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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TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE AUGUST 17, 2002 You might not have noticed it yet, but he “growing season clock” continues to move ahead. We’re only in mid-August and there are signs that autumn is just around the corner. Football practice has begun, baseball season is winding down, chrysanthemums are beginning to bloom, and swamp scarlet maple trees are showing some autumn color. The first signs of autumn also signal the beginning of lawn improvement time. There are several reasons why late summer and early autumn are the best time of the year for reconditioning established turf and planting new lawns. Number one is that weed activity slows down. There are fewer weed seeds that germinate in the autumn. Number two, as the soil cools down, new grass seedlings root in better. Plus, grass plants multiply in the autumn, especially if we feed them correctly, to help fill in thin and bare spots. These are some of the reasons why autumn is a great time to improve your lawn. Some preliminary work and planning now will enable us to get the most out of the time and materials that we apply in August to improve our lawns. First, let’s look over the lawn area carefully. Are there coarse grasses or creeping bent grasses that need to be eradicated before grass seed is sown? If so, spray Finale or Round-up on these areas. Two applications of Finale or Round-up ten days apart will kill all undesirable grasses, roots and all. Are there broadleaf weeds in your lawn that are competing with the turf? If so, now is the time to apply Dragon Broadleaf Weed Killer to rid the turf of dandelions, buckhorn, and other competing broadleaf weeds. Two applications ten days apart will do the job. For best results, add spreader sticker in weed sprays. Before applying any week or grass killers, be sure to irrigate well 24 hours ahead of time. The brown mat of dead grass next to the soil is called thatch. Healthy turf will usually have a one-half to one-inch layer of thatch. Older lawns should be examined to determine if the thatch layer is too deep. If dethatching is called for, this is the best time of year, just before reseeding, to do it. Next year, begin a thatch control program with one or two feedings of organic Turf Nurture. Is the lawn uneven, or are there bumpy or low spots? Now is the time to level the yard. Use a soil, sand, and peat mix to fill in any low spots. In a few days, the soil will have settled and you will be ready for seeding. Bring a soil sample in to Wedel’s for free soil testing so that you will know how to condition the soil before reseeding. Don’t guess – it’s worth the extra care so that good, healthy roots will develop deep into the soil. It’s important to work the proper amount of lime, gypsum, Profile Clay Soil Conditioner, and organic matter into the soil to start and maintain a good turf. Lawn soil pH should be kept close to 6.5 by the use of ground limestone or Ironite. Heavy clay soils should have generous amounts of Profile Clay Soil Conditioner worked in to a depth of five inches to improve soil structure for better circulation of moisture and air to the root zone for improved root development. Established lawns with heavy, poorly drained soil that tends to compact and provide a poor root environment should have the same soil conditioners applied. Instead of a rototiller, use a soil plugger or spike disk aerator to enable the soil conditioners to penetrate the heavy soil. Amending poor soil structure will greatly enhance turf quality. The very best way to introduce grass seed into an established turf is with a slicer/seeder machine. These slicer/seeders, available to rent at Wedel’s Garden Center, will slice a groove through the lawn thatch, creating a good seed bed and then automatically dispenses grass seed into the soil. Now that we are receiving some moisture, it is time to begin your lawn improvement project. Using these proven methods will assure your success. For personal help to improve your lawn, be sure to visit with Wedel’s Lawn Pros. Is there a magnolia or tulip tree in your landscape? If so, be sure to examine it closely for scale infestation. Scale insects are very numerous on magnolia and tulip trees in many neighborhoods. Scale can cause the death of branches and sticky drips of honeydew on anything under the tree, which attract a ton of other insects to the infected area. Control scale with sprays of Ultra-Fine Horticultural Oil mixed with Malathion. Usually, scale-infested plants are covered with black mildew growing on the honeydew. One spray of Funginex will clean up the mildew. Speaking of mildew, there seems to be a great deal of mildew on cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin vines this summer. Mildew not only reduces plant thrift, it also reduces the harvest and storage life of the crop. Control mildew on vine crops with sprays of Daconil 2787, spraying every ten days. You’d better check your vegetable garden every day for disappearing tomato plants. Big, fat tomato worms are very active now. A few tomato worms can reduce a once large, healthy plant to bare branch stubs in just a few days. Control tomato worms