Savvygardener.com

Visit Our Website
Previous Issues
Buyer's Guide  
Tell A Friend  

Send A Postcard!

Bookstore  
Magazines 
Gardening Catalogs

Site Search
Contact Us
Submit A Tip

Feature Articles

~ Houseplant Care
~ When to Start
Seeds Indoors
~ Seed Starting Indoors
~ Vegetable Garden Calendar
~ Seed Starting Tomatoes

~

Shrub Pruning Calendar
~ Pruning Clematis 
~ Gardening in the Shade
~ Summer-Flowering Bulb Care
~ Drought-Tolerant Flowers for KC
~ Preparing for a Soil Test
~ Changing the pH of Your Soil
~ Growing Herbs
~ All About Composting
~ All About Mulch
~ Worm Composting
~ When to Harvest Vegetables
~ Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
~ Organic Pesticides & Biopesticides
~ Cold Frames & Hot Beds
~ When to Divide Perennials
~ Dividing Spring Blooming Perennials
~ Forcing Bulbs Indoors
~ Overseeding A Lawn
~ Pruning Trees
~ More...

Rose Tips
What's Hot... 
Nuisance of the Week
Turf Tips...
Winter Wisdom
Gardener's Glossary 

SavvyChat
~ On-Line Gardening Forum

Books We Love
Great Products
Web Resources
Event Calendar

Local Sponsors

~ Bradfield Industries
~ Earl May
~ Family Tree Nursery
~ The Kelly Gallery
~ Moncrief's Greenhouse
~ Missouri Organic Recycling

 

Subscribe
Unsubscribe 
Address Change
Tell A Friend

Privacy Pledge

 

 

 

Click Here for Great Soil and Compost!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click Here for The Kelly Gallery!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click Here for Moncrief's Greenhouse

 

 

 

 

 

September 4, 2002

A True Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day weekend.  Something to look forward to.  A holiday weekend to spend relaxing with friends, family and loved ones.  A weekend to get away from it all, kick back and take it easy.   Well somewhere, that got lost on us and we decided to take the word labor seriously.  We power-sprayed the deck and gave it a good scrubbing.  We also did the same to the garage and then gave it a fresh new coat of paint.  Kevin then stained and put a protective coat on the deck while I finished painting the trim on our new patio door.  Whew!  I also decided that I don't care if the temperatures are in the 90's, I am going to do some fall planting.  I planted some mums and a few perennials.  I also did some more transplanting.  I guess we are just going to have to go about planting hoping that cooler weather is right around the corner.  If you decide to lose your mind like I did, remember to mulch your newly planted (and transplanted) flowers, trees and shrubs and make sure you give them the moisture they need.

Wow!  Did all of you receive the Earl May fall flyer?  Great coupons with incredible savings.  Savings on mums, pansies, trees and tons of other great things for the garden.  There is even a coupon for a free pumpkin!   If you are not on their mailing list make sure you let someone know the next time you are in one of their stores.

Shall we talk about the weather?  Hmmm, what to say?  Hot, dry conditions.  Same song, second verse.  Time to move on to the third verse which brings us cooler temperatures and rain.  What do you say to that?

~ Shelly  

The Great Divide...
It was at times a long, hot summer.  But Savvygardeners who took care of their perennials might notice them bursting from their beds.  Sound familiar?  If so, they need some relief.  Once they are done blooming for the year it's time to divide them.

You'll know your plants need to be divided if:

  • They are spreading beyond your desired range for them.
  • The flowers are not producing as well as in the past.
  • The center of the clump of flowers is dying.
  • The lower areas of foliage are sickly.

For a quick but effective description of the dividing process you can read "Dividing Spring Blooming Perennials" in our Features section. 

Tomato Trickery...
With summer gradually coming to an end you may want to try a couple of tricks to get the most out of your tomato plants.  

  • By removing some of the leaves more sunlight will be allowed to reach your tomatoes.  The shady protection they provide is not needed as much now that fall is closing in.
  • Lopping the tops off the plants will help ensure that the plants' energy will go into finishing existing fruit production rather than the now hopeless task of producing new fruit. 

Root Burlap: Friend or Faux?
If you are planting a balled and burlapped (B&B) tree or shrub this fall pay close attention to the material of the "burlap".  Many B&B's are now sold with synthetic burlap that will not decompose in the ground.  If this plastic burlap remains around the roots the plant will become root-bound and and will not grow properly.  Since some of this new material closely resembles traditional cotton burlap you need to be careful.  If you have any doubt at all cut it away from the root ball once it's in place.

 


Read A Good Gardening
Magazine Lately?

Click here for great rates
on great magazines!

 

 

Nuisance of the Week - Rust on Turfgrass...
If you have noticed a rusty color on your shoes after walking through the lawn, the turf may have a disease known as rust.  Late summer is the most common time of year for rust to infect turf due to the likelihood of moisture stress and low fertility.  In most cases fungicide treatments are not required.  Nitrogen and watering (if needed) are usually enough to allow the turf to outgrow the disease.  

This is the time for a fall application of fertilizer on our cool-season grasses anyway.  Apply 1 to 1½ pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet.  If you follow the directions on the bag for fertilizing lawns, you should apply about 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet.  The fertilizer must be watered in before the turf can use it.  Don't water in the evening as this increases the amount of time the leaf blades are wet and therefore increases the chance of disease.  Regular mowing also helps by reducing disease spores found on infested leaf tips. As is true of many diseases, rust is less likely to infect a vigorous, growing plant.

Photo

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.

 


Tell Your Friends About Savvygardener.com!

You Could Win A $50 Gift Certificate

Click Here For Details...

 

 

What's Hot On The Hotline...
While the official end of summer is a couple of weeks away, the passing of Labor Day this week marked the emotional end of summer for most of us.  The change of seasons is a great time to take stock of the garden, do some clean-up and get ready for the seasons ahead.  We've compiled an end of summer clean-up checklist in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline...

Weed Whackers...
Dandelions, clover, and other broadleaf weeds that were a problem last spring and all summer should be controlled this fall.  The period from late September to mid-November is the ideal time to control broadleaf weeds in turfgrass because broadleaf weeds are most susceptible to herbicides at this time.  The turf and weeds must be actively growing for this to be effective so be sure your lawn is well-watered before applying.  Apply on a sunny day with moderate temperatures, no wind, ample soil moisture and no rain in the 24-hour forecast.  A herbicide containing two or more active ingredients including 2,4-D, MCPP, dicamba, triclopyr, or clopyralid will control most broadleaf weeds with one application.  As always, be careful when using broadleaf herbicides as they may damage the stuff you want to keep such as flowers, trees, shrubs, or vegetables.

Source

Finally...
"A tree uses what comes its way to nurture itself.  By sinking its roots deeply into the earth, by accepting the rain that flows towards it, by reaching out to the sun, the tree perfects its character and becomes great.  Absorb, absorb, absorb. That is the secret of the tree."

~ Deng Ming-Dao, Everyday Tao, 1996

Click Here for Earl May!

© 1999-2002 Savvygardener.com, Inc. All rights reserved.  If you wish to copy, transmit, or otherwise duplicate any of the material from our website please ask us first.  Thank you.o

To stop receiving this newsletter please click here...