Dealing with grubs can be tough
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

July 10 - 6:30 p.m., Holstein Twilight Meeting, Arlan Garber Farm, Chambersburg.

July 17 - 10 a.m., Garden Tour at Garden at Falling Spring Nursing Home

Aug. 1 - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Farm and Safety Day Camp, Chambersburg Road & Gun Club, Call Extension office at 263-9226 for information and registration.

Aug. 14 - 10 a.m., Cut Flower Trials and Flower Arranging Demonstration, Horticulture Garden.

Aug. 22 - Noon, Tomato Tasting Day, Horticulture Center on Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, open to public. Call 263- 9226.

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GRUB CONTROL

With the 4th of July's arrival, we can expect to see the Japanese beetle adults to really start to show up. The Northern Masked Chafer is also around now, but you have to go outside around 11:00 PM or midnight and look for them flying around night lights. Both of these are a concern to homeowners because they lay eggs in our turf and these hatch into grubs that will feed on the grass roots. Most people don't know what to do about treating for grubs. Predicting grub problems in a lawn is very difficult to do. So how do you deal with the grub situation?

Monitoring for grubs is difficult for most people because you have to wait until the grubs get big enough that you can see them and you have to cut a square of turf and look under it to count grubs.

Studies at Cornell University have shown that over 70% of the grub treatments were applied needlessly because there were no grubs in the lawn.

An article that I read from Iowa said that people have three choices when it comes to grub control, which depends upon your tolerance of grub damage. The first approach is to treat every year so you can be sure you never have grub damage to deal with. This is an expensive approach to grub control and it is an over use of pesticides. These people will put down a preventative like imidacloprid (Merit or Grub Ex) or halofenozide (Mach 2, Grub B Gone). These have to be applied by mid August and have to be watered in well.

Asecond approach is to wait to see if you have a problem. Some entomologists are not sure how spread out the emergence of adults will be due to dry weather and if it stays dry; will the eggs hatch and survive? Wait and see'ers watch for signs of grub damage in turf, such as wilting or starting to turn brown. When they see these signs, they will use a curative material with trichlorfon (Dylox or Bayer Advanced 24 Hour Grub Control). You could end up with some turf damage if symptoms do not appear until late in the season when control is difficult.

The last approach is when you do nothing and if you get damage, you replace the sod. Some feel this is the most cost effective approach because you save money in most years and have some expense in occasional years.

I am not recommending any one of these approaches to you because as I said, it becomes a personal decision. You have to do what you're comfortable with, but do recognize that all lawns do not get treated each year for grubs.

GROWING BLUEBERRIES

Blueberries are known to have many health benefits, such as no cholesterol, low in calories and a good source of fiber. They make a good fruit crop for the home gardener, but this is one crop you need to plan way ahead to plant because of its pH needs.

- Blueberries require acid soils. Most of our soils around here are a pH of 6 - 7, which is only slightly acid. To get soils down to 4.5, you need to start now to plant next spring.

- Blueberries require a location that receives full sun and has high organic matter to hold moisture. Pick out a site in your yard that has full sun, good soils and is well-drained. Purchase a soil test kit from our office and get your soil tested. Request a recommendation for blueberries and organic matter.

- When you get your results back, you will know how much granular sulfur that you need to apply to lower the pH to the proper level for blueberries. Work up your beds and apply the correct amount of sulfur and work it in the root zone. You can also incorporate compost and other organic materials into the plot too. Let the plot set for a couple of weeks.

- This fall you want to retest to see if your pH and organic matter are in the right range. If not, then you will need to add additional compost and sulfur. This is very important to get right this year, because once the plants are planted, it is hard to correct a high pH.

- Order your blueberry plants early this winter to be sure you get large plants of the right cultivars. If you are planting several bushes, get different ripening periods.

