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In This Issue
Weather It's The
Weather
What's Bugging
You
Questionmark and
Mysterian
Success Tip of
the Week
From the Garden
to the Kitchen
Plant to Ponder
Contact
Information
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Whether It's The Weather
What's
to say? It's still hot. It's still dry. Trees are looking
pretty sad. Many lawns are totally brown and crispy.
Stressed evergreens have simply dropped overnight. It's not
a pretty sight. For all my years in this business, I don't
think I've ever seen it last this long. We need rain, and
we need cooler temps to go with it. Bottom line.
[Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be
miserable.]
What's Bugging You
Still
not much bugging me. It's fun to watch the types of insects
that appear on our back door at night when the light is on.
They change as the season goes along. The consistent bug is
the spider in the corner with his web catching most of what
shows up! Last night, I saved a praying mantis from the
dreaded web.
Congrats
goes out to the producer of our radio gardening show, Joe
Strecker, who last Saturday morning, discovered an injured
owl in the parking garage at the studios. He bravely chased
away one very hungry cat, and saved the owl's life. The
SPCA was called, who came and took the injured owl away to
be nursed back to health. So Joe Strecker,
"S-A-A-A-A-A-LUTE!" You're an owl hero!
This
week, Buggy Joe Boggs is reporting a severe drought in our
area (just notice that, Joe?), squirrels dropping acorns
galore to the ground, not for the acorn, but for the juicy
and meaty acorn weevil inside, foliage eating caterpillars
of all sizes and shapes eating, yes, foliage, grasshopper
populations on the explosion levels right now, magnolia
scale crawlers on the move (good time to spray), walnut
anthracnose helping already drought stressed walnut trees to
lose leaves early, chinch bugs in bluegrass lawns, and how
about this early prediction? Southwest Ohio may have fewer
grubs due to the extreme drought conditions, where central
and northern Ohio may see more due to timely rainfalls, and
those who experienced flooding in their lawns, grubs cannot
survive flooded conditions longer than 24 hours.
Catch
the Buggy Joe Boggs Report Saturdays at 8:42am on 55KRC The
Talk Station.
ashalert.osu.edu
www.emeraldashborer.info
[Pound per pound, grasshoppers are 3 times as nutritious as
steak.]
Questionmark and the Mysterians -
Your Questions Answered
"Well, so far no rain. What do we do about our lawn
renovations at this stage?" -Good question! Personally, I
would suggest that you either wait and see if the weather
changes and rains move in (realizing the "opportune" seeding
time is early September, but seeding can go on all September
and early October), or you commit to watering, and begin
watering several days in advance of any lawn care, whether
it be feeding, seeding, aerating, even killing everything
and seeding (vegetation must be actively growing for
Roundup, Kleenup, Espoma's Weed and Grass Killer, etc to
work properly). This will be one for the records - trust
me!
"When
can I separate Candy tuff and mums?" -Candytuft clump
division is done spring or early fall. Garden mums (and
most fall bloomers) are divided in the spring.
"Ronnie,
can you help your old Uncle out and tell me how to get rid
of cattails in the pond?" -Favorite Uncle of mine, the key
to cattail control is the roots. Draining the pond low
enough to dry them out (they need moisture) in the summer or
freeze them out over the winter will kill the roots. Hand
pulling works over time, as well as using a backhoe and just
removing the top layer of soil with the roots. Repeatedly
cutting them down prevents them from sowing new seeds, and
over time can starve the root system. Try cutting them down
below water level and drownign them. And last, it you would
like to use an herbicide to kill them, use "Rodeo", which is
a specially formulated aquatic herbicide. Come see me
sometime!
"I just
finished spraying my weeds with a broadleaf weed killer and
am getting ready to sow new grass seed. Which seed do you
recommend?" -Well, before I recommend a seed, I need to
tell you that you cannot sow grass seed until 3-4 weeks
after spraying with a weed killer! (unless it's Bonides
Ultra) Read the label. Some say 2-3 weeks, some 3-4.
Whichever it is, you need to wait.
"I'm
wanting to grow pampas grass here, but have been told it
doesn't do well in our zone. So, what is the tall grass I'm
seeing around our area, that looks like pampas grass?"
-Well, every now and then you may see a clump of pampas
grass in the right situation, but what you're probably
seeing is 'Plume grass' (Erianthus ravennae - Northern
Pampas Grass). 8-10 feet, grey green foliage, silvery
plumes late in the season. Looks very much like pampas.
