Good Morning Paula!

Well, our first refresher course will teach how to identify those wet thingies that fall from the sky and turn our beautiful garden soil into mud. That is what is called R A I N. If anyone here is asking "what is the meaning of the word 'wet'?" then we need remedial training. Okay, now that we know what it is, let's hope we actually see some of it this year.

For grasshoppers, the time to apply Semaspore or Nolo Bait is shortly after they have hatched out, usually when they are in about the 3rd to 4th instar, roughly 1/4 to 1/2" long. It is most effective at that time. Later on, with larger grasshoppers, it is less effective and takes much longer to work. This next part is important. When you see dead grasshoppers lying around, leave them there. The Noseme locustae spores inside the dead grasshoppers will be spread to more grasshoppers when they eat the dead carcasses. Yes, grasshoppers are cannibals.

One important thing to remember about Nosema locustae products is that the disease can only survive for a few weeks on the wheat bran carrier in the product, so don't buy the product until you need it, and check the container for an expiration date before you buy it. Storing it in the refrigerator after it is opened will have maintain its viablity for a few more weeks.

The time that hoppers start hatching varies. I've seen it as early as late January, though not often. Normally at my house I see them at 1/4-1/2" sometime in April. In a very rainy year I might not see them hatching until May.

Because grasshoppers migrate, even though the grasshopper bait will kill a lot, more will keep coming. One way that Nosema locustae works is that it becomes established on your property and the disease spreads and kills for years after you used it. I only have to put our Nolo Bait or Semaspore once every few years for that reason. Serious drought does usually mean it has to be applied every year while the drought persists though.

Enrich your soil, especially in raised beds, by adding any or all of the following to it:

composted cow or chicken manure: I only buy Black Kow because it is 100% compost whereas some cow manure brands can contain as little as 10% compost with the rest being crappy clay filler.

compost: from your own pile or purchased in bags or in bulk

alfalfa meal or blood meal: to put some nitrogen back into the soil

bone meal: if you think your soil needs phosphorus added

pine bark fines or a mix of pine bark fines/humus: I buy this in bags at Home Depot in spring where it is often labeled "soil conditioner".

You can add various supplements for nutrition and to improve the soil--soft phosphate rock powder, green sand, lava sand, etc. I like to add some dry molasses because it stimulates biological activity in the soil. You can find it at feed stores in big bags.

If you feel like your raised bed is too high in sand content and drains too quickly, a quick fix is to buy the cheapest and worst bagged top soil you can find. Usually it is labeled as "Top Soil", costs a couple of bucks a bag and, at least at the stores down here, it is the most worthless clay in the world. This sounds crazy, but think about it...sandy soil that drains too fast actually can be improved by adding clay, though I wouldn't add a lot. This works best if you're adding organic matter at the same time and mix them in really well so the clay is evenly dispersed.

I always like to add Espoma Plant-Tone or Tomato-Tone because they add many micronutrients as well as soil microbes. Bio-Tone starter fertilizer does the same.

One thing I normally do with the taller raised beds (my tallest ones are not quite as tall as your beds on the east side of your house) is pile on chopped/shredded leaves in November or December. They are especially useful if grass clippings are mixed in with them. I pile them on about a food high, wet them down well with the hose and leave them there until planting time. Over the course of the winter they break down into leaf mold and then I incorporate that into the soil before planting.

To keep those leaves/grass clippings from blowing away in the winter wind, I put a permeable fabric over them and lay metal fence posts or lengths of rebar on top of the fabric to hold it in place. Most of the time I just use floating row cover because I have it, but sometimes I have used burlap.

Finally, if your soil pH is still too high in the raised beds, you can bring it down by adding sulfur, following the label directions to know how much to add to lower the pH a certain point. You also can lower soil pH by adding peat moss since it is acidic. If your soil pH is too low, you add lime. I always toss a handful of lime into my soil-less mix in containers every year because their ingredients lean towards being acidic.

Hope this answered your question.

I haven't read the APHIS grasshopper forecasts to see what they are saying. I am kind of afraid to read them. I still saw some grasshoppers here in December, which likely tells me all I need to know.

Dawn