To quote the late Elvis Presley, “Lord Almighty, I feel my temperature rising.” Unfortunately, I am not a hunk of burning love but a sweaty Houston gardener. The heat is on in Texas and so is the crazy weather. After some near catastrophic storms that caused flooding, widespread power outages, downed trees and roof damage, gardening may be the last thing on Houstonians’ minds.
For those who were lucky enough to make it through unscathed, June can be an abundant month of harvesting vegetables and fruit as well as fighting pests and disease. And this month’s list of bad boys includes leaf-footed bugs, fall webworms, mosquitoes and tomato hornworms.
Gardening in Houston can be a challenge with our climactic woes. Though folks further north may envy our early May tomatoes and February-blooming roses, the summer months are difficult and this year, summer began in mid-May with high temperatures and unpredictable storms that have created some true problems in our landscapes.
The Good
For those who got their vegetable gardens going early, May was a pretty good month of harvests for early tomatoes, peaches and blackberries. While my neighbor had a problematic swarm of bees on his exterior wall, their proximity to my fruit and vegetable garden may have been fortuitous for me. I got 80 peaches off my unnamed peach tree which is about ten times my normal haul. They weren’t all unblemished beauties but it gave me enough fruit to eat fresh and freeze. I also attempted to make peach jam and I am still alive to say, “It was alright.”
I also got more tomatoes, especially cherry types, than I could keep up with. Unfortunately, the deluge of rain caused a number of them to split. Oftentimes, the Yellow Pear ones were bland due to the copious amounts of water we received in May. My blackberries, an Arapaho and a Natchez, have not suffered in the least. I have gotten nearly a pint a day which means the occasional white drupelets on some have not been a real problem.
My butterfly garden filled out completely within the month of May and the butterflies are loving it. The birds and squirrels have pretty much left my food garden alone. That could be due to a combination of five, filled bird feeders and two Labrador mutts patrolling the yard.
While many cool weather annuals like lobelia and dianthus are starting to fade, the eustoma, a cultivated form of Texas bluebells, is doing well as are the various salvias, lantanas, plumbagoes and pentas in my yard. Though the rain may have been a bit much for them, they’re still thriving. And my roses are doing well this month, though the heat tends to wither their blooms by the afternoon.
The Bad
The adage “Take the good with the bad” definitely applies to gardening and every gardener has to accept that fact at some point. Beautiful rose buds lure in thrips. Leaf-hoppers and stinkbugs love nothing more than juicy berries and ripe tomatoes. And weeds are a constant battle in Houston yards. They strangle the newly-planted sod, they wrap around garden plants and they take nourishment from the soil for their own gluttonous selves.
Some gardeners get desperate and run for the herbicide section of the garden center. And while there can be some glee in spraying the bad actors and watching them shrivel, most herbicides are dangerous to surrounding vegetation, beneficial insects, pets and people. Proponents of herbicides and pesticides will say the chemicals are safe if used correctly. While that assertion can be debated, the fact is, many laymen do not use these products correctly.
The natural way of dealing with weeds is to do the manual labor. Yes, it’s laborious to pull them up on a regular basis. And hefting around bags of mulch can be hard work. Still, gardening should be about co-existing with nature not obliterating it.
The Bugly
Usually, I can deal with the heat but I become extremely irritable when it’s mixed with mosquitoes. While I avoid using chemicals on my plants, I have not found a way to avoid using insect repellent on myself. Every year, we think it’s the worst year ever for mosquitoes and this one, well, it’s likely to be that year. With all of the standing water across the city, it’s going to be a feast for lady mosquitoes who need the protein from human and animal blood for their eggs.
The leaf-footed bugs are late this year in my garden but they have discovered the last of my tomatoes. With the enormous amount of rain and the damage from these juice-sucking bugs, I have had tomatoes explode in my hands while trying to pick them. My go-to spray for these bugs is Neem oil mixed with water when I see the nymphs, which are tiny red and black bugs that are usually clustered together. However, once they are mature, the best control is physically smashing them dead which many people might be squeamish about. Some gardening references say that soapy water will destroy the exoskeleton of stinkbugs. Smashing them is not recommended because they are called stinkbugs for a reason.
