Welcome back to the Pollinator Plot Blog! This past week has been quite busy, so there is a lot of exciting stuff we want to catch you up on:
Garden Updates
[Pine Patch]
Rain is the name of the game:
The weather here in Wooster has been on and off with its rain clouds, which was great news for weeding. In addition to watering the new plants, the rain (with assistance from Dr. Mariola’s beetle pheromone trap) has significantly deterred the population of Japanese Beetles inhabiting the Pine Patch and the surrounding premises. To share our appreciation for the rain I included the view we have of the Pine Patch up at our lab in Ruth W. Williams.
Pine Patch from Williams, July 8th 2021
Farm to Table:
Another fun and exciting thing that happened this past week nearby the Pine Patch, was zucchini harvesting! Even though the vegetable garden is not considered a part of the Pine Patch, it is quite possible that many of the same pollinators have visited both plots. I had the opportunity to collect some zucchinis that will actually be served at local restaurants!
Zucchinis are great in pasta!
[College Garden]
What’s in Bloom:
New blooms to the College Garden this week include Ironweed, Butterfly Weed, and Rattle Snake Master. Although the Rattle Snake Master doesn’t actually “flower,” it really stands out amongst its neighboring natives, and is great for pollinators too! You may also notice the bamboo rods propping up the Ironweed and Spiderwort. Helpful to keep the plants off of the walkways, bamboo rods are perfect tools to promote plant growth in their optimal positions. If you have any plants that start to fall over, consider propping them up with something of the like!
Ironweed with its purple flower
First Butterfly Weed flower at The College Garden!
Ohio Spiderwort is still in full bloom!
Close-up of Rattlesnake Master
Not a new bloom, but this Yellow Coneflower planted a few weeks ago is bouncing back from its rough start!
Chippin’ Away:
The College Garden got a fresh look last week when the new wood chips came in. As you may be able to tell from the pictures, more wood chips are needed to be able to fill out all of the paths. However, we did have enough to get three aisle ways weighed down. Even though by the end of this week it will likely remain incomplete; the wood chips have really started to bring the whole College Garden together. Be sure to drop on by to check out the different feel!
Would you believe it? We have wood-chip paths!
The aisle-way nearest to our shed is looking better than ever!
Chipping Away at the Wood Chip Pile
[Be(e)coming Something more]
Proposal for a Committee
The College of Wooster Pollinator Plots’ Team is happy to announce that we have made our first strides towards applying to the Xerxes Society for Invertebrate Conservation to become a Certified Bee Campus. On Tuesday, I gave a presentation to several faculty of the college in advocation of forming a committee that would oversee the future ongoing’s of the Pollinator Patch. With support from the professors and Phil, the head of The College of Wooster’s Grounds Department, our intention for applying is now backed and can get this project underway! I hope y’all are as excited as I am for what’s to come, and continue to stay posted for more updates in these next several weeks.
[And last but not least]
Some Cool Critters to finsih your friday
Red horse sucker from Killbuck Marsh
The bunnies taking shelter beneath a car during a rainstorm
A Praying Mantis beside Kauke (AKA “The Arch”)