Worried about uninvited guests this summer?  Act now to minimize the threat of yellow jackets all summer long.
 
Yellowjacket colonies die completely each year, except for the queen.  In the first warm days of spring, the queen comes out of dormancy and begins to feed and search for a nest location for her new colony.  By trapping the queen in the spring, you can prevent the founding of the entire colony, and therefore minimize the problem.  To catch this window of opportunity, you need to do it now before the queens have found their colonies.  Even a few days can make a difference, don’t delay. 
 
Here at Orchard Nursery we recommend placing a RESCUE! W.H.Y. Trap within 20 feet of your outdoor activity area, as the easiest and most effective way to insure that you catch the queen before she starts a new colony. The beauty of the W.H.Y. Trap is that it takes the guess work out of figuring out which pest is bugging you. The W.H.Y. Trap safely and naturally traps all of the “bad guys” (20 species of wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets) without harming the beneficial honeybees. Take the time to hang a W.H.Y. Trap in your yard today, and this year, enjoy your summer BBQ in peace!

Sun, fairly rich, well drained soil and deep frequent watering, especially during bearing season. Apply mulch to conserve moisture and keep berries clean.
 
This week we'll have  the following varieties:
 
Chandler: This berry, developed in and for coastal areas, does extremely well in cold, damp climates. It bears medium sized fruit in June.
 
Albion: This everbearer produces mid to late season crops of large disease-resistant berries. Uniform long, conical, plump berries produces evenly throughout the season.
 
Eversweet: This everbearing strawberry is not "day-length" sensitive and thusly produces at 6 week intervals, from spring to fall. Performs well the first year, too!
 
Sequoia: This berry, developed in and for coastal California, does extremely well in our area. It bears early, medium to large, dark red fruit over a period of many months.
 
Quinalt: Developed for Northwestern gardens, this everbearer does well in our area and produces many large, tasty, dark red berries over a long summer fall period. Good disease resistance, too.