When You Know The Water's Coming

Water, water, water everywhere – this has been the reality for millions of people this year. If you are one of those affected, the consequences can be devastating. Hopefully, as you are reading this you have moved passed the drying out and cleaning up phase and are ready to assess what’s next. Because there will be a ‘next” and it will bring more water your way. Climate change is real and one of the undeniable effects it has on real people is that storms are bigger and more destructive than ever. As we work our way through autumn and into winter, it is a good time to determine what you can do before spring rain (or perhaps an unseasonable snowmelt) arrives. Preparing your home and family for even minor flooding encompasses a long list of variables (here is a flooding preparedness checklist from the Red Cross), but preparing your lawn or garden is something that need not be overwhelming. Many of these things you can even do in stages, to reduce time and money spent.

Swale and Berm landscaping

Runoff rundown: The objective here is for you to be able to determine where the water will go when it comes. Swales and berms are landscaping techniques that have been used since ancient times to direct water. Swales are depressions in the earth that hold water. They are often used in conjunction with dams, cisterns and other water catchment systems. Where swales are dips, berms are rises – they are raised beds or hills that move the water down into swales and/or other preferred drainage areas. French drains are another method that can be used to channel water. Simply put, they are sloping trenches lined with stones that has a pipe leading water away (here is a video on how they work). These are used extensively here in Southern Arizona, where our rain comes fast and furious Their name, by the way, has nothing to do with a country in Europe; it comes from Henry French, who wrote about them in 1859. While you are considering runoff, look at your rain spouts; redirecting their flow can be done relatively easily with great results (here are some wondrous examples). If you have them empty into rain barrels or a cistern, the water you don’t want in your yard can be stored and used later on your terms.when it comes.

Anacortes, WA by Joe Mahl

Soaking it up: As an extension of some of the ideas above, you may want to look into better drainage around the hard surfaces in your yard (patios, driveways, etc.). You can always create drainage alongside these areas, but a better (albeit more costly) solution would be to change out concrete or asphalt for gravel, rock, brick or permeable paving materials. Loosely apply these materials so that water can slip right through and into the ground. You will have less water in your yard and be doing your part to recharge ground water.

Rain garden

Planting with purpose: Before planting anything in your newly flood-proofed yard, make sure you’ve got your soil right. Why? Because, that’s always the first step in planting. And (if you read my blog last week you already know this) soil that has been flooded will most likely need to be amended to bring it an optimal condition. Well-structured soils are able to absorb and drain well, with sandy soils being able to drain better than clay-like soil. If you are more committed to a flood-busting landscape than you are to a particular look, it would pay to seek out those plants that like the sandy stuff. Likewise, if you feel that you will still have standing water at some point, pick plants that are tolerant to wet roots. Additional ways to improve your chances of success are planting native plants, diversifying the plant species you choose and aggressively cleaning and clearing out any area or thing that can dam up or hold water. Still unsure what plants will work for you? Here are some ideas to get you moving down that path.

Embrace the rain: Instead of trying to create a garden that can handle excess water, why not just go all in and plant a rain garden? A rain garden is similar to a swale in that it is on a downslope or depression and meant to catch water, but these gardens are filled with decorative plants, while swales are meant simply as water catchment systems. Determine how much and for how long water will be in your garden and pick plants that will flourish in those conditions (here are some plants that can handle extended submersion). If you are dealing with sea spray and/or salt water, be particularly careful to choose plants that can literally stand up to those elements. Let your imagination fly and create a beautiful garden in what would have been an area of standing water.

Preparing for a natural disaster and praying it won’t happen seems to be the sensible way to roll these days. It is widely accepted that certain steps can and should be taken to lessen the effect of wildfire on property, flooding should be viewed in the same way.

Submitted by Pam

When There’s Just Too Much Water…

Hurricanes, flooding, rain for days, tornadoes, high tides, early snow, late snow, snowmelt – whatever is causing it, it seems that people everywhere are dealing with more water than anyone wants. Even here in Southern Arizona; this week we’ve been hit with days of heavy rain courtesy of Hurricane Lorena. For anyone who has cultivated property, enjoys their yard or lovingly tends a garden, bringing it back after it’s been underwater is not an easy process. What type of damage a flood causes and how to recover (if you can recover) can depend on many factors.

