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March 27, 2002

Weather Or Not...
I thought about starting with the weather but I am not quite sure what to say.  I would like to say that since spring has arrived there will be no more snow or freezing cold weather.  Then again that might not be the most intelligent thing to say considering we are stuck riding on a crazy pendulum swinging wildly from warm to cold without much warning.  Hopefully the pendulum will stop swinging and settle in to some consistency so that we can get busy and do what we have been wanting to do - plant, plant, plant.  I don't know about you but the itch really needs to be scratched!

I am excited to introduce Bradfield Industries as our newest sponsor.  Bradfield Industries make a line of natural fertilizers for lawns, vegetable, herb and flower gardens, roses and commercial landscapes, farms and golf courses.  (We use their alfalfa pellets to add organic matter to our lawn.)  You can buy their products at several garden centers throughout Kansas City.  Please visit their website to learn more about their products and where to buy them.

Before heading out on Sunday morning tune in to KCTV5 to watch me discuss Easter Lilies and Savvygardener.com with Valissa Smith and Bob Thill.  This will be my second appearance on This Weekend and I am excited that they have asked me back.  Who knows, maybe I will get to become a regular.   Move over Martha!

Don't forget Savvygardener.com's special Garden Party sponsored by our friends at Earl May Garden Centers, Thursday April 11th from 6-9 PM at all of their Kansas City locations.  (Make sure you take advantage of the coupon which you need to print out and bring with you.)  Kevin and I will be at the Shawnee store to help you with gardening questions and anything else you might want to ask us.  This is going to be great!  Can't wait to see you there!

Have a Happy Easter!

~ Shelly  

Start, Stop, Stagger?
Well it's less than five weeks from the weekend that we usually feel is "frost free" in our garden.  This is such a guessing game!  If you want to play it safe with transplants you're generally better off waiting.  For instance, according to the Savvygardener.com Seed Starting Calendar now would be a good time to start tomato seeds indoors.  But what if it's too cold to transplant tomatoes in six weeks?  Cloches, water walls, hot beds and the like are one approach.  Another is to stagger the starting of your seeds - start some now and some more in a couple of weeks.  It's cheap insurance!

Do Not Disturb...
Our bulbs are popping up all over.  I'll bet yours are too!  Look closely at your bulb beds.  Are there weeds popping up as well?  If so remove the weeds by gentle hand pulling.  Removal with a cultivator or other weeding tool may disturb the bulbs unnecessarily.

Well Oiled...
Savvygardeners with fruit trees will soon be applying horticultural oils to fruit trees to reduce certain pests.  These oils are not poisons.  Instead, the thin film of oil covers the target insect or mite and plugs the spiracles or pores through which it breathes.  Pine needle scale, oystershell scale, euonymus scale, aphids, spider mites and small pine sawfly larvae are all effectively controlled by this method.

Proper timing is critical for success when using oils.  Dormant oils should be applied in late March or April before leaves or flowers show signs of breaking dormancy.  A common mistake is to apply 'dormant' oil sprays too early (on the first warm day in February or March) before insects are actively respiring and susceptible to the oil's suffocating effects.  Wait until as close to bud break as possible before applying oil sprays.  Also make sure temperatures will be above 40° for at least 24 hours.

Source

 


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Dig This...
Depending on which "how to" guide you're reading you might see different references to what many simply refer to as digging.  While some people use the terms interchangeably digging, shoveling, and spading are actually 3 different actions.  Digging turns up, loosens or removes soil.  Shoveling moves loose material from one place to another.  Spading mixes the material leaving it in the same location.  For example we dig a hole, we spade (work) compost into the soil, and we shovel the soil mix back into the planting hole.  They're not just different actions either.  Digging, shoveling, and spading require different tools to get the job done right.

  • For digging the best tool to use is a round-point shovel.  The point at the tip of the blade focuses the digger's weight on a very small area, increasing the pounds per square inch on the shovel and allowing the cutting surface to move through the soil easily.  This becomes a disadvantage if the blade hits a tough root or rock.
  • For shoveling the tools of choice are a square-point, flat-backed shovel or the round point shovel.  On a flat surface the square- point, flat-backed shovel works more efficiently.  For shoveling out planting holes, the round-point works best because its smaller head can fit into tight spaces.
  • For spading, a digging fork or a round point shovel work well.

Source

Rose Tips by Al Karsten
Years ago, it use to be said "never plant a five dollar rose bush in a fifty cent hole."  The price of roses may have changed but the notion is still sound.  This month our rosarian Al Karsten walks us through the proper planting of your new bare-root roses.  Check out Al's Rose Tips...

 


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What's Hot On The Hotline...
We're all being reminded the hard way that a few days of warm weather do not mean it's time to do all of our spring planting.  There are things to do, and things not to do.  Get an expert's opinion on which is which in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline...

Weed Control for Newly Seeded Lawns...
While early fall is the optimum time to plant cool-season turfgrasses, many people seeded in late fall last year because of hot, dry conditions in September.  While it is uncertain what effect our dry winter may have had on these late seedings, crabgrass control options are more limited for turf planted in spring.  Remember that crabgrass preventers do not discriminate between turfgrass and crabgrass; we rely on having plants with roots below the herbicide barrier when we apply these products in spring. 

If you are in a situation where you seeded late in fall or must seed this spring, you have two options for crabgrass control.  Tupersan is a product that can be used at the time of seeding.  It is somewhat less effective than other preemergence herbicides but is safe to the newly seeded grass.  Tupersan only provides short-term control, so an additional application will be necessary about six weeks after the first.  Dimension is a newer lawn product that has potential for late fall or spring seedings because it has some postemergence effect on crabgrass.  Dimension cannot be applied at the time of spring seeding but, if spring seeding is performed before the end of March, use of Dimension in early May should be safe for your turfgrass and still effectively control unwanted crabgrass.  Dimension also offers season-long control, so a second application will not be necessary.

Source

Finally...
"I wandered lonely as a cloud 
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host, of golden daffodils."

~ William Wordsworth, 1770-1850, English Poet

 

 

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