Using POI and ATM to thwart garden problems.
Stopping weeds, insects and disease from taking over your garden can be easy when you remember that Hawaiian luaus that serve poi are expensive.
“Have you ever been to Hawaii, Fred?”
In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting that question when discussing how to control field bindweed with retired College Horticulture Professor Debbie Flower on Episode 150 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. But, as you will soon hear, it’s a great way to remember how to tackle garden pests:
Integrated Pest Management is all about controlling weeds, diseases, insects, and other nefarious creatures in the garden by starting with the least toxic methods which include mechanical, physical and cultural controls. Debbie’s mnemonic, POI ATM, is an interesting way to remember how to be a good garden sleuth. Because stopping a pest before it overruns the yard - or even enters the yard - is the easiest, cheapest solution.
Recently, we discussed one badass weed, nutgrass, on the podcast. Mentioning this at the Get Growing with Farmer Fred Facebook page, followers submitted their own biggest garden nemesis of a weed. Among the suggestions for “Worst Weed”, besides nutgrass, were oxalis, star thistle, Johnsongrass, poison ivy, kudzu, puncture vine, plain old ivy, and the most popular of the unpopular weeds according to this informal survey: field bindweed, one of the topics for Episode 150 of Garden Basics.
Some quick facts about field bindweed, from the University of California:
• The seeds can last in the soil for 60 years.
• The roots can reach a depth of 20 feet.
• The mass of roots and rhizomes (underground runners) can fill the top two feet of soil.
• A single field bindweed plant can spread radially for 10 feet.
• Drought? Not a problem for field bindweed. It just slows down.
And, as Debbie mentioned, the best control for field bindweed is to get it when it’s young.
One IPM control for field bindweed seems to be a hit-or-miss affair: using biological controls, such as moths or mites. Some states, such as Nebraska and Colorado, have had some encouraging results using these introduced species to control the spread of field bindweed.
Here in California (and in parts of Oregon), it’s been a different situation. Retired state entomologist Baldo Villegas explains:
“I could not import the two available agents (the Aceria mites and clearwing moths) into California as we had concerns about them attacking native Calystegia (bindweed) species as well as sweet potatoes. Since I was interested in this invasive weed, I helped with securing native Calystegias and shipping them to the CABI Biocontrol lab in Switzerland. These plants are being used to screen potential biocontrol candidates but so far I have not heard any good news.
The two available biocontrol agents were released in Oregon but have not had any impact on field bindweed there. The moth is established in the Willemette Valley but the moths are only recovered with pheromone traps as the larvae seem to be nocturnal. I saw the Aceria mite at work in the Dufur area of northern Oregon. According to my contacts at the time, the mites were doing great and they seem to doing very well controlling the bindweed but later the populations declined, probably due to predators such as predatory mites.”
Which leaves gardeners not many options for controlling field bindweed without resorting to chemical controls. Listen to Episode 150 for more about the pitfalls and shortcomings of using herbicides on field bindweed.
I’ll stick with my hoe and Hori-Hori knife.
Also on Episode 150 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast: recent huge storms that knocked out the power on the west and east coasts may have you contemplating getting a small generator to run the important stuff when the power goes out. For a gardener, that might be making sure the refrigerator and freezer stay cold, protecting many of your harvested backyard crops. Or, a place to plug in an electric or rechargeable chainsaw, to cut up that fallen tree that is threatening the survival of your backyard garden gnome family. And, yes, to recharge your phone to share pictures of the damage, including this classic:
Now, though, I can’t stop thinking about Hawaii….
