Open Source Graphics Programs

Graphics programs come in two general kinds: bitmap and vector. A bitmap image is made of a series of dots – much like the color images in magazines. A grid, like graph paper, is filled pixel by pixel with colors to render the image.

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygons, which are all based upon mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics. Programs such as Corel DRAW, Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape are vector drawing programs.

The GIMP is a powerful bitmap editor: it can do almost everything that the very expensive commercial programs can do and your checkbook will not be left in shock. The GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is free to use and free to alter. If you are editing images from your digital camera The GIMP will give you the option to preserve the EXIF data from your camera. It has extensive help files available in a separate download and is available for all major platforms and in several languages. Verious plugins are available to extend this already powerful program. 

Inkscape is a vector drawing program that uses the Scalable Vector Graphics (SGV) file format. It can do many of the same things that the big commercial programs can do. It is open source and free to use. Open source clip art is available for use with Inkscape or any other program that uses the SGV file format.

Open Office, discussed in my previous open source post, has a good vector graphics program. It is not quite as versatile as Inkscape but it is improving all the time. 

This is only a start as there are many great programs available. In my next open source post I'll take a look at Linux, the free operating system

Beneficial Insects Part 2

This is the second post of several on the benefits that insects can bring to your garden. 

There are many varieties of ground beetles. Adults and larvae are predators feeding on other insects. A full discussion of these interesting critters is beyond the scope of this post. More information is available at the Ohio State University Extension, at the University of Kentucky Entomology Department  and at BugGuide.Net. Garden litter and debris are necessary for these beetles.

Robber flies are large flies that prey on a variety of garden pests and, unfortunately, occasionaly on bees. Use caution in handling them as the larger varieties can give you a nasty and painful bite. The larvae live in the soil and are probably carniverous. 

Flower flies, also known as hover flies, are pollinators as adults, they feed on nectar and pollen. The larvae eat aphids, mealybugs, scale and leafhoppers. Buckwheat, candytuft, chicory and many other plants support these useful flies.

Lacewings, adults and larvae, feast on aphids, larvae and eggs of other insects. They like to hang out with carrots, oleander, tree of heaven and wild lettuce. 

The preying mantis is a well-known predator of the garden. They will eat almost anything including each other. If they can catch them large adukts will take small toads, salamanders or shrews. If given the opportunity they will also bite fingers. Cosmos and blackberry or raspberry brambles are favored by these insects but they are not fussy.

Tachnid flies are pollinators as adults; they like to feed on buckwheat, coriander, fennel and white clover. The larvae feed on, or rather in, the bodies of beetles. bugs, sawflies and caterpillars. 

There are more bugs to come as well as discussion of the plants they'll look for.

Open Source Office Applications

There are a lot of very useful open source software products available for the Windows platform. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars to get your work accomplished. These programs are free to use and free to alter.

Open Office has just about everything an office might need in the way of software. It contains a word processor (this post is being typed in Open Office), a spreadsheet, presentation maker, vector drawing program, and a database. It is provided under the LGPL (Lesser General Public License). You can download it free or order CD-ROMs. Open Office support the file formats of the big office suite. It feels a different from the big office product but it will do, except email, all that the competition can do and it will not leave a gaping hole in your budget. 

Open Office does not have an email client but there are some good ones available. If you need a calendar and all the bells and whistles of the big one you might want to try Evolution Email from the Gnome Project. It has spam filters, a good search feature, calendar and multiple account support. It is highly resistant to viruses. 

Another great email client is Thunderbird from Mozilla. It is safe, secure and fast. If you need a feature that does not come in the install package there are many plugins that extend the program. You can tag messages and save searches.

If you do not need a full office suite but just want a light-weight word processor you should look at AbiWord. It is also free to use, free to alter and is released under the GNU General Public License. Plugins and tools are available for importing and exporting various file types.

If you need a good spreadsheet Gnumeric is definitely worth a look. It is free, fast and accurate; it is released under the GNU General Public License. Files from other spreadsheet programs can be imported. It is available for all major operating systems.   

A lot of the fun of open source software is looking at all the programs that are available. In my next post on open source I'll look at some photo editing software. Until then, you can browse Sourceforge, Freshmeat and The Open Disc.

Beneficial Insects Part 1

When pests are eating your garden you may be tempted to fire up the sprayer and lay waste to the invading hordes. Please don't. There are many good insects that will be quite happy to help you by eating the pests. Birds, lizards, toads, salamanders, frogs and shrews will also help if they have habitat -- but that is another post.

Ladybugs (or ladybeetles) may be the best known of our predators. These little orange and black eating machines are big trouble for aphids, mealy bugs and scale insects. The larvae look a little like gray dragons and are voracious feeders. Ladybugs like alfalfa, angelica, marigolds and ragweed, among other plants.

Assassin bugs eat Mexican bean beetles, caterpillars, Colorado potato beetle, leaf hoppers and occasionally a honeybee. They will bite fingers! Alfalfa, Mexican tea, ragweed and carrots are their favored plants.

The big-eyed bug is a small (1/4 inch long) critter with an appetite for leafhoppers, blister beetles, aphids and spider mites. Adults and nymphs are carnivorous. They overwinter in garden litter. Alfalfa, carrots and oleander plants will attract them.

Adult Braconid wasps feed on nectar from Apiaceae (carrot family), and the Asteraceae (daisy family). The adult wasp lays her eggs in the bodies of host insects. The larvae feed on the body of that insect and pupate on the outside. Host insects include aphids, beetles and caterpillars. 

Ichneumon wasps lay their eggs in the bodies of caterpillars or in places where their grubs can attack a suitable host. The larvae eat the host which usually dies after the wasp pupates and eats its way out of the host. Alfalfa, tree of heaven, rue, fennel and oleander are among their preferred plants. 

These are just a few of the insects that can help you keep more of your garden's goodness for yourself. Invest in some of their favorite plants and they'll be around to eat the pests for you.  If you go after the pests with that sprayer you will be killing the good along with the pests.