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July 9, 2003

Hot And Happy...
Summer seems to be here in true form! There's hot, hotter and hottest! We knew it would arrive and bring the challenge of keeping things watered and alive. Thank goodness for those heat and drought loving flowers. The black-eyed susans, coneflower's and shasta daisy's
(photos) are taking center stage in our sun garden. The shade garden is holding its own and looking great with all of the hosta's in bloom. A big thanks to the magnolia for the great shade it provides. We are so lucky to live in a city that has large, older trees providing a canopy to keep most things from scorching. Be smart while gardening this time of the year and stay cool when it is too hot to be in the garden!

Looking for some good ole gardening advice?  Take a few minutes to peruse one of our newest sponsor's website www.kcgarden.com . Not only are there terrific design ideas but you'll find useful hints on what to do and what not to do when planning and planting a new garden. Mark Carpenter, Proprietor of The Lawn Ranger offers many different types of services. Call or email him and find out the latest in gardening design and maintenance!

Try to stay cool!

~ Shelly  

Timing Is Everything...
Some of us are morning people, others need more time to get going every day.  The same is true for garden vegetables!  The time of day you pick your vegetables can actually have a dramatic effect on their taste and texture.  For instance,  your lettuce and cucumbers will be crispier if picked early - before the hot sun has had a chance to wilt your crop.  On the other hand corn and peas will be sweeter if you wait until later in the day when their sugar levels are highest.  Yum!

Pondering Potatoes...
Our friends at K-State Research & Extension weighed in this week with some thoughts on this year's potato crop.  It was a great spring for potato growing.  The cool, wet conditions were just about right for home gardeners to maximize potato growth.  However, potato vines took a sharp turn for the worse in the last week or so.  What happened?  A couple of things may have contributed to the rapid decline.  First of all potatoes normally start to poop out in late June as the weather gets hotter.  During this period a disease called early blight may begin on the bottom leaves.  Look for black spots that have a target board appearance.  At this point it's not worth trying to control early blight.  Although conditions this spring were favorable for another potato disease called late blight, there have been no reports of it locally.  Probably the biggest cause of the recent decline in the potato vines is the high population of leafhoppers.  These insects cause 'hopper burn' on the foliage that result in yellowing and a marginal leaf burn.

Source

Nurturing Nature's Night Lights...
Some things just mean summer to me.  Fireflies (lightning bugs to some of you) fit that category nicely.  My kids could spend hours catching these magical creatures and putting them in a jar or cage.  Before calling it a night however, I make sure they let the fireflies escape.  Anglers call it catch and release.  We call it good gardening.  You see, the larvae of fireflies dine on cutworms, mites, slugs, snails, soft-bodied insects and the larvae of other insects.  They apparently have voracious appetites and quietly do wonders keeping pests at bay.

 


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Shake It Up...
Although tomatoes are self-pollinating, they need movement to transfer pollen.  If it is hot and calm for several days you may need to gently shake your plants to assure that pollen is properly transferred.  Very hot temperatures can also interfere with blossom set.  One solution is to mist the plants periodically throughout the day.  Careful here!  Wet leaves can promote other diseases.  If you choose to mist do it during the day when plants will have adequate time to dry out before nightfall.

Too Hot To Handle...
When the weather is as oppressive as it has been lately it's all too easy to want to stay inside and neglect the garden.  Try to do your watering early in the morning, take the afternoon off, and do your weeding, dead-heading, etc... in the evening.  Remember, in this heat watering must be thorough and deep.  If you can't water adequately during hot, dry weather you are actually better off doing nothing at all and I mean nothing.  Plants under severe summer stress compensate by becoming inactive.  Pruning, fertilizing, spraying or otherwise encouraging growth can do more harm than good if water is insufficient.

 


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What's Hot On The Hotline...
This week's hotline article finishes up where last week's left off.  Namely, simplified Clematis pruning, and some suggestions for disease resistant varieties.  Don't miss this week's What's Hot On the Hotline...

Dormez Vous Fescue?
We've had a number of Savvygardeners ask about letting lawns go dormant during summer.  This time of year many cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and perennial rye will naturally go dormant and turn brown due to lack of water or too much heat.  Remember, the lawn is not dead - it's only dormant and will green up again when the weather is more favorable in the fall.  Mow it regularly to about three inches and water during extended dry periods.  

Now, we've been around long enough to know that most of you can't stand the idea of brown grass all summer.  If you wish to keep the lawn green you will need to follow a regular watering routine before the lawn begins to brown.  Once the lawn goes dormant watering will not generally green it up until fall.  You will need about 1 inch of rain or irrigation per week.  It is better to give the lawn a good soaking (to a 6 inch depth) once a week than frequent light watering.  Always water early in the day to reduce disease occurrence.

Finally...
"Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar."

~ William Wordsworth, 1798

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