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May, June 2013
An occasional report on what’s growing at Maypop Hill Nursery and the Miley homestead in Norwood, Louisiana; to subscribe to the free newsletter, contact us by email: [email protected] web: maypophill.com
Howard Garrett speaks and writes about a variety of
environmental topics: natural organic gardening, landscaping,
pet health, pest control, and natural living.
Got a question? Something’s buggin’ your garden?
Dr. Dirt’s home page offers a search thingie where you can
type in “fire ants” or “organic fertilizer” or whatever you want.
And VIOLA! a cornucopia of links to excellent articles will
appear. Clink on some of his latest good earth advice below:
OK, readers, if y’all
don’t already know
Dr. Dirt, please
bookmark his web site -
dirtdoctor.com
- and see if you can find
his program on a radio
station in your area. It’s
not on the air in
Maypop Hill country,
which is Baton Rouge
and southern Mississippi.
Organic Bees Thrive, While Pesticide Intensive Conventional Bee Hives
Are Collapsing
COLORED MULCH-Bad Name & Bad Product
NATURAL ORGANIC MOSQUITO CONTROL PROGRAM, A Cost Effective
Pest Control Program that Works
Unhealthy and Healthy Soil from the Same Site
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A big Cyrilla arida in the front yard is
loaded with beautiful white flowers on June 28, 2013. Swarms of
unidentified insects
buzzed around it and nearby plants.
Dr. Dirt would approve of the lively and colorful habitat, where butterflies and other insect workers
pollinate and perform
functions that we support by protecting
their environment.
It’s a living landscape.
x x
3
Our blueberry harvest this year
is plum pitiful. We usually get
buckets of fat
sweet berries.
This spring brought several late
freezes that destroyed the buds
that develop into fruit.
Our undomesticated
blueberries and huckleberries
(Vaccinium arboreum and V.
elliottii) were not at all
bothered by the unusual cold
temperatures.
Our blackberries produced
lots of fruit, not nearly as
tasty as the wild ones.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
and Purple Coneflowers Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum
virginianum)
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma)
and Butterfly Milkweed
Maypop Hill Nursery & Publications Betty and LJ Miley, specializing in native plants & sustainable land use
web: maypophill.com email: [email protected] 4
Years ago, we planted a Japanese Persimmon by the house.
Our rule of thumb on Maypop Hill is to plant non-natives only if they
are edible or non-invasive.
Well, our dog Pip also thought it was edible, so he ate it.
Fortunately, it regrew from its roots. Unfortunately, the plant that
grew back wasn’t the tree we planted. The Japanese Persimmon
(Diospyros kaki) had been grafted on top of a young Diospyros
virginiana, the native tree.
Even more unfortunately, the native plant is prone to making root
suckers that extend far beyond the main trunk. They pop up
everywhere! Control involves a shovel with sharply honed blade,
digging obstinate roots in hard dirt, huffing and puffing. Another
object lesson: Nature does not like to be disturbed by silly humans.
