Should you add some hostas as a side to your Memorial Day burger on the grill?
You are never too old to learn something new. In 40 plus years of being at my store, I have never heard or thought about this. One of my clients was looking for hostas to eat. She explained in Japan they are used in salads and cooked by searing in butter and salt and serving like asparagus. Certain varieties have different flavors. When emerging in spring, the shoots are cut and cooked before the leaves begin to unfurl. They kind of look like asparagus. Caramelizing them brings out a subtle sweetness. The flowers also are used in Japan and mixed in salads. Slugs and deer love em! Maybe you should try it as well!
Further research reveals, daylily flowers are also used. They can be mixed in salads, or deep fried and are viewed as a delicacy.
Dandelions are said to have great medicinal value and many use them to make tea.
Of course we can not forget the regular fruit trees. Apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, pawpaws, raspberries, black berries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, currants, gooseberries, quince, asparagus, rhubarbs, goji berries, wild rose hips, grapes, mulberries, elderberries, walnuts, chestnuts, filberts are just some of the bushes and trees which could provide you a meal.
Talk about living off the grid and being self-sustaining, here is your chance. With the pandemic, fruit bearing plants have really gained popularity. Jams and jellies can be made fresh, pick those fruits and berries, make a pie or custard or eat them right off the plant. It's pretty cool to serve your family with fruits you picked less than 100 feet away. I guarantee they taste better than anything store bought.
With Memorial weekend up and coming, the fear of frost, in a normal year, is put behind us and NO more frost is supposed to happen. Who knows what is normal anymore though? 80 degree April days followed by 17 degree days, then, in May, 90 degree days and 30 degree nights. Ugh, I know, it's Ohio. Tell me why we live here again? At any rate, now's the time to get the rest of those veggies, annuals, trees and shrubs and fruits in the ground.
As for pests coming out now, it has been a busy week. Tons of people have something chewing on their weeping cherry tree leaves. Hy yield systemic spray is the best to use for this. Azaleas have been attacked by lace bugs which make leaves yellow. If you turn over your leaf and see blackish/brown dots, you've got it. Time to spray with Hy yield Systemic spray as well.
Oystershell scale will be most vulnerable to killing very soon. This insect which prefers lilac, ash, dogwood, maple, poplar, and willow amongst others is given its name from its outer waxy shield. A spray of Bonide eight or Bonide systemic insect control will stop the crawlers from developing into the sap sucking creature which causes dieback of branches.
Rose bushes have been hit hard with black spots. Leaves are turning yellow and spots are encompassing many leaves. Remember roses are heavy feeders so an application of rose tone every 6 weeks will help fight off the disease but a spray of Bio advanced IMF (Insecticide, miticide, fungicide spray) will help to clear up the problem quickly. And if you have not done this already a great preventative drench is fertilome's 2-n1. Simply add 2 ounces of liquid to 1 gallon of water, spill around the base of your rose and you will be protected from the inside out of the plant against insects and disease. I love this product. Just remember to do it again 5 and 1/2 weeks from the date you use it.
The last issue I will address is weeds. This early April heat wave has spurred on tons of weeds already. I honestly think the most I ever had at my house. I took some weed free zone weed killer by fertilome and sprayed weeds at my house. Wow, was I amazed how well it worked on tough to kill clover, ground ivy, wild onions, even thistle. Within 5 days most everything was yellow, wilting and near dead. I intend to use this product more than ever and if you have some tough weeds in the lawn or landscape beds, use it. It impressed me and that is hard to do.
After spraying, I put down some Hy Yield Turf and Ornamental Weed and Grass stopper granules as a preventative which will last for 3 months. My wife even smiled a little. You know the old saying, the painter's house is the LAST one to get painted. That holds true for me as well. Nothing destroys the beauty of a landscape quicker than 10,000 weeds popping up.
Enjoy your Memorial weekend and thanks to all of you who have served for our country! Now get to mulching this weekend!! Thanks for reading!!
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