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March 2,
2005 |
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Feeling Skittish...
It has been hard to concentrate around the Marsh house these
past few days. We are having a new roof put on and since Tuesday
there has been a constant pounding sound that is so loud.
The pets are not sure what to think. To say
that they are skittish is an understatement. They follow
us from room to room, like us, looking
for a little solitude.
I have been
a bit skittish myself. You should see me continuously peering out
the window to make sure that the workers throwing the old
shingles off the roof are not hurting any of my trees, shrubs or
plantings. Leave it to me to be worried about the gardens
(photos).
At least the roof is going on now
instead of in the middle of June when the perennial garden is
coming into full bloom. The thought of
that makes me crazy.
It is going
to be a perfect weekend to be out and about. The temperatures are
supposed to be in the mid 50's all
weekend. If you are looking for something to do, how about the
Lawrence Lawn, Garden & Home Show?
It runs Friday night through Sunday at the Douglas County
Fairgrounds. This is a nice,
smaller show with Lawrence-area garden
centers and nurseries showcasing their abilities. Always a garden
show somewhere this time of the year.
~
Shelly
Trees That
Survived The Storm...
As tragic as an ice storm can be, it is
also an opportunity to learn.
In January the
Wichita area was hit
by
the worst ice storm in south central Kansas’ recorded
history bringing the area to its knees
as tree limbs crashed into power lines, buildings and vehicles –
creating enough broad-scale damage to qualify it as a federal
disaster area.
Some trees faired better than others and
our friends at K-State Extension surveyed the damaged and
not-so-damaged and are sharing the results with us. Lessons
learned and a list of the most resilient trees can be
found in our feature article,
Trees that Survived the Storm...
Feeding Bulb
Upstarts...
If you have spring bulbs in the ground we'll bet that at least
some of them are poking up through the soil by now. Last
week we talked about moving any leaves or compost out of the way
to make room for their growth. This week we tackle their
care and feeding.
"You need to fertilize as soon as the foliage pokes up through
the ground. That's when the bulbs' roots are most active," said
Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research
and Extension. "If you wait until or after they're flowering,
you're basically wasting time and money."
Blood meal is the
traditional choice and still an excellent fertilizer for
spring-flowering bulbs, Upham said. Its application rate is 2
pounds per 100 square feet or 1 teaspoon per square foot.
Springtime
Splitters...
Now would be a great time to think about
dividing select perennials. We say this in the fall also. Don't
be confused. Just use the following logic: Divide fall-blooming
plants in the spring and spring-blooming plants in the fall.
Plants to divide now include asters, mums, shasta daisy, and
yarrow (to name a few).
Pets And
Plants...
We've received several requests for a list
of plants that are deemed safe for pets. We turned to the
ASPCA for assistance and are please to provide pet lovers/plant
lovers with links to two important ASPCA documents:
When You
Just Can't Wait...
If you are just dying to do something in the flower garden
try sowing the seeds of asters, bachelor buttons, calendulas,
delphinium, dianthus, larkspur, and snapdragon. These hardy
annuals should weather the remaining cold days and get
your flower garden off to an early start. As insurance against
really cold weather you can always sow smaller quantities at
weekly intervals.
Crown Jewels...
Once the soil is suitable for digging
you may be thinking about planting some asparagus crowns.
Don't dig too far down when planting them. Yields improve
dramatically when crowns are set at a depth of 5 to 6 inches -
not the commonly advised 12 inches. Contrary to the standard
practices of deep planting and not harvesting for up to three
seasons, recent studies show that harvesting shallow-planted
asparagus after the first year boosts yields 40 percent over
three years.
Head 'Em Off At The Pass...
Though cultural practices are the most effective crabgrass
controls, herbicides are often necessary to really get the job
done. Crabgrass can be controlled through an application of a
pre-emergence herbicide between mid-March and mid-April. The
herbicides available on the market have been shown to be very
effective crabgrass controls, but often control suffers when the
product is not applied correctly or when the lawn is not
maintained properly. When using pre-emergence herbicides, keep
in mind:
- Maintain
a healthy dense lawn.
- Closely
read and follow all label recommendations.
- Apply
the herbicide accurately and uniformly over the lawn.
- Apply
the herbicide early because they will not affect crabgrass
already germinated. Early would be mid- March in the greater
Kansas City area.
- After
application, apply enough water to move the herbicide off the
leaf blades to the soil surface for maximum control.
- Do not
apply these products over newly-seeded areas or try to seed
into areas where these products have been recently applied.
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 |