Where to begin: The only actions that can be taken while the water is still present are diversion or pumping it out, both of which can be impractical at best in an active flood situation. Plus, neither can reverse damage to soil that has already occurred if it has been underwater for 12-24 hours. It is best in general to stay out of floodwaters; they can be full of contaminants and creatures. Fire Ants, for instance, form rafts of many thousands of individuals to escape floodwaters and you do not want to bump into one of those!

Once the water is gone: If there is trash or tree and plant debris, you will want to get that out of your space. If you have flood-deposited soil, you’ll have to decide if it should be removed. Although as little as one inch of silt can kill a lawn and three inches or more can harm a tree, removing it may not be the best idea. Adding and removing soil can be very hard work, is quite costly, puts you in danger of handling contaminants and is damaging to the soil (more on that below). It might be best to simply scrape residue away from some of the bigger plants and start all over.

Assess your soil: Whatever you do, do not work wet soil – it can cause serious damage to the soil structure. Wet soil can easily become compressed, which can lead to compaction and drainage issues when it dries. Wait at least several days to weeks before digging and if you plan to rototill, the recommended wait time is 90 days. You will want to determine how your soil biology held up to all the water. Soil microbes are an essential part to a healthy soil and they need oxygen. If the soil is submerged overly long, water displaces the oxygen in it and beneficial microorganisms can suffocate and die. Anaerobic microbes, which do not need oxygen, may take their place. A foul smelling soil is an excellent indicator that this has happened and that the soil needs to be brought back to a healthy balance before any planting is done.

Plant viability: How your plants are affected by flooding depends on many factors: length of time they were under water, what kind of plants and how old they are, time of year and the type of water that flooded. Warm weather flooding will affect plants more than flooding that occurs when plants are dormant in cold weather. Salt water will be much more damaging to most plants than will fresh water. Determining the condition of your plants can be tricky as symptoms can take weeks, and even years, to appear. Vegetables and flowering annuals will show symptoms before trees and shrubs. Damage caused by flooding mirrors common disease problems, so the root cause is often unclear. Here is a list of symptoms that appear in water damaged plants.

Vegetable gardens: First off, any produce that has gone through a flood should not be eaten. This is an EPA recommendation and it makes good sense. With all the unknowns in floodwater, it is the only way to be sure you are not ingesting contaminants. With fruiting vegetables, any fruit on them during the flood needs to be discarded, but whatever grows later should be fine. If you wish to err on the side of caution, wash those fruits thoroughly and plant a non-edible crop for a season.

What to do before replanting: As with all planting, start with your soil. A soil test is highly recommended after flooding.Water is notoriously good at leaching nutrients from soil, so even a minor water issue can affect what you’re planting in. If a soil test is not for you, you should still amend your soil and lightly fertilize (no heavy fertilizer while the plant struggles to come back). You can’t go wrong with the following products: Begin with TerraClean 5.0 to eliminate soil-borne pathogens; apply BioAct™ SD to chew through organic material; use products like ROOT, Biojuvant® Beny-Gro, Earth Alive™ Soil Activator™ or Inocucor Garden Solution® to return to a healthy microbial balance; add Earthworm Castings and, when the new plants are in, fertilize with DTE™ Liquid All Purpose or SaferGro® Biomin Starter®. Fungal diseases are common after floods and they are best controlled by applying proactively; so get ahead of the problem and plan to treat as soon as you can. Check out our Fungicides page for some excellent products to choose from.

Like fungal diseases, flood damage is best dealt with before it occurs. I will offer some suggestions on how to do that in this blog next week. Until then, stay dry out there.

Submitted by Pam

Earth's Hidden World Is Not For The Squeamish.

Here at ARBICO we talk about nematodes a lot – specifically our Beneficial Nematodes. These microscopic creatures control a variety of pests in the soil through parasitization. Our customers love them because they are easy to use and highly effective. By the way, they are on sale now through the end of September.

