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September 12, 2001

An Unbearable Sadness...
I had originally prepared one of my usual opening messages, with real-life garden humor, successes, and defeats.  However due to the circumstances that original draft, written Monday, no longer feels appropriate.  Instead I am replacing it with what I am feeling in my heart.  

There is a knot in my stomach that I cannot seem to get rid of.  Viewing pictures of Tuesday's tragedy continues to bring me to tears.  I do not understand how something like this can happen.  Like so many fellow Americans my sense of security is gone, I feel threatened.  I want to grab my children, hold and protect them, keep them safe by telling them that this will never happen again.  But can I tell them that?  

One question continuously fills my mind. Why?  For what supposed purpose could so many innocent lives have been taken?  I know that there will never be a satisfactory answer to that question but the question will continue to haunt me.  I also know that now more than ever we must come together as a nation, as a community to find the strength to move forward.  We must pray together for the families who have lost loved ones.  We must also resist the temptation toward self-righteousness and avoid being judgmental about those in our own communities.  We will survive this tragedy but only if we do it together. 

God bless us and keep us safe.

~ Shelly  

Shady Characters In the Lawn...
There's nothing quite as relaxing as sitting under a big shade tree with a lush carpet of soft grass beneath.  I wish!  Growing grass under shade trees isn't exactly child's play.  All too often the tree provides so much shade that the grass suffers.  What's a Savvygardener to do?  Here are some tips:

  • Thin the tree canopy by pruning lower branches to a height of 8 feet.  
  • Selective pruning in the upper limbs will also help sunlight filter through without sacrificing too much shade.
  • Avoid excess nitrogen fertilization.  Grasses in shade should receive no more than 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year, preferably in the fall.
  • Mow at 2½ to 3 inches to allow maximum interception of available light.  Mow frequently enough to avoid scalping turf.  Decline of turf in the shade often begins after a single scalping episode.  Ouch!
  • Moisture demand in the shade is half to a third as much as in full sun.  Water only if wilt symptoms appear and then only in the early morning so that the grass has a chance to dry and therefore avoid some diseases.
  • Shaded turf will not recover well from wear so try to limit foot traffic.
  • When establishing new areas, or renovating old ones, use 4 to 6 pounds of shade tolerant tall fescue seed per 1,000 square feet.  Avoid shade mixes containing more than 25% perennial ryegrass.

Source

Counting On Crickets...
The temperatures are dropping but how much?  I guess you could be a traditionalist and look at a thermometer.  Or you could show your savvy by listening to the crickets.  Seriously.  Count the number of chirps a common cricket makes during a 15-second period.  Add 40 to the number of chirps.  The total will be pretty close to the actual temperature in Fahrenheit.

Savvy Seed Savers...
If you are growing "heirloom" flowers or vegetables make sure you collect their seeds for planting next year and for sharing with others.  They need to be dry and should be stored in an envelope or jar with some silica gel until next spring.  Don't bother saving the seeds of hybrids as they won't be true to the parent plant.

 


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Packing Up The Peonies...
Peonies aren't particularly fond of being uprooted and transplanted but from time to time it may become necessary.  Maybe their home has become too shady or another project is displacing them.  Our friends at Bannister Garden Center offer a few simple steps to get it done right:

  1. Cut the stems to near ground level this month.
  2. Carefully dig up as much of the root system as possible.
  3. Replant the peony in a hole large enough for the roots.
  4. Make sure the buds are one to two inches below the soil surface.
  5. Toss in some bone meal and firm the soil around the plant.
  6. Water thoroughly.

Keep in mind - transplanted peonies often refuse to bloom the first spring after transplant.  Your patience will be rewarded in subsequent years.

Squash Harvest Hints...
Don't be too hasty in harvesting all your winter squash!  For longer keeping let winter squash stay on the vines as long as possible.  Wait until the vines die back or there is danger of frost.  Check by pressing with your thumbnail, if the skin is easily broken they are not fully matured and may not keep well.  

When you harvest leave two to three inches of stem on the squash.  Allow them to cure in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place for a couple of weeks before placing them in storage.  Also, never wash your squash until just before using and never carry squash or pumpkins by the stem.

Source

What's Hot On The Hotline...
It seems most gardeners are looking forward to the fall and the return of cooler weather.  With it come concerns about preparing perennial plantings, shrubs, trees and lawns for fall and winter seasons.  Simple tasks, accomplished now, will lead to greater lawn and garden success next season.  A run-down of necessary fall gardening chores is in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline... 

Fertilizer Figures...
Savvygardeners with cool-season grasses (bluegrass, fescue, and/or ryegrass) should plan on three applications of fertilizer each year - one in spring and two in fall.  Fall is the most important time to fertilize as it really encourages strong root growth resulting in healthier growth next spring.  September is a great month for the first fall application followed by another in November.

You're going to need about 1 to 1.5 pounds of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn.  That's the amount of actual Nitrogen, not fertilizer product.  The amount of actual nitrogen in a fertilizer product is indicated by the first digit of the N-P-K number on the label of a fertilizer bag.  The N-P-K number indicates percentages by weight of the nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).  For example, a bag with a N-P-K of 20-4-4 has 20 percent nitrogen.  Therefore it will take 5 pounds of this fertilizer to provide 1 pound of actual nitrogen.

Finally...
"We who are left how shall we look again
Happily on the sun or feel the rain
Without remembering how they who went
Ungrudgingly and spent
Their lives for us loved, too, the sun and rain?"

~ Wilfred Wilson Gibson, Poet, 1878 - 1962

 

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