BrianW

Its host specific. See the Uconn link in my first post. Particular strains of Bt proteins are host-specific, binding to certain receptors in the insect's gut wall like a lock and key. It is important to use the strain of Bt that targets a certain pest. New to the home market in 2015 was the strain Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae (Btg) which is reportedly effective against both the adult and grub forms of Japanese, Asian, and Oriental beetles, all of which cause large amounts of damage to turf. The following are some of the most commonly used Bt strains:

Look into this newer product grubgone that contains a soil borne bacteria. Its not cheap but way better for the environment and pollinators. I read a few studies done on it from Uconn and UMass and it's appears to be extremely effective on grubs. In some tests it performed better on grubs than the popular Merit insecticide. Also works on gypsy moths and other pests. https://growitnaturally.com/products/grubgone http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/FactSheets/bacillus-thuringiensis.php

Cool article where they used NOAA nexrad radar to pinpoint where a meteorite broke up over Mississippi last week. Apparently meteorite hunters have flooded the area and they have recovered a few pieces so far. Using the time and location for the event provided by the AMS, amateur fireball researcher Eric Rasmussen looked over NOAA’s Doppler NEXRAD weather radar and saw something suspicious near the time and place of the fireball. A large cloud appeared and then disappeared near the end of the fireball’s path right after the event occurred. This cloud was found in data from three different NEXRAD radar stations. https://www.amsmeteors.org/2022/05/meteorites-recovered-in-mississippi-from-april-27th-2022-morning-fireball/

I use to work in a lot commercial buildings and you would be amazed on how many fire systems are completely neglected and not working. Sprinkler rooms that look like they have been leaking for a decade with the last service tag from 12 years ago. I have seen tons of building fire panels just dead and not even have power. So many companies skimp on maintaining their fire systems and most towns and cities have no annual inspections on that stuff so places get away with neglecting it. I bet sadly that's exactly what happened here. Most of the sprinkler systems that far up north are filled with compressed air due to the freeze risk. There is a valve that is supposed to activate when a sprinkler head or two activates and it senses the air pressure drop and sends water to the pipes. They are very complicated systems compared to ones that are just pressurized with water. The air pumps that keep the system pressurized are known to have issues and if the pump is dead the sprinklers won't work at all.

The sunnier part is definitely true. I had record monthly solar production this April and last year as well. I had 21 really sunny days this April. My April 21/22 solar production was on par to what I normally generate in June. I generated about 30% more solar the last 2 April's compared to the previous 6. Anyone else with Solar notice a huge increase in April production as well?

Anyone else notice the huge jump today in fuel prices? Heating oil went up 50 cents today to $5.50 a gallon and diesel was selling for over $6 a gallon in Fairfield County today when I was driving through.

Hopefully everyone can experience a real Iowa summer with truly spectacular dews. I have family on the Iowa/Missouri border and was there last July for this special stretch....

Measage me come harvest time. Any others interested in some hit me up as well. Always love sharing the harvest.

What a growing season. Just hit almost 40 continuous days above freezing. Spectacular early flowers this year...

1.5 for Branford. A friend in New Haven right by exit 8 on 91 where the big crash was measured 2.2 inches.

That was a sick streamer. It's still going strong here as well.

Friend said there is over 2 inches just north of New Haven and roads are a mess. Looks like the Southbury crew has been under it as well.

There's been a heavy lake effect streamer over New Haven for hours. Woke up to an inch or so on the ground.

Connecticut is going to suspended the 25 cent excise tax on gas for 3 months. Connecticut motorists should start seeing relief at the pump in early April with the General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelming approving a three-month suspension of the state’s 25-cent-per-gallon excise tax.

Yeah. Upton has 1-2 inches here. Rainfall totals look to be around 3/4 of an inch well inland, to about an 1 1/2 inches across the majority of the region, with an additional quarter inch of so possible Thursday night. Thus a storm total of about 1 to 2 inches is forecast for this system over a long duration of over 30 hours.

Danbury +8.0 New Haven +5.6 Groton +4.3 Bridgeport +3.6

Its all about the soil temperatures which are currently like +15 over the 10 year average and +10 over the 5 year average. The last real sustained cold here was back in late February.

Nice memorial you did for your companion. That is our rescue pup from Georgia Woody. We got him when he was 5 months old and he will be 2 years old in June. He's a Chihuahua/Dachshund mix and absolutely loves laying in the sun.

Your probably a bit warmer there in SW CT. You have tons of stuff growing and blooming as well? The daffodils are going to be flowering in another week or so here. Skunk cabbage came up about 2 weeks ago which is insanely early.

It was a live view from this morning from my ring camera. I had the patio put in last fall and that darker grass is kbg sod I installed last year. Its still a little dormant. I live a few hundred feet from the shoreline and we were recently reclassified to climate zone 4. I had some cold hearty herbs on the deck that grew almost all winter.

Crazy early spring underway here. Forsythia blooming and daffodils and other bulbs are coming up. Seems about 2-3 weeks early. Haven't been below freezing in almost 2 weeks and HVN is +5.2 MTD. First cut happening today and I have a ton of weeds to pull under my deck.

I use organic Milorganite but was just reading that fertilizer prices have skyrocketed. Russia is the world's largest producer. Now might be a good time to stock up on all your fertilizer. The Green Markets North American Fertilizer Index, already high, jumped 16% last Friday. Urea, a major fertilizer ingredient, went up 22%. Potash, another major ingredient (Russia is the top producer), increased 34% in Brazil, the world’s leading fertilizer importer. The price for standard “starter fertilizer” 10-34-0 is up 49% from a year ago and likely to go much higher.

I read its also estimated to cost like $13 million per mile for a large natural gas transmission line to be run to New England. The permits alone will never happen as NY and all of the New England states have legislation to reduce carbon emissions by like 80% by 2050. New England would be better off spending billions on more wind and solar than a gas pipeline. I don't think people realize how much potential offshore wind is possible in New England. Even factoring in converting everything to heat pumps we would have 5x the electricity we need in New England. New England could generate more than five times its projected 2050 electricity demand with offshore wind alone. Massachusetts has the potential to generate the most offshore wind power of any state, while Maine has by far the highest ratio of potential offshore wind power to its current and future electricity needs. For projections of 2050 electricity demand, the report assumes that U.S. buildings, industry and transportation will all be powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels by mid-century. https://environmentmassachusetts.org/news/mae/new-report-new-england-has-vast-potential-offshore-wind-energy