As helpful as the nematodes we carry are, they are by no means the only kind of nematode (aka roundworm) out there and “beneficial” is not a term one would use to describe many of them. Although they are not often seen, nematodes are found literally everywhere on our planet, including intensely inhospitable places like the deepest ocean trenches (they make up 90% of the sea life on the ocean floor) and miles below the Earth’s surface. In fact, the only place they don’t seem to be is flying solo through the air, as they have no wings. Of all the animals on the globe, four out of five are nematodes. They survive and flourish spectacularly and (for the parasitic varieties) have developed fascinating ways to prey on and reproduce within their chosen hosts. While their sheer numbers are staggering, their seemingly endless variations and specializations are downright amazing.

There are 60 species of human parasitic nematodes that cause a very long list of ailments with symptoms that run from the merely uncomfortable to life-changing to fatal. Elephantitis is a particularly gruesome disease that is caused by the bite of a mosquito infected with the parasite. In this way, the nematode has hitched a ride on the insect to get to its ultimate human prey. Gastrointestinal disorders are probably the most common human condition caused by nematodes, some of which may pass through a person without them even noticing. These nematodes travel into the human gut through body openings to get to the nutrient-rich digestive system. This happens just like you think it does.According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Hookworms infect 576-740 million people worldwide. These parasites live in the soil and are picked up through the feet. But, how do they do that? According to this article, they locate their prey by smell (insert smelly feet joke here). And then they leap.

The nematodes I’ve been talking about are in the microscopic world, but they can get much, much bigger. Consider, if you will, Placentonema gigantissima. This is the largest known (anywhere from 9-28 feet) roundworm and lives in the placenta of sperm whales. With such an obscure hiding place, it’s no wonder it was not discovered until 1951. Marine nematodes contain not just the largest, but the smallest nematodes as well. We know this because there are scientists who study nematode penis size.

There is no shortage of yucky-yet-cool nematodes. Sphaerularia bombi, a bumblebee parasite is one such creature. Once it has reached maturity inside its host, the female’s uterus will expel from its genital opening and swell into a massive bumpy sack outside the body. This sack, easily twenty times the size of its body, becomes a giant feeding organ gorging itself on nutrients. Learn more here.

Sphaerularia bombi

Another nematode super-specialist is the Panagrellus redivivus. Nathan Cole, known as the father of Nematology in the US, first identified this non-parasitic guy back in the 19th century. This worm is very tolerant of acidity and alkalinity and has claimed some unique spots by feeding on yeast and living in vinegar and even German beer coasters. Although these nematodes are harmless, you may want to ensure that your vinegar is filtered.

Nematodes have been proven to be the culprit in a mystery from the Civil War. After the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, soldiers began noticing a couple of things: there was a greenish-blue glow coming from some of their untreated wounds and those that had the glow healed better than those without. With no knowledge of microbiology, they attributed this glow to a higher power and called the phenomenon “Angel’s Glow”. Fast forward to 2001, when a microbiologist and her son decided to take on the mystery. They figured out that the glow came from a nematode carrying a bioluminescent bacteria that feeds on microorganisms. As this shiny little bacteria fed on its preferred meal, it consumed microorganisms that could cause infection. Here is more on this time traveling detective story.

If the gross factor doesn't bother you, here are some videos showing roundworms in action. This one is a roundworm in a cat's intestine; this one is a large nematode eating a smaller one and this one is a roundworm emerging from a mosquito larvae.


As if it weren’t enough that nematodes dominate our life on earth, scientists are working on taking them to the next planet. It really does make sense, though, since they have so thoroughly saturated every aspect of life on earth. In order to replicate our world elsewhere, it would behoove us to include those roundworms that work for us in insect control and agriculture.

If you are still not convinced that nematodes are everywhere, you should know that they live in Bikini Bottom with Sponge Bob. And apparently have a voracious appetite.

Submitted by Pam

A Busy September in the Garden

Now that Labor Day is in the rearview mirror and all the kids are back in school, people everywhere are amping up for the busy fall season. This is especially true for gardeners. This time of year is chock-full of gardening and taking-care-of-outside chores. As most serious gardeners know, September is not the end of the season. In reality, it is the beginning. What you do between September and late November will help determine how heavy your workload is for next spring.

Many gardeners are well on their way to having a fall garden by now. Depending on where they live, the planning and prep has been done and they have already planted or are ready to move on to planting. Those winter greens and vegetables will be very welcome as fall turns to winter. Here is a delicious-sounding salad that features Brussels sprouts, pumpkin seeds – and a surprise touch.

