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.
|
TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE JULY 12, 2003
Standing water in lawns, gardens, and crop fields is a sight seldom seen in Southwest Michigan in July. The recent downpours have been so welcomed by gardeners, nursery plant growers, orchard owners, and farmers as well as all plants. Field crops have responded with amazing growth this week and garden plants are at peak performance. A side benefit is that we all get a short reprieve from the daily chore of irrigation. The needed rainfall will create some problems that will be easier to prevent than cure. Lawn diseases thrive in humid, hot weather. Prevent brown dead patches in turf with applications of Scotts Lawn Disease Control. Watch out for a weed invasion in all cultivated unmulched garden areas. First, cultivate out all existing weeds, then sprinkle on Preen, and that's the end of weed germination for this summer. Want to extend your no-weeding periods? After applying the Preen, mulch area with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of cedar wood chips to help control weeds and, of course, keep garden soil moist. July and August are when most Michiganders take vacations. Pre-vacation planning and care will assure that the needs of your prized plants will be met while you are away and will be ready to provide continued enjoyment upon your return home. Move outdoor planters, hanging baskets, and houseplants to a single location near a water source. Choose a north or east location that provides afternoon and evening shade and is out of the wind. Grouping plants together will make it easier for your "plant sitter". Since you'll be gone, why not pinch back any plants that have the habit of becoming "leggy", such as petunias, coleus, and dahlias. Nipping back top growth and buds will encourage more compact plants that will bloom better upon your return. Another important tip is to fertilize all container plants with Schultz Bloom Plus soluble plant food just before leaving. It's a fact that weeds in the vegetable garden will grow faster when you are away on vacation. So weed your vegetable garden thoroughly and apply Preen Weed Preventer just before leaving. Invite your "plant sitter" the privilege of picking all the green beans and tomatoes. This will promote more blooms and fruits for your return. Water all container plants, lawn, and flower and vegetable gardens thoroughly before leaving. Add mulch, if needed, to garden beds to retain moisture, control weeds, and keep soil temperatures cooler. Set lawn mower at highest setting to conserve moisture. Ask your plant caregiver to irrigate the lawn twice a week with one-half inch of moisture each time. I think the best instructions for your houseplant caregiver would be the following: identify location of all indoor plants on a diagram. Ask that soil moisture be checked by touching the soil. Never allow plants to stand in a saucer of water. Check every houseplant for moisture needs twice a week. Help your friends to help you by leaving written instructions for them. Group plants that need like care and label them appropriately with "water every third day" or "water only when soil is dry to the touch". A word of caution; a willing caregiver is important, but even more important is the type and timeliness of care, so choose your volunteer carefully. Now, "take off!" and have a great vacation! When your return home, I hope your garden, lawn, and landscape plants will look great. Now is the time to give our vegetable plants a booster of fertilizer. Use the proper fertilizer for each plant for best results. For example, tomatoes, beans, melons, cucumbers, peppers, and pumpkins would do very well with an application of Plant Tone. For sweet corn, a high nitrogen food such as Urea or liquid Schultz Instant Plant Food is best. This is a good time to plant more vegetables. Plant more beans, beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, and fall cabbage so that when your first crop is depleted, there will be another one coming on. Some of the pests to watch for in the vegetable garden right now are Potato Beetles and Soldier Beetles on potato plants. Pyrethrin sprays do a good job preventing Potato Beetles and Soldier Beetles from damaging potato plants. Cucumber Beetles and Flea Beetles are continuing to damage squash, cucumber, pumpkin, and melon vines. Control cucumber beetles with 10% Sevin Dust or Pyrethrin. Tomato diseases should be controlled with Daconil. Use Pyrethrin to control cabbage worms; Malathion should be used to control white fly. Eggplants and beets are often pestered by the Flea Beetle. Pyrethrin will take care of Flea Beetles and also Corn Borers. Sevin can be used for Mexican Bean Beetles. For good production of tomatoes during hot weather, mulch them well right now with shredded bark or straw. This will keep the ground evenly moist for the rest of the season. Wherever we mulch or water frequently, slugs will be a problem. Although garden slugs are not insects, they inflict a great deal of insect-like damage to many flower and vegetable plants. Slugs are mollusks, in the same family as oysters, snails, and clams. They are very sensitive to sunlight and only feed at night or on very cloudy, damp days. Slugs lay eggs in the autumn that hatch in spring and quickly begin feeding on our choice garden plants. Favorite host plants are hosta, strawberry, dahlia, potato, lettuce, tomato, pea, begonia, salvia, and melon plants. To control garden slugs, scatter Bug-Getta bait pellets on pre-moistened ground around the host plant. Bug-Getta pellets act quickly, with complete control realized within 48 hours. Start your Japanese Beetle control program on valuable plants before major damage is seen. Japanese Beetles are very attracted to the odor of damaged leaves and tend to fly towards plants that are being fed on. To repel Japanese Beetles, use Surefire Neem spray. To kill beetles, set out traps away from valuable plants and spray with Pyrethrin or Sevin. Homeowners that have ornamental cherry and plum trees in their landscape should be aware of Peach Tree Borer activity. The adult moths are now depositing eggs on tree trunks and limbs. Protect ornamental cherry and plum trees now with 10% Permethrum. Rabbits, rabbits everywhere, the whole world seems to plagued with rabbits this season. So many, I'm sure, that there is at least one for every garden and they all seem to be interested in eating our favorite plants. Almost all ornamental and vegetable plants are favorite fare for these new, young bunnies. Ropel spray repels almost all animals, including rabbits, from eating valuable ornamental plants. Blood meal protects the vegetable garden. Predator scents also give good results - chasing away not only the rabbits, but squirrels, ground hogs, raccoons, and moles. Fox, coyote, and bobcat scent scattered near valuable plants works great. These products are all very effective and are much easier to get good results with than installing a fence!
George Wedel |
Timely Tips
Archive
07/05/03 09/21/02 09/14/02 09/07/02 08/31/02 08/24/02 08/17/02 08/03/02 07/27/02 07/20/02 07/13/02 07/06/02 06/29/02 06/22/02 06/15/02 06/08/02 06/01/02 05/25/02 05/18/02 05/4/02 04/20/02 |