Garden Detective

Still have plastic pots, flats and packs laying around from your spring and summer planting? Hicks Nurseries in Westbury will collect and recycle them next weekend (July 10-12) and give you a $10 coupon toward any purchases that day in exchange.

Hicks is located at 100 Jericho Turnpike. Call 516-334-0066 for directions or details.

Bonnie Plants, a supplier of plants to big box stores all over the country, has taken quite a hit this week, reportedly losing $1 million in sales after some of its tomato seedlings in New York and elsewhere were found to be inflicted with the dreaded late blight fungus -- the same disease responsible for the famous Irish Potato famine more than 150 years ago.

"We are not irresponsible," Albany's Times Union quoted Bonnie General Manager Dennis Thomas as saying yesterday. The report also said inspections of Bonnie greenhouses by officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey did not find any evidence of the blight. But the company has recalled plants in several states, including New York, presumably just to be safe. (However, a reader notified me yesterday afternoon that infected plants were spotted in a Riverhead Home Depot. This has not been confirmed, though.)

According to the report, Bonnie Plants "did not knowlingly ship any infected tomato plants and questioned whether the blight, a fungus-based disease that can spread through the air, may have occurred after plants arrived at Northeast retailers." With plants sitting around on retailer shelves since April or May -- and given the June monsoon we've had -- that's an entirely possible scenario.

Which leads me to this warning: Now that we know the blight is out there, be on the lookout for it in plants from ANY grower, and check your garden -- even plants you've grown from seed. Pull up, tightly bag in plastic and place any affected plants in the trash.

For photos of late blight symptoms on tomato plants, click here.

Following two postponements due to thunderstorms during Long Island’s monsoon June, Old Westbury Gardens Midsummer Night event has been rescheduled, appropriately, to a night in midsummer -- Saturday, July 18, from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

>> Click for details about the event.

>> Click for update (7/3/09)

If you're growing tomatoes or potatoes, especially if you've recently planted seedlings, be on the lookout for a nasty disease that's been detected on Long Island and elsewhere in the northeast.

Late blight disease is a fungus that causes white-mold encircled gray spots on leaves and stems that causes the plant to blacken, wilt and die. It's the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s, and it has never occurred this early or widespread in the United States.

Stem lesions on a tomato plant in Suffolk County.

Fungi thrive in damp environments, so the abundant rainfall over the past month has created a perfect breeding ground for the disease. I've got tons of mushrooms all over the garden. Same principle, only blight can spread around and kill your plants.

Bonnie Plants, headquartered in Alabama, has growing stations in 61 locations nationwide. The fungus has been detected in Bonnie Plants stock in local big box stores, though that's not to say it won't be found in plants from other growers. I haven't heard word of any official recalls on Long Island.

Brown stem lesions visible on plants in the center of the shelf.

Compare these photos to your plants and pull up any that show symptoms. Then bag them up tightly and put them in the trash. Don't compost them. And, obviously, don't purchase any symptomatic plants.

Closeup of stem lesions.

Leaf symptoms of late blight disease.

A reader snapped the above photos of Bonnie Plants tomatoes at an area retailer. Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Sears and K-Marts stock Bonnie Plants vegetables.

Information about late blight disease from Cornell University.

Tune in to Rutgers University's webinar on Thursday, July 2, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for a live chat with vegetable specialists from Cornell University and Rutgers University, who will provide more details about the outbreak, address concerns and answer your questions about late blight and other tomato diseases.

To access the webinar, Click this link (it will begin working at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday), type your name in the box, click login button and follow the on-screen directions.

For more information on the webinar, contact Steven Komar, Sussex County Agricultural Agent, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, at skomar@aesop.rutgers.edu or at 973-948-3040.

Flowering summer perennials finally hit their prime early this month, competing with fireworks for the coveted spot at center stage. And vegetables, which only recently morphed from seed to plant, begin their journey from plant to plate. Enjoy the harvest, and blast your garden off to a great July with these chores -- one for each day of the month. Just be sure to wear sunblock and keep hydrated.