But what if you are not doing a fall garden this year? If you want to plant in the spring or just want a healthy backyard environment for your warm weather enjoyment, there is a lot that can be done now to make that happen. Putting in a little time now can save you time, money and worry as you come out of winter next year.

Plant a tree: If you are not up to going the whole fall garden route but still want to get your hands in some soil, consider planting a tree. Every day is a great day for a tree, but September through November is the ideal time for planting one. This will give their roots time to establish before hard freezes and allows them to concentrate their energy on growing roots before they put out leaves in the spring. The key to success with this schedule is to encourage strong and healthy root growth and to water deeply. We recommend Root Build 240 for the roots. For more information, check out our tree planting blog here.

Apply Beneficial Nematodes: We strongly encourage fall applications of these microscopic organisms to control pests that overwinter in the soil. We have beneficial nematodes that can control a myriad of pests, including various beetles, ticks, fungus gnats and caterpillars. Apply some now and apply again in the spring to knockdown any pests that got away. These fascinating creatures do amazing unseen work in the ground. We have a ton of information on them here. And they are on sale through September!

Move your garden to containers: If you have some plants that you’d like to keep going or some favorites that you like to have around, put them in containers. It will be easier to protect them (and yourself) from the elements. Put them close to the house or on a porch for easy access and raise them off the ground; this will keep them from becoming waterlogged in the wetness of fall and winter. Here is a video with some tips on fall container planting. 

Lawns: Your lawn will enjoy some dethatching, fertilization and aeration at this time of year. And, while you’re at it, you may as well go after those stubborn perennial weeds. Weeds draw up nutrients in the fall to prepare for winter; if you apply herbicide now it will be drawn up as well. Corn Gluten Meal may work well for you; it will fertilize as well as kill weeds. Check out our blog on this versatile corn by-product. We also have many other excellent weed control options here.

Clean out sheds, greenhouses and cold frames: Now that the weather is cooling off (except here in Southern Arizona), get out and clear up the clutter that it was just too darn hot to deal with over the summer. If you are planting again, you will want this clean slate. If you are not, cleaning now will give you a chance to move items that shouldn’t be out in the cold and free you from spending your spring days going through debris from the year before. Be sure to empty and clean out all the compost and decaying plant matter from old pots and containers to keep overwintering pests from finding a home there.

Trim things up: Help your plants by maximizing light sources as we move into the darker months. Remove thick or overhanging vegetation around your garden, greenhouse or patio. To encourage pumpkins to ripen by Halloween, trim up any leaves and/or re-direct vines that may be shadowing them. If you have apple trees – lucky you – run the mower under them so you’ll be able to easily spot any windfalls.


Compost: Not composting? Start now to take advantage of falling leaves and dead plant material. If you are already composting, you probably know already that the bounty of leaves in the fall are an excellent addition to a compost pile. Check out our composting products here.

Plan for beauty: Now that you have a trimmed up and cleaner yard environment, and a plan for all the fallen leaves that someone will have to rake up, it's time to plant bulbs for next year’s enjoyment. Stick them in now and when they start popping out next spring you will be so glad you did.                                                                 
Above all, get out and enjoy this time of beautiful time of year. The sunny, cool days and crisp nights of autumn are something that this Virginia native gets homesick for every year at this time.

Submitted by Pam

Mosquito Control On The Fly

Back in April, I wrote about ways we can bring pollinators to our yards. Now I am turning to mosquito eaters. In these dog days of summer, mosquitoes are the fun spoilers of our backyard parties, hikes in the woods and days on the water. Here in southern Arizona, our monsoons came late so we’ve had a reprieve for a while. But now that we’ve had some serious storms, puddles and water-filled crannies everywhere are turning into mosquito nurseries. Besides using some of ARBICO’s awesome and earth friendly mosquito products, I’d like to suggest you consider luring some voracious skeeter eaters to your yard. Specifically, bats.

By now, I’m hoping, most people know that bats have been falsely and unfairly portrayed in popular culture. They are not fearsome and malevolent creatures that go after people. They are more like Batman, really. They swoop in and come to humanity’s aid. Not by beating up the Joker, but by pollinating plants for us and devouring millions of mosquitoes.

