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August 11, 2004

Hot Fun In The Desert Sun...
It would be difficult to start this week's newsletter without talking about the weather. The low tonight is supposed to be 52
°F. Sounds a bit chilly for August. Who would have thought we would be experiencing fall-like weather in the middle of August? Not me. I have to admit that I was bracing for the worst once we returned from the beach. You know - a typical Midwest summer. Hot as blue blazes, humid, no rain, you get the idea. Nothing to complain about here. The garden looks great, the grass looks even better. Usually this time of the year our bluegrass - fescue blend is looking a little tired to say the least.

We returned from Phoenix this past week and had a great visit with my sister and her family. Just so you know, they are also experiencing cooler than normal temperatures. The highs the week we were there were in the low 100's. It was not as humid but let me reassure you it was hot! Any way you look at it 107 degrees hot. We basically hung out by the pool and did some sightseeing. One of our mandatory field trips was to the Desert Botanical Garden. It was beautiful. There was quite a lot to see - different succulents, cactus, trees and several animal species wandering around (photos). Our son Noah studied different cacti in first grade last year and made a point to identify each one he learned about while we were there. It was great! Fun for the whole family.

I hope that by now you have entered the Tastiest Tomato contest which is Sunday August 15th, 10:00 AM at Family Tree Nursery in Overland Park. Prizes and lots of fun.

~ Shelly  

Lush Lawns Are Looming...
Fall is just around the corner and there's no better time of year to renovate your lawn.  Take a hard look at your grass and decide just how much work you have ahead of you.

  • If you just need to thicken it up, a round of over-seeding will probably do the trick.  To ensure good seed to soil contact you might want to make use of a verticutter.  This handy machine, which can be rented locally, makes nice vertical cuts in your existing lawn and soil.  Over this cutting you can broadcast your seeds.  Seeds should find their way into the soil where they will germinate nicely.
  • Every other year or so you should try core aerating your lawn.  Doing so will control and prevent problems such as thatch and soil compaction.  Core aerating machines will pull up numerous plugs of soil about the diameter of a pencil, making holes into the lawn.  Leave the plugs on the surface and work the lawn as usual.
  • If your lawn is so overridden with perennial weeds or you're ready to try a new type of grass altogether you will need to eliminate what's there with Round Up or other appropriate herbicide.  Once the grass and weeds are dead use a verticutter or roto-tiller to prepare the soil for new seed.

A note about weeds - If crabgrass is appearing in your lawn in mid to late summer, remember that it's an annual and will die-off as temperatures drop later this fall.  For perennial weeds it is best to delay herbicide applications until a newly planted lawn has been mowed at least 3 times.  This gives the new grass time to mature to a point where it is not so sensitive to the weed killer.

Getting Ready For Winter...
While it may be August it's actually time for your trees and shrubs to start preparing for winter.  They've got some tough conditions to prepare for and it begins now.  The best thing you can do to help is lay off the fertilizer.  Fertilizing now will only stimulate late growth that won't have time to harden-off properly before winter.  Keep watering however.  You still want to keep them alive after all!  


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Helpful Harvest Hints...
Fruit and vegetable harvest can be confusing - especially if you're still new at it.  Here are some quick tips to help with a few local favorites:

  • Harvest onions after the tops yellow and fall, then cure them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area.  The necks should be free of moisture when fully cured in about a week's time.
  • Harvest potatoes after the tops yellow and die.  Potatoes also need to be cured before storage.
  • Pick beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash often to encourage further production.
  • Harvest sweet corn when kernels are plump and ooze a milky juice when punctured with your fingernail. If the liquid is watery, you're too early; if the kernels are doughy, you're too late.
  • Harvest watermelon when several factors indicate ripeness: 
    • the underside ground spot turns from whitish to creamy yellow
    • the tendril closest to the melon turns brown and shrivels
    • the rind loses its gloss and appears dull
    • the melon produces a dull thud rather than a ringing sound when thumped.

Source

Garden Plans For You To Enjoy...
If you have big landscaping plans for this fall it's time to start making decisions on which plants you will purchase and where they will be placed.  As you do your shopping try to imagine how long you will live in your current home.  The average American family moves every five years.  If you think you might move within five years consider buying the biggest plants you can afford.  If you buy small you won't be around to fully appreciate your garden when it matures.


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What's Hot On The Hotline...
This has certainly been a beautiful summer.  It's been made even more attractive by the annual show from flowering trees and shrubs.  Callers have been asking about some of the most striking bloomers.  You can find out about them in this week's What's Hot On the Hotline...

Final Feeding...
Savvygardeners growing warm-season grasses like zoysia should make their last application of fertilizer this week.  Fertilizing into fall can interfere with the all important hardening-off process that prepares the grass for winter.

Finally...
"Don't let one cloud obliterate the whole sky."

~ Anais Nin, Writer, 1903-1977

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