DENVER — Oh April, one minute you are in full spring mode and the next we are protecting plants because of winter's fury.
Don’t be fooled gardeners, keep an eye on the nighttime temperatures and watch for potential freeze warnings all month.
And for goodness sake, DON'T plant warm season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers or squash now. You’ll just be returning to the garden center to replace your frozen, dead plants.
There are vital things that you should be doing right now. Rob’s favorite subjects: lawn care and Japanese beetles (...NOT!).
Rob and I both have removed a great deal of our lawns to allow for the beauty of perennial beds and borders. But I want a healthy, green lawn too. There are a lot of products on the market, but you don’t need them all.
Here are some basic things you need to do now to keep your lawn healthy and, with the cold, wet weather we’re having right now, Mother Nature will automatically water everything in for you.
Start with improving your soil health
- Humic Acid helps aerate the soil, improves the texture of our clay soil and increases the water holding capacity of the soil.
- Products like Revive improves water penetration and promotes greener turf. This can be applied anytime during the growing season.
- Apply a pre-emergent to prevent early season weed germination. Please note, if you are overseeding your lawn, this will also prevent your grass seed from germinating.
- A slow-release fertilizer will break down over a longer period of time saving you time and money on further fertilizer applications during the season. Follow the directions for application to insure you’re not over applying the fertilizer.
- Japanese beetles LOVE the green oasis of our lawns. The grubs are now moving up into the soil preparing to hatch in late June/early July. Products like GrubX and Grub Gone should be applied now so you can get them before they hatch. PLEASE encourage your neighbors to do the same!
On that subject, yes, Rob and I are both supporters of Japanese beetle traps. Unfortunately, these gross pests are now a frustrating reality. Once they decimate your neighbors’ flowers they will move on to your garden.
If you use a trap properly (i.e., placing them on the outside of your garden) they will be attracted away from your plants which may help you manage them.
You know the saying, “April showers bring May flowers”…April snow…for a gardener, that’s just mean.
More Proctor's Garden:
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