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February 25, 2004 |
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The Best Of Times...
Have you been out in the garden looking for spring? There are
signs everywhere
(photos).
The lawn is starting to green up, bulbs are coming up through the
mulch and many magnolias in our area are starting to bud out.
This past Sunday I could stand it no longer!
Donning my gardening gloves
I pulled the rake out of the garage and
went to work on cleaning up the leaves left over from fall. What
fun! So much so that calling it work is a bit of a
stretch. I was happy as a clam! Hard to believe that something so
mundane could make me so happy. I guess it's
true what they say - some of the smallest things in life can
bring us much joy!
The highly
anticipated
Johnson County Home & Garden Show is this weekend, February
27th - 29th. An entire weekend to wander
around in a pre-spring
fantasy! Our booth number is #642 so
look us up. It is going to be a hectic but great weekend. The
weather is even supposed to cooperate
with temperatures in the mid 50's. March is such a great month -
spring break, March Madness (from a
woman who totally loves NCAA basketball) and an opportunity to be
outside. It doesn't get much better than that!
~
Shelly
Testing, Testing, 1,2,3...
When was the last time you had your garden soil tested? Never?
Shame on you! Soil testing is one of the most important, and
overlooked, things you can do to better understand your garden.
Fortunately it's not very difficult and doesn't cost much
either. Your
county
extension service probably offers soil testing for a nominal
fee. If you decide to have your soil tested at the extension
office simply follow these guidelines for getting a good sample
for them to evaluate (note: soil should be dry or nearly dry):
- In the
area you want tested take a garden trowel and plunge it at
least six inches into the soil.
- Rotate
the trowel 360 degrees creating a tapered column of soil.
- Lift the
column of soil out of the ground and place it in a large
container.
- Repeat
the above for every 25 square feet in your garden.
-
Thoroughly combine the samples.
- Remove
rocks, grass, roots and other "non-soil" debris.
- Put
about one pint of this soil in a clean container and mark it
with an identifying label.
- Take the
sample to your
county
extension office for evaluation. It may take several weeks
before the results are available.
You may
want to have several soil tests performed - one for each
distinctly different garden on your property.
Paper Or Plastic?
Bagworms are evident when you see those funny little brown
bags hanging from Junipers and many other trees and shrubs. It's
actually the bagworm eggs that are over-wintering in those
sacks. In late May and early June, these eggs will hatch and the
very tiny caterpillars start feeding. Start your control
measures now by removing the brown bags and disposing of them.
This is a very effective, chemical-free way to reduce the damage
they might otherwise cause later this year.
This One's A Cut Above...
When we started Savvygardener.com one of the things we wanted
to provide was information that was truly useful to area
gardeners based on our weather, our climate, our everything.
A great example of this is one of our most
popular and informative articles -
The Shrub Pruning Calendar.
A Savvygardener.com exclusive, this is the Kansas City area
gardener's definitive guide to when, and when not, to
prune a wide variety of shrubs. Check it out! We'll bet it
answers some questions and clears up a lot of mystery.
A Clean Start...
Here's another important tip for seed starters. Make sure
you thoroughly wash last year's plastic seed-starting
containers. Believe me it makes a difference! And if your
seedlings have had disease problems in the past, you'll need to
use a mixture containing 10 percent household bleach and water to
really sterilize the containers.
Early Bloomers...
Now that the snow and ice have melted,
and depending on your microclimates,
you may soon see adventurous bulbs pushing through the ground -
especially snow drops, crocus, and early daffodils. Keep an eye
out! Matted leaves and dead grass left over from fall may create
a barrier to these upstarts. Help them a little by gently raking
away any debris and allowing the foliage and flowers to break
through the soil more easily.
Tell Your Friends About
Savvygardener.com!
You
Could Win A $50 Gift Certificate
Details...
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Winter Wisdom...
It’s amazing how the first foray into the 50’s after a long
and hard period of snow and freezing weather affects us. It’s
only natural that we should want to get outdoors and get at the
gardening tasks that await us. If our weather runs true to its
normal pattern, we should not settle into spring mode quite yet!
A healthy list of late winter chores awaits you in this
week's
Winter
Wisdom...
Cold Season
Seeding For Cool Season Grass...
OK, we've said it many times before: "The best time to
overseed cool-season grasses (such as tall fescue and Kentucky
bluegrass) is September." This is because the turf has more
time to mature before crabgrass germination in the spring and the
heat stress of summer. That being said, wintertime dormant
seeding is sometimes appropriate to help fill in bare spots.
(Dormant seeding is not recommended for large areas due to the
possibility of erosion occurring before the seed becomes mature
enough to hold the soil.)
Dormant
overseeding is done during the winter (December through February)
when it is too cold for germination to take place. As with any
seeding program, it is vital that good seed-soil contact is
achieved. There are several methods that are commonly used in
dormant seeding.
- One method is to
seed when there has been a light snowfall of up to an inch over
unfrozen soil (light enough that bare spots can still be
seen). Spread seed by hand on areas that need thickening up.
As the snow melts it brings the seed into good contact with the
soil where it will germinate in the spring.
- Another method is
dependent on the surface of the soil being moist followed by
some freezing weather. As moist soil freezes and thaws, small
pockets are formed on the wet, bare soil which are perfect for
catching and holding seed. As the soil dries, the pockets
collapse and cover the seed.
- Verticutting can
also be used as long as the soil is not frozen.
The idea
here is to get the grass seed germinating in the spring as early
as possible. Keep in mind that there are some limitations on
what herbicides can be used for weed control. Tupersan (siduron)
can be used as a crabgrass preventer on new seedings but is
relatively short-lived. Other pre-emergence herbicides require
that the turf be well established before application. Turf that
has been mowed several times is usually considered mature enough
for herbicide application.
Source
Finally... "The country habit
has me by the heart,
For he's bewitched forever who has seen,
Not with his eyes but with his vision,
Spring Flow down the woods and stipple leaves with sun." ~
Vita Sackville-West, Poet |