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Showing posts from September, 2024

Horrible Asian Beetle Grubs & Creeping Charlie

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  Every living thing is the amazing product of four billion years of slow growth and adaptation. Some would say that every living thing is precious.  I'd make an exception for invasive Asian beetle grubs. Vile, horrible, disgusting and slimy are just a few of the words I'd use to describe these hideous visitors to my yard. Almost as bad as Republicans. They love our apple trees, and have tormented them and stunted the last two seasons of growth. They skeletonized Kirstin's flowers.  They seem to thrive in another unwelcome and invasive thing that grows freely in our yard: creeping Charlie. Horrible stuff that makes the ground spongy and provides haven for the foul grubs.   Now, to clarify: We are not sticklers here at Steepmeadow. We are not striving for some "perfect lawn" full of weak non-native fescues. We won't artificially fertilize. We are loathe to water. We are going after a pollinator lawn, with healthy swaths of hearty clover, red creeping and sheep