TAM Blog

It has been only 8 days since I wrote the first blog entry about our oak tree.  This morning we discovered sawdust on and around the trunk of the tree.  Sawdust means the beetles has started boring their holes in the trunk.  The Sudden Oak Death fungus isn't what kills the tree-it's the beetles.  So now we have to make a decision about what to do next-spray pesticides?  I pride myself on avoiding pesticides completely.  It has been a gradual change.  With my first garden, I bought the bottles with the promises of a healthy garden.  As I started my garden in West Marin and learned more about sustainable gardening, I turned from bottled products to compost, worm castings and choosing hardier plants.  My garden is still a work in progress, so I cannot claim to have won the battle. 

But now our 125 year-old oak is dying.  What to do?  Here are some pictures so you can get a visual of what S.O.D. looks like.