1. Keep mower blades sharpened to cut down on lawn diseases and set blades to 3 inches
2. Water and turn the compost pile at least once a week.
3. Want a huge pumpkin? Remove all flowers but one, and fertilize every week.
4. Happy 4th of July! Fertilize your zoysia lawn now; wait until Labor Day for other turf grass.
5. To keep algae under control in ponds, add a bunch of eelgrass per each square foot of surface water.
6. Continually harvest green beans to keep plants producing.
7. Give the lawn a slow, deep soaking once a week, in the early morning.
8. When tomatoes, peppers and eggplants fruit, give them a dose of organic fertilizer. Repeat next month.
9. Pinch back vining houseplants, dip the cut ends in rooting hormone and plant in a 50/50 peat/vermiculite mix to make free plants.
10. Cut flowers will stay fresher longer if you pick them in the morning, but if you're going to dry them, pick them late in the day.
11. Deadhead perennials and summer-blooming shrubs every week or two.
12. Pick melons when their skin turns yellow and their stems loosen their hold on the fruit.
13. Fertilize flowering perennials with 5-10-5 to maximize blooms.
14. Cut back chrysanthemums by a third once one last time for more blooms and a bushy habit.
15. Last call for shearing hedges, like yews, for the year.
16. For bigger tomatoes, remove suckers (small stems growing in branch crotches). Then join the Great Long Island Tomato Challenge at newsdaycom/gardendetective.
17. Harvest zucchini when fruit is 5-6 inches long. If you don’t, the plant will stop producing.
18. Sheer creeping phlox, sweet alyssum and candytuft for fuller plants and increased flowering next year.
19. Deadhead hybrid tea and grandiflora roses.
20. Most vegetables planted in the garden need one inch of water per week; their potted counterparts dry out much more quickly — check them daily.
21. Divide bearded iris.
22. If you’re near the beach, spray tree leaves with anti-dessicant to protect against salt and wind damage.
23. Handpick tomato hornworms.
24. Cigarettes can transmit tobacco mosaic virus to your plants. Don’t smoke in the garden, and wash hands after smoking before handling plants.
25. Keep weeding, and add mulch to areas disturbed by midseason plantings.
26. Mound up soil around squash and cucumber stems to ward off vine borers.
27. For shrubs growing in containers, fertilize at half strength with every second watering.
28. To help prevent powdery mildew, space plants to allow for air circulation, avoid wetting leaves and water early in the day.
29. It’s not too late to plant shrubs and trees. Container-grown are best, but pricey. If buying balled and burlapped plants, ensure that roots are fresh; they likely have been sitting around since spring.
30. Plant peas.
31. Be sure newly planted trees get 1 1/2 inches of water per week, and water established trees if two weeks pass without rain.

(Newsday Photo / Karen Wiles Stabile)

Just about every kid who's ever attended preschool has planted a seed in a little paper cup, set it on the window sill, watered it and brought it home, where Mom takes a look, says, "Oh, how nice," and sets it on the kitchen windowsill until it withers and dies about a week later. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's preschool-level classroom gardening.

But the folks at Anna House, a not-for-profit daycare center for the children of parents who work in NY's thoroughbred racing industry, are managing the day-to-day needs of a 49-square-foot garden at Belmont Park, mostly by themselves. These kids voted to convert their sandbox into a garden. Now they're learning how to use shovels and rakes, they're planting, weeding, watering, and come August, they'll be eating what they've grown.

This program not only exposes kids to the wonders of turning a seed into a plant -- like those other preschool projects -- but engrosses them in the day-to-day maintenance of a garden. And the fact that they'll be eating what they've grown not only teaches them about gardening, but about how hard work pays off.

Way to go, Anna House!

The Department of Environmental Conservation has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) for the first time ever in New York State. The shiny green invasive beetle, native to eastern Asia, targets all species of ash trees in North America, attacking and killing them. This is pretty serious stuff: Since it was first discovered in the United States -- in Detroit in 2002 -- the beetle has spread to 13 states. It has completely wiped out ash trees near Detroit. Every Ash tree in and near Detroit has died.

