All the Dirt on Gardening

All along the north part of our 2.5 acre fence, we have planted habitat for turtles, pollinators, birds and whomever else wants to seek shelter from the summer heat. There are vines for butterfly caterpillars to munch, small and large flowers to provide pollen for daytime and nighttime eaters (moths, skippers, butterflies, bees, wasps, etc.) The native peach trees drop fruit for fruit seeking butterflies and the peaches are munched by small mammals. Here are a few snaps from the north fence.

Monarch Watch in Kansas tracks the migration of Monarch butterflies as they relocate to Mexico for the winter months. Tulsa World ran a column on Sunday about the fall butterfly watch and the Associated Press also ran a fall story about them. Here are the links - Associated Press story and Tulsa World story about the local butterfly count. Our milkweed plants are still loaded with caterpillars, rapidly growing long and fat. According to the chart at Monarch Watch, Muskogee OK is at its peak migration activity from September 24 to October 6. And, that is what my eyes tell me, too. To find your peak Monarch migration period. 1- Go to Google or Dogpile and enter in quotes your town followed by the word latitude. For example "muskogee oklahoma latitude" and you will find a site such as www.travelmath.com that will give you the right numbers. Muskogee is 35 degrees north. 2 - Then, go to http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/peak.html and look for your latitude on the chart t...

Whether you call them Asclepias or Milkweeds, this family has everything from tall weeds that grow in drainage ditches to garden quality plants. Some of them are shrubs, some grow in wet soil, and others thrive in dry scrub. They grow in South Africa and there is at least one milkweed in every state of the U.S. Their flowers vary but all have seedpods filled with a fluffy, silky substance that carries the seeds on the air. Asclepias flowers attract several types of butterflies and their leaves provide food for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. There are three potential problems with growing Asclepias: The milky sap can cause a rash on sensitive skin, they attract aphids and cows can become sick if they eat it. Many Asclepias are native to Oklahoma but you can also grow other varieties with special care. The USDA Plants Database lists them at http://plants.usda.gov/ . If you have a milkweed to identify, go to http://shrvl.com/n751D to see 226 photos and drawings of Asclepias varieties. C...