Kyle Smith

My mom has been having problems with false milkweed bugs killing her Shasta dasies and false sunflowers.  False sunflower are the nymphs primary food source.  Does anyone have any ideas on repelling or killing the false milkweed bugs with companion planting or natural sprays.  I put radishes in with my roses to keep cucumber beetles off them.  I don't know if that would work for false milkweed bugs too.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how much to feed ducklings as they are growing and as adults? I would like them to free range for some of their food, but my ducks are lazy and they won't forage if I feed them as much as they can eat in a sitting. I've been restricting their food some so they do. I have six ducks fenced into around a 1/16 of an acre with plenty of grass and greens (bermuda grass, nut grass, plantains, lettuce, poppies, pigweed, kale, and collards).

In terms of edibles, rye, rice, cattails, watercress, arrowhead, pecan, honeysuckle, and mints would do well along a creek. If you are looking for medicinal plants too, fleabane, water hyssop, and sedge would be good choices. Also, if you remove or thin the brush on the banks, make sure to replace a fair bit of it with other more useful brush so you don't have erosion problems during floods.

You might want to consider adding figs, turks cap, apple, kiwi, lettuce, and asparagus to your creek beds too. I've got them in my food forest and they are doing well. Also, you can grow quite a few type of other grapes. I logged some junipers from a few of my friends' ranches and used them to build a few trellises for my grapes, kiwi, and blackberries since the posts will last a lifetime. Just some ideas. Have fun building up the creek beds.

Ken, I'd be interested in some of the cherries and chambourcin grape if you have any.

Eric, I'd also be interested in a couple black walnut scions.

I'd be happy to trade grapes, but I'm not sure how either Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon would do in Missouri. I don't know anyone that's had much luck with either in Missouri. (I used to live near St. Louis.) I moved down to Texas about a year and a half ago so most of my trees and bushes aren't established enough to take cuttings yet. That said, I do have quite a few yucca seeds if anyone is interested.

I'm just getting into grafting as well, however, I've found a lot of good information on a number of different university agricultural extension pages: Mizzou, TAMU, Perdue, etc. Perdue has a good page on grafting black walnuts: https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-105.html. The hard part for me has been finding scion wood and local grafters. Don't get discouraged, it took me a few weeks to find anyone.

Does anyone know any good ways to get rid of fire ants without poison? What are their natural predators? Are there any plants that deter them?

Have you tried planting anything drought tolerant in the space? I’ve got a dead zone in my yard caused by the combination of a hill, hackberry roots, and an odd combination of shade with sun at the hottest part of the day. I was able to fill the space with succulents, thornless prickly pear, butterfly bushes, and banana trees. You may want to try a drought tolerant plant in the space just to see if it could be a water related problem from the roots.

Thanks. I'll have to try that next season. Companion planting is a beautiful thing.

I’ve been having problems with Squash Bugs and Cucumber Beetles in the garden this year. I’ve heard diatomaceous earth can be used to deter them so I’ll give that a try. Does anyone have any other ideas on how to combat either of these two or know of other species that prey upon them that I could try to attract?