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October 23, 2002 |
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Dressed
Up for the Seasons
What a nice rain we're getting today. The
air is a bit raw but I find the rain to be so tranquil.
As I was walking Sam Parker today
I paused to look at our house from across the street.
New grass is coming up and we
have decorated the new garden with pumpkins, mums, milo stalks
and more
(photo).
Isn't it fun to use your house
and garden as a canvas - constantly changing it with the seasons
and holidays? I love trying to
make use of my garden year round. I
am not just one of those spring and fall only
gardeners. After all,
there is so much that you can do to change the garden's
appearance during the change of seasons. Be
adventurous! Try new plants and
shrubs. Things that will add
winter interest to the garden. There
are so many great evergreens available that it has become easier
to have a green garden year round! If
you haven't tried decorating for fall, the
winter holidays are right around the corner.
I am already thinking about how
to decorate my window boxes as well as where to put the garland
and lights. I can hardly wait!
Don't
let this cold, wet, gloomy weather get you down. Bring the garden
inside. Just the other day I cut
a bunch of "Autumn Joy" sedum and made a beautiful arrangement
with it. I am also getting ready
to cut some daisy's that still look great. After
I cut them I will put them into flower vials and place them in a
room that could use a little pick-me-up.
I don't know about you but when
the sun is not shining bringing in a
bouquet of something from the garden makes the day a
bit brighter.
~
Shelly
Breakfast In
Bed...
If your spring-flowering bulb beds
have been fertilized in the past there is often plenty of
phosphorus and potassium present in the soil
already. However, it is
best to take a soil test to be sure. If
the soil needs phosphorus and potassium, use a complete
fertilizer (such as 10- 10-10, 9-9-6, etc.) at the rate of 2½
pounds per 100 square feet. This
would equal 1 rounded teaspoon per square foot.
If phosphorus and potassium are
not needed, blood meal makes an excellent fertilizer.
It should be applied at the rate
of 2 pounds per 100 square feet or 1 teaspoon per square foot.
Turf fertilizers such as a 27-3-3
or 30-3-3 can also be used but the rate would have to be cut to 1
pound per 100 square feet.
Source
Food For Thought, Not For Fish...
Here's a correction/clarification to last
week's tip on water gardens. It was submitted by Mark
Lehman of the Sunflower Water Garden Society:
"Feeding
fish in late fall is dangerous business. Stop
feeding now especially in small ponds the temperature can drop
suddenly and the fish are not able to digest the food, this food
will sour in their stomachs and kill
them. Fish do not depend on
stored fat for the winter, their metabolism slows down with the
water temperature to almost 0 in the winter months.
As the water warms in the
spring their metabolism speeds up just
about as fast as the food sources start up. More
fish are killed by overfeeding than any other problem.
The smaller the pond (or tank)
the more acute the problem.
Many pond owners never feed
their
fish and they do fine with the natural foods available in the
pond."
Thanks Mark!
Keep It
Interesting...
As you clean up the garden and prepare it for bed try to
leave some plants in place to maintain some winter interest.
Ornamental grasses in particular look great in wintertime.
Seedpods on spent flower stems, especially in bunches, give the
wintertime garden a very special dimension also.
What's
Up Doc?
During the winter months, rabbits often gnaw on the bark of
many woody plants. Heavy browsing can result in the complete
girdling of small trees and small branches clipped off at snow
level. Apple, pear, crabapple, and serviceberry are frequent
targets of these furry critters. Smaller trees with smooth, thin
bark tend to be the most vulnerable. Other frequently damaged
plants include the winged euonymus or burning bush, Japanese
barberry, dogwood, roses, and raspberries.
The best
way to prevent rabbit damage to young trees is to place a
cylinder of hardware cloth (1/4 inch mesh wire fencing) around
the tree trunk. The hardware cloth cylinder should stand about 1
to 2 inches from the tree trunk and 20 inches above the ground.
The bottom 2 to 3 inches should be buried beneath the soil.
Source
Don't
Leave Those Leaves...
Those leaves that are falling all over the region are pretty
but leaving lots of them on your lawn can mean trouble. When
they are dry they shade your grass from much needed fall sun.
When wet they can smother grass turning it yellow and possibly
killing it. Just keep the leaves raked up a few times per week
and you should be fine. Better yet, mow and bag them in your
lawnmower and use the shredded leaves in your garden or compost
pile.
What's
Hot On The Hotline...
Trees are a long-term investment
and justify careful, site-sensitive selection, and special
care to get them off to a good start.
The slow growth of some of the nicest trees can be frustrating to many homeowners.
Interestingly, it has been found that slow growth in newly
planted trees is not due as much to the species as to the new
tree’s proper planting and maintenance. In
short, there is no need to select inferior, short-lived species
prone to damage, whose main claim is rapid growth.
The Kansas Urban Forestry Council
states in its publications that, “It is easy to increase growth
rate 50% to 100% or more by making a few changes in your planting
or maintenance program.” You will find
seven steps to "rapid growing" trees in this
week's What's
Hot on the Hotline...
Don't Go
With A Low Mow...
Contrary to some old-time recommendations and habits you
should not reduce lawn mowing height in the weeks before winter
sets in. This is because photosynthesis will continue until the
plant is dormant, even in spite of cool temperatures.
Photosynthesis at this time of the year allows the plant to store
energy for winter and next spring, which is crucial for its
survival. Scalping off grass leaves now reduces the
photosynthetic capacity of the plant, reducing energy storage,
and decreasing turf survival this winter and performance next
summer.
Source
Finally... "Truths
are first clouds; then rain, then harvest and food." ~
Henry Ward Beecher, Author, 1813-1887 |