Hummingbirds are not only beautiful creatures to watch, but can be very helpful in the garden to rid of pesky insects. They can pollinate some flowers that can’t be reached by other birds since they have such a long beak. How to Attract or Encourage: First off, make sure that you do not use any pesticides in your garden! This can harm your beneficials as well as your pests. Attract hummingbirds by having plants with […]
Honeybees live in colonies with one queen, worker bees (females) collecting food for honey, and male drones. Honeybees are important pollinators for flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Honeybees are disappearing and are so important to try to keep around! How to Attract or Encourage: First off, make sure that you do not use any pesticides in your garden! This can harm your beneficials as well as your pests. Try to plant some flowers to help attract […]
Whiteflies are tiny little white flies that suck the sap from plants. They are typically found on the undersides of leaves. Treatment Options: Placing yellow sticky traps out in your garden or applying a homemade garlic spray or neem oil can help. Make sure to not apply the neem oil though when the temperature is above 90, or else you could suffocate your plant! The use of beneficial insect friends, such as green […]
These mites are extremely small relatives of spiders. They are typically found on the undersides of leaves. An easy way to check for them is to place a sheet of white paper underneath the leaves and gently tap. If you see moving specks on the paper then you have a problem. Treatment Options: Putting your beneficial insects to work is one of the best ways to help with spider mites! Releasing or attracting green […]
Aphids are tiny insects that can usually be found in groups on the undersides of leaves and stems. A few aphids can’t do much, but they reproduce quickly, are born pregnant, and can take over a plant in no time at all! Treatment Options: Spray aphids off leaves with a blast of water from the sprayer and repeat as necessary for a few days Ladybugs are valuable ally and can be purchased to help with […]
This video is a recording of a workshop we taught at the 2018 OKC Home + Outdoor Living Show with Lori Coats of My Raggedy Herbs about how you can grow and cook with your own herbs. Lori is an expert at knowing how to use culinary herbs to make things taste great and I’m excited to share her knowledge with you all!
We cover the following 10 herbs in detail: basil, chives, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme.
This is an update and tour of our zone 7 Oklahoma urban backyard organic food farm! I show what we’re currently growing, talk about what we are planting right now, and share some tips and lessons I’ve learned from the summer!