[cg] RE: mosquito control
Hi, Folks! Emily wrote: Our community garden (6/15 Green) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been plagued by a phenomenal mosquito population over the past two years. We're trying to get a head start this year on covering out water barrels and other measures to avoid having as much of a problem this year. Have any other community gardens had success stories related to combating mosquitoes? If covering the barrels works for you, go for it. I buy a gallon of cheap vegetable oil and pour about an inch of oil on top of the water in each barrel -- it does gunk up the watering cans, but it's cheap, doesn't hurt the plants and is very effective. This technique was used in Philadelphia since it was founded and we're still using it. One of the things we want to do is install a batbox or two. Has anyone had a success story with attracting a bat population? Care to share it with us? We have 5 bat boxes at the community garden and after 4 years, we have yet to have a single bat. Personally, I suspect that they like the abandoned factory across the street from us much better and when the developer who recently purchased the factory tears it down, I think the bats will be lining up to move it. What's really frustrating is that at dusk, I can see the bats flying out and over the garden on their way to someplace else -- I wish they would stay and eat more of OUR bugs! Hope this helps -- I'm interested in hearing how folks deal with these situations also. Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth A mission of St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460 __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
Re: [cg] mosquito control
sorry, Em--but as I recently learned to great personal heartbreak, it turns out that that's mostly a myth. See here: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=751 (but note that they DO eat lots of garden pests!) Here's some good skeeter control ideas: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=572 Good luck! ---McG - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 10:40 PM Subject: [cg] mosquito control Our community garden (6/15 Green) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been plagued by a phenomenal mosquito population over the past two years. We're trying to get a head start this year on covering out water barrels and other measures to avoid having as much of a problem this year. Have any other community gardens had success stories related to combating mosquitoes? One of the things we want to do is install a batbox or two. Has anyone had a success story with attracting a bat population? Care to share it with us? Thanks, Emily Brown __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
Re: [cg] mosquito control
Purple Martins are the secret to mosquito control. We have a number of houses on our property at the Sunshine Community Gardens in Austin. Check out these links for information: http://www.purplemartin.org/ http://www.purplemartin.org/main/letter.html Kathleen Cobb Sunshine Community Gardens [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Our community garden (6/15 Green) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been plagued by a phenomenal mosquito population over the past two years. We're trying to get a head start this year on covering out water barrels and other measures to avoid having as much of a problem this year. Have any other community gardens had success stories related to combating mosquitoes? One of the things we want to do is install a batbox or two. Has anyone had a success story with attracting a bat population? Care to share it with us? Thanks, Emily Brown __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
[cg] Re: mosquito control
Hi, Emily, Have you considered 'dunks' (they look like very shopworn donuts) of BT (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis)? They are, like BT for control of cabbage worms, a naturally occuring bacteria. Unlike 'garden' BT, which clobbers any caterpiller that eats it, the 'dunk' BT seems to only affect mosquitos and black flies. Here's the EPA sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006476.htm I use them in a couple of ponds when the fish and dragonflies can't keep up with the wrigglers, and they work great. A bit wilder idea would be to introduce fish to your water barrels, either Gambesia (mosquito fish) or something else that eats skeeter larva. And you can make sure you drain your barrels regularly, meaning the bugs can't establish a complete life cycle. Here's another interesting lead, from the turtle people: http://www.tortoise.org/general/pondvectorcontrol.html Good luck. I like bats and birds a lot, but I think you need to nip the little bloodsuckers in the bud, before they start flying around looking for you. I like the oil idea, too - might be you can combine strategies. Don B. Charlotte NC __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
[cg] Re: mosquito control
Hi, Emily, Have you considered 'dunks' (they look like very shopworn donuts) of BT (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis)? They are, like BT for control of cabbage worms, a naturally occuring bacteria. Unlike 'garden' BT, which clobbers any caterpiller that eats it, the 'dunk' BT seems to only affect mosquitos and black flies. Here's the EPA sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006476.htm I use them in a couple of ponds when the fish and dragonflies can't keep up with the wrigglers, and they work great. A bit wilder idea would be to introduce fish to your water barrels, either Gambesia (mosquito fish) or something else that eats skeeter larva. And you can make sure you drain your barrels regularly, meaning the bugs can't establish a complete life cycle. Here's another interesting lead, from the turtle people: http://www.tortoise.org/general/pondvectorcontrol.html Good luck. I like bats and birds a lot, but I think you need to nip the little bloodsuckers in the bud, before they start flying around looking for you. I like the oil idea, too - might be you can combine strategies. Don B. Charlotte NC __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
[cg] mosquito spraying and community gardens
