As a Pine Cove resident, you are welcome to our offer of FREE Wood Chip for your Garden. Our wood chips are from local wood and kept as clean from twigs and leaves as possible.
We have an abundance of wood chips at our Dutch Flats location that you can help yourself to. Please bring your own materials to gather or shovel and haul the wood chips away. If you need a larger load call the office and we can deliver a dump truck load for a delivery charge. Our regular rate for delivery is $125 but we are having a SPECIAL FOR DECEMBER where you can get a delivery for ONLY $100. Our deliveries are around 9 cubic yards and you just need to indicate where to leave the pile. If you are planning on gathering a large amount of wood chips on your own, please check in with us at the office first, as we want to be sure there is enough for everyone.
We still have a small amount of compost if you would like that as well. Same pick up or delivery situation; help yourself to the pile at Dutch Flats or call for a delivery at $125 a load.
Pine Cove Water District hours M-F 9am – 12pm, 1 pm-4pm 951-659-2675 or email info@pcwd.org
Winterizing with wood chips to try to prevent the roots from freezing. Looking forward to more growth next Spring.
We have had an exciting season of hatching monarch butterflies. We are proud to be certified and registered as an official Monarch Waystation through www.monarchwatch.org.
Our new sign reads: This site provides milkweeds, nectar sources, and shelter needed to sustain monarch butterflies as they migrate through North America.
We really enjoy watching the process from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to hatching. Over the last week, we have released almost 20 healthy monarch butterflies and we still have a baker’s dozen more chrysalis’. I hope you enjoy our pictures through this journey.
Click here to read a story about another beautiful soul trying to raise the population of monarch butterflies.
Want to help the monarch community? Keep your eyes out on our blog and newsletters for a fun give away coming up soon.
What’s the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon?
The words cocoon and chrysalis are often used interchangibly when talking about monarchs and other butterflies. However, they are two completely different things! Cocoons are specific to moths, while chryslises are formed by butterflies. Moths spin silk around themselves and molt inside the silk casing. This provides extra warmth and protection from the surrounding environment. You can usually find cocoons attached to the side of something or burried under ground or in leaf litter.
Chrysalises, on the other hand, are not silk. Butterflies molt into a chrysalis, which is a hard exoskeleton covering that protects the developing butterfly beneath. Chrysalises are typically found hanging from something. For example, monarchs spin a small silk button to hang upside down from before molting from head to abdomen! (information taken from Monarch Joint Venture)
We were so excited this morning when we went out to look at our milkweed and found 16 NEW MONARCH CATERPILLARS!
We get to start over! They are SO cute.
Of course we are very careful about what we use to take care of our garden. Did you know that there are reports saying glyphosate weedkiller like Roundup is killing the Monarch butterfly growth?
According to a recent article from Genetic Literacy Project; media and advocacy groups are not fully reflecting the issue. “Why are Monarchs in decline? It’s a hotly-debate issue, with many studies with competing conclusions. Anti-biotechnology activist groups have singled out the herbicide glyphosate as a major driver of the decline, so the issue is embedded in a wider, inflamed debate over the controversial weedkiller. Which makes it all the more important that any new science on this issue should be contextualized and reported with nuance.”
From what I’ve read, it seems to be a domino effect with the weedkiller being used on the milkweed and killing that, leaving nothing for the caterpillars and butterflies to eat and lay their eggs on.
Of course there are conflicting studies that say there is a much bigger issue than the glyphosate theory. Some say the real issue is ‘how do we restore weeds’. My definition of weeds has always been a plant that I don’t want growing in my garden bed. But milkweeds are ALWAYS welcome.
Bottom line in my mind – use natural remedies on your plants to maintain the natural balance of nature. And I always recommend that people read multiple sources if interested in a “controversial” subject and form your own conclusion.
In the meantime – enjoy our little guys.
A little baby caterpillar we re-located to the milkweedA bigger caterpillar on the milkweed
Looking for a Halloween hand out to promote milkweeds and future Monarchs? I came across this promotion: Milkweed seed Halloween Promotion. (I have never ordered from them before and cannot validate their product)
We are trying our best to help the Monarch Butterfly population with planting milk weeds, bringing the caterpillars in to a safe habitat when they look like they are about to form a chrysalis, and releasing them into our garden when the butterflies emerge.