"Working
in the lawn, I am seeing some grubs. Can I treat for them
now? I want to seed as well." -Yes you can, and it won't
affect the seed. Using Merit takes 2-3-4 weeks before you
get a kill, so you may consider using the one shot grub
killers such as Bayer's 24 hour grub control, Dylox, or lawn
insecticide labeled for grub kill. As we move into the
fall, and if you do have grubs in the soil (and most folks
do), raccoons and skunks will dig to eat those grubs. We
have found that applying Milorganite to those areas will
help deter the critters from digging, and give a very light
feeding to the turf!
"What
are you hearing about using "coir" as a soil amendment to
help retain moisture?" - A lot! It's been available for a
long time, but seems to be getting more and more use, and
pretty good reviews. It's the fibers that surrounds the
shell of a coconut. They can be added to heavy soils to
help open them up, to sandy soils to add organic matter and
help hold water, as a mulch, in containers, etc. I'll pass
along more reviews as I read or receive them.
"I'm
sending you a big AMEN on your column this week, especially
the part about Sweet Autumn Clematis. At your
recommendation I planted it 2 years ago, on a bench seat
arbor in my checkerboard garden (patterned after one of
Jamie's classes). It is everything you promised-quick
growth, great coverage, and beautiful sweet flowers in the
fall. I liked it so much on the arbor, I bought another one
for a trellis next to our wisteria arbor, and now the two
plants just duke it out for space on the trellis (the
wisteria is trying to take it over too). There are lots of
buds on them this year, and I just can't wait! Thank you
again!" Cookin' Carol (Cookin' Carol is one of the many
involved in Rita Heikenfeld's "Big Show")
[Talk to
yourself; its a good way to find out what you're thinking.]
Success Tip of the Week
Did you
know that how you feed your lawn this fall, will be the
backbone to how well it can perform next year? It's true!
Research
has shown that feeding your lawn in the fall, namely in
September and again in mid to late November, are the two
most important feedings you can give your lawn compared to
feeding any other time the rest of the year. Fall feedings
of high Nitrogen fertilizers replenishes the loss of
Nitrogen through the summer, improves fall and winter turf
colors, earlier spring green up, increased shoot density,
improved fall and spring root growth, and enhanced storage
of energy reserves within the turf plant.
So,
which fertilizers do you use? Look for those with the
higher first number. Scott's Turf Builder and Greenviews
Fall Fertilizer or spring fertilizer are good examples of
what you should be using on existing turf. And that goes
for both bluegrass / rye mixes, and tall fescues.
An
exception to this would be if you are seeding or over
seeding an existing lawn. In that case, it's very important
to use a 'starter fertilizer', which although still has a
fair amount of nitrogen available, is usually higher in
phosphorus and has potash, which are important in getting
those new seedlings off to a good start. These starter
fertilizers are also good for feeding the existing lawn.
Remember
your first feeding will be in September. The second and
final feeding will be sometime mid to late November, once
the lawn has pretty much shut down for the season. Oh, and
if you're worried about fall weed control, we'll attack
those weeds later - like in mid to late October!
[Skunks avert danger by using their common scents.]
From the Garden to the Kitchen
"Hey
Rita what's Cooking?"
Yardboy,
Mother Nature has taken control of my herb garden. She's
got the garlic chives, Hopi red dye amaranth and mountain
mint in full bloom. I'll be adding the chives and mint to
salads and omelets this week. The amaranth will be setting
seed soon so I'll be gathering those to save for next
year. Here's a good herbal salt substitute for our readers
trying to cut down on sodium.
Rita's Herbal Salt Substitute: Savory is the mainstay for a
salt substitute, so I always include it. Savory also goes
great with beans. Now the proportions are up to you, but
you'll have good results with this blend. Try mixing your
own blend, depending upon what you're cooking. The herbs
used are dried.
1
tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons minced onion flakes
2 teaspoons ea: savory, rosemary, thyme, basil
1 teaspoon marjoram or 3/4 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon lovage or dried celery flakes, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
2 bay leaves, finely crumbled
Herbal Salt Substitute for Seafood: I like a combination of
lemon verbena or lemon balm, basil, dill, fennel, savory,
and rosemary
Sea
Salt with Mediterranean Herbs: Make the above mixture, but
toss in a teaspoon or so of lavender and mix everything with
enough sea salt to taste. Don't go overboard on the sea
salt!
