Educational Video and Exotic Palm Diseases?

My two latest projects have proven to be so distinct from one another, it's almost like I'm operating from two or three different parts of the world! ...wait a minute... perhaps I am! I just recently wrote the script, coordinated and starred in an educational video on location at SunTech, a tomato greenhouse in Manotick, Ontario for my favorite customers - the 4FrontiersCorporation in Florida, USA.

I also recently fielded questions from a "budding" Master Gardener from California regarding plant pathology resources in the state of California, with respect to palm tree diseases. You may view the details here at my other website, Plant Doc, What's Up?

More... SPOTS!!!

(Originally posted on my other blog) I recently received an email from someone regarding spots on their tree. My policy is to ensure that people know that my first hour is free, so that we can discuss any problem in detail, and so I can assess the situation before any unnecessary charges are incurred by my client. One option that arose was the possibility they they might approach the nursery that originally sold them the tree to determine if they've seen the problem before, and could recommend any treatment solutions - as suggested by my client's husband. This is an excellent solution, and one I definitely recommend before seeking any alternative solution, especially if the tree is less than two or three years old. Any nursersy worth their salt will be able to diagnose the problem, and if absolutely necessary, replace the tree free of charge.

To do this, I suggested that they go ahead with this approach, but also with the knowledge of how old their tree is, the kind of tree it is and an accurate description of the problem. A digital photograph of a leaf exhibiting the disease symptoms is an excellent tool with regards to this approach. It is a good idea not to bring in a leaf with the disease on it, because it will not be received kindly, as the leaf potentially may contain active spores that could infect similar trees within the nursery itself.

In many cases, the problem can be cleared up with proper sanitation measures, up to and including removal of all leaves on the ground after they've fallen off, and sterilization of any equipment used to trim the tree(s). Sterilization can be as easy as dipping any cutting implement into a solution of approximately 1 to 2% bleach. The following year, carefully monitor the tree for any recurrence of symptoms. Repeat this procedure, and it should clear up by itself.

Good luck!!

Finally... (continued from last post!!)

The inquiring mind from my last post emailed me again with the following:
"Thank you very much for the info! I have a few remaining questions though. I keep my house at 77F/25C. I kept the ppm for the catnip at about 1100-1300 (about 2.2-2.6EC) and I wouldn't have thought I burned out the plants with that nute strength so I am leaning towards the problem being atemp problem or lighting problem. The plants receive full sun in the afternoon for about2 hours. Every thing else grows well.

1)Any sage like advice on temperature?
2)pH of 4.5 and ec of 4.5-5.5 for tomatos? Wow-thatseems low and high, respectively. I try to keep pH at5.5-6 and ec at 2-3. I have had good results with that but you have made me curious and now have to set upanother system to test!"

I responded:
"Hi again,
From what I've seen and heard, catnip survives relatively well in soils with poor nutritional quality. Why not do an incremental increase in ppm (starting at about 1 ppm for example) and work your way up? This way, at the first sign of adverse reaction, you can simply dilute the nute solution and note the last working ppm for future batches.

25 C is about the average optimal temperature! I can find no documentation on temperature optimums for catnip. Full sun in the afternoon for 2 h might increase the temp a bit, but shouldn't be a problem.... direct sun for 2 h also shouldn't be a problem... how close are your plants to the glass? Have you considered using something to diffuse the light (some people I know lightly soap their windowpanes to the height of the plants - this continues to let light through, but scatters it a bit so that it's not as direct).

In regards to the tomato nute solution, let me see if I can't provide a rationale for using the pH and EC I did. I used Plant Prod (7-11-27) supplemented with calcium carbonate. At an initial pH of about 4.8 (I see I previously typed in 4.5, which is a tad too low, so please make a note of this!), the calcium carbonate dissolves well and becomes available to the plant. Tomatoes in particular need calcium to build fruit and prevent problems like blossom-end rot. Over time, the pH of the solution will eventually rise, causing the calcium to precipitate out of solution. The pH can be brought down/controlled by topping up the nute solution on a regular basis such that the operating range is somewhere between 4.8 and 5.4. The EC is appropriately high; tomatoes require a lot of nutrients. However, when first transplanting new plants into a system, I have a rule of thumb that I always follow in order to prevent burning the plants: use half-strength nute solution for at least a week and gradually build it up to full strength over the second week.

Good luck!"

Finally... a question on home hydroponics!!

