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by Bill Sheffler
~ May 18, 2005
Greetings gardeners!
Welcome to a new year of gardening!
Temperatures are definitely on the rise and I
think we can all see a few plants starting to emerge
through the soil and show some green. Turf is
definitely starting and I have a few day lilies
starting to show. I have heard many reports of the
bulbs starting also.
The sap has been rising in the trees since
Valentines Day, and there is a lot of activity going
on there. Feeding trees at this time of year is very
successful. The bark has pores just like our skin
and can absorb nutrients easily.
My mom cut some forsythia branches a few weeks
ago and they flowered indoors which everyone
enjoyed.
Mulches are starting to show up at the gas
stations and grocery stores. I want to put out a
reminder to stay away from cedar and cypress
mulches. Instead, use pine or hardwood mulches. The
Jewel (store) near my house has some mini pine bark
mulch bags (Florida Gold, I think) that will work
very nicely. At 4 bags for $10, it's a really good
deal. Layer the mulch on top of the soil and then
let it age. Next year it can be incorporated into
the soil as a soil amendment. It's the best soil
amendment for opening up our clay soils.
For weed control, put down a layer of newspaper
and put the mulch on top of that. Weed seeds need
sunlight to germinate and newspaper makes a terrific
weed block.
Don't work the soil!! If we work the soil when
it's too wet we will destroy air spaces and then the
soil will set up like cement. You can put plants on
TOP of the soil but not in it. NO DIGGING YET !!
Just put the trowel down and no plants will get hurt
!! ;-)
According to my weather guru, Larry Acker, it
looks like above normal rain for the end of April
and May, and this summer will be hotter than normal
and dryer than normal. I'll pass along more details
later as I get them.
Let me get this in the mail to you guys and I
will write more next week. This is a free newsletter
and I encourage anyone interested to sign up. If you
know of a friend who would enjoy these tips, then by
all means have them sign up!
Happy gardening!
Bill Scheffler
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