Our season looks like it’s complete as all of the caterpillars we had have hatched and flown away. We are happy that a couple have decided to stick around and play in our milkweeds and look forward to next year when we can help the community more.
Here are some pictures of the development.
Caterpillars starting to ‘J’ and form chrysalisesA chrysalis almost ready to openJust hatchedBeautiful Monarch released
We often speak of using local wood to avoid transporting potentially-infested oak firewood within, to, or from the San Bernardino Mountains. Now we have something new to be aware of; mysterious seeds appearing to be from China.
San Bernardino County issued a warning that if you received unsolicited mailings of seeds that appear to be from China DO NOT plant them because they could be an invasive plant species.
“USDA is aware that people across the country have received suspicious, unsolicited packages of seed that appear to be coming from China,” the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a statement. They are working closely with federal and state partners, including Customs and Border Protection, to investigate. State officials said some packages were labeled as jewelry and many have contained Chinese writing. According to checks done by China’s postal service, records on the packages appear to have been falsified.
As we are well aware, invasive species wreak havoc on the environment, displace or destroy native plants and insects and severely damage crops. Taking steps to prevent their introduction is the most effective method of reducing both the risk of invasive species infestations and the cost to control and mitigate those infestations. So until they figure out what is going on, it is best to follow the suggestions of the USDA and San Bernardino County.
According to Snopes.com people are reporting that they are receiving unsolicited packages of seeds in the mail with return addresses indicating they were sent from China. What’s undetermined is the motive behind these mailings, and whether or not it is a malicious one or not.
I recently read an article in The San Diego Union-Tribute dated July 13, 2020 that said butterfly plants are in short supply. They cited the pandemic-fueled gardening boom as well as public’s awareness of shrinking monarch population and wanting to help increase it. The Center for Biological Diversity put a release out on March 13, 2020 that stated the yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico shows a decrease of 53% from last year’s count and is well below the threshold at which government scientists predict the migration could collapse. They attribute the decrease of Monarchs to milkweed being devastated by increased herbicide spraying in conjunction with corn and soybean crops that have been genetically engineered to tolerate direct spraying with herbicides. Additionally, they are being threatened by other herbicides and by neonicotinoid insecticides that are toxic to young caterpillars and decrease the health of adult butterflies.
At the Pine Cove Water District, we were lucky enough to procure several new narrow-leaf milkweed as well as tropical milkweed for our butterfly garden. We’ve even seen a couple of visitors and look forward to seeing more as we come to the end of the season.
There’s a little guy hanging upside downAnother bigger guy across the garden
What can you do to help?
Plant the right milkweed. According to The Laid-back Gardener, Monarchs seem to like common milkweed best but also fed happily on swamp milkweed. Apparently, butterfly weed isn’t too well liked in the caterpillar community.
Cut your milkweeds back. Prior to blooming, cutting back the plants make them more attractive hosts for caterpillar larvae. Research at Michigan State University shows that female monarchs prefer to lay their eggs on fresh young stems that haven’t flowered yet. Heavy pruning doesn’t harm the milkweed plants and they quickly rebound.
Know your sources and avoid pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. When purchasing flower starts or seed, know the source. Make sure they are all natural and have no pesticides. Additionally, keep that same mind set when amending your soil and use natural compost like the compost we supply at the Water District to Pine Cove residents.
Plant additional flowers to feed adults. Although the female monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweeds and their caterpillars only feed on those same plants, adult monarchs feed on nectar of additional flowers like Wild Bergamont, Mountain Mint, Pale Purple Coneflower, and more. Try to provide a wide range of flowers that bloom through the entire growing season. It is also suggested that you grow single plants isolated from others by mulch or wood chips (which the Water District also can supply to Pine Cove residents) instead of mixing them as the butterflies rely on seeing the plant shapes to know where their food is.
The butterfly season is almost over and most of the Monarch Butterflies have emerged and will be heading south to mexico for the winter. Watching these majestic creatures over these past few months has been astonishing and we have learned a great deal through this experience.
