When should strawberries be harvested?
Harvest strawberries when the fruit are uniformly red (fully ripe). Pick the berries with the caps and stems attached to retain firmness and quality. Pinch the stem off about 1/4 inch above the cap. Don’t pull them off.
Strawberries should be picked about every other day in warm weather, every three to four days in cool weather. The harvest period for some June-bearing varieties may last three to four weeks. Strawberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five to seven days. Optimum storage conditions are a temperature of 32 degrees F and a relative humidity of 90 to 95 percent.
How can I control Colorado potato beetles?
The Colorado potato beetle is difficult to control. Hand picking has been used since before the development of modern pesticides. Hand-pick beetles, eggs and small larvae from infested plants as soon as possible (practical for a few insects on a few plants, but impractical for larger gardens). It’s especially important to remove overwintering beetles that appear on young plants in spring.
In large gardens, insecticides are often the best option. When insecticides are necessary, consider timing, coverage and insecticide choice. Timing is critical. Small larvae are much easier to control and spraying when the larvae are small is much more effective (and required with certain insecticides) than delaying and spraying after the larvae are grown. Early treatment is also necessary to prevent crop loss. Complete and thorough coverage of infested plants is necessary for good control. With that in mind, control is generally more effective with liquid sprays than with dust applications.
Because of decades of repeated insecticide use, the Colorado potato beetle may be resistant to many widely used insecticides, including Sevin and malathion. Consider other controls available at your local garden center, including pyrethroids and biorational pesticides such as spinosad, Bt tenebrionis, Neem (azadirachtin) and the pathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana. Note that the biorationals are only effective against very young larvae; they will not kill large larvae or adults.
Can the rose-of-sharon be successfully grown in Iowa?
The rose-of-sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a woody shrub. Plants normally grow 6 to 8 feet tall. Flowers are 3 to 4 inches in diameter and are borne in mid to late summer. Flowers can be single or double, and are usually pink, red, lavender/blue, or white, sometimes with a contrasting eye or center. Plants thrive in full sun and moist, well drained soils. The rose-of-sharon is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 5. Plants can be successfully grown in southern and central Iowa. Unfortunately, the rose-of-sharon is not reliably winter hardy in northern Iowa.
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