The Farmer Fred® Rant: September 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bring on the Bees! A Year-Round Garden for Pollinators

Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are important to your vegetable garden. Many crops such as squash, cucumber, tomato and eggplant won’t produce fruit or seeds without their help. These beneficial critters transfer pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower, resulting in the formation of vegetables.

Bees are the most important pollinators because they spend their life collecting pollen. According to the California Master Gardener Handbook, bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. In addition, attracting pollinators also encourages other beneficial insects that can help control pests in your garden.

Here are some pollinator-attracting planting suggestions, especially to get the bees:

* Install a wide variety of plants that bloom at different times of the year with several species blooming at once. Pollinators are active at different times of year. In our yard, the bees gather at the blooming rosemary plants during the winter, when little else is flowering.

* Plant in clumps, perhaps three feet by three feet. Bunches of flowers of the same variety in the same area are more attractive to pollinators than single flowers.

* Include flowers of different shapes and colors. Bees are particularly attracted to flowers that are violet, blue, purple, white or yellow. Butterflies prefer bright red or purple. Again, plant in clumps.

* Choose natives. Many California pollinators prefer native plants.

* Plant non-hybrid flowers. Many hybrids have had their pollen, nectar or fragrance bred out of them, making them less attractive to pollinators.

* Eliminate or limit pesticides whenever possible. Pesticides can be harmful to pollinators. When a pesticide is needed, use the least toxic one.

* Provide nesting sites and food sources, such as nectar for hummingbird feeders and salt licks for butterflies.

* Pollinators need water, too. A bird bath or fountain is ideal.

California native plants that attract pollinators include California poppy, California Redbud, Lupine, Rosemary, Sunflower, Toyon, Western dogwood, Wild rose, Wild lilac (ceanothus) and White leaf manzanita. Other plants that pollinators enjoy: Agastache, Basil, Borage, Cosmos, Dicleptera, Hyssop, Lavender, Marjoram, Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), Mint and Pincushion flower (Scabiosa).

Some garden references may advise you to cut off flower heads to enhance the beauty of the foliage plant (such as for lamb's ears). If your goal is to attract garden good guys, let those flower heads stay.

Finding plants to attract bees in the spring and summer is easy. Besides the plants listed above, the University of California's Urban Bee Garden has an exhaustive list of spring and summer blooming plants that will bring out the bees, especially the native bees. Be advised: the plants on that list were chosen based on their performance in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here in the valley and low foothills, the list might be a bit smaller. But go ahead, try 'em all, and see which ones make it!

That Urban Bee Garden website has tips for making your yard more attractive to native bees.

The real trick for gardeners: getting bees to spend the "off-season" at your place. Many native bees hibernate in the winter; honey bees, however, can work year round, weather permitting...as long as they have sources for pollen and nectar.

Here in the valley, these plants tend to keep their blooms, and the honey bees, during the fall and winter.

Plants To Attract Bees / Fall-Winter

Fall

Pincushion Flower

Gold Coin - Asteriscus maritimus
Coreopsis - Coreopsis tinctoria
Gaillardia - Gaillardia x grandiflora
Glossy Abelia - Abelia grandiflora

Pincushion Flower - Scabiosa columbaria
Manzanita - Arctostaphylos spp.
Lavender - Lavandula
Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis
Shrub Mallow - Lavatera maritima 'Bicolor'
New Zealand Tea Tree - Leptospermum scoparium (white and pink cvs.)
Myrtle - Myrtus communis
Blue Mist - Caryopteris x clandonensis
Euryops - Euryops pectinatus

Salvia 'Indigo Spires'

Scarlet Sage - Salvia splendens

Salvia splendens

English Ivy - Hedera helix*
* Although English Ivy is part of UC Berkeley's "Flowering plant species and their relative attraction to honey bees and native California bees in Albany and N. Berkeley" list, it is considered an invasive plant by the California Invasive Plant Council. English ivy is a threat to coastal forests and riparian areas.

Winter
Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis
Euryops - Euryops pectinatus

Late Winter - Early Spring

Ceanothus- C. 'Ray Hartman', 'Julia Phelps'

California Poppy - Eschscholzia californica

Yarrow - Achillea millefolium

Pride of Madeira - Echium candicans

Penstemon - Penstemon heterophyllus

Manzanita - Arctostaphylos spp.

Salvia - S. greggii, S. leucophylla, 'Indigo Spires'

Spanish Lavender - Lavandula stoechas

Wisteria - Wisteria sinensis

Spanish Lavender in front of Alstroemeria

Friday, September 24, 2010

You Have a Lot of (Oak) Gall!

Dear Farmer Fred,

"Can you identify the pink and little brown balls growing now on our oak tree? I don't remember seeing these before.
Is it some kind of parasite? If so, what should we do? Thank you. We enjoy your weekly show very much." Margaret of Shingle Springs (CA)

Margaret:

Yep, it's gall season in the California foothills! Galls are interesting creations of several varieties of (usually harmless) wasps. No action is necessary on your part, except to enjoy the show.

