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NOW IS THE TIME TO GET READY FOR SPRING
BY GEORGE EDGAR
It is time
again for my annual reminder. I have found that the more I do in the
fall, the better it is for most plants, and the easier it is in the
spring. Also, I have found that the better I prepare my flower garden,
my vegetable garden, my lawn, my trees and shrubs for winter, the
healthier they are in the spring. Many diseases and insects over winter
in the debris from dead leaves and flowers in your garden and so they
need to be removed. These are some of the things you can do:
·
Get out a
notebook and write down what worked and what didn’t this year. What
flowers really bloomed for you and what were disasters? Write it down. I
have a hard time remembering in the spring which tomatoes I planted
where last year and which ones really did well. I also write down which
row in the vegetable garden had what kind of plant. Every year I try to
rotate and move things over one or two rows. You might also want to
write down where you got the plant or seed that did very well so you can
go back next year. Make a
note of any particular productive or unsatisfactory varieties of
vegetables that you planted this year. Such information can be very
useful when planning next years' garden. I drew a map of my garden and
the 13 rows. Each year I write in what I planted where. It really helps
as next spring I won’t remember but can turn to my record.
·
Did you
plant a new shrub or tree this year? Write down the kind of tree or
shrub, the cultivar, where purchased, and where planted. Be sure and
save that tag that came with the tree or shrub. I also have a drawing
saved in my computer of my rose bed with the name of each rose. Without
that map I can’t seem to remember what the names are.
·
Remove any
diseased or insect infested plant material from your garden, as it may
harbor over-wintering stages of disease or insect pests. If you leave
this plant material in your garden, you are leaving diseases and insects
which will begin to reproduce again next spring and add to next years'
pest problem. Do not put these in your compost pile.
·
Be sure to
keep strawberry and raspberry beds weed free. Every weed you pull now
will help make weeding much easier next spring.
·
Reduce
peony botrytis blight and hollyhock rust by removing and disposing of
all old leaves and stems this fall. Do not put any diseased
leaves and plant material in your compost. Removal will reduce the
carryover of the diseases during the winter and you will have less
trouble next year. Apply a copper fungicide (
·
Inspect
trees and shrubs for bagworm capsules. Remove and destroy them to reduce
next year's pest population. Do not just put the bags in the
garbage can. If the eggs hatch and the worms crawl out, they will climb
back into the tree or shrub. Destroy the worms and eggs by soaking the
bagworms in a pail of water for an hour or so. Or step on the bags so
the eggs are destroyed.
·
Remove all
mummified fruit from fruit trees and rake up leaves, twigs, and fruit on
the ground and dispose of them in the trash to help control disease.
Do not put any diseased leaves and plant material in your compost.
Good sanitation reduces reinfestation of insects and diseases the
following season.
·
·
Make sure
tender plants have proper amount of mulch, straw, pine needles, etc. to
protect plants for the winter.
·
Make sure
tender plants have proper amount of mulch, straw, pine needles, etc. to
protect plants for the winter. I usually put mine on after the first
hard frost. You can put it on too early.
·
After the
first light frost, dig up or spray those weeds in your lawn, especially
ground ivy, henbit, clover, and dandelions. Apply Trimec (
·
Any of the products listed above
needs to be applied 2 to 3 times, 7 to 10 days apart, for maximum
effectiveness. One application usually is not enough for control. .
These products will not kill your grass when applied according to label
instructions. Make sure you read the label and the list of active
ingredients to see what the weed killer contains. Remember, Glysophate
(Kleen-up, Round-up, Kills All) will kill your grass as well as the
weeds. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations because more is
not better. Be careful you don’t kill your flowers, shrubs, and trees as
well as the weeds. Weeds destroyed now will not go to seed early next
spring. Many weeds sprayed next spring will usually still set seeds and
those seeds may germinate next summer or next fall. Most weeds have a
waxy surface so be sure and use a sticker-spreader (Turbo or Acme
Sticker Spreader) to make sure the weed killer sticks to the leaf of the
weed.
·
Don’t
worry about crabgrass now as it will die with the first frost (mid to
late October). To control crabgrass next year, put a pre-emergent on
your lawn any time during the last two weeks of
·
Apply a
winter fertilizer to your lawn after about the middle of October. I used
to say after Halloween but the turf specialists have moved up their
recommendation.
·
Bring
tropical plants in after spraying with insecticidal soap and putting
systemic insecticide in the soil.
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