The heat of summer should be leaving us very soon. There is plenty of moisture to rejuvenate our lawns and gardens.
Lawns
Due to a very wet spring followed by the summer heat, you could be seeing browning spots or large dead areas in your lawn. How to best rejuvenate your lawn. First, we need to start with the soil. A soil analysis of your lawn will guide us in using the right products, not guessing. To get a lab analysis of your soil, pick up a soil sample bag and our garden center will send out the sample to be analyzed. We will do a free pH test in store if that is all you choose to do. Good soil is the essential beginning to a healthy lawn. We can address your specific needs based on the result of this testing.
Keeping a strong and healthy turf helps eliminate the need for weed controls. Typically this time of year most people are deciding on doing one or two applications of fertilizer for the fall. Two applications is the best plan, and the first step is usually a high first number (example: MGC 27-0-6 slow release). This will feed the lawn for approximately six weeks. Then you would follow up with a second application of MGC 27-0-6 which needs to be applied no later than November 1st or frozen ground. This will put the lawn to bed for the winter. The other thing to address is if you have turf you need to reseed, fall is a great time to do this work. One reason is less competition from the weeds. Due to the cool weather the weeds will slow down in their growth. The fall warm days, cool nights and steady soil temperature will help the seed germinate. A good rule to remember is that grass seed needs good contact with the soil, warmth and moisture. If you have a small amount of weeds in your lawn, you can apply a fertilizer with weed control in mid-August to mid-September and then approximately 6 weeks later reseed. Come in a see us for your specific lawn care questions.
Deer Control
This time of year the deer start getting aggressive. They like to rub there antlers on the small trunks of trees and EAT your plants as the forest food starts to dwindle. There are many different possibilities for protecting the trunks such as paper wrap, plastic wrap, etc. There are also countless numbers of deer controls on the market. Everybody has different results in their yard. Deer controls are all natural and have nothing in them that will harm animals, children, etc. We have learned that rotating your products between two or three different repellents will help keep the deer away. By doing this they don’t get used to the same scent or taste. We offer a wide variety of products to help you fight the battle! There is also the option of putting a more permanent barrier up. We have light netting, heavy netting, vinyl coated wire and welded wire available to fence your property. For open areas it is recommended to use at least six to eight-foot fencing, and around the foundation most people can get away with at least five feet depending on how large of a foundation planting you have for them to jump into.
Garden Maintenance
Fall is a great time to cut back the perennials and plant your daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, and all those beautiful bulbs you see in the spring. This is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. It is very important to clean up all the dead plants and leaves. By leaving this stuff in the beds any insect or disease can hibernate there all winter and pop up in the spring. A major problem for vegetable growers is rust and blights. So it is very important to remove the old plant debris from your garden to prevent disease. Disease can winter over on plant tissue that is not allowed to be frozen from winter. The plant life from your garden should be kept on top or out of your compost bin. Crop rotation is a wise choice in your vegetable garden because tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers carry similar diseases. Investing in soaker hoses is a great idea so the plants don’t get watered overhead, keeping the leaf surface as dry as possible helps with disease control.
Fall and Winter Equipment Service
Last but not least, bring your leaf blowers and snow blowers in for servicing before the rush. If it’s time for a new machine or if the raking and shoveling is breaking your back we carry Little Wonder and Stihl leaf blowers, as well as Toro snow blowers.