OSU Extension: Ever tried to make a salad in a jar? - Lancaster Eagle Gazette

Connie Smith  |  Correspondent

Want to learn an easy way to prepare a couple of salads for your work lunch?  Ever tried to make a salad in a jar?  Making salads in the jar offers a better way to exercise potion control, you can also save time by making several salads at once, and the clean-up is easy once your salads in a jar are made.  Think about the money you might save if you can make several salads ahead and maybe not purchase those individual grab and go salads available at most grocery stores. 

Don't miss the Salad in a Jar Program slated from noon to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 17,  at Keller Market House located at 134 S. Columbus St, Lancaster.  This class is free and open to the public.

Join Sandy Bohl, Instructor with Ohio State University Extension Fairfield County, as she presents how to make a salad in a jar. There is no cost for attendance, but registration is requested to reserve your space. Registration:   go.osu.edu/saladinajar or call 740-653-5419

Are your Boxwoods going SNAP! CRACKLE!! and POP!!!

How many of us love the fact that our boxwoods, stay green all year long?  They will grow almost anywhere and make a really great back drop for some annual flower beds.  For all those reasons and more boxwoods are one of the most popular shrubs on the market.

But with the many attributes of boxwood comes a negative element, the Boxwood Learminer!  Boxwood leafminer larvae voraciously feed as they mature in spring, leaving a fragile, translucent "window" of leaf tissue on the lower leaf surface. As they pupate, they work their way through this thin leaf tissue to facilitate the emergence of adults—which is the cause of the crackling sound. If you examine the underside of infested leaves, you can often find the pupal cases sticking out.

Boxwood leafminer adults are orange-red flies that resemble mosquitos. They emerge between 448 and 700 growing degree-days, roughly about the time that weigela is in bloom.

Management strategies could include:

• Selecting varieties that are less susceptible to boxwood leafminer, including Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa,' 'Pyramidalis,' 'Argenteo-variagata,' and 'Varder Valley.'
• Pruning right before adults emerge or right after adults lay their eggs can reduce the overall population. Be sure to clean up the clippings as thoroughly as possible and remove them.
• Chemical controls include, carbaryl, imidacloprid, malathion, permethrin, spinosad, and trichlorfon. Make applications to control adults from mid-May to early June—repeat applications as needed.
• Applications to control larvae should be made early to mid-summer, 1200–2400 growing degree-days. Systemic products such as imidacloprid and acetamiprid or those with translaminar activity such as azadirachtin or spinosad will provide better control of larvae in the leaves.  Be aware that all the products labeled to control boxwood leafminer are toxic to bees.

Source: Penn State University

The OSU Extension Office Update is compiled by Connie Smith, program assistant and master gardener coordinator with the Ohio State University Extension Office in Fairfield County.