The Buggy Botanist

I think most of us know that ladybugs prey on aphids, but have you ever watched one devour a spittle bug? Check out this awesome picture one of the volunteers at the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens took today!!

Ok, this isn't a plant or bug ID. It's a hummingbird nest found after someone pruned a shrubbery!

Finished grafting up the apple tree at the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens today! Now it has 21 Apples, 3 European Pears, and 3 Asian Pears! See the comments for the specific varieties.

You just never know where you'll find treasure! These are the eggs of a leaf-footed bug (Coridae) arranged neatly in a line on the stem of a Fourth of July rose.

Tis the season to graft your fruit trees! This is my newest Fruit Salad Demo Tree. It is a dwarf almond rootstock with an apricot, a nectarine, a peach, an Asian plum, a European plum, a cherry, and a full sized almond grafted on it. This tree will make it's debut at the Frances Ford Coppola winery this Friday where I'll be on the Speakerbox, talking about historical gardening practices including grafting!

If you missed me on the air this morning, you can catch the replay here:

Garden Talk Podcast – January 16th | KSRO

Check me out on the radio tomorrow from 9:30-11 pacific time on KSRO AM1350, streaming online at http://tunein.com/radio/KSRO-1350-s35477/

I'll be covering a wide variety of topics related to growing Fruit Trees, representing the California Rare Fruit Growers as the Chair for the Redwood Empire Chapter. You can even call in with questions!

KSRO 1350

Have you ever tried to grow mushrooms? Last year, we inoculated a whole bunch of logs, and then basically forgot about them. The seasonal rain showers we've been getting lately have apparently woken up the dormant little spores finally!

Corn S**t! This really cool fungus is eaten as a delicacy, and is also known as Huitlacoche ("wee-tlah-KOH-cheh") or Mexican Truffle. This beautiful example came from the Burbank Rainbow Corn grown at the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens. I'm not sure if I'll eat it yet. I'm definitely curious though. Have any of you ever tried eating this bizarre looking fungus?

I'm a proud parent of a freshly hatched monarch butterfly today! One down, three more to go.

Found a beautiful Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) caterpillar today!

Trifecta!! Monarch caterpillar, oleander aphids, and ladybug larva on a very sad looking milkweed plant (Asclepias curassavica). I found 15 caterpillars on this plant, and relocated most of them to the native milkweed growing in a different part of the garden.