Controlling Ants

The first step of ant control is clean up any food crumbs or spills that might attract the ants. Store food in tight containers. Next, keep the ants out by caulking cracks and crevices. Use boric acid bait stakes or stations. Place baits in locations that are not accessible to pets or children. Control with baits can take several weeks. Sprays containing pyrethrin (not synthetic pyrethroids) can be effective if the directions are followed precisely. If ants are a problem in trees, control them by applying a sticky substance such as Tanglefoot on top of a tree wrap tape or fabric. Check every two weeks to renew. The UC IPM Pest Note on Ants has additional information.

Yellowjackets and Wasps

These insects can be solitary or live in group nests above and below ground. Yellowjackets can be aggressive when defending their nests so avoid the area where possible. Paper wasps on the other hand will avoid contact. When eating outdoors, keep foods well covered. One strategy is to put out bait such as a piece of meat or an opened soda can some distance from the table before setting out the human food. Trapping the queens in the spring and workers during the summer can reduce local populations. See the thorough UC IPM Pest Note for more information.

Pantry Pests

Do little moths fly out of cupboards? Are there small beetles in the corn meal or cereal? These pantry pests can be brought into the home in packaged food and spread to open packages of other foods. Both the insect and its waste products contaminate the food. There is no chemical control. Pheromone traps exist for the Indian mealmoth. The traps do not attract beetles. Carefully inspect all food packages in the pantry and toss out those with any sign of infestation. Wash shelving with soap and water. Vacuum crevices to remove all insect bits. Store rarely used items such as pancake flour in the freezer or in an airtight container. The UC Pest Note has more information.

Mites

The dusty days of midsummer are when mites get active especially after the homeowner applies insecticide that may kill mite predators. Although they look like insects, mites are actually related to spiders and ticks. Mature mites have eight legs but young only have six. Webspinning spider mites suck nutrients from the undersides of leaves, creating for a silvery or stippled appearance. Some webbing may be seen and the leaves will turn yellow and drop off. Water-stressed plants are more susceptible. Spider mites have numerous predators including lacewings, assassin bugs, damsel bugs, minute pirate bugs, bigeyed bugs, and sixspotted thrips. Predatory mites are larger, pear-shaped, and without spots evident on the spider mites. Refer to the UC Pest Note on Spider Mites for more information.

Pitch Canker

This disease arrived in 1986 and has spread through most of the Central Coast. Symptoms on native pines (especially the Monterey Pine) include branch dieback that may eventually result in the death of the tree. A fungus causes lesions that spread to girdle twigs and branches causing the tip needles to wilt, turn yellow, then red and fall off. Infected trees are often attacked by insects as well. Not all infected trees die and some trees actually go into remission. For aesthetic reasons, pruning of dead branches can be done but tree removal should be delayed unless the tree becomes a hazard. Susceptibility charts for different pines can be found in the UC Pitch Canker Publication.

Tomato Problems

Refer to the July Gardening Topics. There's not much to be done at this point but it's useful to identify problems.

Tree Watering

If your tree is in the lawn, now is a good time to give it a good deep watering. Even though it gets watered every time the lawn does, you still need to deep water twice a summer. Don't let sprinklers hit the trunk as this causes crown rot. Use a soaker or drip hose around the tree at the drip line and let it slowly drip for 2 to 3 hours. A mature ornamental tree or street tree may not need any water. Mature fruit trees should watered by filling the surrounding basin slowly every 3 or 4 weeks. Young fruit trees need watering every 2 weeks.

Almond Varieties

Several varieties that will do well locally. They are All-in-One, Drake, Garden Prince, Mission, Texas, and Thompson.

Fire Blight

Fire blight affects apples, pears, and related ornamentals. The growing tips may wilt, turn dark and blacken as if burned. A dark area on a branch or trunk with a dark liquid oozing from it may appear as well. Prune at least 8-12 inches below the infection. It is a good idea to dip your shears in a strong bleach solution after every cut. Get rid of all the diseased wood. Spray a fixed copper (Microcop is one) at blossom time. Refer to the UC Pest Note on Fire Blight of Ornamentals and Fruits and the Fruit Tree Care Calender.

Bitter Pit on Red Delicious Apple

Red Delicious apples are susceptible to bitter pit. The spots are sunken and brown and about 1/4 inch in diameter. Shallow dark brown areas under the spots resemble bruises, gradually becoming spongy or cork-like. Bitter pit develops after the fruit has been picked. Because the disease is a physiological disorder, it does not spread from fruit to fruit. Low levels of calcium in fruit tissues is the cause. Vigorous leafy growth, poor fruit set, and hot dry growing conditions can cause the calcium to be diverted to the leaves. Calcium nitrate (1/2 Tbs per gallon) may help. Spray starting just after bloom and again in six weeks. Here is more information about bitter pit.

Comice Pear Harvest

This is a winter variety and is picked from mid-September through October. Put them in cold storage for six weeks before ripening for the best flavor. To ripen the Comice pear, remove from cold storage and keep at 65-75F for 5-7 days and enjoy.

Country Crossroads/Harvest Trails

These publications come out every spring with maps to farmers who sell directly to the public either with u-pick operations or farmstands. To get a copy of Country Crossroads, send a self addressed, stamped envelope to Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, Country Crossroads, 605 Tennant Ave, Suite H, Morgan Hill, CA 95037.  This map covers Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.  For the San Mateo county Harvest Trails map, go online to download it.

Hydrangea Pruning

Hydrangeas are fast growing and need pruning to control its size and shape. Cut out the older stems that have flowered, leaving the ones that have not flowered. For the biggest flowers clusters, reduce the number of stems. For lots of medium size flowers, nicely spaced, keep more stems.

Bacterial Spot on Peppers and Tomatoes

Bacterial spot is caused by the Xanthomonas vesicatoria bacterium. It affects the leaves and fruit of both peppers and tomatos and makes the fruit unpalatable. Small irregular spots first appear on the lower surface of the leaves and can enlarge to 1/4" and are raised. Their color is a purplish gray with black centers and may also have a yellow halo. Spots on the upper surface are depressed. Leaves may become twisted due to uneven growth, turn yellow and fall off. Leaf loss can result in sunscald. The spots on the fruit begin as sunken water-soaked areas edged in black, then become raised scab-like bumps. Infected seeds and transplants are the prime source of this bacteria. It can also survive about a year in the debris from a diseased plant. Splashing water can spread the bacteria. Destroy the diseased plant material. Buy commercial disease-free seed.

Stone Fruit Post Harvest Deterioration

After stone fruit (peach, nectarine, plum, apricot) is harvested, it continues to ripen and use its food reserves, undergoing many compositional changes. It becomes susceptible to physical injury, decay and water loss. Different varieties may behave differently to environmental factors.

The maturity of the fruit at harvest is directly related to its ultimate quality. Pick too soon and the fruit won't ripen. Over-ripe fruit will not keep long and becomes susceptible to microorganisms with a poorer eating quality, off flavors and a mealy texture.

High temperature (95-104F) handling can cause surface scald, flesh breakdown, failure or abnormal ripening and increased susceptibility to decay. A few hours of heat exposure can increase internal browning. Freezing injury can cause tissue death at 30F depending on the fruit. Chilling injury occurs at 36 to 46F resulting in internal breakdown, tissue browning, dry mealy texture and when ripe, a translucency or abnormal flesh color (reddening), failure to ripen and complete loss of flavor.

Vegetables to Plant in August

Bush beans, radishes, lettuce, and peas are ready now. Take out your spent vegetables and get the soil ready for the fall planting of cool season vegetables.