Bat eating a moth

Bats are extraordinary insect hunters. Each one can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sizes insects every hour. If they are out and about getting their bug grub on for 7 hours, that adds up to over 8,000 insects per bat! Of course, bats do not only eat mosquitoes, they also enjoy moths, beetles, flies, gnats and lots more. In this way, their opportunistic and enthusiastic predation covers insects that target crops as well as people. With their outsized appetites, encouraging insect hunting by bats around your home can significantly reduce the number of bites you and your pets will have to endure. And their droppings (guano) is an exceptional fertilizer for your garden.

The key to luring anything anywhere is to have something it wants. In the case of bats, if you want to lure them to your yard, you’ll want to create a space that bats will want to visit. The most important things for bat visitors are water, insects, plants and shelter. All of these elements are symbiotic and together make a first-rate bat habit, but adding even one or two of them would be helpful and enticing to your bat neighbors.

Water – Being a bat is thirsty work. It is estimated that bats can lose 50% of their body weight in water in a single day due to their non-stop, high-energy hunting style. They rarely even stop to drink, preferring the drive-by dip and sip method (see them in action here). So, you’ll want to provide some water in an area or container without high edges that they can access mid-air and mid-flight. It does not need to be big, a little backyard water feature can do nicely.

Insects – Bats definitely need water, and where these is water there is also insects. For an insectivore, a pond or water feature can become a convenience store with one-stop shopping. It doesn’t make much sense to try to bring in bats to kill mosquitoes and then provide a space for mosquitoes to thrive in. But you also can’t be overly hostile to insects or all of them, beneficial and otherwise, will abandon the area. What to do? First, if you absolutely must treat for mosquitoes, use something that will not harm the bats. Natular DT and Natular G30 WSP are very effective and easy to use and is safe for everything but mosquito larvae. Whether you treat to control mosquitoes or not (but especially if you do), encourage native and beneficial insects to stick around. Insect-eating bats enjoy a diverse diet, so a moth appetizer with its mosquito dinner is appreciated.

Plants – One of the crucial elements in a bat and beneficial-friendly garden are native plants. Native insects love their hometown plants and will congregate around them. Bats in the area will be tuned into this and will be on the lookout for healthy clusters of these plants. So, plant native species first. The other option is to create an oasis of night blooming flowers that will attract nocturnal insects. Datura, Moonflowers, Nicotonia and Night-Blooming Jasmine are all beautiful and deliciously fragrant options. Night-blooming water lilies would give you the water ingredients and the insect attractant in one gorgeous setting. If you don’t have (or want) a pond, here is how you can have water lilies in containers. Or go all out and create a Moon Garden; it will be as enticing to you as it is to night insects.

Bat Houses

Shelter – When you plant native species, you are not just providing a space for native insects to dwell; you are giving native bats a place that feels safe to them. They may rest for a while or make themselves at home for extended periods. If you are interested in giving bats a more secure or permanent home, the only way to go is with a bat house. Individuals and communities around the globe are embracing the potential and installing bat houses. Before you take this awesome step, be sure to read up on how it should be designed, built and positioned in the yard. Bats are particular about where they set up house and will either ignore or abandon a structure that doesn’t measure up. Here is a document from the experts at Bat Conservation International that clearly lays out the criteria for success. You can also get a bat house from us here; be sure to read all the instructions there as well. There is a place in Florida that built one of the largest bat houses in the world in order to help an endangered bat, check out this interesting and inspiring story here.

I encourage you to open your mind (and yard, garden or patio) to bats, but that does not mean that you should be overly friendly with them. Just keep your distance from them. Sit back and watch them hunt while you enjoy your moon garden and water feature; don’t try to interact with them. Remember that bats can carry rabies and other diseases (but not always), so watch wisely. And never pick one up!

On a lighter note, did you know bats have sparkly poop? I didn’t, either, until I read it here.

Submitted by Pam

Planting Trees For Life

"A Society Grows Great When Old Men Plant Trees in Whose Shade They Know They Will Never Sit."