This first New York state occurrence, confirmed June 17, in Randolf (Cattaraugus County), means swift action needs to be taken. Not just by the government -- but by YOU. The Cornell Cooperative Extension recommends these practices to slow the spread of EAB.

• Do not move firewood. Relocation of ash firewood is the most common method of long-distance spread.

•Be aware of signs and symptoms of EAB for early detection.

• If EAB is located in your area, cooperate with government agencies to assist their efforts for eradication and control. Improper disposal of infested material can hasten the spread of EAB.

•Participate in local educational activities through groups such as Cornell Cooperative Extension.

This pest has the potential to cause severe economic and ecological damage. According to the CCE, we can expect tremendous economic impact both in forested areas and in urban areas where ash are planted as street trees. Horticultural and specialty industries that rely heavily on ash, such as baseball bat and tool handle manufacturers, will be severely impacted by necessary quarantine regulations and the potential complete loss of ash.

For identification help and the latest information about the ash borer or the quarantine, check The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or emeraldashborer.info

(U.S. Agricultural Research Service Photo)

Vincent Simeone, author, lecturer, horticulturist and director of Planting Fields Arboretum, will fill you in during his "Great Gardens of Eastern Australia" presentation at the Hoffman Center in Muttontown on August 26. This lecture will highlight both the natural and cultivated landscapes of Australia as well as great gardens there.

Simeone will take you from Cairns, on the northeastern tip of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Along the way, he'll show you
private and public gardens including the Mt. Annan Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens, snowy mountains, Hobart and the wilds of Tasmania.

Here's the schedule:

6:00 p.m. Optional tour of the Hoffman Center grounds

7:00 p.m. Lecture and Refreshments

Fee: $10

Contact Tracy Potavin at (516) 922-8676 or email tpotavin@plantingfields.org for more information.

Rain and outdoor events don't really seem to mix, so Old Westbury Gardens has rescheduled its Midsummer Night (originally scheduled for tomorrow night) to June 26, from 5-10 p.m.

Attendees will get to roam the grounds, which will be illuminated with lanterns and decorated with "magical faeries".

Bring a blanket and a picnic basket; or treat yourself to a special dinner on the South Terrace of Westbury House in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Old Westbury Gardens. Stroll around the 200 acres of gardens, relax on the lawn and enjoy eclectic arrangements of music and dance inspired by Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Dance programs will be presented by members of the touring company of Dance Visions, under the direction of school founder Beth Jucovy. A 6pm performance will feature Isadora Duncan pieces accompanied by live chamber music. The Boxwood Garden near the massive marble pillars of the Colonnade is a perfect setting for the various works based on Greek mythology, including the Gluck operas “Iphigenia at Aulis” and “Orpheus in the Underworld.” At 7pm, a program of children’s dances, written by Schubert, inspired by Donatello sculptures and Botticelli paintings, will be performed in the garden of the charming Thatched Cottage. The final program at 8pm on the south lawn of Westbury House includes original choreography from Beth Jucovy to a section from Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” concluding with Duncan’s magnificent dance to Schubert’s Symphony in C.

Ages 18 and under: Free when accompanied by an adult.
General admission:$12 in advance ($15 at gate); Old Westbury Gardens’ Members $10 in advance ($12 at gate)
Dinner on the South Terrace, 6pm: $75 per person

Old Westbury Gardens is located at 71 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury. For advanced tickets, dinner reservations, or more information, call 516-333-0048.

Sam Schneider of Elmont is no stranger to mutant produce.

Two years ago, he sent me a photo of a "mutant" 5-lobed strawberry, produced from a plant he purchased at Costco. This week, he sends along a photo of an 8-lobed berry, "Pretty freaky," he says. "And from just about the same place."

Though you didn't ask for an explanation, I'll give you one anyway. The berries are probably misshapen because of the cooler-than-normal weather we've been having. When temperatures dip below 60 degrees, especially when accompanied by high humidity, pollination can be affected in certain varieties of strawberries.

No worries, though, Sam, those berries are completely edible, unlike mine, which were eaten, presumably by birds, right from under their protective net.