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Wild
Weather...
I would be remiss if I didn't start
this editorial talking about the weather. It seems to be a bit
early to be talking about hot and humid weather but that is
certainly what we have had these last two days. UGH! I am not
quite ready to go there... Some severe
storms around Kansas City today, maybe even tomorrow and Friday.
I always seem to forget that this time of the year is so
susceptible to crazy weather. Hot as the dickens one day, rain a
day or two, cool weather for a few days and then a spike back to
warmer temperatures. I am almost as confused as my plants. My
roses are practically all in bloom and it is only mid May. My
pansies are hanging in there, although
if we have too many more days at 89°
or above I will certainly
have to replace them. I have so many
little projects going on. Hopefully with this brief cool down I
can finish planting, transplanting, mulching and everything else
that needs to be completed. Time to get serious!
Look for
the winner of the Family Tree Nursery $500 gift certificate in
next weeks newsletter. We will be drawing the name this weekend.
Thanks to all of you who helped to support me in my fight to find
a cure for Breast Cancer. My 60 mile walk is a short 6 weeks
away. Your encouragement through
donations and e-mails will help me
complete this daunting physical task. I am excited and a bit
nervous. I will take good notes and many pictures to share with
all of you. Once again I have been overwhelmed by your
generosity.
~
Shelly
Frosty Taters...
Many people had potato plants that had
emerged before the freezes last week. Some are wondering what to
do about damaged potato plants. With an adequate sized seed
piece, potatoes will bounce back very quickly. Research has shown
that potato plants 12 inches tall frozen completely to the ground
will recover with little to no loss of production. Surprisingly
they were not even delayed in reaching maturity. So, do not
remove or give up on damaged potato plants. They will recover
completely and you will be far ahead of any kind of replacement
that you may try to do now.
Source
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. If you're like us, hectic
schedules can 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
Tip Top Tools...
Here's a great way to keep your gardening hand tools clean
and free from rust. Fill a 5-gallon bucket with play sand.
Moisten the sand with mineral oil or even motor oil. Plunging
your tools into the sand/oil mix several times before storing
them will remove the dirt and leave a protective coating of oil
on the metal surface.
Getting Rid Of Girdles...
Remember to remove old stakes, ties, and labels from
your trees and shrubs.
Stems and trunks grow in diameter this
time of year and it is important to remove any constrictions
that exist around them.
Even a thin wire can
completely girdle a branch causing it
to eventually die. While it's true that
tree trunks may grow around wire, nails, or ties, they
will forever have a structural defect that may
be unsightly and is likely prone to storm damage.
Source
The Right Height...
To prevent weed germination in lawns, mow
frequently at the tallest recommended mowing height. Weeds
germinate rapidly when turf is scalped by mowing too short or
when it is not mowed frequently enough. Both mistakes decrease
turf density and cause an open canopy that favors weeds. Experts
recommend a range of mowing heights to meet specific turf
activities. Lower mowing heights require more frequent mowing.
Annual grassy weeds -- such as crabgrass -- are especially a
problem on turfs that lack density as a result of poor mowing.
Recommended
mowing heights for grass types:
-
Kentucky bluegrass - 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
-
Tall fescue - 3.0 to 4.0 inches.
-
Fescue/bluegrass - 3.0 to 3.5 inches.
-
Bluegrass/ryegrass - 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
-
Perennial ryegrasses - 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
-
Creeping red fescues - 3.0 to 3.5 inches.
Source
Wait For Grub
Control...
Grub control products are currently being displayed in the
center aisles of retail department and discount stores and are
advertised on the radio as providing season-long grub control
when applied in early May. Certain insecticides, including
imidacloprid (Merit) and halofenozide (Mach 2) do have a very
long residual in the soil. However, they should not be applied to
lawns until later in the summer by both homeowners and
professionals and here’s why:
- The goal of white
grub insecticides is to prevent turf damage, not eradicate
grubs. Grub damage in the spring is very minimal and only seen
in the driest of years. The chance of
significant grub damage
is limited this time of year.
- Grubs found in
the turfgrass right now are very mature and extremely difficult
to kill. Insecticides applied now will not be very
effective.
- Even if you could
control grubs now, it will have no effect on the population of
grubs come August when the really damaging generation
hatches.
- Insecticides
applied now will biodegrade over time and may not remain in the
soil at high enough concentrations to be effective in August
when we really need them. Certainly, they will be more
effective if applied closer to the egg hatch date (early
August).
You are
generally better off waiting until mid-July through
mid-August to apply white grub insecticides and then only apply
if your lawn has experienced perennial damage from grubs or if
you find more than five grubs per square foot.
Source
Finally...
"There came a time
when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than
the risk it took to blossom." ~
Anais Nin |
