Overrun by Craneflies? Beneficial Nematodes attack more than
230 kinds of soil dwelling and wood boring pests.
Put away your wheelbarrow and let Ground Effects apply your soil or
mulch using our blower application
service.
Ladybugs will devour up to 50 aphids a day, but they also
attack scale, mealy bugs, and caterpillars. As a bonus, they
also pollinate flowers.
Give your lawn a light coating of compost annually. This is
called topdressing
and will help build healthy turf with active microbes.
Earthworms eat and burrow 24 hours a day! This aerates the
soil, allows for easier root growth, and improves water retention.
Keep this in mind when treating your lawn for "bad"
bugs. You don't want to get rid of the good ones
Spearmint repels ants, whiteflies, and aphids.
Mix Ground Effects soil amendments
with native soils to create rich, balanced, workable soils.
Thyme and Sage repel cabbage worms.
Good compost has little or no odor.
Zap slugs with a solution of 1 part ammonia and 2 parts water
in a squirt bottle. Slugs will dissolve quickly.
Use Ground Effects Garden Compost
to improve garden soils, soil for new lawns, and raised beds
for flowers.
Mulch keeps soil moisture from evaporating and also smothers
weeds that compete with the plants.
Compost encourages earthworms
and other beneficial organisms whose activities help plants
grow strong and healthy. It provides nutrients and improves
the soil.
Wet clay soils drain better and sandy soils hold more moisture
if amended with compost.
Mulching your flower and vegetable beds will drastically reduce
the amount of time spent weeding, watering, and fighting pests.
Plants in a rock garden are generally more exposed than plants
in a level bed and may need more protection in winter. It
is recommended that mulch be applied before the first freeze.
Deer remedies tend to work best for someone else. If a deer
is hungry enough, theyll eat most anything even
deer-proof plants.
Deer love hostas, daylilies, and yews.
Install soaker hose and then cover with mulch to prevent moisture
from evaporating and conserve water usage.
Slug bait attracts slugs, so it is not necessary to spread
over a large area. Put the bait near where there is slug activity
and they will find it. If you have pets, make sure to use
the product that is safe around them.
Dont cut the foliage off of spring flowering bulbs.
The leaves provide the bulb with food needed to keep it healthy
and blooming beautifully the following year.
To get single stemmed roses, remove all but the terminal or
main bud on each stem when they are very small. The main bud
will then develop into a large flower.
Plants that are mulched with organic materials require less
frequent waterings.
If lawns are becoming thin and sickly, consider overseeding
with a mixture of perennial ryegrass and fine fescue.
Prune and shape or thin spring-blooming shrubs and trees after
blossoms fade.
Control rose diseases such as black spot and powdery mildew
by removing infected leaves. Prune ornamentals for air circulation
and to help prevent fungus diseases.
Cut and remove weeds near the garden to remove sources of
plant virus diseases.
Prepare raised beds in areas where cold soil and poor drainage
are a continuing problem. Add generous amounts of organic
material.
Place compost or well-decomposed manure around perennial vegetable
plants.
Check lawns for presence of crane fly larvae. Treat with beneficial
nematodes or approved pesticides only if you count 25 or more
larvae per square foot.
Plant chrysanthemums for fall color.
Control aphids with insecticidal soap, a hard spray of water,
or hand removal; by promoting natural predators; or by using
approved insecticides labeled for problem plant.
Tiny holes in foliage and shiny, black beetles on tomato,
beets, radishes, and potato indicate flea beetle attack. Spray
with Sevin or use nematodes for larval stage.
When danger of frost has passed, remove floating row covers,
clean and store for next year.
Lawn mowing: set blade at 1.5 to 2.5 inches for bluegrasses,
fine fescues, or ryegrasses.
Remove seed pods after blooms have dropped from rhododendrons,
azaleas.
Prune lilacs, forsythia, rhododendrons, and azaleas after
blooming.
Fertilize garden one month after plants emerge.
Pick ripe strawberries regularly to avoid fruit-rotting diseases.
Thin apples, pears, and peaches when fruit is as big around
as a nickel.
Birch trees dripping means aphids need to be controlled.
Make sure raised beds receive enough water for plants to stay
free of drought stress.
Early morning is the best time to water vegetable and flower
gardens. Water deeply and infrequently.
Hanging baskets of flowers or vegetable plantings need careful
attention to watering and feeding during extended periods
of hot weather.
Midsummer plantings of beets, bush beans, carrots, cauliflower,
broccoli, lettuce, kale, and peas will provide fall and winter
crops.
Cover blueberry bushes with netting to keep birds from eating
all the crop.
Stake tomatoes, watch for blight (prune for air circulation,
pick off affected leaves, treat with approved fungicide).
Spray for root weevil adults on rhododendrons showing fresh
evidence of feeding (notching).
Never use Sevin during bloom period or in the presence of
bees.
Mound soil up around base of potatoes, gather and eat a few
"new" potatoes from each hill.
Dig spring bulbs when tops have died down; divide and store
or replant.
Lawns need at least 1 inch of water per week during hot summer
months.
Stake tall-growing flowering plants such as delphinium, hollyhocks,
and lupine.
Aerate lawns for more effective water and fertilizer usage.
Plant winter cover crops in vacant space around the vegetable
garden; plant winter kale, brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips,
parsley, and Chinese cabbage.
Use mulch to protect ornamentals and garden plants from hot
weather damage.
Mid-August to early September, fertilize lawn for last time
in the growing season.
In September, apply parasitic nematodes to soil beneath rhododendrons
and azaleas affected by root weevils.
Plant garden cover crops as garden is harvested. Spread manure
or compost over unplanted garden areas.
In late fall, plant daffodils, tulips, and crocus for spring
bloom. Work calcium and phosphorus into the soil below the
bulbs.
Use stakes to support tall flowers and to keep them from blowing
over in high winds.
Harvest potatoes when the tops die down. Store them in a dark
location.
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