The Integrated Pest Management Project at UC Davis says this about galls: "Most galls are caused by cynipid wasps and gall midge flies. The adult gall wasp is a small, stout, shiny insect with very few wing veins and a purple or black body. Adult gall midges are tiny, delicate flies, often with long, slender antennae. Galls are distorted, sometimes colorful swellings in plant tissue caused by the secretions of certain plant-feeding insects and mites. These unusual growths may be found on leaves, flowers, twigs, or branches. Most galls are not known to harm trees. Prune and dispose of galls if they are annoying. This may provide control of some species if pruning is done when the immature ones are in plant tissue and before the adults begin to emerge."

State entomologist Baldo Villegas chimes in:
"Your picture of a blue oak tree have several types of oak galls made by several species of small, non-stinging wasps in the wasp family "Cynipidae". As an entomologist, we refer to the members of this family as "cynipid wasps". They are unique among the wasps in that they lay their eggs on plant tissue resulting in a distinctive plant gall encasing the egg/larva. Each cynipid wasp species make different and distinctive galls and one can identify them based on the gall type. Obviously, your blue oak sample had several types of galls and therefore several species of wasps. There is not much you can do to control these gall wasps. They are native species that co-evolved with the blue oaks in the area. The wasps are not killing the trees and they also don't appear to weaken them; so, my recommendation is to just let them be.

1) The most obvious are the "echinid galls" produced by the wasp "Dryophanta echina". These galls vary from pink to bright red and have the spiny galls.

2) The second gall that you asked for was for the small brown galls that look like little brown balls? These are probably "jumping oak galls" caused by the wasp "Neuroterus saltatorius.

Thanks, Baldo!

Other interesting oak galls:

And here's more fun with jumping oak galls...

Lynn in Chico writes: "Yesterday I noticed my sidewalk was dancing, sort of. Looking closer I saw what looked like bird seed scattered, but the seeds were jumping! I collected a few of the tiny eggs (?) and they are still jumping this morning. They can get about a half inch of air when they jump. I assume they are some sort of bug getting ready to hatch. Most of them are on the ground under the oaks on my property. Please let me know if they are good bugs or bad bugs."

Again, those would be oak galls, not a problem. Here is more info:
Jumping Oak Galls Are Interesting and Harmless to Oak Trees
by Ed Perry, U.C. Farm Advisor

"If you have a Valley oak tree growing in your landscape, or if you visit one of our local parks where Valley oak trees are growing, you may notice a strange phenomenon occurring this year. The ground beneath many Valley oaks this year is covered with pinhead-sized yellow or brown seedlike objects, most of which are hopping around. The tiny things are called "jumping oak galls", and are formed by a tiny, dark wasp. The wasp belongs to an interesting family of wasps called the cynipids.

"The galls are actually malformations of plant growth. The tiny gall-forming wasp lays an egg in an oak leaf at a precise moment in the treeís growth cycle, causing normal plant cells to multiply at an unusually high rate. As a result, the tiny egg becomes encased in the gall composed of oak leaf tissue.

"When the egg hatches, the gall provides both food and a living chamber for the larvae. In summer, the oak gall drops to the ground with the tiny wasp larvae inside. The insect moves in jerks, causing the entire gall to jump around on the ground. Itís believed that the larvae hop around in an attempt to find a crack in the soil to hide up in. At maturity it transforms into a pupae, and later into an adult which chews its way out of the gall. The wasps themselves are dark colored, so tiny that youíll probably never see them, and harmless to people.

"A few insect-formed plant galls are found on willow, poplar, rose and other plants, but more than 100 different kinds are found on oaks. The entire oak tree is fair game for the cynipid wasps, which form wasps on leaves, buds, twigs, branches, roots and even the acorns. Each cynipid wasp species forms a gall of particular size, shape and color; no other species forms one quite like it. Also, each one lays its eggs in a specific plant part.

"Besides the jumping oak gall, you be familiar with the common oak apple, a large gall up to three inches in diameter. These large galls are common on the deciduous Valley oaks, and contain one or more tiny cynipid wasp larva inside. You may also find a pink, star shaped gall on the undersides of Valley and blue oaks. Other galls are cone shaped, or round and fuzzy, or shaped like tiny loaves of bread.

"In California, most insect caused galls are not harmful to the plant. In some cases the galls may damage leaves or even cause twigs to die. However, the insect galls cause no serious permanent injury. Because of their complex life cycle, it is very difficult to prevent cynipid wasps from forming galls; in most cases, it is unnecessary to do so."

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Single Malt Scotch on a Budget

Single Malt Scotch connoisseur and author of The Whisky Dungeon blog, Paul Potts, has a great entry: "A Beginner's Cabinet". Paul chooses five varieties that would serve as a worthy and inexpensive entry into the vast world that is the aroma, taste and finish of whiskys, and not just single malt Scotch. And they are good choices that represent a blend of quality and value that he finds pleasing to his senses. His five (with approximate pricing):

Glenfiddich 15 ($35)

The Tyrconnell, an Irish single malt ($35)

Laphroaig Quarter Cask ($50)

Abelour 12 Double Cask Matured ($35)

Jim Beam Black, an American bourbon ($20)

"What to choose for someone who has never imbibed in the tantalizing world of whisky, especially single malt Scotch?"

