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July 9, 2003 |
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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.
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.
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 |