GMG's Friday Find - Don't just Plant...PLAN!

So this week's Friday Find is all about planning! I decided to expand our veggie garden from last year and knew I needed a plan...so I started looking for anything that could help me organize all my hopes and dreams in one place...and this very cool and incredibly useful tool found its way to me!

Vegetable Garden Planner from Mother Earth News!

FYI, it is now available for the iPad!

I've included a video that explains how to use the planner...it is SOOOOO easy!

Description of the Veggie Garden Planner from the Mother Earth News Website...

...As each crop is added, the app automatically spaces the plants and calculates how many you can fit into the area you specify. The Grow Planner is flexible, too, enabling you to add plants in traditional rows, blocks, raised beds or using the square-foot gardening method, whatever the size or shape of your beds. And with the flexibility and mobility of the iPad, you can plan or add notes about your crops while out in the garden or while relaxing at home.

Grow Planner uses an extensive database of over 140 plants and nearly 5,000 weather stations across the United States and Canada to calculate recommended planting times for your ZIP code. Link it to an online account and you can receive planting reminders for your own crops delivered by email twice a month.

With the Grow Planner app, you can browse catalogs from several major seed suppliers, add your own varieties and even customize the spacing and planting dates for each crop. The app includes information on how to grow each vegetable, fruit and herb. It also provides bonus gardening content from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, including information on garden pest control, maximizing your harvest, designing your garden with permanent beds and paths, controlling weeds, and more. At the touch of a button you can quickly share plans with friends and family by email or on popular social networks...

So...your choice...will you just plant and hope for the best or PLAN and reap the benefits!

-Karen
GMG

Stamp out ugly, nasty stink bugs!

Stink Bugs. Those ugly, nasty, prehistoric-looking, shield shape insects that look like they should have a starring role in a SciFi movie of Stink Bug Zombies are creating havoc on crops and home landscapes and gardens.

They first appeared in Allentown, PA in 1998 (from Asia) and are reported in 33 states and spreading from coast-to-coast. Those of you in the "Red Zone" states: PA, DE, NJ, MD, VA and W.VA can look for the RESCUE! Stink Bug Traps in independent garden centers and major retail stores. To find a retailer near you, just click on RESCUE'S store finder:

To make matters worse, stink bugs are professional hitchhikers. So, it's only a matter of time before they come to an area near you. Eek!

Now, many of you may be saying to yourself: "Hey, I don't see any of these garden wreckers in my home - so where are they?"

They're in fields, yards and gardens, eating your plants and mating. The adult female lays eggs in masses generally on the underside of leaves, that hatch into nymphs. These baby eating machines don't have wings yet- and have only one focus: Eat plants.

And get this: Depending on the climate, warm spring and summer conditions can allow for up to two-three generations or more. The population can explode exponentially.

What is the food du jour these disgusting insects prefer? Um... everything from edible shrubs and trees to veggies and fruit. Got tomatoes? Stink Bugs love 'em. Peppers, apples, peaches, pears, plums, berries, corn.. you get the picture.

Don't have a veggie garden or fruit trees and berry bushes? 'Stinky' is opportunistic and will go for your foliage -and even your beloved roses.

So, how do we stop these disgusting invaders? Homemade traps are iffy and pesticides can be toxic to the environment, pets and kids!

This may sound corny... but I have to say it... finally, there's a new all-natural trap in town that's been been tested and trialed at the USDA's Beltsville, MD facility - and it works. Yay! It's called the RESCUE! Stink Bug Trap from Sterling International that's the first and only serious solution for this wretched infestation.

Gardeners will love it because it works and controls stink bugs in the most environmentally responsible, effective and low-maintenance way possible.

The trap works outdoors to catch the adult and ravenous young stink bugs, naturally. It uses a patent-pending technology that slowly releases a pheromone that's odorless to humans but powerful enough to lure stink bugs from up to 30 feet.

Tomorrow's blog will be on proper RESCUE! Stink Bug Trap placement for success and much more. Meanwhile, send us photos of your stink bug "invasion" and your gardens. Good luck!

~Lynne GMG

Stink bug photo credit: Wikipedia
photo of RESCUE! Stink Bug Trap: Sterling International