Planting trees combines both art and science. Current research has made planting trees a lot less labor intensive than in the past. When I first started gardening we were instructed to dig holes that were 4 times the width of the container and two times the depth. If the tree was fairly mature, this could mean digging several feet deep.

Universities across the country have adopted the simpler guidelines listed below:

• Dig a hole 2 times the width of the rootball and exactly the depth of the rootball.
• Do not amend the planting hole. Plant in the same soil that you removed while digging the hole. Make sure to orient the tree in the same direction it was reared in.
• Water in the new tree – do not stomp or tamp the soil heavily. Use the water to 'close' the largest air gaps in the new planting.
• Make sure that there is a well for the watering, but do not allow the water to collect around the trunk of the tree. This can invite diseases, particularly on newly planted trees.
• Do not fertilize the newly planted tree; instead layer on some compost leaving a 2" clearing around the trunk. Place irrigation or watering lines on top of the compost.
• Mulch around the tree well, again leaving at least a 2" clearing around the trunk.

Watering and fertilizing protocols differ based upon your choice of tree, your micro-climate and soil type. Check with your local County Cooperative Extension for detailed information for your area.

One product that can be added to the holes you dig for the new or transplanted tree is Root Build 240 (with a few exceptions). It is a blend of mycorrhizae - beneficial fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the root of plants. These fantastic fungi greatly expand the surface area of the root system helping to increase the plant's nutrient and water absorption with the secondary benefit of reducing transplant shock.

As always, reach out with your garden and pest questions!

It’s Time To Get Your Zuc On!

Today is August 8th, which means it’s National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors Porch Day! Just one of the many wacky holidays out there, this one was created as a way to help abundantly successful gardeners get rid of their excess zucchini. This particular day was created by Thomas Roy (and his wife, Ruth) and is just one of the over 90 holidays he has invented and copyrighted in the course of 26 years. Find out how here how that all came to pass.

Wacky as this zucchini-centric day may be, the need to dispose of excess produce is real. Zucchini is notoriously prolific and when you consider that you can make a dozen or more loaves of bread from a single giant zucchini, it is easy to see how quickly an abundance can become too much. After making all the traditional recipes and moving on to pickling some, making a chocolate cake, wrapping it around fish for grilling and using it in nachos in place of tortilla chips, you may be out of ideas. Here are a few additional recipes anyway. Donating some to your local food bank (find one near you here) or a church is always a good plan. I am going to assume that, while moving through all the ways to cook it, you have pressed some onto your family and friends. You should be aware that this avenue can have unforeseen consequences. One summer a friend of mine had a bonanza of a tomato harvest. After days and weeks of cooking and eating them, she began handing bagfuls to everyone she came across. It got to be so much that some people began good-naturedly avoiding her, poor thing. Once you’ve exhausted all the options you can think of for using up your zucs, your neighbor’s porch might start looking pretty good.


What I’ve found most interesting while reading up on NSSZOYNP Day is how people have taken the zucchini drop idea and made it their own. From Italy to the American West, bloggers, news entities and everyday people have been discussing and relaying experiences with squash subterfuge in all types of neighborhoods and dwellings. And no porch is necessary; zucchinis have been left in hallways, on desks, windowsills, welcome mats, railings and stoops. Many, if not most, of these zucchini are purchased for the express purpose of giving them away. In this way, the act of giving a zucchini has morphed from a need to find a home for extra squash into a way to get to know your neighbors and co-workers. So a personal need to get rid of something has become a way to spread kindness and build community. And that is just plain wonderful! The Zucchini Challenge, for instance, encourages creativity and a “pay it forward” mindset in a fun and easy-to-do manner. Some people embrace all the fun of the sneakiness and their neighbors’ puzzlement in their humorous adventures slinking around with vegetables. Others prefer a sweeter approach with a more thought-out presentation. There are even some cute tags to add to a zuc gift. It’s all about the positivity stream, no matter how it's approached.

So, if you have some zucchini lying around, leave it for a neighbor.You could even just leave it on a park bench or bus stop. Today, tomorrow or the next day would be fine. The idea is to share and be kind, however one does it, and those sentiments are needed every day. To keep the energy rolling, I think we should consider a day in the fall that could be Plop A Pumpkin On A Porch Day.

Submitted by Pam