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May 12, 2004 |
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Transition Time...
It is hard to believe that all of my roses are in bloom. With
the temperatures really warming up, all
of my sun loving flowers are starting to flourish. Bad news for
the flowers in my garden that prefer cooler temperatures. In fact
the pansies I planted in March are being replaced with coleus and
million bells, a couple of my favorites. It is transition time in
the garden. I always try to plant according to season. Spring is
easy because you can plant bulbs in the fall. Summer planting is
the most colorful and the most work. There are
always new perennials to plant. Annual after annual is planted in
the garden, pots and anywhere else that might need a splash of
color. It takes time, but boy is it
worth it. Once fall arrives mums and pansies will grace the
landscape trying to maintain color in the garden until the first
bitter frost. Have I convinced you that it is possible to garden
year-round?
I spent
Mother's Day in the garden planting our newly purchased plants
from
Randy's Lakeview Nursery & Bulk Supercenter. The whole family
was kind enough to let me wander around without too many
interruptions. What a treat! It was fun to talk with the staff
and ask questions. They were very helpful and,
as always, we came home with several
terrific plants, some of which are still waiting patiently to
find a home in one of our gardens.
The Peony
Festival has begun at
Bannister
Garden Center. Let me just say that if peonies are what you
like, Bannister Garden Center is the
place to go. You'll find over 80 varieties on display and more
than 140 varieties potted for spring sale. Owners Tony & Neva
Mistretta have been growing peonies for over 37 years. Right now,
with any purchase of a peony you may enter a drawing for a garden
treasure. A $115.00 value to be redeemed this fall. Are you
feeling lucky?
The weather
continues to be a bit warmer than I would like. It is too soon to
have temperatures in the high 80's. It sounds like we might get a
break just in time for the weekend. Temperatures back into the
70's. Perfect gardening weather!
~
Shelly
It's Not Too Late!
Do you feel like spring is slipping away from you? Just a
few weeks ago it seemed like we had all the time in the world to
plant. But soggy soils and hectic schedules
seem to make prime planting time slip away. Don't panic!
There's still plenty to do. In fact if you hurry you can still
sneak in the following: lettuce, onions, spinach, beets, chard,
carrots, parsnips, radishes, turnips, shallots, chives and
parsley.
Bonus! Now
that soil temperatures are up it's also a great time to get your
tomatoes and peppers in the ground if you haven't already done
so.
Tastier Tomatoes...
When selecting tomato transplants, choose healthy plants without
any blooms. If the tomato plants have blooms or, worse, fruit
before you transplant, pinch off the flowers or fruit. If
tomatoes set fruit before the plant gets large enough - that is,
produces enough leaves - the fruit is small and tasteless.
Removing flowers or premature fruit allows the plant to produce
more leaves that will make larger tomatoes throughout the growing
season. The formula for successful tomato production is quite
simple: Healthy leaves equal tasty fruit.
Source
West Nile Returns...
As the weather warms you will no doubt see an increase in
mosquito activity. West Nile Virus is sure to be a hot
topic again this year. Some suggestions for reducing
mosquito populations and your chances of mosquito bites:
- Eliminate
standing water in pots, containers, gutters and similar
receptacles.
- Stir
ornamental pools and water gardens or stock them with
mosquito-eating fish.
- Use landscaping to eliminate
standing water on your property.
- Wear light-colored clothing. Wear
shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors
for long periods of time, or when mosquitoes are most active.
Source
In? Out? It Depends...
Don't rush to move your indoor
plants back outdoors during these
fickle days of spring. Wait
until the weather has settled and nights are no longer cold.
While it seems warm right now nighttime
temperatures below 60°F can injure some tropical plants
such as philodendron, weeping fig, and palms.
We've seen those temperatures this week.
On the other
hand,
some indoor plants are more subtropical
in nature and benefit from the chilly days of spring as long as
they don't sustain a heavy frost (which isn't
going to happen). Citrus,
gardenias, cyclamen, and geraniums are some of the
subtropical plants that
can be out earlier than truly tropical
plants.
A Fungus Among Us...
Don't be surprised if you head outside and find a yard full of
mushrooms. Where do these things come from? Although wild
mushrooms tend to make their appearance just about any time in
woodlands they're more likely to appear in lawns following
several days of wet weather which have been preceded by weeks of
dry weather. We've got plenty in our
front yard
(photos).
Mushrooms
are specialized types of fungi that are important as decay
microorganisms, aiding in the breakdown of logs, leaves, fallen
branches, and other organic debris. This important role of
mushrooms results in recycling of essential nutrients.
In the vast
majority of cases mushrooms are not parasitic on lawn grass and
won't cause any disease problems. Just wait for a prolonged
change in the weather and they will wither and disappear
providing additional organic matter to your soil.
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What's Hot On The Hotline...
A cool, moist spring often gives way to
sudden increases in temperature, and before we know it, summer is
upon us. The combination of heat and lingering humidity provides
ideal conditions for the growth of fungus and fungal diseases of
turf, vegetables, ornamentals, shrubs and trees. It's not
just mushrooms! Look out for fungal diseases as well.
You'll learn more in this
week's
What's Hot On the Hotline...
Time To Feed Turf...
Turfgrass growth is beginning to
slow and it's time to consider
fertilizing your lawn. Applying fertilizer now should not
increase vertical growth dramatically as long as moderate rates
of nitrogen are used and will help your lawn retain it’s color
and health. Apply .75 to 1 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. with a product
that contains 50% or more slow release fertilizer. Try to
schedule the application prior to a rain or irrigate following
application to move the fertilizers off the leaf blade. If
fertilizer was applied with a preemergence herbicide earlier in
the spring, a fertilizer application is not needed yet.
Source
Finally... "Gardeners , like
everyone else, live second by second and minute by minute. What
we see at one particular moment is then and there before us. But
there is a second way of seeing. Seeing with the eye of memory,
not the eye of our anatomy, calls up days and seasons past and
years gone by." ~
Allen Lacy, The Gardener's Eye |