A horticulture expert answers

Tobacco Budworm


The adult is a moth but the damage is done by the larval or caterpillar stage. In this stage the caterpillar feeds on flower buds and leaves.  The giveaways that it is tobacco budworm are the 
lack of flowers, holes in the leaves from feeding, the type of plant and the time of year. 
The flowers fail to open so lack of flowering is a pretty good indicator the pest is present. 
Small holes in the leaves are another good indicator.  Besides petunia, tobacco budworms like geraniums and nicotiana.........

read more

Growing Your Own Garden from Open-Pollinated Seeds and Heirloom Seeds

Growing Your Own Garden from Open-Pollinated Seeds and Heirloom Seeds, TransWorldNews.de

Atlanta, Ga. 4/02/2010 12:05 AM GMT (TransWorldNews)

With the recent upheaval in the global financial markets there has been growing concern over the direction the world is heading. Every day we hear about another government bailout to aid a troubled company or industry and this push for continued government control has many people concerned over the level of involvement they are prepared to take.

As the financial crisis continues to mount people can expect to see the government’s involvement in other areas of life increase. One such area is in the government’s push to control the food supply and this involvement could not only result in critical shortages but also a dramatic rise in prices.

Now more than ever individuals are realizing that they must be prepared for a scenario in which grocery stores and markets will have empty shelves. Many of these people are uncomfortable with the idea that the government will take care of the problem, they want to know they will have the ability to take care of themselves as well as their families.

That ability lies in preparation and this comes in the form of a survival garden, something that will produce nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables during a severe food supply shortage. Understanding the importance of a survival garden is just one aspect of self-sufficiency though, you must be planting the proper seeds, seeds that are not readily available from most outlets.

Today’s food supply relies heavily on hybrid seeds, a genetically modified type that produces a crop but does not have the ability to reproduce itself. During a food crisis these seeds provide little assurance that you’ll be able to remain self-sufficient. That is why many people are turning to non-hybrid seeds and open pollinated seeds for their survival garden. These non-hybrid seeds have the ability to produce a crop and the seeds from those plants can then be used for the next planting.

These non-hybrid seeds are not genetically modified in any way and by saving some of the harvest seeds from year one you will have more than enough to plant for year two. Each “survival seed bank” produces thousands of pounds of nutrient-dense food for pennies per pound. Also included are detailed growing instructions for each variety which includes helpful information on harvesting of seed stock for the following year in a survival situation.

FEATURED: Mexican Miniature Watermelon -Melothria scabra

This plant is a native of the southern part of North America, where it is called "Sandita" (little watermelon). It is believed to have been a domesticated crop before western contact began.



The fruit is very tasty. They have the sweet cucumber flavor, followed a mouth-watering sourness that is almost addicting.

The plant climbs any trellis and are an addition to your lanscape.

Fruit can be pickled like a cucumber.

Take 50 days to harvest. They fall off vines when ready

Weekly Feature: Parris Island Cos Romaine Lettuce

Cos lettuce also goes by the name Romaine. Cos is at the top of the list when is come to taste, texture and nutritional value. It is also very easy to grow and a must have for every gardener.Parris Island Cos, named after Parris island, South Carolina, NOT the French capital spelled wrong, was developed by the USDS and Clemson in 1952.

You can grow Cos in almost any type of soil as long as it isn't too sandy or too rich. A soil type that holds water is better. Add peat moss to clay soils. Do not mix in rich compost or fertilizers. Too rich of a soil will probably cause rot.

Sow every 14 days to have continuous harvest. Here in Pahrump, Nevada we grow all winter long in wooden wine boxes with glass covers. Begin sowing outdoors 2-3 weeks before the last frost date.

Use a trowel to dig out shallow drills 1/2 inch(1.3cm) deep, each hole being 12 inches (30cm)apart from the next. Sow three or four seeds every 6 inches (15cm)

Cover the seeds with soil, firming it down with gentle pressure. If the soil is at all dry, water well. The seedlings should begin to appear in 7 to 14 days time. Gradually thin out the seedlings until they are 25cm (10in) apart.

Cover the seeds with soil, pressing gently slight pressure. If the soil is dry, water well. The seedlings should begin to appear in 7 to 14 days time.

Thin out gradually so they are 10 inches (25cm)apart. As for maintenance,ample water and weeding are most important. What we do here is place cardboard around the plants to prevent weeds from popping up. The cardboard also breaks down slowly adding nutrients to the soils and feeding the plant through the roots. Use plain colorless corrugated cardboard only.

Besides the obvious reasons you will want to use organic - heirloom seeds only. Collecting seeds to plant following year is a wonderful experience and makes one feels good. The practice of saving seeds has been done by every culture for 1000's of years. Hybrid, GMO or non-organic seeds have been genetically altered to NOT produce crop again. Sad but true.

I found 275 certified organic heirloom seeds for only $1.89 here

Saving lettuce seed is easy. After the flowers die, the plants will eventually form seed heads. They look similar to dandelion seed heads. When these seed heads form, remove the whole seed head from the plant. After the flowers die, you will want to check this regularly before the seeds blow away. Take the seed heads indoors and pluck the seeds from them. You can also remove the white chaff that lets them get blown around, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Set them to dry, and leave them for at least two weeks before storing in a glass jar

Lettuce gone to seed

Shopping from home not only save gas, time and money, but also reduces our carbon footprint, improves the quality of life for everyone by not adding to our traffic problem and allows you more time to do something more important than driving,parking, browsing, waiting in line, walking back to the car and wasting more gas to get home. Imagine how nice it would be if only ups, fedex and us mail trucks were the only ones on our roads...Just sayin' ;)