An inquiring mind asked:

"I would like to ask you a few questions about hydroponics. I live close to Phoenix, Arizona in the USA and have started a very small hydroponics system on my westfacing window sill.The 1st system is growing basil, chives, and catnip (all 3 catnip plants have died). The 2nd has tomato and stem-type onion. The house stays at 77F/25C. I use READYGRO SUPER PLUGS surrounded in Hydroton. TheReadyGro says it is made of "tree bark and organicingredients". I test the nute strength w/ a ppm meter. The ppm meter shows an INCREASE in nute strength themore it is used without me adding more nutes.I have tested 1 cup distilled water then tested thesame water 30 seconds later with 20 hydroton pieces init and the meter read a 2.5x increase in ppm, 10 to 25.
1)Because the readygro are organic, is it true theywill degrade and increase the ppm?
2)Why would the hydroton increase the ppm as whathappened in the simple distilled water test I performed?
3)What is the EC and pH and temp requirements forcatnip?
4) Does 1EC=500ppm?"

I answered:
"I asked around and found that in general, the requirements for catnip nute solution are 1.9 to 2.1 mS/cm with a pH range between 6.0 and 6.5 (and yes, 1 EC = 1.0 mS/cm). Also, just in case you were wondering, I find that an EC of 4.5 (to start, can increase this to 5.5 after acclimatation) and a pH of 4.5 (throughout) is good for hydroponic tomato nute solution.

I think what happened with your ddH2O (distilled deionized water - I assume it's deionized because of the effects you describe) is that the clay particles probably add ions to the water. This effect is most prevalent with deionized water! Try the same test using regular tap water and see if you obtain the same results. Although Hydrotron is supposed to be "neutral", it's still clay - a medium that's known to attract ions in soil solutions and release them under certain conditions. Another thing you might want to try is rinsing the pellets under running tap water (or, alternately, soaking them in distilled water) prior to your test, and definitely prior to using them, as there may be some chemical residue (for example, flame retardant) on the pellets.

READYGRO SUPER PLUGS are indeed organic, and can degrade under normal conditions. However, there are probably a lot of other factors that contribute to the changes in ppm and pH that you're experiencing, including uptake of nutes by your plants, release of root mucilage and plant byproducts into the nute solution, and increase in microbial organisms in the solution and rooting matrix. This is why it's important to monitor the pH constantly, as it's your key to ensuring the proper amount of nutes are available to the plants, and is also an effective method to prevent the growth of detrimental microbes. I would continue to add more nutes to the solution on the schedule you have, then simply adjust the pH up/down depending on the reading (the degradation byproducts from READYGRO SUPER PLUGS may not provide essential nutrients to the plants). The pH adjustment should bring everything to the levels required by the plants. "

Powdery Mildews on Bonsai!

Bonsai plants, those tiny trees you hear about in films like "the Karate Kid" and perhaps even in "Gremlins" - you know... the kind being continuously pruned to perfection by old Japanese or Chinese caretakers who also possess incredible martial arts skills! - are not immune to plant pathogens.

Just recently, I received e-mail from a bonsai fanatic on the West Coast (Vancouver) who was a "frantic fanatic" because his self-cultivated bonsais of garry oak and maple were each afflicted with powdery mildew. He thought that since the mildew affected his oak bonsai first, that it passed it on to his maple - consequently he's worried about his entire bonsai collection.

"Not to worry!" I told him. Why? Because powdery mildew is highly species-specific. What attacks oaks will not affect maple. The fact that two separate species of his bonsai collection were affected by two very different powdery mildew pathogens suggested to me that he could improve his cultural practices. While it's true that currently the West Coast (mainly California/Washington States) are experiencing an onslaught of powdery mildew affecting oaks, maple powdery mildew is not usually a problem except in years with high humidity. Again, good cultural practices would help to control and eliminate the pathogens from the bonsais.

So... cultural practices... bonsais... technically, the whole idea behind the practice of bonsai is that daily and continued maintenance of the trees provides the maintainer with a routine for self-cultivation! In this case, self-cultivation is the buddhist idea of maintaining one's self through the maintenance of other living organisms... after all, we are all of the same origin (according to Buddha)! In this case, it's essentially true - we keep ourselves clean to prevent becoming sick - why should it be any different for the trees? The cultural practices designed to prevent or control powdery mildew is a routine of cleanliness and maintenance. Incorporation of these practices may also prolong the longetivity of bonsais and prevent other diseases.

Quite simply to control/prevent powdery mildews:

1. Improve lighting conditions
2. Increase air circulation/reduce overall humidity (by means of a fain, or increase passive air circulation through careful pruning)
3. Water ONLY in the morning
4. Discard/destroy affected leaves after they fall off
5. Replace the soil completely
6. Use safer soap on all leaf surfaces, including the bark

Good luck!

...is IPM only for farmers...?

IPM. Those three little letters are the cornerstone of many large agricultural operations. Why? Because they help to ensure the health and security of agricultural crops.