Greetings: Members of the community garden in which I am involved want an organic garden. However, the chemical the city sprays to control mosquitos is Anvil 10 + 10 ULV. According to the MSDS, we should Avoid contamination with food and feedstuffs. (So much for all of that fresh basil, lettuce and spinach ...) Furthermore, if we are to have a truly organic garden, this chemical appears on the banned list. That being said, we too would like to explore natural mosquito controls (I saw listed bat houses and purple martin houses). However, has anyone had any luck working with municipal governments to stop the spraying? If so, what advice can you provide? Thanks so much. best, angela herrmann --- angela herrmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] - You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi - Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
Re: [cg] mosquito spraying and community gardens
A LOT of people are fighting such fights; and the saddest part of it all is that its just PR poison. The way to prevent mosquitoes is to do just that--prevent them. Those spray trucks are just to try and calm down people complaining about being bit. Studies estimate that less than 1/10 of 1% of the spray ever meets a mosquito. ---McG - Original Message - From: Ken Hargesheimer [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 5:41 PM Subject: Re: [cg] mosquito spraying and community gardens Howard Garrett, www.dirtdoctor.com has a running battle with the city of Dallas on this. Ken Hargesheimer On 4/10/06, SafariAng [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Greetings: Members of the community garden in which I am involved want an organic garden. However, the chemical the city sprays to control mosquitos is Anvil 10 + 10 ULV. According to the MSDS, we should Avoid contamination with food and feedstuffs. (So much for all of that fresh basil, lettuce and spinach ...) Furthermore, if we are to have a truly organic garden, this chemical appears on the banned list. That being said, we too would like to explore natural mosquito controls (I saw listed bat houses and purple martin houses). However, has anyone had any luck working with municipal governments to stop the spraying? If so, what advice can you provide? Thanks so much. best, angela herrmann --- angela herrmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] - You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi - Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
Re: [cg] mosquito control
Cover all your standing water! That's the best solution. Mosquito dunks are the next line of attack. You can also put a few drops of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap in the water barrels. The soap doesn't harm plants but it drowns the larvae. It wears out a day or two so it's not a long term solution. Bats and birds and fish are fun solutions but not always dependable or effective. Mosquito fish will devour the larvae but if the barrel gets too warm the fish will expire. And people will probably end up watering their plants with fish by accident. William Hohauser President Sixth Street and Avenue B Garden Manhattan, NY On Apr 9, 2006, at 10:40 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Our community garden (6/15 Green) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been plagued by a phenomenal mosquito population over the past two years. We're trying to get a head start this year on covering out water barrels and other measures to avoid having as much of a problem this year. Have any other community gardens had success stories related to combating mosquitoes? One of the things we want to do is install a batbox or two. Has anyone had a success story with attracting a bat population? Care to share it with us? Thanks, Emily Brown __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http:// www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https:// secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
[cg] The Great Parsnip Robbery
Friends, Another case for the , you can't make this [EMAIL PROTECTED] up, file. Regards, Adam Honigman Hell's Kitchen, NYC 200 POUNDS OF PARSNIPS STOLEN ANNALS OF IMPROBABLE RESEARCH - Parsnips have special appeal to philosophers, especially in Concord, Massachusetts, home to the transcendental philosophers Emerson and Thoreau. The April 6, 2006 issue of the Concord Journal reports a philosophically vexing parsnip theft: On Friday, March 31, farmers from Gaining Ground, a nonprofit organic farming collective in town reported that approximately 200 pounds of parsnips had been dug up and hauled off. 'To take every one of them and without asking, we were more than a little heartbroken,' said Verena Wieloch, farm coordinator at Gaining Ground, which has a 9-acre farm on Virginia Road. 'If someone would just fess up it would be OK.' CBS - The quantity and the methodic way in which the carrot-like vegetables were dug up, led farmers to believe this was not the work of any creatures. I wasn't even angry. I wasn't disappointed, just absolutely shocked, said Verena Wieloch of Gaining Ground. The nine acres of farmland are dotted with grasses and shoots and leaves. So whoever found and dug up the parsnips had to really know what they were looking for. Only tiny greens were visible through the soil. . . Concord police Lt. Paul Macone said no arrests had been made, but that the matter was still under investigation. AIR - Parsnips are especially beloved by philosophers because they became the weaponry in one of philosophy's mildly epic battles. This was a two-parter, waged in print: Linguistical Butter and Philosophical Parsnips, N.L. Wilson, Journal of Philosophy, vol. 64, no. 2, Feb. 2, 1967, pp. 55-67. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-362X(19670202)64%3A2%3C55%3ALBAP P%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K Unpalatable Recipes for Buttering Parsnips, Jerrold J. Katz, Journal of Philosophy, vol. 65, no. 2, Jan. 25, 1968, pp. 29-45. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-362X(19680125)65%3A2%3C29%3AURFB P%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T http://improbable.com/2006/04/06/on-parsnips/ __ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
