This show about our garden is a “repetey” from a couple years ago. Some things neve
r change, except, we have started using neem oil as a repellant and it is an effective organic way to deal with troublesome insects. Neem oil is derived from the seed of the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) native to parts of India. It is related, by the way, to the chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach), an exotic found all over urban southeastern Arizona in old landscapes. I’ve read that a pesticide can be made from its berries and seed as well. It might be well worth doing some homework if you have a chinaberry in your neighborhood and troublesome insects in your garden.
The pesky insects found around our home and garden and that are the stars of this show are the rose chafer (Macrodactylus uniformis), the squash bug (Anasa trista), and the harlequin bug (Murgatia histrionica). Now you know.
Eating and sharing homegrown food seems to be a spiritual event for Petey. Amen! There is nothing better than homegrown food. And even if...
It’s a little bit of a leap from talking about a plant in the aster family to talking about Senna in the pea family....
The bigtooth maple is no longer in its own family of Aceraceae, but is in Sapindaceae. Molecular taxonomy keeps us plant geeks on our...