This is a question posed frequently to those of us who enjoy a good single malt whisky. No, we are not experts, just frequent imbibers who like to explore the complex aromas (perhaps upwards of 20-30) and flavors (five) of single malts, along with many subdivisions of flavor. This is why there are so many opinions as to personal favorites. A good primer on enjoying single malt Scotch can be found at the maltmadness website.

Since a bottle of single malt Scotch stocked at typical liquor stores can range in price from about $20 to $200 (or more), I tend to suggest the lower priced but aromatic and tasty selections for those looking to try a bottle or two.

Two of my favorites are both priced at about $20 and are available here in the Western U.S. at Trader Joe's: Lismore and Finlaggan.

Lismore, from the Speyside region of Scotland, has been compared to a young Cragganmore or Glenfiddich, and reviewed as having "a pleasant nose, full of fruit and honey, with good smoke in the middle." I find it a bit lighter than that description with a good combination of savory aroma and drinkability (it doesn't burn going down). Yes, the hard core, cigar smoking, single malt male may refer to it as "pussy Scotch". I say, "here, kitty, kitty."

Lismore can be found at many liquor stores, usually on the bottom shelf, covered in dust. Don't let the low price fool you. In many unofficial tasting parties held here, Lismore has been rated higher than Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Dalmore, Aberfeldy and Cragganmore. And most of those sell for twice the price of Lismore.

Finlaggan may be harder to find. It seems Trader Joe's has a lock on it out here in California. But if you are looking into the gateway drug of "peaty, smoky, Islay single malts", Finlaggan holds its own against its higher priced brothers, including Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Ardbeg and Laguvalin (the "Murderer's Row" of single malt Scotch). Yes, the experienced palate will note more of a caramel flavor and slightly astringent aroma with Finlaggan; but for an introduction into the peat and smoke world, you can't beat Finlaggan. And when I see my bottle of Lagavulin 16 nearing empty, I'll set it aside for a special occasion and pick up the Finlaggan. Which brings me to:

My Desert Island Single Malts

If I could only have two bottles of single malt Scotch to enjoy, whiling away the day waiting for a rescue vessel, it would be these:

Macallan 10 Fine Oak ($30-35) and Laguvalin 16 ($60-70).

These two represent, according to my nose, tongue and throat, the left and right wing of the Single Malt Party.

Macallan 10 Fine Oak is a "Full-Bodied, Medium-Sweet, Pronounced Sherry with Fruity, Spicy, Malty Notes and Nutty, Smoky Hints" according to David Wishart at the Whisky Classified website.

Laguvalin 16: "Full-Bodied, Dry, Pungent, Peaty and Medicinal, with Spicy, Feinty Notes".

Macallan 10 Fine Oak is the underappreciated Macallan with mediocre reviews (I'm lookin' at you, Jim Murray). I have the floor manager of a Beverages and More store in Sacramento to thank for introducing me to the Macallan 10. This happened when I just started developing a taste for single malt Scotch, and was buying bottles to sample based on two criteria: How much is it? How pretty is the bottle?

I was on my way to a family Christmas Eve gathering and stopped in to purchase a bottle of a single malt Scotch. Apparently, I was staring at the shelves beyond the alloted time, because the manager came up and asked if he could be of assistance. I threw myself at his mercy.

"If you were going to a family party and wanted the adults there to enjoy one single malt, which would it be?" I asked.

If he was an out-and-out capitalist, he could've pulled out his gold key and unlocked the nearby magical Scotch cabinet and proffered up a bottle of Bowmore 25 ($240) or Highland Park 25 ($280). Instead, he reached onto an open shelf for the Macallan 10 Fine Oak, saying, "I have never heard anybody complain about this one."

Years later, Macallan 10 Fine Oak is still my favorite everyday single malt Scotch. Not that I drink it everyday...but I could.

"The pale golden yellow color of Macallan 10 Fine Oak is pure and clean, the initial aroma reveal supple, buttery, and piney aromas. The palate entry is honey sweet and silky." I didn't say that. Some marketing guy did. But he's right. Or she. Yes, this is one that is equally popular in my household...which is why I tend to run out so quickly. Macallan 10 Fine Oak is just the right balance of enticing aromas (mmmm...butterscotch!), smooth on the tongue and easy on the throat. I said that.

Lagavulin is the consistent hitter in the Murderer's Row of Islay single malts, all of which are noted for their peaty aroma and smoky flavor. Order a Laguvalin 16 in a restaurant, and everyone at your table will want to take a whiff, it's that powerful yet enjoyable. It is the perfect single malt to follow a steak dinner. The beauty of the Laguvalin 16: you'll spend so much time savoring the aroma, one drink will last you an hour or more.

To me, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Caol Ila can be wildly inconsistent, sometimes with throat burn, sometimes not. And there is a reason the phrase, "Laphroaig headache" is part of the vernacular. You will pay the price for all that fun. The Laguvalin 16 can be enjoyed by all, even those just sniffing.