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Judging from many inquiries that I have had, I have escaped the main onslaught of Japanese beetles. This is my second year of good fortune.

As many of you know, I plopped a house in the middle of a weed jungle about 14 years ago. As I slowly win the battle with weeds I have eliminated an infestation of smartweed that was a prime attractant for the beetles. Perhaps one control thought is to eliminate some of the plants that are their favorites.

If your infestation is light, soapy water may be the solution. Pick or shake them into a bucket of soapy water. They don't like that. The trick on many insects is to clog their breathing pores. You can also use a spray bottle of soapy water successfully if you get good coverage.

You can buy an insecticidal soap or you can make your own with a few drops of dishwasher soap mixed with water.

Digressing a bit, I suspect that soon some of your spring hanging baskets may be getting difficult to keep moist, The same mix of water and dishwasher soap will revitalize the moisture holding characteristics of soil in your basket.

The next line of attack on the beetles is to spray. The literature suggests for those who want to go all-natural to use a pyrethrum. This is a chemical derived from natural plant sources and is very effective. It's easy to find, too.

This troubles me just a bit since all chemicals are rated according to toxicity with something called LD 50.The LD stands for lethal dose. The lower the LD number, the more toxic. Don't get too alarmed. Even table salt has a rather low LD number.

My problem is that many of the synthetic materials that will be very effective on the beetle have much higher LD numbers than the pyrethrums. In other words, they are less toxic.

Common synthetic insecticides that work well are Sevin, Malathion and Orthene. I like the middle one since it targets beetles and is rather gentle on our insect friends. One of the keys to general insect control is to maintain a balance of good and bad insects.

Sevin provides a quick kill on beetles but is also more harmful to beneficial insects. Spraying with Sevin is like providing a banquet for the little red spider mites because it also kills several beetles that feast on spider mites.

There is also at least one bacterial product; it's called milky spore and can be spread to target the beetle grubs in the soil. In other words, you can solve the problem of Japanese beetles before you see them.

We finished off the last few handfuls of garden peas for supper last Thursday. Despite a slightly delayed planting and a bit too warm June we had a bumper crop. Even so I may continue an experiment I started last year.

Last year I planted a few peas about August 20 in hopes of getting a fall crop. It almost worked but I will plant several weeks earlier this year.

I haven't looked, as I write, but the seed pack will tell you how many days it takes from planting to harvest. That's helpful but, unfortunately, that only works in the mind of the person who wrote the seed pack. My peas, which I normally plant around April 1, will only be a few days behind those you plant two weeks to a month earlier.

The same is true for any plant. A late spring planting will shorten the growing period while an early spring or late summer planting will extend that time.

Meanwhile, back in the garden. If you are still thinking about adding a tomato, a pepper, a cantaloupe or sweet corn, act quickly. My guess is that it is too late for watermelon, lima beans or eggplants. They take too long.

Spinach did well this spring but the June temperatures shortened the season. This is another prime candidate for a fall planting. Lettuce would follow the same schedule, but I passed this spring with a late start.

The string beans look nice and I will make at least one more planting. That planting window remains open until at least August 10.

The first zucchini has made its way to the table several days ago and sliced with onions it was good. Since I really like squash, and if I have good sense and am not buried in zucchini, I will plant another one in several weeks for an early fall crop.

I have the same plan for cucumbers. The problem with the vine crops in the fall is fungus and general unhappiness as the night temperature regularly drops below 60 degrees.

Since my daughter is moving much nearer and she and her husband like sauerkraut, there will be extra fall cabbage in the garden. The ideal time to plant is from now until the end of July. Pushing into early August often works. Use the cabbage schedule for brussel sprouts.

With broccoli and cauliflower I would move the season back about two weeks. I have had success with a shorter season broccoli and cauliflower planted as late as August 20. That date doesn't work every season.

Grandmother insisted that turnips be planted August 20 unless it landed on a Sunday. Those years you did not plant turnips. That last sentence is a lie but that is a good date for the fall greens.

The spring vegetable planting season is about over but there is still lots of choices if you like to plant things you can eat.

My wife, an English major in a previous life, always proof reads my articles. When she finished this one she announced that she is headed to the garden to pick over the peas one last time. I guess you now know who tends the garden and who plants the flowers at our house.

At this point most gardeners are watching the sky searching for serious clouds. Our moisture situation is far from serious, but it might be a good time to plan our water management if our wait for rain continues.

My pecking order puts newly planted items at the top of the list. Then my ranking is larger shrubs and trees, my vegetables, annuals, perennials and then my yard grass.

Larger items that were transplanted may need attention for several years after transplanting. I nearly lost an oak tree in the last drought even though it had been planted three years earlier.

The vegetable garden's results will quickly shrink without adequate moisture. My tomato stake experiment mentioned several weeks ago is about to get a serious test.

As for the last three, annuals, perennials and grass I am less enthuastic with the water hose. To understand this you must realize that my gardening efforts, successes and failures cover several acres.

One thing that I am doing is adding some mulch as I find a few spare minutes. Early spring mulching can keep the soil too cool and damp to satisfy. That definitely will not be a problem now.

I repeat my frequent challenge. If you are a heavy waterer, cut your garden water use in half. You might be surprised at the results.

Another water problem with the advent of high temperatures is the formation of algae in standing water. For those with perfectly matched ponds with exactly the right plants, fish and filters that is not a problem.

For the rest of us I offer a few suggestions beyond chemicals. It is pretty well established that a few squares of barley straw will keep a pond algae free for several months. I don't know why, but it must be barley straw.

