Grubs, revisited

Grubs dug up from a 5X5 foot section of the vegetable garden

In May I posted a message about grubs and how, with an application of a special kind of nematode, I had eradicated them. Well, as it turns out, that assessment was a little premature. You see, with the life-cycle of local beetles and grubs, the beetles are out and about in April and May. This means that there are little or no grubs in the ground at this time of year. So, even if I hadn't applied any nematodes to the soil, there wouldn't be any grubs in the soil at that time of year. In June I began to find lots of grubs in the ground. There are some large areas with no grubs, and other areas with lots of grubs. So, apparently, the nematode application has had some effect, but the effect has not been uniform. Overall, I think there are fewer grubs in the soil now, after applying the nematodes. So, the situation overall has improved.

Happy gardening!

June Weather Report

June was generally rainy, cloudy, and foggy. We usually had a couple of hours of sun in the morning. However, the veranillo de San Juan (Little Summer (or dry spell) of Saint John) arrived early in the month, bringing us a week of dry, sunny weather. The veranillo generally makes its appearance around Saint John the Baptist's saints day, which is June 24. This year it arrived on June 7 and lasted for eight days. It was a welcome relief.

Total rainfall came to 10.9 inches, down 7 inches from May.

Warm weather has continued, with the average high of 78 degrees and the low of 63.

Happy gardening!