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Gardening101: Rain, rain, gone away?
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Anonymous user Wed Nov 30, -0001 00:00:00 PST
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1 response 0 comments At least I certainly hope so. I’ve had enough!

Rain every weekend does not help support your local nurseries. We’ve had worse springs business wise ... Just can’t remember when, so let’s get on with some nice weather.

I thought it would be good to deal in this column with some of the problems the rain has left us.

With the positives of no water shortages and good clean air come some gardening challenges to deal with.

Insect problems have come with the lack of frosty temps and the abundance of moisture. I’ve noticed lots of snails, slugs, earwigs and sow bugs. The earwigs have gone crazy — literally hundreds hiding under stepping stones, pots or anything laying on the ground.

The Cory’s Bug Bait is the best I’ve found. It has an attractant in it that lures these night feeders to it. Put this product out sparingly, being careful to place it under pots, plants or in spots not accessible to animals. Unfortunately, the same attractant that makes this poison work on bugs can attract animals.

Sluggo is a good snail bait, if your pets are likely to pick up the other. The kill is slower, but this iron-based product is not as toxic. It won’t get the earwigs or sow bugs, though.

This is also the time to apply the Bayer Tree & Shrub. This once-a-year treatment for insects is the best insect control we’ve seen. The product can be applied to the soil one time, and it takes care of insects the whole season! I’ve used it with great success on trumpet vines, hibiscus, perennial morning glory and crepe myrtle. It also has good reports on controlling Boers.

This product should prove to be worth its weight in gold for controlling Boers in birch and weeping willows! Try it on any plant you know is plagued with bugs each year and let us know how it does.  It will be fun to know how this fairly new product fairs.
Mark your calendar for each year’s application time, but make note that the plant must be leafing well and the sap flowing for the material to be picked up. What a time saver this will be!  

Another problem we can blame on the moisture will be an increase of plant diseases. A greenhouse effect has been happening in that every rainstorm has been followed by warm temps, thus making it perfect for disease problems to thrive. Already we’re seeing cases of fire blight, mildews and fungus.

Disease controls like Agri Fos, Fungaway and Orthonex are working well to control problems in non-edible trees and shrubs. These are systemics, so they last longer in the plant. Usually once a month is a good frequency when applying the systemics. Products safe for fruits and veggies will say so on the label and usually will need to be used more often. I recommend once a week for several weeks.

Plants seem to be growing well this spring, but so are the weeds! To compound the problem many of us have not gotten on our pre-emergents. The rain has driven (even the best gardeners) inside.

If you missed that timely application of seed control, don’t worry, even late pre-emergents will greatly cut down the weed population. Once you get the seed control down, bring in samples of the weeds that have come up and we’ll help you deal with them. With some spraying and some pulling, it will be quite a battle this year, but we can succeed!

Feeding the yard this year may be challenging. With the way things seem to be taking off I’m inclined, even more, to push using slow releasing organic fertilizers.
I like lots of trace minerals to help with greening and not so much nitrogen. I’m also trying more super phosphate to encourage more bloom.

So far, my plants are having no trouble with growth. I like a regular feeding regiment of once a month on all the trees and shrubs. I also have found twice a month with lite shots of fertilizer works well on the lawn.

Check out my dad’s “Deep Feed Schedule for Trees” and “Lawn Feeding Schedule.” Both are available at our family’s nursery, Robby's. These hand-outs can help guide your fertilizing regiment. You will see a big difference in the performance of your yard, if you will feed on a regular schedule. Also, if plants are healthy they will be more resistant to problems that can arise.

If we’re not careful, spring will pass us by. A lot of time has already gone — with what remains, I’m going to make the best of it. You can, too. Get back into the groove and pick up on these tasks to get your gardens ready for summer.
Please, I have really had enough rain!

E-mail Kathy at: kathyrobinson6174@sbcglobal.net

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