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Rekindled Spirits...
Although the heat remains, I have rekindled my gardening
spirit resuscitating the many plants that so desperately need it.
I keep thinking that the weather will change and when it does I
will be pleased with my attempts at keeping
alive everything I planted last spring. I know it seems a
bit late in the season for survival mode but I have made my
decision to go forward so now there is no looking back.
School
begins next week so we have been busily preparing for everyone's
first day. New teachers, new classes and a new school for Morgan.
Change - something that all of our children deal with relatively
well. It is hard to believe that Kevin and I have a daughter that
will be attending her first year of high
school. I must admit that I am
excited for her and the journey she is about to embark
upon. The kids are growing up, Kevin
and I are growing older and we all are enjoying the times we
spend together as a family. Nurturing our children has been and
still is the best experience ever. How lucky am I to be a mom and
a gardener!
It is the
10th day of August and there are only 11 more days until the
Savvygardener.com
Tastiest Tomato Contest.
Sign up now so you too can compete for
being named the grower of Kansas City's tastiest tomato.
Register here!
~
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!
Helpful Harvest Hints...
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.
Source
Waste Not, Want Not...
Most of us are fairly conscientious when it comes to
preventing drips in our faucets and other indoor
plumbing. For some reason however we are ready to ignore
dribbles and trickles in our garden hoses and spigots. Unless
those leaks are falling right where moisture is needed (not
likely) it is simply a waste of water. Depending on the rate of
the leak it is entirely possible to waste hundreds of gallons
of water every day. In most cases it's a matter of simply
tightening hose connections and fittings. Applying Teflon tape
to threaded connectors will stop more stubborn leaks. It may
also be time to replace that old leaky hose altogether.
Recipe for Aging Gracefully...
If
you like the worn-in look of an established garden but find
yourself looking at brand new pots, statuary, and stepping stones
try some moss. The gray/green patina of moss makes almost
anything look like it's been there for a long, long time. This is
a wacky little tip that scores of gardeners swear by for
accelerating the growth of moss just about anywhere:
- Find
some moss, preferably a dense, low-growing variety and put a
handful in a container.
- Pick out
and discard any small stones.
- Add a
couple of cups of buttermilk. (I told you it was wacky.)
Buttermilk apparently contains something that moss really
likes.
- Put the
mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Add
water as appropriate to create a consistency that pours like
latex paint.
- Pour or
brush this concoction anywhere you want to encourage moss
growth.
Remember
that for moss to survive it must be kept damp. A hot, sunny
location will prove to be more trouble than it's worth.
Thump Goes The Melon...
Watermelon growers probably have some pretty big fruit by
now. You don't want to harvest your melons too early! Just
check for these tell-tale indicators of 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.
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...
"When the sun hat
fits, it's ugly.
The sun does not shine equally on all yards.
Plants favor sunshine, we thrive in the shade.
Leaves are sunlight, bound by water, shaped by invisible rules.
Ripening grapes in the summer sun - reason enough to plod ahead." ~
Michael P. Garofalo |