Insecticidal soap is another way to combat bugs and it can be bought at the garden center or made at home. There are different recipes available online for making your own spray but caution is recommended for certain plants. Research is necessary before spraying anything. And most sprays, natural or not, should not be used when the weather is above 90 degrees because of damage to leaves and young stems. In Houston, it’s best to spray early in the morning or toward dusk. I sprayed a foxglove stem covered with aphids with Neem oil spray and the next day, the whole stem had turned brown even though it was only in the 80s.
My editor mentioned that her neighborhood was experiencing an infestation of webworms and I replied that I knew nothing about them since I had none in my own yard. Lo and behold, I took a stroll around my backyard and my mulberry tree has several large webs of them. At first glance, they’re creepy. But, they’re also interesting. They respond to noise and a clap of your hands will start them dancing.
However, most people don’t want them hanging out in their trees. Neem oil spray will work but like most pest control, even naturally-sourced, spraying a large swath can affect beneficial insects and bees. And birds and small mammals like to feed on fall webworms. Eventually these small worms, after feasting on leaves, turn into small, white moths. These small moths are a food source for spiders and bats, according to missouricity.gov. There are several ways to deal with these to prevent further infestation.
One way is to just tear down the webs with a long rake or stick. The worms can then be squished with shod feet but some people might have an allergic reaction if the worm touches the skin. Other recommendations are just to leave them for the birds after destroying the web. That’s the plan I am using since robins, blue jays and mockingbirds have been hanging around the mulberry tree lately. Breaking the web open and letting the worms fall to the ground makes it easier for the birds to access them since the webbing acts as a defense against predators.
We reached out to Cornelius Nursery for some additional options and Michael Carter, a Texas Certified Nursery Professional at Cornelius Nursery said, ” The easiest method is using a BT insecticide in a ready-to-spray bottle that connects to a hose for tree spraying. Alternatively, gardeners can buy a concentrate insecticide and use a hose-end sprayer, but a pump-up sprayer isn’t recommended for reaching upper tree limbs.” For those who want to take the insecticide route, Cornelius Nursery has a variety of insecticides and also Texas Certified Nursery Professionals to assist customers.
While fall webworms are more of an unsightly nuisance than a real danger to a mature tree, fire ants are a painful and potentially dangerous pest. This year, they seem to be hidden in the lawn as well as in mounds. Between ant bites on my feet and mosquito bites on my arms and legs, I look like I have measles. As much as I hate to use poisons, the granular ant control has been my only recourse this year.
While battling bugs and weeds in the summer isn’t our idea of a good time, the June garden still needs our care. Do the tasks in the early morning or evening and stay hydrated. It’s only the beginning of summer so stay healthy.
June Chore Checklist:
1. Weed, weed, weed. The more you stay on top of this chore, the easier it will be come July.
2. Mulch around shrubs, flowers and vegetables to keep in moisture and keep out weeds. Do not get the mulch to close to the base or trunk because it can cause rot.
3. Plant a few annuals. Zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, pentas, lantanas and various salvias can be put in the ground or pots. It’s important to keep them well-watered unless we have major rain events, which is very likely this summer.
4. Plant a pepper plant or two or even some eggplant. While many vegetables will be starting to fade in the heat, okra, melons and Southern peas can be planted now. Pumpkins and other winter squash should be sowed this month in time for autumn harvest. Basil loves our heat as well as other herbs such as rosemary and oregano.
5. Deadhead flowers to keep them healthy and to encourage re-blooming. Cut blooms in the morning to enjoy in the house.
6. Cut off dead or diseased leaves and stems from tomato and other vegetable plants to control the spread of disease and to allow air to circulate.
7. Harvest fruits and vegetables at least every other day. Otherwise you end up with some funky looking cucumbers that don’t taste very good.
8. Enjoy your fruits and veggies!
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