with Rotenone/Pyrethrin sprays. If critters are destroying your prize sweet corn crop, take action now. Raccoons seem to be experiencing a population explosion in Southwest Michigan. Even though raccoons can be interesting and sometimes cute, they can cause tremendous damage to poultry, wild birds, lawns, and vegetable gardens. The best method of control in our garden is Sam, Joyce’s Labrador retriever. Sam has dispatched 19 raccoons so far this summer. You don’t have an available dog? Then try a Havaheart live trap or Predator Urine repellent. Don’t hope they will go away and not return. Guaranteed – once a raccoon has a good and easy food source, he will return night after night. Take action today! Walking through the flower garden this morning reveals many exciting projects. Number one on our list is to assess the amount of August color there is in our flowerbeds. Anemonies, phlox, caryopteris, dianthus, nasturtiums, geraniums, marigolds, and petunias are blooming now with sedums, dahlias, asters, and mums getting ready to flower very soon. This still leaves a few dull spots where larkspur, early dahlias, peonies, astilbe, and oriental poppies bloomed earlier, creating openings for new perennial plants. The following plants are great perennials for August color. Yellow Happy Returns daylilies, golden Stella d’Oro daylilies, Joe Pye weed with it’s long lasting lavender blooms, double yellow flowering helianthus, and hibiscus in red, white, and pink flowers are some of my favorites. It is also time to begin thinking about spring garden color. This means it’s time to give our German iris plantings some attention. Iris rhizomes should be dug up now and examined for borer damage. If borers are found, cut out the damaged area of the rhizome and treat the cut end with Bulb Dust. This will help prevent disease infection in the rhizome. Separate the clumps so that individual toes with at least one good eye can be replanted. Plant bearded iris in a sunny area with well-drained soil for the best results. Mix Bulb Booster fertilizer into the soil before planting, using two tablespoons per rhizome. Plant rhizomes just under the soil surface. This is also a good time to add to your iris collection. Down at the garden center, we have just received our fall shipment of 22 named varieties for planting right now. Varieties such as Gold Galore, Pink China Dragon, Episode, Spartan, Royal Touch, Beverly Sills, Cranberry Ice, Live Music, Treasure, and many more are all as beautiful as any orchid could ever be. Plant bearded iris now, then just wait until spring for some of the most beautiful, carefree blooms in your perennial garden. George Wedel TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE AUGUST 17, 2002 You might not have noticed it yet, but he “growing season clock” continues to move ahead. We’re only in mid-August and there are signs that autumn is just around the corner. Football practice has begun, baseball season is winding down, chrysanthemums are beginning to bloom, and swamp scarlet maple trees are showing some autumn color. The first signs of autumn also signal the beginning of lawn improvement time. There are several reasons why late summer and early autumn are the best time of the year for reconditioning established turf and planting new lawns. Number one is that weed activity slows down. There are fewer weed seeds that germinate in the autumn. Number two, as the soil cools down, new grass seedlings root in better. Plus, grass plants multiply in the autumn, especially if we feed them correctly, to help fill in thin and bare spots. These are some of the reasons why autumn is a great time to improve your lawn. Some preliminary work and planning now will enable us to get the most out of the time and materials that we apply in August to improve our lawns. First, let’s look over the lawn area carefully. Are there coarse grasses or creeping bent grasses that need to be eradicated before grass seed is sown? If so, spray Finale or Round-up on these areas. Two applications of Finale or Round-up ten days apart will kill all undesirable grasses, roots and all. Are there broadleaf weeds in your lawn that are competing with the turf? If so, now is the time to apply Dragon Broadleaf Weed Killer to rid the turf of dandelions, buckhorn, and other competing broadleaf weeds. Two applications ten days apart will do the job. For best results, add spreader sticker in weed sprays. Before applying any week or grass killers, be sure to irrigate well 24 hours ahead of time. The brown mat of dead grass next to the soil is called thatch. Healthy turf will usually have a one-half to one-inch layer of thatch. Older lawns should be examined to determine if the thatch layer is too deep. If dethatching is called for, this is the best time of year, just before reseeding, to do it. Next year, begin a thatch control program with one or two feedings of organic Turf Nurture. Is the lawn uneven, or are there bumpy or low spots? Now is the time to level the yard. Use a soil, sand, and peat mix to fill in any low spots. In a few days, the soil will have settled and you will be ready for seeding. Bring a soil sample in to Wedel’s for free soil testing so that you will know how to condition the soil before reseeding. Don’t