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Moldy Tulip Bulbs

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Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicid...
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Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

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Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...
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Cutworms in your gardens

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Purdue Extension - Cutworms Cutworms overwinter under weeds, leaves stones and paths, ready to emerge on warm days to eat through your vegetables. Cutworms are not actually worms, but the caterpillar of a moth. They can be the larvae of Feltia jaculifera, Noctuidae, Turnip moth or Agrotis moths. Here's a helpful link http://bugguide.net/node/view/10464 It's 70 outside so I'm watering and weeding around the veg garden and finding dozens of these Dingy Cutworms and tossing them out to the birds. Keep an eye out as you work in the garden and toss them. Purdue Extension -- "Most cutworms overwinter as pupae in the soil or as young larvae, however some move into the Midwest as moths from southern latitudes. After emerging or arriving in the Midwest, moths mate then deposit eggs on soil, weeds, and/or crops (arriving moths may have already mated).  Cutworm lifecycle   Black Cutworm Iowa State    Cutworm damage may be prevalent where so...
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