Another suggestion I heard recently involves putting copper in the water. Right now I am experimenting with hanging some old copper pipes in each of several water storage tanks I use. A week into this experiment I have no conclusions to offer.

I also read recently that in a small situation, like a birdbath or a small tub garden, that a bunch of lavender sprigs added every two or three weeks would control the algae. Don't know about this one but will share what I've read.

Changing the subject, I also was asked this week for planting suggestions to improve an unsightly damp area. When he added that he wanted something to crowd out the existing weeds, the red flags went up. Don't expect this to happen.

Before you plant anywhere think about the weeds. Get rid of them before you plant. I often use one of the generic forms of Roundup. That chemical is about as environmentally innocuous as any I know. Three or four applications over the length of a season works well. If you are adverse to chemicals, cultivation or smothering are options.

Gardening is always an interesting challenge. Water and weeds are two of the most important ones.

It's easy to write a column when you have been bombarded with questions. This week I'll take that route and throw in an idea I am using in my tomato patch this season.

The first inquiry focused on two clematis plants that had been planted at the same time and both seemed to be growing quite well. The one was full of blooms and the second still wasn't showing as much as a bud.

Fortunately the caller was able to identify the variety of the culprit, which made finding an answer easy. There are different categories of clematis. Some of the large flowered hybrids bloom quickly in the spring while another group wait until early summer to do their show.

She had one of each. The late blooming one responds well to removal of up to half its volume each spring since it blooms on new wood and re-grows rapidly.

Questioner number two was looking for plant suggestions for a butterfly garden in the shade. She said there was an unhappy butterfly bush that bloomed poorly near the spot. As I pondered the request I pointed out that since butterflies are cold-blooded creatures they function best in the heat of the day.

Mentally I sorted through the flower types that butterflies prefer and came up wanting for suggestions. The questioner left me with the comment that she would put her butterfly garden in a sunny part of her yard. I agreed.

A third question concerned a tomato plant whose leaves showed no discoloration and seemed normal except for showing signs of curling upward. The variety in question was unknown and I did not see the plant. Her watering schedule seemed appropriate.

I came up a bit empty handed, suggesting maybe the early stages of blight or more likely a virus. She shared her cultural practices and I could see no problems. It was in a pot in full sun and she had used fresh potting soil.

Often tomato problems come from planting in the same spot with infections coming from left over residue or problems left in the soil from the previous year.

Not knowing the variety throws open the door to questions of resistance. Recent introductions have a lot of disease and virus resistance bred into the plant. However, the popularity of heirloom varieties demands more attention to sanitation and rotation around the garden.

Now, I'll share my latest move in my tomato patch. It's not original. I read it somewhere, but it looks rather interesting.

My wife insisted that I stake our tomatoes this year and, after adequate procrastination, I got sections of inch and a half PVC electrical conduit. I cut them into five-foot sections and pounded them

into the ground beside the plants.The idea is that when necessary I can fill the pipe with water and the plant will slowly receive the moisture needed. As an experiment I have discovered that it takes about a half gallon of water per pipe and ten hours after the filling I could still see water in the pipe.

I gave my wife numerous suggestions as to how to tie the plant to the pipe but she insists that she will just tear up some of my old raggedy tee shirts for the job. I admire somebody's brilliant idea but fear that soon I may be left naked from the waist up. I guess that's ok if I stay in the garden and don't tell my doctor about my imposed sun worship.

Mid June is here. With the pace at the greenhouse slowing I visited my gardens seeking enjoyment from the hundreds of daffodil bulbs I have planted over the last several years.

As anyone who has ever gotten more than two fingers dirty in the garden knows, I found more dying leaves than enjoyment. Our spring flowering bulbs are now making their slow decline into dormancy. A bit of bulb fertilizer would still be in order.

Hopefully, your garden includes enough companion plants that what is left of the spring bulbs is hardly visible. If not, and your eyes make you trim the dying foliage, go ahead but the plant would prefer to disappear on its own.

Spring bulbs are just part of the list of plants called ephemerals. They bloom in the spring and then disappear until next year.

The large flowering bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilus is another popular ephemeral. I have this one growing in full sun and another trying to outrun a rapidly growing rhododendron. Both are quite happy but the one in the shade seems to bloom longer and go dormant later.

The small flowered native dicentras will stay vibrant and bloom all season unless stressed by drought.

A long list of woodland plants are also summer dormant. They include Virginia bluebells, trillium and jack in the pulpit.

I guess that they have found their niche. They perform before the trees have leafed out in the spring when they get plenty of sun and then fade into summer rest as the shade deepens. This is also the reason that daffodils can be grown successfully in the shade.

The woodland plants are becoming more readily available in the industry as the trade masters their growing requirements. Unlike a few years ago, today you will find commercially proprogated plants and not ones plundered from the wild. These plants remain fairly expensive and are not a place for the beginning gardener to start.

Another favorite ephemeral is a little fine leafed one called pulsatilla. They put up mostly flowers early and then follow with a bit of fine lacy grayish-green foliage. The flower resembles a small tulip. I have had this one in both sun and part shade and it follows the pattern of the dicentra above.

Most of you will be surprised that the common oriental poppy is also usually summer dormant. It comes up in the spring, blooms, fades away and re-emerges in the fall with a flush of growth to build up strength for the next blooming season.

The dilemma that prompted this whole article is the fact that you can walk into a nursery and buy a fine looking Oriental poppy, take it home, plant it and immediately watch it go into decline. The incorrect conclusion is that it croaked when, really, it is following its normal growth habits.