- At planting time next spring, you will dig a hole 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide. Take the removed soil and mix in one cubic foot of peat moss and refill the hole. Once you have the hole about four inches from the top, you can set your plants and finish filling the hole with the peat soil mix. Use about four inches of sawdust or wood chip mulch in a two-foot wide band over your row of plants. As you plant grows, you will increase this to a four foot wide band. Maintain the four inch depth. Keep the plants well-watered.

- As you can see, you can't just go to a store in the spring and buy a blueberry bush, take it home and plant it and expect it to do well. You need to prepare well ahead of time.

- If you can't wait for your blueberries, you can gat a 10- pound box of fresh blueberries this July through our office. Give us a call here at the Franklin County Extension office to order blueberries. This must be done by July 5. Call (717) 263-9226 for details. These blueberries will hold you over until you get your plants started properly next spring.

GYPSY MOTHS

The caterpillars of the Gypsy Moth are done chewing and have pupated and are now emerging as the Gypsy Moth. If you notice a larger grayish brown moth flying around your property, you are likely seeing the male of the gypsy. The females are larger in size and whitish in color with black marks and it doesn't fly. You can notice them clinging to the bark of the trees waiting to mate and then lay eggs.

The moths will not do any damage to your trees or property. Their sole purpose is to lay eggs for next year's generation. Once mated, the females will lay a mass of eggs on the bark of trees or any other upright area like the side of your house or garage, although this is not usually a serious problem. The egg mass can be crushed if you can reach it, but this doesn't get all the eggs. You can scrape off the eggs, but don't let them fall to the ground because they will survive and hatch next year. Scrape them off and put them in the trash.

If you live in a heavily wooded area, you are probably wasting your time trying to scrape off egg masses. You should focus on controlling the larval stage next spring. But if you live in the valley with a few trees to protect and you see a few moths, then check your trees for egg masses in a few weeks. Removing these will help give you control of the problem next year. If you had a severe problem with gypsy moth this year and you live in an area in Franklin County that was severely damaged, you can contact the Franklin County Planning office at (717) 261-3855. They will coordinate the gypsy moth spraying next spring.

EARLY BLIGHT OF

TOMATO

One of the most common problems for gardeners who grow tomatoes is the lower leaves of the tomato plants start to turn yellow, and then brown and fall off. The problem is a fungal disease called early blight. It starts out as a small irregular dark brown to black dead spot on the oldest leaves on the tomato plant. As the spots enlarge, you will notice that there is a pattern of concentric rings on the leaves, which looks like a bull's eye. Around the dead spot, there is a narrow yellow halo band of leaf tissue. As the disease progresses, the older leaves will dry up and die and the next higher leaves will show the symptoms.

The fungal disease can also attack the stem end of the fruit of the tomato and cause dark leathery spots, which can grow bigger and show the same concentric rings we see on the leaves. If the disease is left uncontrolled by the end of the season, most of the bottom stems of the plant will be bare and you will have poor tomato production.

One of the best ways to control the disease is to prevent it. You need to practice crop rotation to reduce the build up of the fungus on plant debris and in the soil. Tomatoes should not be planted in areas that have grown tomato, potato, pepper or egg plant during the previous three or four years. These are all in the same family and will help maintain the fungal problem.

Another way to prevent the disease is to avoid overhead watering, especially late in the afternoon because the foliage will stay wet over night, which can encourage the fungal growth. If you need to water any plants after work, use a hose running a slow stream and place it at the base of the plant. Or you can plan to use a drip irrigation system or soaker hose so your water is only where you need it. The goal is to avoid wet foliage overnight.

Early blight usually shows up about the time the tomato plants start to bloom. If you have had problems with early blight in recent years, you can start a protective spray program, using chlorothalonil (Daconil). Start using the spray as soon as you see any sign of the disease. Continue spraying every seven to ten days.

Once the season ends, remove the vines, old fruit and leaves from your garden or turn them under so they are covered with soil. This will help prevent the fungus from overwintering. Rotate your tomatoes to a new area of your garden or put them in your flower beds next year.