Tip: Weed Perennial Flowers Source: National Gardening Association When weeding perennial beds, but don't pull up any self-sown seedlings of flowers such as foxgloves or hollyhocks. After weeding, top dress the beds with a 1- to 2- inch thick layer of compost.
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posted by Unknown @ 2:09 AM
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Q&A:: National Gardening Association & ArcaMax.com
Question: I recently moved and inherited two beautiful and very large clematis vines. A friend asked me whether I was going to cut them back and said some clematis need to be cut back and some don't. My question is should I cut my clematis back or not? I'm sure I have one which is a Jackmanii but I'm not sure about the other. It is more of a fushia color Marti Johnson Cincinnati, OH
Answer: Named varieties of hybrid clematis bloom in 2 different ways: some bloom on wood grown the previous year and some on wood grown in the same year. Clematis in the Jackman group of hybrids bloom on new growth (wood grown in the same year). You'll have to watch where the blossoms occur on the other clematis to determine if they are on new or old wood. If you wish to prune the Jackman clematis, do so in spring as the buds swell or slightly before. You can prune to within 4-6" of the base if you wish. If the other clematis flowers on old wood, prune dead and broken growth in the spring. After flowering, a portion of old shoots should be cut back severely.
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posted by Unknown @ 4:15 AM
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5http://www.detnews.com/2005/homestyle/0504/08/B01-143584.htm
Concepts:
lawn, grass, fertilizer, greens, Berns Landscaping Services, crab grass, Kraus, Detroit News, soil, mowing, Cieslak, house, recommends, beds, lawn-care service.
Summary:
/ The Detroit News Sara Zobl and Cesar Sanchez of Berns Landscaping Services prune last year's perennials and decorative grasses at a Grosse Pointe Park home.Todd McInturf / The Detroit News Steven Schmidt of TruGreen ChemLawn fertilizes a customer's lawn in Rochester Hills.Professional full-service treatments -- including all the bed care, shrub-trimming, fertilization, deeper treating and mowing -- can cost in the ballpark of $20,000 per year."You get what you pay for," says Jim Berns of Warren's Berns Landscaping Services Inc.· Ask for referrals and listen to word-of-mouth.Now's the time to get cracking, because what you do to your lawn in the coming days and weeks could determine how good your grass looks come that big outdoor luau you're planning for July."It's going to wake up your grass a little earlier and green it up," says Ted Kraus of Applegate Landscaping in Novi.The best time to lay down that initial layer of fertilizer is around the middle of April.Science-wise, Kraus says, it's best to get it down when the soil reaches temperatures of about 55 degrees.It's essential to make sure the fertilizer contains crab grass pre-emergent, which kills crab grass seeds before they germinate and make your lawn look like a crab grass farm.Wait until your grass greens up, and if it looks like a patch of your lawn was done in by snow mold, rake it out, top dress it with a little soil and reseed.
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posted by Unknown @ 11:56 PM
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Source: National Gardening Association &ArcoMax.com
Question:
Can you recommend specific honing or sharpening tools for keeping the blades of pruners, loppers, and scuffle hoes sharp? I have seen Arkansas oilstones, synthetic sharpening "stones", pruner sharpeners, etc. What is the best all-purpose tool and do you recommend coarse, medium or fine stones or a combination of stones?
Answer: To briefly answer your question, use a whetstone to sharpen pruners and fine gardening knives (such as Japanese gardening knives). Large-bladed shears and loppers, shovels, hoes, etc., can be sharpened with a medium-grit mill bastard file, and finshed with a finer grit file or whetstone.
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posted by Unknown @ 2:18 AM
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Now that I've found deer tracks on the road near my garden and a rabbit running from my apricot tree that he'd obviously munched on, I'm more interested than ever in keeping these critters out of the garden. But we need to add gophers and moles to the list, too
Controlling Deer, Elk and RabbitsReaders write in saying the only prevention is a six to ten foot high fence. If that's not possible, then try selective plantings. Some plants have scented foliage with internal chemicals that naturally repel browsers. Then again, readers have reported that deer love their Daylilies, Gaillardia, Sunflowers, Hollyhocks and Echinacea.Last year a man wrote in saying, "They never touch Santolina, which is not on your list."Then another said he planted two Kolkwitzia (Beauty Bush) plants and the deer have ignored them along with the Woods roses, but they've sampled the Forsythia. A plant they ravaged is Burning Bush, a variety of Euonymous. "They stripped every leaf," he wrote. One product other readers swear by is Deer Off, which does exactly what it says-keeps the deer and rabbits off your plants. Given the overwhelming evidence, it looks like browsers will eat anything if hungry enough no matter what you do. However, here is a list of plants they aren't supposed to eat.
