelopes and newspapers before bringing them into the house! Earwigs will eat just about any plant, flower and fruit. They love tender new seedlings, causing considerable damage to later planted vegetable seeds.

Control measures are to eliminate hiding places such as mulch, boards and garden debris. Sanitation goes along way in removing their nesting sites. Or create areas where they will likely hide and then hand pick or crush them in the morning or shake them into a bucket of soapy water. Pesticides are normally not warranted after cleaning up the garden and creating traps.

The University of California has a unique trapping system quoted below:

“Trapping

A key element of an earwig management program is trapping. Scatter numerous traps throughout the yard. Traps can easily be hidden near shrubbery and ground cover plantings, or against fences. A low-sided can  such as a cat food or tuna fish can, with 1/2-inch of oil in the bottom makes an excellent trap. Fish oil (e.g., tuna fish oil) is very attractive to earwigs or vegetable oil with a drop of bacon grease can be used. Dump captured earwigs and refill cans with oil. Other common types of traps are a rolled-up newspaper, corrugated cardboard, bamboo tube, or short piece of hose. Place these traps on the soil near plants just before dark and shake accumulated earwigs out into a pail of soapy water in the morning. Continue these procedures every day until you are no longer catching earwigs.”

-Carol Quish

 

Pruning Perennials.

The very nature of herbaceous perennials is they die back to the ground, their roots and crown living through the winter. Perennials produce all new green growth each spring. They should  cut back by winter or, if the plant has interesting dried structure, left up for winter interest. Prune these in spring before new growth starts.

Pruning  perennials  during the growing season can have benefits. Plants will have more blooms and shorter plant will not flop over. Pruning encourages bushier plants compact plants and prevents leggy growth. Another positive outcome is delayed or staggering flowering. Buds can be removed causing the plants to regrow the buds. The time it takes to reproduce the flower material will cause the plants to bloom weeks later than they normally would. Exceptions to this rule are a few plants that will not create a new flower bud if it is cut off. Several perennials that should not be pruned before flowering  if their terminal bud is removed are iris, lilies, acanthus, astilbe, dictamnus, filipendula, geum, daylily, hosta, lupine and poppy.

Fall-blooming perennials can be pruned repeatedly, cutting back up to 1/3 of the plant starting when it reaches about 6″ tall. Repeat  every 2-3 weeks until July 4th. Let the plant grow for the rest of the summer to set its flower buds. Fall bloomers include chrysanthemum, sedum, and asters.

Phlox paniculata, UGA trial garden