Late fall and winter weather brings the end of using most gasoline powered garden equipment. Mowers, tillers and garden tractors should have their engines winterized if you plan to store them unused until next spring. Winterizing is a fairly straightforward process. First, run the equipment out of gas or treat the existing gas with a…
Posts By: Donald R. Buma
Cicada Killers
Have you seen any flying insects lately that look like giant yellow jackets? If you have, they are most likely the eastern cicada killer, Sphecius speciosus. Actually it is considered a beneficial insect because it helps to regulate cicada populations. This wasp gets its common name from the fact that it hunts cicadas, which becomes…
Leaf-Spot Diseases on Tomato
Septoria leaf spot and early blight are two leaf-spot deases on tomatoes that start showing up about this time of year. Both of these diseases are characterized by brown spots on the leaves. Despite their names, Septoria leaf spot usually appears earlier in the season than early blight. Septoria produces small dark spots whereas the…
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees may very well be swarming around outside your homes about now. They resemble bumble bees but have bare abdomens that are a shiny black to iridescent green. In the spring these bees, which overwinter as adults, are emerging and looking for mates. The male bees can be rather aggressive and may “dive bomb”…
A Better Tasting Tomato
We can all agree that some tomatoes certainly taste better than others. Science has now apparently determined why – a compound known as furaneol. Not only has this compound been identified, it is in higher concentrations in tomatoes that taste better – particularly heirloom varieties, but the gene that controls the level of furaneol has…