February 15, 2020

Flower Beds:
    •    To prevent summer weeds, apply  Bonide Dimension in shrub and perennial beds 
before mulching.
    •    During the spring, use controlled released fertilizer on annual plants planted in flower 
beds (petunia, begonias, and inpatients) instead of using liquid fertilizers. Liquid fertilizers have a low efficiency rate, last only a few weeks, and can leach. Use controlled released fertilizer like Garden Trust. Do not place the Garden Trust in the holes with the plant when planting, only side dress one week after planting, and only apply once a season.
    •    Garden Trust is the most complete flower fertilizer of which I am aware.
    •    Garden Trust not only gives your flowers, nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, but also gives them minor and trace elements in the ratio needed by the plants.
    •    Feed daffodils, lilies, and minor bulbs now if those bulbs had not been fed last fall. Use Garden Trust.
When buying forced perennials, like prime roses or helleboris, keep the plants protected from frost. Plant these tender young perennials in early to mid April in the ground, depending on weather. These plants will be hardy next winter when planted correctly.
Moss:
    •    Due to the increased rainfall over the last two years, there may be more moss present 
in your yard. Most home lawns do not have adequate draining soils. Many homeowners are using urea based high salt indexed lawn fertilizers, which require additional waterings to keep the lawn green during the summer. These factors keep the lawn more moist, which is an environment in which moss thrives.
    •    To kill moss in a lawn, use Bonide Moss Max.
Use Turf Trust Lawn Fertlizer to feed the lawn. It contains pleanty iron sulfate (active ingredient in moss killers) to suppress moss.
Lawn:
Do not walk on frozen grass.
Since lawn mower repair shops are not busy at this time of the year, you should take advantage of this time and have your lawn mower tuned up, change the oil, and sharpen or replace the blades.

Seeds:

Start shopping now for flower and vegetable seeds. Look for starter trays and heating mats.

It will soon be time to plant cool weather vegetable seeds and cool weather herbs, like chives and parsley indoors .

Shop now for your spring lawn supplies. You do not want to be waiting in line at the stores when you could be applying the Turf Trust and other supplies.If you are not sure what supplies you need, you can always call an expert at 1-800-721-6003.

If you did not service your lawn mower, have it serviced now so that it is ready for spring.

Check your spreader now to make sure it is in proper working order. Oil any parts that need oiled. When in need of a new spreader, we recommend the Earthway 2100p.


House Plants:

Continue feeding house plants, Orchids, And Christmas Cactus with Seamate. Control spider mites on house plants with Summit year round house plant spray oil. Aphids, Mealy bugs, and scale on house plants and Hibiscus are controlled with Bonide systemic house plant control.

Vegetable Gardens

To have a weed free vegetable and flower garden this spring organically, use Green It Corn gluten spray. Liquid corn gluten suppresses annual weeds better than corn gluten meal. Apply Green-It after planting or transplanting and before mulching with Sweet Peet mulching. After Green-It is applied do not plant seeds in the treated area. Make a repeat application 5-6 weeks after the first.

The inorganic way to prevent weeds in your flower or vegetable garden is to use Monterey vegetable and ornamental weeder. Mix this product with the soil 3-5 inches deep before planting transplants. After applying Monterey vegetable and ornamental weeder and planting, make sure to mulch with sweet peet.  This should give you 4-6 months of weed control for your garden.