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June 14, 2000 |
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Great Tools For Great Dads... | |
| Three
more shopping days until Father's Day! Hopefully you have
given thought to what you are buying that terrific father or
husband. I was strolling through Earl
May's the other day (still searching for annuals I can't live without)
and wandered by the tool section. I'm not talking about any old
tools. They've got some "heirloom" quality items that are
almost too beautiful to use! I was looking at all of the great
shovels, trowels, pruners etc... and thought to myself, "Maybe I
should buy Kevin a nice tool for the garden." Admittedly, I was
also thinking, "Wow, if I get Kevin a really great tool I will get to
use it too!" Am I being selfish? There is nothing like a
great tool to help you accomplish a gardening task. If you invest in
good quality tools most of them will last forever. So treat your
someone special to a tool they will use for years to come.
Well we finally received the rain we had been hoping for. I'll bet everyone in the Kansas City area received about an inch or more. It is amazing how my garden perks up after a nice summer shower! Most everything is looking really great. Our lawn is under squirrel attack and is still somewhat dazed from the high heat and humidity so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will bounce back with some of this cooler weather we are enjoying. To all of you Savvy Fathers and Dads - Have a very peaceful Father's Day! |
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| ~ Shelly | ||
The Ban on Dursban... |
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| As
we published our newsletter last week the
federal government announced an expected ban on most home uses of the
pesticide Dursban. Used in 20 million U.S. households annually
Dursban is the most widely used pesticide in the U.S. It is
used to kill insects that attack everything from home-grown tomatoes to
commercial corn fields. It is also used to combat termites and
cockroaches, and is used in pet collars to kill ticks.
Savvygardeners who use chemicals in the garden should always use great caution when handling them. These are poisons after all. Dursban is especially powerful stuff and has been linked to blurred vision, muscle weakness, headaches and memory loss after high exposures. It's especially important to remember that children are at a greater risk for some pesticides for a number of reasons. Children's internal organs are still developing and maturing and their enzymatic, metabolic, and immune systems may provide less natural protection than those of an adult. According to the EPA, "There are "critical periods" in human development when exposure to a toxin can permanently alter the way an individual's biological system operates." This may serve as a good opportunity for Savvygardeners to research and experiment with alternatives to chemical insecticides. Send us some of your personal favorites and we will include them in next week's issue. |
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Don't Over-Feed Tomatoes... |
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| Anxious tomato lovers (like me) need to resist the temptation of over-fertilizing our tomatoes too early. You just want them to grow, grow, grow don't you? Well, it's best to wait until the first signs of fruit appear before really applying that fertilizer. This will help ensure a stronger more productive tomato plant. | ||
How Much Water Is Enough? |
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| It's no secret that healthy vegetables require water. But how much is enough? As a general rule it's best to keep your vegetable patch watered to a depth of about eight inches. Doing so encourages strong root growth and will help your plants through the hot weather. You can verify that you're doing it right by sliding an eight-inch long trowel into your recently watered soil. Move it back and forth to create a wedge-shaped opening. Use a finger or two to feel the soil at the bottom of the hole. If it's moist you've done it right. Still dry? Water a bit longer. | ||
Raise That Blade... |
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The next few months will likely be very taxing for your fescue or bluegrass lawn. Long, hot and humid days, with little rainfall can make even the greenest lawns wilt. While it's probably not possible to keep your turf looking perfectly lush and green all summer you can prepare it for the heat by raising the cutting height of your mower. Fescues and bluegrass should be cut at a height of 3 to 31/2 inches. Determine your mowing frequency by cutting no more than one-third of the blade height with each cutting. This means cutting when it reaches 41/2 inches or so. | |
Plan for Halloween By Planting Pumpkins Now... |
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| Want
to grow a perfect pumpkin for your very own jack-o-lantern this
year? It may sound like a long way off but depending on the variety
you want to grow you need to get your pumpkins planted now for carving on
Halloween. Typically pumpkins mature in 90 - 120 days. Check
your seed pack to determine your pumpkin's specific days to maturity and
work backwards from October 31st.
Remember that these things get big. Allow 8 to 10 feet between rows and place seeds every 2 feet in the row. When fruit begins to appear it's time to start protecting the pumpkin from rot. Try placing a barrier under ripening pumpkins to lift them off the soil. A material that doesn't trap water will be best. |
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What's Hot on the Hotline... |
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| As
evidenced by a large number of recent Hotline contacts, deer, and rabbits
and the damage they do are a concern to many area gardeners. In most
cases, natural predators no longer exist in suburbia, and we are left to
our own devices. Not that mountain lions are missed in most
neighborhoods, but it would be nice to have a few red foxes around.
They do wonders for rabbit population control, and the price is right!
Find out how to keep the deer and rabbits away in this week's Hotline column. |
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Call In Some Reinforcements... |
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| Looking for something to fill in where blooms of early annuals and perennials have run their course? Try some summer annuals like celosia, nicotiana, portulaca and zinnia. Use them to replace spent annuals and plant them in front and around faded perennials. | ||
Finally... |
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| "The
dependable daisy is a good friend in all weather."
~ John P. Beilenson - Author |
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