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We're Digging It

  • Avoid pesticides if possible
    If you are not squeamish about bugs and have a small vegetable garden you can get by hand-removing unwanted pests.
  • Tomato wilts; not sure what to do
    A couple of my tomato plants have wilted. I am a successful gardener mostly by pure luck so I really don't know why I am having problems.
  • Porch surprise
    The Sorgs now have four eggs in their hanging basket.
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Cathie Rowand | The Journal Gazette
Orioles and a sparrow share a bird bath. Birds need water when it is really hot.

Birds get thirsty, too

Cathie Rowand/ The Journal Gazette
A turned over pot and dish makes a quick easy birdbath that this catbird is willing to use.

Birds need to drink a lot of water, too, on hot summer days. They pant when it is really hot.

At least this is what observed yesterday when it reached 106 degrees in Fort Wayne.

The biggest attraction in my yard was the birdbath. I sat outside for a half an hour and watched doves, orioles, blue birds, sparrows, finches, robins, a wren, a catbird, a blue jay and starlings visit the birdbath.

I have old birdbaths that are too shallow so I added the dishes that go under pots. Water now last longer but every few days I replace the water.

In this heat, a mosquito egg can become an adult within a week according to David Fiess, Allen County Director of Vector Control.

If you don't have a birdbath, improvise. My neighbor turned over a pot and put the dish that normally goes under the pot on top. I have seen birds visiting the dog dishes in my yard. It doesn't take much to make a big differences in their survival.

Journey through gardening season with Rosa Salter Rodriguez (feature writer) rsalter@jg.net, Anne Gregory (Web editor and writer) agregory@jg.net, Frank Noonan (copy editor) fnoonan@jg.net and Cathie Rowand (photographer) crowand@jg.net.

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