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March 19, 2003 |
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Clouds On The
Horizon...
It is hard to think about writing a typical editorial tonight
with the thought of war looming over our heads.
We are in Florida enjoying the
Sunshine State
and trying to maintain a sense of
normalcy which, until this evening,
has been fairly easy. It
is hard not to be glued to the TV,
hanging on every word that is spoken, waiting for the President
to give the word to commence firing on Iraq.
This will be the third war
of my lifetime and the first for my children. Morgan
seems especially caught up in what this war means
and what its consequences are.
I am not always sure what to say
but I do try to reassure her that everything is going to be
alright.
This
newsletter is about gardening. Gardening is about life and
living. War is altogether different and infinitely more
complicated. I am not interested in diving into the
politics of where we are and where we are going.
I do
know one thing for certain is that we will keep those who are
protecting us and their families in our thoughts and prayers.
We understand
that rain is plentiful back home. Just in time for the
first day of spring on Friday. Spring always means hope to
me. Here's hoping our men and women in uniform come home
safe, healthy and soon.
~
Shelly
Vegetable Gardening Without A Garden...
If your outdoor space is limited, consider gardening without
a garden. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and many other vegetables do
well when grown in containers. Barrels, window boxes, cut-off
milk jugs, almost any container that provides good drainage will
do as long as it is deep enough to support the plant. Minimum
depths for some container-grown vegetables:
- 4 inches
- lettuce, radishes, beets, low-growing herbs
- 6 inches
- chard, turnips, short-rooted carrots
- 8 inches
- eggplant, peppers, bush cucumbers
- 10
inches - cauliflower, broccoli
- 12
inches - tomatoes, long-rooted carrots
Source
Special
Delivery...
Most catalogs don't deliver your plant orders until it's time
to plant them. Unfortunately sometimes local conditions are
different than "usual" and your plants arrive a bit early for
planting. Don't panic, but don't ignore them either! Your
mail-order plants do need some care in the time between their
arrival and your ability to plant them. Unwrap them immediately
and check for specific directions on early care. Lacking this
just keep them cool and moist in a protected area until you can
safely get them in the ground.
The Old
Heave Ho...
How about last weekend's weather?
Bee-yoo-tee-ful! Temperatures are
generally on the rise and a well deserved thaw in the soil
will be a permanent thing
pretty soon. Scout around your garden
for signs of recent heaving - the forcing of
shallow-rooted plants out of the soil due to the freezing and
thawing of the ground. Don't tamp the plants or the surrounding
soil as this may overly compact the soil. Simply give them a
gentle push back into place.
Gardeners Helping Gardeners
That's The
New SavvyChat!
Kansas City's Best On-line Gardening Forum
See For Yourself!
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Spring
Lawns: To Seed or Not to Seed...
As spring approaches you will no doubt start inspecting your
lawn only to re-discover that it is less than perfect.
Most of us have bare spots or entire areas that are
begging for new seed. Reliable
sources will tell you that spring is the second best time of year
to plant grass seed (the best time being fall).
What they don't tell you is that
in this case second best may not be good enough
at all. We'll try to
explain...
Fall
is the best time to plant because seeds get the double benefit of
warm soil and cooler air temperatures. Fall
planted grass also establishes a strong root system even after
the grass blades have stopped growing for the season.
By contrast spring sown grass
seed gets cool air temperatures but not warm soil - making
it tougher to germinate. In many
cases the grass is not established well enough to take the heat
imposed on it by the typical Kansas City summer.
More often than not, your new
grass is toast by mid-July.
This
doesn't mean you shouldn't plant new grass in the spring.
You just need to be aware of the
risks. At our house we try to
limit spring grass seeding to small bare patches and hope for the
best. For bigger jobs consider
contacting a professional lawn care company
(we use Ryan Lawn & Tree)
to improve your chances.
Shining
Prairie Stars...
Each year K-State Research & Extension
performs exhaustive trails on a wide variety of flowers.
The tests are performed
at
sites encompassing two USDA cold
hardiness zones, 5 and 6 and two AHS heat zones, 7 and 8.
The result is a select group of flowers that earn the designation
Prairie Star. These flowers are great looking and will grow
well in your garden. This years winners along
with links to photos
are here.
What's Hot On The Hotline...
After making a presentation last week at
the
Overland Park Arboretum our hotline staffers felt it was a
good time to acknowledge the importance of all of this area's
fine public gardens. That, plus a good bunch of timely
gardening tips are in this
week's
What's Hot On the Hotline...
Healthy
Diet...
Though advertising for lawn fertilizers is at its yearly
high, most lawns don’t
really need fertilizer now. Do not
apply high rates of nitrogen (more than 0.75 lbs N/1000 sq. ft.)
to your lawn from March through early May. Too much nitrogen at
this time of the year will lead to problems later this summer
such as poor root growth and disease. Additionally, since spring
rains play havoc with mowing schedules, nitrogen fertilization
can further complicate your mowing schedule by causing grass
plants to grow too fast. Instead of applying fertilizer now, it
is better to wait until mid-to late-May and apply up to ¾
lbs N/1000 sq. ft. with a fertilizer that contains mostly
slow-release nitrogen.
Source
Finally... "The
first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is
another." ~
Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck, 1899 |