Q: Random plants, 2-3 inches tall, are disappearing from my garden. What is happening?
A: Sounds as though you have a gopher or two. Burrowing rodents often are villains in the case of the disappearing plants. Check the surrounding areas for spongy spots or raised tunnels. If you are seeing only a bit of tunneling activity, a mousetrap set into the end of a tunnel may solve your rodent problem. Repellents containing thiram have been somewhat effective, as have hot-pepper-based deterrents. For more severe infestations, hardware cloth may be buried 3-6 inches deep surrounding garden beds.
Q: How do I attract butterflies to my garden?
A: The young stage of the butterfly is a caterpillar, and certain species require specific host plants. Dill, parsley and fennel attract black swallowtails. Butterfly weed and other milkweed family plants will attract monarchs. Sunflowers, thistles and hollyhocks provide food for a variety of butterfly larva. As a nectar supply for adult butterflies, plant cosmos, bee balm, asters, marigolds, sweet peas and zinnia. Butterfly bush and clematis are good attractants too.
Q: When attempting to purchase fertilizer, the array of numbers and types, organic versus inorganic, and dry or liquid, is totally baffling. What do all these terms mean and how do I know when to use what?
A: By law, products sold as fertilizers require uniform labeling. The numbers are ratios of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, respectively. They do not add up to 100 percent, since fertilizers contain other elements. A fertilizer labeled 20-10-10 would contain 20 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus, and 10 percent potash. Simple fertilizer contains just one of the three major nutrients, while a complete fertilizer contains all three. Nitrogen is the nutrient most necessary in large quantities. Phosphate levels are adequate in most established Colorado gardens, though in spring and fall, phosphate and potash fertilizers may be applied and tilled into the soil to promote root growth.
The label organic refers to fertilizers that are derived from natural sources or remains of once-living organisms, plants or animals. Inorganic fertilizers are manufactured. Specialty fertilizers may be water soluble, liquid or time-released. For lawns, slow-release fertilizers are recommended. Container plantings benefit from time-release capsule fertilizers, while water-soluble fertilizers work well in greenhouse applications or at lower dilutions in containers that are watered often.
Kathi Taylor is a Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Larimer County.
