Talk Dirt To Me

Gardening in Alaska presents big challenges, whether it's the extra effort in finding plants tough enough to survive our Zone 2-4 climate, communicating with like-minded Alaska gardeners, or keeping up with the latest trends, issues and solutions. We'll try to help with that. We'll also tour gardens from Homer to Anchorage to Wasilla to Willow whenever we get the chance, and post the best garden photos around. Presenting a forum about cold-weather gardening and for cold-weather gardeners is what we are all about. We hope you'll join us on the Talk Dirt garden blog.

Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.


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Jeff Lowenfels

A member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame, Jeff writes a weekly column on gardening in Alaska.

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Archive

Moose-free garden? - 11/5/2009 8:23 am

Book review: Black Plants - 10/29/2009 3:46 pm

November Garden Calendar - 10/28/2009 2:49 pm

Fall means apples and winter veggies - 10/26/2009 6:12 pm

Botany of Desire airs on Wednesday - 10/25/2009 5:39 pm

Some changes proposed for muni Horticulture Section - 10/22/2009 11:47 am

Verna and Frank Pratt recognized - 10/20/2009 10:35 am

Birds are gardeners' companions - 10/18/2009 6:58 pm

Anchorage is one of the best cities for community gardens - 10/14/2009 3:18 pm

Fall colors Outside - 10/14/2009 11:26 am

Take advantage of the sun to mow your leaves. - 10/12/2009 4:09 pm

A gardener's conundrum - 10/11/2009 5:00 pm

Out of the office and in the garden - 10/1/2009 5:07 pm

October Garden Calendar - 9/30/2009 11:25 am

Yes Virginia, maples can grow in Alaska - 9/29/2009 4:21 pm

TREErific tree tour on Wednesday at UAA - 9/28/2009 2:26 pm

Dig, bake and eat potatoes in Palmer Friday - 9/24/2009 4:09 pm

Still time to harvest - 9/23/2009 4:52 pm

Termination dust signals the end of summer - 9/22/2009 4:04 pm

I know you have photos, I know you do... - 9/17/2009 8:41 pm

More mushroom walks this weekend - 9/16/2009 8:47 am

Gardening grows camraderie - 9/15/2009 10:43 am

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Protection from cutworms

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: June 7, 2009 - 2:25 pm

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Plastic rings cut from milk jugs help protect plants. Photo by Fran Durner.Plastic rings cut from milk jugs help protect plants. Photo by Fran Durner.I thought I'd pass this along: I use old milk jugs cut into rings to protect cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and any other plant that is susceptible to cutworms. I sink the ring about halfway into the soil to protect the stems of the plants.

Cutworms are the larvae of moths and they can overwinter in the soil, thus emerging early on, hungry and ready to feed just as you are setting out your tender plants or as seedlings emerge.

But once the little varmints bump into the plastic ring as they burrow just under or over the surface of the soil, they cannot go any farther, thus saving your plant from an early demise.

At the end of the summer, I just wash and store the rings until the next year.

If you are seeing white spots on your chives, you are seeing the eggs of the onion maggot. Since this is a one-generation bug, you can cut off the chives at the ground and when they grow back, they will be free of the pest. I admit that before I knew this I probably ingested my share of infected chives -- to no ill effect!