Free UC webinar on 'Natural Enemies & Beneficial Bugs'
An adult lady beetle considers the dining offerings on an aphid-infested chard plant. Immature lady beetles are even more voracious eaters of aphids than the adults are. Kathy Morrison
A free lunchtime webinar on "Natural Enemies & Beneficial Bugs" is this month's online offering from the University of California's Statewide Integrated Pest Management Urban/Community program.
The session will be conducted on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, July 20. It also will be recorded and made available on YouTube at a later date.
Eric Middleton, area IPM adviser for San Diego County, will lead the presentation, which will cover natural enemies in the insect world. He will discuss how these beneficial bugs -- which prey on or parasitize insect pests -- can help gardeners protect their gardens without pesticides.
Register here for the webinar.
Past sessions have covered topics such as pantry pests, aphids, squirrels, bed bugs and termites. For links to view them, see the full list here. To learn more about the webinar series, including upcoming topics, visit this website.
The main UC IPM website contains a wealth of information on pests of all kinds. Check it out at https://ipm.ucanr.edu/
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Garden Checklist for week of July 21
Your garden needs you!
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Feed vegetable plants bone meal, rock phosphate or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting. (But wait until daily high temperatures drop out of the 100s.)
* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* It's not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.