So... what is IPM? IPM stands for "Integrated Pest Management" - a buzz phrase intended to convey instant understanding of the concept. It sounds grandiose, doesn't it? But YOU too, can undertake IPM, whether it's a large agricultural operation or your backyard garden. The principles essentially remain the same, even though it takes a great deal of co-ordinating when you have over 50,000 plants per acre. However, IPM is esier to implement across the plants in your back/front yard!

The key is the word "integrated" in IPM. Integration involves combining several strategies or methods into a whole. Think of it this way: rather than having an initial plan, then a fail-safe, and a sub-fail-safe plan, you are actually implementing several initial plans so you do not have to rely on fail-safe plans. IPM really should be called SPM - that is, "Synergistic Pest Management" - because each strategy you incorporate should be complimentary (synergistic) to each other.

The ultimate benefit of IPM (here, SPM) is that you have the opportunity to reduce your pesticide use. Properly implemented, your SPM plan may even help prevent disease and insect pests from darkening your yard again. If you have questions on how you could implement such a strategy for your yard/garden, let me know by posting your question to this post.

Grubby Lawn Grubs...!!

I bumped into my neighbor the other day (Hello Neighbor!), and he was digging up lawn grubs. These pesky insects are the more damaging versions of June Bugs which many of us fellow Ottawans are familiar with (who among us remembers pelting each other with June Bugs when we were younger?!?!)

There are a fair number of resources on the internet (search Google using the terms "lawn grubs" or "June Bugs") that detail the use of biological control (i.e. nematodes) and pesticides. But wait a minute! For those of us with small children (or even Grandchildren - a nod towards my mother's Neighbor, who's famous for rolling up his sod to get rid of these critters!) who wants to use nematodes or pesticides?? The following lists a few selected sites involving biological control and pesticides:

• gradenguides
  
• wildlifeproblems
  
• whitegrubs
  
• worms
  
• WhatWorksAndWhatDoesnt
  

Well, I'm here to give you a tip to aid you on how to get rid of these critters in addition to the resources above. If you're into manual labor (the most preferred option when you have small children or have a small lawn) - the best thing for you to do is wait until after a heavy rainfall. If the forecast calls for a period of no rain, you can also heavily water your lawn in the morning, then in the evening a day prior to attpempting to remove these critters manually. Think of it this way: if you're an air-breathing individual (last I checked, all of us are!) where would you rather be - in the middle of all this water, or up at the surface? Thus, the grubs are easier to collect.

Watering also serves another purpose - it allows the grass to cope with the damage to their roots. Fertilizing the lawn to encourage abundant grass growth also works (but then again, this goes towards the choice you have to make in regards to your children and grandchildren - but typically, fertilization is a better option than the use of pesticides). By encouraging grass growth, you provide the means for your grass to cohabit with negligible loss to the grubs.

Please feel free to add your own observations, trails and tribulations to this posting for others to read.

Spots... I see spots!!!

Have you ever wondered what was happening when you saw spots? I ain't talking about those specks that dance in and out of your vision, but those blemishes that appear now and then on plants and usually signals the death knell for your garden. Where your plant leaves should be bare and perfectly green - there, those spots now appear... (does this remind you of the "Out damned spot, out!" scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet?)

Spots can signal one of three things:
1) nutrition deficiency
2) fertilizer/pesticide damage
3) presence of plant pathogens

As a plant pathologist (yes, a little self-promotion here...), I am familiar with all three, but will concentrate on the last item. First of all, foliar spots need not be a bad thing, as long as they are contained (i.e. managed so that they do not spread to other plants in your garden). In many cases, it will only be one particular plant species you have in your garden - in this case, the pathogen is said to be specialized; it will only affect that species and its close cousins. In the extreme case, all of your plants will be affected - the pathogen is then a generalist.

There are a few things you can do outside of applying industrial-strength fungicides and/or bactericides. First of all, identify whether it's just the one plant, or multiple plants. Second, observe the kind of symptoms you're seeing. Third, determine your course of action.

Courses of action:
1) cut off all of the affected leaves, being sure to sterilize your cutting implement in between cuts (a 1:3 solution of bleach/water as a sterilizant will do the trick here). Ensure you carefully package the affected leaves and dispose of them properly to prevent spread.

2) gather up all dead leaves on the soil top.

3) wait one week, then observe remaining leaves carefully. If the spots reappear, this usually means there's another means by which the pathogen is being applied... (here's where you say "geez, it's coming from the neighbor's garden!!!")

4) check and see if there are any insects (this is also a good idea while implementing the first step) as these are common vectors for pathogens.

5) decide which is best: a general pesticide for the insects, or a fungicide/bactericide. There are several available through hardware stores and garden shops for regular garden use. However, they're useless unless you know what you're attacking! For example, never use a fungicide for a bacterial disease...