Timely Tips from Over the Garden Fence
You can catch George Wedel on Over the Garden Fence, 9:05 am Saturdays on AM 590 WKZO.
And return here each week at www.wedels.com for the latest in Wedel's timely tips.
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OVER THE GARDEN FENCE JUNE 22, 2002 Many lawns, flower and vegetable gardens, and newly planted ornamental plants are showing drought stress. It is imperative that landscape plants, lawns, flowerbeds, and vegetable gardens be irrigated correctly if we want them to perform up to expectations. Keep moisture-robbing weeds in check in flower and vegetable gardens. Once weeded, apply Preen weed preventer to plantings to prevent weed regrowth. I encourage gardeners to mulch their plantings thoroughly after weeding. I suggest using 2 ˝ to 3 inches of bark or cocoa hull mulch in rose and perennial beds, which will keep the soil cool and moist, and also will control the weeds. Mulching is the number one priority for thirsty plants and for water conservation during dry, hot weather. Lawns also need timely watering. It is important to water your lawn with a half-inch of water twice a week when the temperatures are above 75 degrees. Water during the day, not the evening. The lawn will get more benefit from moisture applied during the daylight hours than it will during the evening hours. So often, we are fed information that doesn’t always tell a complete story. A recent report about the use of lawn fertilizers did not take into account that the majority of people use lawn products correctly. The following will help set the record straight. Recent research dispels the theory that lawn fertilizers cause surface water pollution. Until recently, runoff during rains was believed to carry dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from lawn fertilizers into streams and lakes, causing algae blooms which decrease oxygen levels and sometimes kill fish. However, a recent research study shows that a thick, well-fertilized lawn actually reduces nutrient runoff and may lead to improved water quality. Dr. Wayne Kussow, a leading turf and soil expert from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first began investigating runoff losses from turf in 1993. In 1995 and 1996, Dr. Kussow developed test plots to study the effects of fertilization on turf runoff. Similar plots of Kentucky bluegrass each underwent one of three different fertilization schedules; treatment with the organic fertilizer Milorganite, treatment with a popular synthetic fertilizer, and no fertilization treatment at all. The fertilized plots each received four equal applications a year. After each rainfall or snow melt, runoff water was collected from the plots and the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous was measured. The results were startling. Dr. Kussow observed that after a single year without fertilization, runoff from the UNFERTILIZED plots EXCEEDED runoff from the fertilized plots by at least 30 percent. This, in turn, led to significantly more runoff losses of nitrogen and phosphorous from the unfertilized turf. Well-fertilized lawns reduce runoff because thick turf slows water movement down, giving the soil more time to absorb it. Failing to fertilize lawns leads to a decline in turf density and increased runoff, since water can flow across a thin lawn more rapidly. Because thick turf significantly reduces runoff, it is particularly important to include fertilization in every lawn care program. George Wedel |
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