It all started with a little bit of Milkweed and from there we stared seeing daily visits from Monarchs in our garden. Monarchs need Milkweed for their survival. The butterflies are attracted to the plant’s specific nectar. The life cycle for a Monarch from egg to butterfly is about 30 days. They lay their eggs on the leaves of the Milkweed and the eggs hatch after about three or four days. A tiny little caterpillar hatches and consumes the leftover egg as its first meal. The tiny caterpillar eats Milkweed for about two weeks and after weeks of caterpillars munching on Milkweed there was almost no leaves left of the plant. Caterpillars grows so rapidly that it sheds its skin five times and consumes its shed skin each time. When the caterpillar has fully grown it crawls off (traveling up to 30 feet away) to find the perfect spot to form a chrysalis. Once the caterpillar has chose a spot to transform it creates a small sticky disc to hang itself from and there it will sit for about a day in the shape of a J. Then the caterpillar is ready to begin transforming it starts to wiggle and squirm until the caterpillar’s skin is shed and a chrysalis emerges surrounding it body. The transformation or pupa stage takes about 10-14 days as the caterpillar is becoming a beautiful Monarch Butterfly. Once the butterfly’s transformation is complete it emerges with its wings all crinkled and wrinkled and has to hang upside down for a few hours while its wings dry and straighten out. When the wings have straightened and strengthened the butterfly is ready for some nourishment from flower nectar so it can brave the long adventure south to Mexico.
There are many predators, treacheries and possible sickness that the Monarchs have to endure and overcome. If you are interested in helping the Monarchs on their journey next year plant a Milkweed garden but don’t forget to pick up some free compost first.
We are finding more Monarch caterpillars everyday in our planters. They are eating a ton of Milkweed and getting bigger with each day. Soon they will get big enough to shape themselves into a J and start spinning a cocoon. From there the transformation from a chubby little caterpillar to a majestic Monarch butterfly will begin.
How many caterpillars do you see in the above picture?
This little caterpillar has ate this Milkweed leaf down to a nub.
Just hanging around upside down.
Answer to the fist picture: 4 Caterpillars are pictured
Did you know that now is the time that the beautiful orange and black Monarch butterfly is laying eggs and baby caterpillars are starting to hatch? Many believe that butterfly bushes attract these majestic creatures and while they will feed from the butterfly bush nectar it is actually Milkweed that Monarch butterflies need to sustain life. To the Monarch the Milkweed plant is their home where mate, lay eggs and hatch baby caterpillars. It is the Milkweed plant that is the perfect nutrition for a baby caterpillar to eat and grow strong enough to cocoon and eventually become a beautiful monarch butterfly.
We have lost much milkweed from the natural landscape with shifting land management practices. Planting milkweed is a great way to help other pollinators too because milkweed provides valuable nectar to many types of bees and butterflies. Planting milkweed will assist the monarch populations, and their incredible migration. Here at PCWD we have dedicated and entire planter to support the these beautiful butterflies.
Last year we started collecting Milkweed seeds from the plants we already had and were even donated some seeds from some of our very generous customers. We currently have a few variety’s of Milkweed blooming in while, yellow and orange in our Monarch garden. The Monarchs are loving the garden and everyday we are we are finding more eggs and newly hatched caterpillars. The caterpillars are growing at a rapid pace and before we know it we will have beautiful little cocoons all over the garden.
The Office Monarch Milkweed Garden
The majestic Monarch enjoying the Milkweed nectar and laying eggs on leaves.
If you look closely you can see a little egg perfectly placed on the leaf. Tiny little hungry caterpillar is snacking on the Milkweed and growing more everyday. Black and yellow baby caterpillar. This is the biggest baby we have found so far.
Stay tuned for more information, updates and pictures of our Monarch Milkweed Garden.
May has given us more rain than usual and here in Pine Cove we even had a little snow yesterday. The new weather station has recorded almost 2 inches of of precipitation so far this month. For this weeks storm alone 1.42 inches have been measured. There is the possibility of snow this week according to several weather forecasts. It has been many years since we have have had snow in late May. A freeze could greatly impact many gardens that have been recently been planted.
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