For lists of browser resistant plants that are broken up into perennials, herbs and shrubs click on the following:
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posted by Unknown @ 4:54 AM
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The Star Online: Lifestylehttp://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/4/5/features/10453188&sec=features
Concepts:
waste, compost, soil, production, technology, Sabah, organic waste, production cycles, environment, Chin, food waste, whatever, DBKK, town council, vegetables.
Summary:
Wouldn't it be great if we could return our waste to the land, rather than turning more space into wasteland?In Kota Kinabalu, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Happy Soil Sdn Bhd have embarked on a timely collaboration to refine a large-scale organic waste composting system.Through the system, organic waste, in this instance food waste, can be converted into compost much more quickly compared to conventional methods, producing high quality compost without the typical accompanying unpleasant odours."UMS will assist in developing the local technology.If this proves successful, we will move on to the rest of Malaysia," said Chin Kah Thing, a director from Happy Soil.A study jointly undertaken by DBKK and the Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development in 2000 reported that of the total waste material generated in Kota Kinabalu, 45% consisted of organic materials, 50% were recyclable materials such as paper, plastic, glass and metals, and a mere 5% was considered non-recyclable.That is, instead of a production line, we should be looking towards developing production cycles.Production chains will bind us to the problem of waste disposal, while production cycles will shift us towards more sustainable waste management.What's the incentive for businesses to adopt production cycles instead?
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posted by Unknown @ 4:37 AM
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Salt Lake Tribune - Sportshttp://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_2638951
Concepts:
Budge, Masters, Augusta National-level, mower, volunteer, greens, fairways, maintenance, Riverside, turf, tournament, staff, club, superintendents, members.
Summary:
Budge, the greens superintendent at Riverside Country Club in Provo, has joined Augusta National Golf Club's maintenance staff for his 11th Masters as a volunteer.Twice a day, he participates in the most celebrated lawn mowing routine in the world, precisely trimming the fabled fairways.Budge barely made it through his first Masters, narrowly avoiding running his mower over a TV cable.Nearing his 60th birthday and in is his 22nd year at Riverside, Budge started his annual treks to Augusta National after giving into the prodding of staff members and calling about the club's volunteer program, which involves a few dozen visiting superintendents and turf industry representatives from around the country.Riverside's budget covers Budge's expenses for the sake of continuing education, plus some cachet for club members who figure they're getting a sampling of Augusta National-level maintenance.
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posted by Unknown @ 4:29 AM
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Design Tip #2- Improving the SoilBy Mary Ann Walz
Soil Preparation One characteristic of Xeriscape plants is that they like soil that has good drainage. To be really successful with your landscape it is often necessary to improve the soil.
posted by Unknown @ 4:26 AM
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Tip:
Remove Strawberry Flowers Source: National Gardening Association Remove flowers on newly planted June-bearing strawberries to allow plants to direct most of their energy to growing strong roots, runners, and new growth for better production next year.
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posted by Unknown @ 11:34 PM
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Q&A: Seed Leaves vs. True Leaves Source: National Gardening Association & ArcoMax.com
Question: What does the term "true leaves" mean? Is there such a thing as "fake leaves?" Should I pinch off the first set of leaves on my seedlings?
Answer: The first set of leaves that appear when a seed germinates are called, strangely enough, 'seed leaves'. These serve to nourish the new sprout until it can photosynthesize its own food. A plant's seed leaves usually don't look much like the leaves that emerge later and are considered "true leaves." (Consider a bean plant: the first leaves resemble a bean seed split in half, while the true leaves are heart-shaped.) There is no need to remove the seed leaves. Once they've done their job, they'll shrivel up on their own.
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posted by Unknown @ 11:19 PM
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