Welcome to Garden Zone, a monthly newsletter for anyone interested in gardening. ​​It's produced by Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in Mecklenburg County. View in your browser July Garden Tasks The growth of many plants and insects can increase with the temperatures, and watering becomes even more of a priority! Here are some things to consider: Perennials, annuals, bulbs 🏡 Inspect your plants regularly. Aphids, beetles, thrips and white flies are at their worst in July. You can hand pick and drown them in a bucket of soapy water. 🏡 If needed, divide and transplant daylilies, irises and peonies after they bloom. 🏡 Remove spent flowers from perennials and annuals to promote plant growth. 🏡 Remove one-third of growth off fall-blooming perennials to encourage abundant flowers and compact growth. Vegetables 🏡 Plant beans and carrots now. Collard plants and brussel sprouts can be set out mid-July. 🏡 Through August, start seeds indoors for collards, spinach, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. 🏡 Plant tomatoes for fall. Trees, shrubs and groundcovers 🏡 Fertilize trees and shrubs for the last time this year. 🏡 Do not prune spring flowering shrubs after July 15. 🏡 If shrubs need light trimming, do it now. Otherwise, the tender regrowth could be killed back over the winter. 🏡 Hot, dry weather fosters powdery mildew. Once spotted, spray every 7-14 days. Spider mites are another problem during hot, dry weather. Reduce their numbers with horticulture oil or spray with insecticidal soap. Gardening in a Changing Climate: Take Home By EMG Alden Picard It is critical to start taking climate change seriously now. This is not a problem to worry about later. The impacts are being felt across the globe today. The fact of the matter is that, since the Industrial Revolution, humans have changed the chemistry of the atmosphere. Carbon has been removed from the earth in the form of coal, crude oil or other fossil fuels; and then burned for energy production releasing greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Since 1895, this unnatural transfer of carbon from the geosphere (land) to the atmosphere (air) has increased the global average temperature of our planet by 1.8 F degrees. This rapid rate of warming is certainly cause for alarm. Warming temperatures, coupled with increased development, have changed the planet and created environments that are marginalized and no longer function as part of a “natural” system. This poses great challenges for agriculture and horticulture alike. Climate change is leading to erratic freezes and inconsistent winter chilling hours impacting the production of fruit crops. These novel conditions will likely lead to the emergence of new and unpredictable insect pests. Rainfall extremes and intense droughts are becoming more common leaving garden crops more susceptible to pests and disease. The increase in extreme summer heat is putting additional stress on plants and creating unsafe conditions for working outside. Fortunately, that are strategies available to face these challenges head on. Incorporating biodiversity as a tool into your garden and home landscape is critical to mitigating these impacts. Diverse ecosystems are more resilient when faced with environmental and biological stressors. Use cisterns or features in your landscape like rain gardens and swales to hold valuable water onsite during rainfall extremes. Consider reducing your lawn and increasing the vegetative cover throughout your property to cool the ambient temperature. Lastly, it is essential to select the right plants. Plants that are adapted to the cultural conditions (listed above) of a warmer climate will generally fare better. This means utilizing plants in your garden that might be considered nonnative. Photo courtesy of NCSU Rebecca Ward The Doomsday Global Seed Vault by EMG Amy Russell Despite it’s apocalyptic nickname, the “doomsday” vault maintains the world’s largest collection of agricultural biodiversity and helps protect against the loss of agricultural genetic material. It holds the most diverse collection of food crop seeds in the world in an effort to safeguard as much of the world’s unique crop genetic material as possible. Thirteen hundred kilometers into the Arctic Circle, deep in permafrost and thick rock, over 1.2 million seed samples from almost every country in the world are stored at less than -18° C at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Located on an archipelago in Norway, the seed vault opened in 2008 to provide safe and secure long-term storage for multiple varieties of essential food crops. With a capacity to store 4.5 million varieties of crops, and each packet consisting of an average of five hundred seeds, the Seed Vault has the capacity to hold 2.5 billion seeds! Due to the naturally sub -18° C temperatures, low levels of humidity, geologic stability and its position well above sea level, the Seed Vault is uniquely