Lovage: What is it? A celery substitute, lovage is one of
the best herbal salt substitutes. It's a perennial herb,
and is available at Natorp's each spring.
-Rita
Nader Heikenfeld, CCP / Macy's Regional Culinary
Professional / Herbalist / Author / Local TV and Radio
Cooking Expert / Adjunct Professor U.C. Clermont College /
Community Press Papers / Part time Witchdoctor / Maker of
strange potions /
www.abouteating.com
[It is better to wear out than to rust out.]
Yardboy's "Plant to Ponder"
This
summer, we've been looking at mid to late summer blooming
perennials to add colors to our garden late into the
season. Well, how about a couple more late bloomers, that
some folks call woody shrubs, some call them perennials, and
I call them woody perennials?
The
first late blooming woody perennial is called Caryopteris,
or "Blue spirea". This is a small to medium sized shrubby
plant, with blue green foliage, silvery undersides, and
grayish stems, which all add to its nice summer appearance,
but it's these wonderful late appearing bright blue flowers
that really make this plant a season ending keeper. "First
Choice" and "Black Knight" are probably the 2 most common
blue bloomers. And be sure to check out Caryopteris 'Snowfairy',
with its wonderful creamy white and green variegated
foliage, which will be topped with the wonderful blue
flowers by late summer.
And
here's one of my favorites and a true sleeper in the
garden. It's called Callicarpa or "Beautyberry". Again a
medium sized shrub that eventually develops arching branches
- blue green foliage during the season with yellows and
purple fall colors - but it's the results of these tiny
pinkish flowers that makes this one so unique. The results
are one of the most electrifying metallic lavender blue
berries that you'll ever see - as a matter of fact, I don't
know of any berry that comes close to this color. And
they're so thick on the stems, they give a spectacular late
summer show - before the birds eat them!
By the
way, I call these woody perennials as I cut them back hard
every spring and force up a whole new plant - more new
growth, and that means more flowers and more berries.
Caryopteris and Callicarpa - great plants for a late summer
show in your garden.
[When elephants fight its the grass that suffers.]
A Little
Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
September is turf month, and chances are, after one of the
hottest and driest summers ever, there's going to be a lot
of seeding going on to fill in bare spots or trying to
thicken those thinned lawns. So the question always comes
up, which seed do you recommend using?
Well,
the answer is easy. Use the same seed as the grass that is
currently growing in the lawn, or something that is
compatible. But if you're
not sure what you have, try cutting a 12 inch by 12 inch
square piece of your sod, and take it to a local garden
store. Good chance someone there can help identify what's
growing in your lawn. Then you can make a seed decision.
Chances
are, you'll be using either a mix of bluegrass, perennial
rye and creeping red fescue, which is one of the most common
types of grass mixes in our area, or you'll be seeding with
the turf type tall fescues, which have been available now
for well over 10 years. BUT, you'll want to choose one or
the other.
You see,
if you have a bluegrass / rye mix lawn, you don't want to
over seed with the tall fescues, as over time, they will
begin to clump, and that is not what you're looking for in a
nice lawn. On the other hand, if you have tall fescues in
the lawn, don't over seed with the bluegrass / rye mix, as
the same thing will happen. They just don't blend well
together over time.
The
other question I always get is which is the best type of
grass to grow here? Well, there is no one best grass to
grow, as it depends on the conditions, and the look you'd
like your lawn to have. But for overall performance, in the
sun and shade, I'll take a blend of the turf type tall
fescues, like TLC which is one of the many tall fescue
blends available for you to choose from. By the way,
whenever you put down new seed, always make sure you apply a
starter fertilizer at the same time. Very important for
those new seedlings!
TREE
PROTECTION! As we move towards the fall season, it also
becomes the time of year when deer increase food intake, and
those bucks like to rub their antlers on smaller trees,
including the ones in your yard. If you have any deer in
your area, be sure to protect 4-5 inch trunk diameter trees
and smaller with trunk protectors. If you're planting new
trees, protect them with trunk protectors. One buck, one
night, and he can destroy all the smaller trees in your
yard. And to keep them from devouring your landscape
plants, be sure to apply DEERSCRAM, and Liquid Fence as
great deer repellents. Do it now, before your plants become
deer candy!
Of
course, unless we get rainfall, or you commit to watering as
needed, this may all go on hold until the conditions change!
[Mixologist graduates usually end up behind bars.]
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