guess – it’s worth the extra care so that good, healthy roots will develop deep into the soil. It’s important to work the proper amount of lime, gypsum, Profile Clay Soil Conditioner, and organic matter into the soil to start and maintain a good turf. Lawn soil pH should be kept close to 6.5 by the use of ground limestone or Ironite. Heavy clay soils should have generous amounts of Profile Clay Soil Conditioner worked in to a depth of five inches to improve soil structure for better circulation of moisture and air to the root zone for improved root development. Established lawns with heavy, poorly drained soil that tends to compact and provide a poor root environment should have the same soil conditioners applied. Instead of a rototiller, use a soil plugger or spike disk aerator to enable the soil conditioners to penetrate the heavy soil. Amending poor soil structure will greatly enhance turf quality. The very best way to introduce grass seed into an established turf is with a slicer/seeder machine. These slicer/seeders, available to rent at Wedel’s Garden Center, will slice a groove through the lawn thatch, creating a good seed bed and then automatically dispenses grass seed into the soil. Now that we are receiving some moisture, it is time to begin your lawn improvement project. Using these proven methods will assure your success. For personal help to improve your lawn, be sure to visit with Wedel’s Lawn Pros. Is there a magnolia or tulip tree in your landscape? If so, be sure to examine it closely for scale infestation. Scale insects are very numerous on magnolia and tulip trees in many neighborhoods. Scale can cause the death of branches and sticky drips of honeydew on anything under the tree, which attract a ton of other insects to the infected area. Control scale with sprays of Ultra-Fine Horticultural Oil mixed with Malathion. Usually, scale-infested plants are covered with black mildew growing on the honeydew. One spray of Funginex will clean up the mildew. Speaking of mildew, there seems to be a great deal of mildew on cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin vines this summer. Mildew not only reduces plant thrift, it also reduces the harvest and storage life of the crop. Control mildew on vine crops with sprays of Daconil 2787, spraying every ten days. You’d better check your vegetable garden every day for disappearing tomato plants. Big, fat tomato worms are very active now. A few tomato worms can reduce a once large, healthy plant to bare branch stubs in just a few days. Control tomato worms with Rotenone/Pyrethrin sprays. If critters are destroying your prize sweet corn crop, take action now. Raccoons seem to be experiencing a population explosion in Southwest Michigan. Even though raccoons can be interesting and sometimes cute, they can cause tremendous damage to poultry, wild birds, lawns, and vegetable gardens. The best method of control in our garden is Sam, Joyce’s Labrador retriever. Sam has dispatched 19 raccoons so far this summer. You don’t have an available dog? Then try a Havaheart live trap or Predator Urine repellent. Don’t hope they will go away and not return. Guaranteed – once a raccoon has a good and easy food source, he will return night after night. Take action today! Walking through the flower garden this morning reveals many exciting projects. Number one on our list is to assess the amount of August color there is in our flowerbeds. Anemonies, phlox, caryopteris, dianthus, nasturtiums, geraniums, marigolds, and petunias are blooming now with sedums, dahlias, asters, and mums getting ready to flower very soon. This still leaves a few dull spots where larkspur, early dahlias, peonies, astilbe, and oriental poppies bloomed earlier, creating openings for new perennial plants. The following plants are great perennials for August color. Yellow Happy Returns daylilies, golden Stella d’Oro daylilies, Joe Pye weed with it’s long lasting lavender blooms, double yellow flowering helianthus, and hibiscus in red, white, and pink flowers are some of my favorites. It is also time to begin thinking about spring garden color. This means it’s time to give our German iris plantings some attention. Iris rhizomes should be dug up now and examined for borer damage. If borers are found, cut out the damaged area of the rhizome and treat the cut end with Bulb Dust. This will help prevent disease infection in the rhizome. Separate the clumps so that individual toes with at least one good eye can be replanted. Plant bearded iris in a sunny area with well-drained soil for the best results. Mix Bulb Booster fertilizer into the soil before planting, using two tablespoons per rhizome. Plant rhizomes just under the soil surface. This is also a good time to add to your iris collection. Down at the garden center, we have just received our fall shipment of 22 named varieties for planting right now. Varieties such as Gold Galore, Pink China Dragon, Episode, Spartan, Royal Touch, Beverly Sills, Cranberry Ice, Live Music, Treasure, and many more are all as beautiful as any orchid could ever be. Plant bearded iris now, then just wait until spring for some of the most beautiful, carefree blooms in your perennial garden. George Wedel |
Timely Tips
Archive
09/21/02 |