positioned to ensure low metabolic activity within the seeds and keep seeds viable for an extended period of time. It is located at the northernmost location reached by commercial air flights and, while it’s entry is built into the side of the mountain, the vault itself is situated 430 feet into the mountain. It is owned by the country of Norway and managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the regional gene bank NordGen and the Crop Trust. Photos courtesy of: Pinterest, Design you can trust, and Blogspot See video at the following link: https://seedvaultvirtualtour.com/ Creating Eden: Rhythm = Scale, Harmony, Balance, Repetition By EMG Sylvia Hindman What do you like in this garden photo? Is it the way the path gently curves? Or perhaps the repeated color of the golden grasses or the blueish evergreens? This garden is a good example of ‘rhythm’ with its flowing design and repetition of plants and colors. It isn’t symmetrical but it is balanced. And the scale of these plants complement each other, ranging from low-growing to mid-size to upright. Your garden, no matter the size or style or function, can have rhythm by being aware of the principles of scale, harmony, balance and repetition. Use drifts of color and similar shapes by incorporating groups of the same plants (it doesn’t matter if they are annuals, grasses, herbs, conifers, even vegetables). Plant what you like but don’t plant individual polka-dots as so many plant collectors do. By grouping or using similar color palettes, you will unify the space and create a more pleasing garden. The importance of scale often depends on the size of your property. A massive evergreen in front of a small house will be as out of place as using only ground-covers in front of a large mansion. Rocks, stairs, walls, planters, or hedges will also help lead your eye through the garden and create harmony. Just as you might sway back and forth when enjoying music, there is a feeling of flowing, being uplifted, happier, and more peaceful when in a well-designed garden. Photo courtesy of Joshua McCullough To drink almond milk or not to drink almond milk… By EMG Gina Tadle Almond milk has gained popularity in recent years as a dairy-free alternative, but a dark truth lies behind its production. Pollination of almond trees requires millions of bees, and their transport and exploitation have turned into a lucrative business. Beekeepers from all over the United States travel to California each year to rent their hives to almond growers. Once the trees have been pollinated, the bees are often subjected to harmful pesticides used in the almond orchards, which can cause severe health problems and sometimes death. Furthermore, the high demand for almond milk means that almond growers need to maximize production. This leads to the destruction of natural habitats and the displacement of native bee populations. The monoculture of almond trees deprives bees of the diversity of pollen and nectar that they need to maintain a healthy diet. The alarming decline of bee populations has been linked to colony collapse disorder, which is likely caused by a combination of factors such as pesticides, habitat loss, and disease. Losing bees would have a devastating impact on food production as they are responsible for pollinating crops that account for one-third of our diet. Therefore, it is crucial to support sustainable and ethical farming practices that prioritize the health and well-being of bees and other pollinators. Consumers can also make a difference by reducing their consumption of almond milk and opting for locally sourced and seasonal produce instead. Photo courtesy of: Bing, Healthimpactnews, and aginfo.net English Ivy Control by EMG Jean Wilson English Ivy remains a big problem in Charlotte. Many of us who move into established neighborhoods discover yards and trees covered with vines that were planted years before or spread onto our property from seeds of neighborhood infestations. Trees can die and fall due to the weight of the ivy leaves and vines. The ivy can carry a bacterial disease that can infect the trees. Mosquitoes lurk beneath the thick cover of leaves on the ground. The vines choke out all other vegetation, including the native wildflowers that our pollinators require, as they move into natural areas and continue to spread. In removing them, the first thing to do is cut the vines where they are climbing trees. Cut a gap of one to two feet and leave the vine in the tree. It will die and be easy to pull down in 6 months or so without damaging the tree. It can be helpful to dab herbicide on both cut surfaces of the vine. Vines on the ground can be dug out fairly easily if the ground is soft and moist. If there are no other plants remaining in the ivy patch, it is possible to use herbicide according to the directions. Because the mature leaves are heavily waxed, it is helpful to start by weed whacking the leaves off and then spraying the new