ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606170006
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dear John
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
Q: We have a compost pile in one corner of our vegetable garden. I don't turn the compost as often as I should. We had talked about moving the compost pile over a few feet and putting the uncomposted material on the bottom, but we haven't done it yet.
Our big problem is that voles or field mice have apparently made an apartment house out of our compost pile! I saw several mice scurry into the base of the compost pile this afternoon. "Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" suggests snap traps baited with peanut butter to catch and kill the rodents. They also suggest a bait of vitamin D that kills them in several days.
What should we do? After the mouse trap and vitamin D warfare hopefully wipes them out, we must move the compost pile. What are some beneficial additives to a compost pile that would keep rodents away? V.M.J., Roanoke
A: After you kill the voles or field mice, you should:
Keep a hot compost pile that is maintained properly, cooking all the time, and then used when finished.
Construct physical barriers so that mice will not be able to live in cool compost or finished compost that is being held until you are ready to use it.
Additives to a compost pile that will keep rodents away would be any combination of high-nitrogen material (such as herbicide-free grass clippings or manure) and carbon material (like dry leaves or shredded woody prunings) that will keep the pile hot.
Fast compost that is heating up to about 160 degree is stirred frequently and has the moisture content of a wrung-out sponge should not be a suitable home for rodents. Very slow compost and those piles that are unattended are the ones that have problems.
Q: Please help! Something is eating the leaves off my rosebushes. Someone told me that it might be snails and slugs. I don't know what to put on my rosebushes to get rid of the problem, whatever that problem is. J.S., Radford
A: Ideally, gardeners should know the identity of the insect pest that has done damage before selecting a control. Check your roses at different times of day and night to see what is eating those leaves. Not only will that help in the selection of the most appropriate control, but it will let you know whether the pest is still working or if perhaps you missed the damaging time and it is now too late to control the culprit. An insecticide will not control snails or slugs.
Q: Please provide information on how to save tomato seeds to grow in my garden next year. B.L., Roanoke
A: Here is the procedure taken from "The Virginia Gardener Handbook" from Virginia Tech:
Pick tomato fruit from desirable plants when ripe.
Cut fruit and squeeze pulp into a container.
Add a little water, then let ferment two to four days at room temperature, stirring occasionally.
When seeds settle out, pour off pulp and spread seeds thinly to dry thoroughly.
Store in an envelope or glass jar in a cool, dry place.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, in care of The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. Those of wide appeal will be answered during the weeks when the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for mid- to late June:
Take a soil test from around trees showing yellow leaves.
Immediately after blooming, prune old-fashioned rambling and climbing roses that produce most of their flowers in the spring.
Examine short-needled evergreens like junipers and cedars for young bagworms, which will be in the small-caterpillar stage now; control now with diazinon, Orthene or the biological BT while they're young, because older bagworms are resistant to insecticides.
Locate Japanese beetle traps at least 25 feet away from fruit trees, grapes or roses, because the bait in the traps will actually lure the beetle from neighboring yards.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB