What's in this Issue:

#2 Lynne's Backyard Gardening Tips

#3 New Gardening Product of-the-Month

#4 Odd & Strange Gardening News

#5 Great Plant of the Month

#6 Invasive Plant of-the-Month

#7 Garden Pest of-the-Month

#8 Feedback - Anonymous

Gardening Mistakes

[1] Plant Selection:

This seems like an easy one but it’s very important. You’ll choose different plants depending on your yard conditions and the climate in your region.

Yard Conditions: Some of the things to consider in your yard are:

• Shade versus Sun
• Wet versus Dry
• Micro environments
• Spacing & Layout Designs

Regional Climates: Where you live dictates what plants will grow best. Some plants do well in warmer climates but suffer in colder climates. Referencing the Growing Zones Maps before you choose plants is wise.

Non-Native Species: It is easy to grow native plants because they are already accustomed to the local environmental conditions. On the other hand buying plants that are not from the local region presents extra challenges because you have to overcome what’s missing or different from their native region.

[2] Plant Placement:

The depth you plant is important. If it’s too deep or too high your plants can have problems. This is especially important when planting trees and shrubs where gardeners routinely plant the too deep or too shallow.

Transplanting: It is easy to get careless when transplanting trees and shrubs. Recovery time for balled & burlapped plants is 1-10 years before the severed root system is fully regenerated.

[3] Soil Preparation:

Properly preparing the soil is important. To really do this right you need to know what the make-up of your soil is. It is a mistake to fertilize and lime your soils without knowing the needed amounts. Another error is removing organic materials such as leaves & grass clippings without replacing with another organic supplement.

Mulching / Fertilizing: More is not always better and often it makes things worse. Take time to learn the nutrient needs of your plants as well as the differences in various kinds of fertilizers.

[4] Pesticides:

The biggest problem is using pesticides without reading the labels completely. This leads to misuse including the wrong spray for the wrong plants. Overuse can also be an issue and can lead to killing the good insects without getting rid of the bad ones. Less than 5% of insects are true pest to your garden so killing everything that moves is not the right answer.

[5] Pruning / Shearing:

Over pruning can kill your plants & trees or substantially retard their growth. Some of the issues include: (1) Pruning tree & shrub limbs to close; (2) Removing leaves from flowering bulbs before they have yellowed.

[6] Watering & Irrigation:

It is generally bad to water in the late afternoon or early evening versus early morning. Another mistake is frequent shallow watering instead of less frequent deep watering. Over watering is another mistakes that can kill your trees, plants and shrubs.

[7] Invasive Plants:

Check to make sure the great looking plant you are planting is not overly invasive. Very invasive plants can grow and spread well beyond your intended boundaries and create big headaches.

[8] Weeding / Negligence:

Usually neglecting your garden because you are busy translates into uncontrolled weeds taking over your wanted plants. A little maintenance along the way adds up to a lot of weed prevention.

There are of course a multitude of potential mistakes in gardening. Experience, patience, and the love of growing things drives you to keep improving and learning.

Spring Yard Care

[1] Observe & Plan:

Look at your overall yard and notice what’s taken place over the winter. Also recognize maintenance needs, soil conditions, over growth & under growth, and other. After looking over your landscape, plan on paper what you want to do with your garden.

[2] Don’t Rush:

If the ground is still damp from winter you don’t want to rush things. More harm can be done by walking on soggy soils or turning over soil that’s too wet. Doing this will destroy the texture by compacting the soil.

[3] Check Your Tools & Equipment:

This is a good time to check your gardening equipment and tools. You can sharpen tools, clean them, and organize them for easy access.

[4] Clean-up – Weeding:

A good next step is to clean up around your yard and garden. This can include dead limbs, branches, and plants. It also would mean starting your weeding program by pulling up dead and live weeds.

[5] Fertilize & Mulch:

Spring is a time to figure out what your soil is sufficient or deficient in. Figure out what the specific plants for your garden will require and add the balance of fertilizer to accommodate that. Mulching with organic matter is a great idea as well.

[6] Prune & Cut:

Cut back old or dead limbs and plant stalks. As soon as it’s dry enough, cut back perennials. If the plants have not started to sprout yet leave an inch of the dead plant so you’ll know where it is. Cutting and cleaning old and dead organic materials helps with the health of your garden as well as the overall look and feel of your garden.

[7] Plant Selection:

Your garden will be greatly influenced by your choice of plants and flowers. Spending time to choose the right mix of plants for your specific regional climates and conditions will pay off huge.

Spring time is like the beginning of building a home because you have the opportunity to draw up the blueprint for your entire garden.

Composters - Small / Portable

There are many varieties of portable composters. A handy and easy to assemble composter called the “Envirocycle Rotating Composter” is one version with some unique features including:

• It is fully assembled for quick use
• It is compact & durable
• Very user friendly
• Turning handle to circulate air & matter
• Collects compost tea
• Only weighs 19 pounds

In The Words Of The Manufacturer:

Composting can be hard work, because to get efficient composting action, your batch should be mixed and turned frequently. In fixed composters this becomes quite a chore, because turning the batch is a real effort. (we know because we've done it). So we developed a composter that's easy to fill, easy to turn in place (without needing to roll around the yard), and with a lot of efficiencies to help break down compost fast.

Fully Assembled

Arriving in two pieces, just set the drum on top of the base, and you're ready to start turning your compost. You won't spend frustrating hours (or days) trying to put together a bunch of parts.

Large Capacity

The composting drum which is positioned on the turning base holds 12 cubic feet of material. This size is ideal for heat generation and quick material breakdown. As your batch breaks down, you'll find an increasing space to add fresh material, or you can replace the batch with a new one within weeks.

Easy to Fill

A large 16 inch twist off lid provides easy access for filling, and dispensing compost. This threaded lid is easy to remove, yet prevents animals and pets from getting at recently added kitchen and garden scraps.

Easy to Turn

Glide bearings on base allow composting drum to rotate freely, while keeping it cradled in position for easy rotation. Recessed handles on sides of composter provide gripping points for turning the batch.

Air Ventilation

A good batch of compost needs air to accelerate the process. We've positioned 72 end air vents, and a two-way breather valve on the lid provides air movement from end to end and throughout the composting batch.

Made from Recycled Material

We use 100 percent "pre-consumer" recycled polyethylene plastic to make our composter, and the black color will absorb heat of the sun for optimum composting benefits.

There are a lot of other options out there on the market including your ability to make your own composters. Please reference the composting web page to learn more about composting and making your own.

Cork Oak Trees

• Light-weight
• Rot resistant
• Ability to compress & expand
• Fire Resistant
• Water proof – impermeable
• Buoyant
• Soft
• Low conductivity to heat & sound
• Wear resistant

Some of the many products include:

• Stoppers for wine
• Flooring tiles
• Gaskets
• Coasters
• Much more

About the Cork Tree:

The cork oak grows in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa (Portugal accounts for 50% of the world’s total cork production). Cork oak produces a unique outer bark that is insulating and fire-resistant. It takes 15-20 years for the cork to be ready for harvesting for the first time. Harvesters carefully cut the cork and split it away from the tree and new bark will grow back in its place.

The first harvest is unsuitable for most applications and products and is usually used for some type of mulching of filler. Every 8-10 years after the first time cork can be harvested again. Second generation cork is still not the best quality and is used for products such as floats for fishing nets. Additional generations of cork (still every 8-10 years between each cycle) produce higher & higher quality cork that is used for a wider range of products such as stoppers for wine.

A typical cork oak tree will be harvested until it is approximately 200 years old and multiple harvestings. You have to be patient if wanting to commercially grow cork because getting to the 3rd harvest where the cork is higher quality can take up to 52 years. A cork tree will yield 13 to 18 useful harvests in its full lifetime.

History of Cork: Corks were used by the Greeks in the 5th century BC to close wine jugs and the Romans followed with their own versions. The most common closures in those ancient days was actually a coating of pitch and gypsum over the opening of a vessel or a film of olive oil floating on the surface of the wine.

Wine historians have linked the development of the glass bottle and its cork stopper as 2 necessities for the modern international wine trade. Wine no longer had to be put into bulky & awkward clay vessels or wooden barrels to ship. Cork stoppers prevented oxygen from spoiling the wine both in shipment and storage, and additionally helped in the maturation of the wine.

The cork oak tree is an amazing tree that will be in use for many years to come because it has properties that are still not duplicated by synthetic methods.

Wisteria

Among the attributes of wisteria are:

• Hardiness & vigor
• Longevity
• Ability to climb
• Large flower clusters

The flowers of wisteria are pea-like and occur in:

• White
• Pink
• Lilac-Blue
• Bluish-purple
• Purple

Growing Wisteria:

Wisteria vines naturally grow on trees with their roots embedded in the forest floor where rich organic matter of the leaf litter. The top growth of the wisteria vine grows up strongly towards the light. To grow wisteria successfully you’ll need to recreate those conditions as much as possible. At home, select a place where the roots can be in the shade but will allow the wisteria’s top growth to find sun against a wall or other structure.

The wisteria vine is vigorous and will need a strong support system to accommodate its fast growth (wisteria can grow up to 10 feet per year).

Training Wisteria:

Wisteria climbs naturally by sending out shoots that look tree branches to climb on. Once the wisteria finds a branch it starts to turn clockwise in a circular motion that results in coiling around and securing it. Note: If you are training a wisteria vine and attach it using a counter-clockwise direction the vine will have to untwist itself and re-twist in a clockwise direction.

Danger: The seeds and seed pods of wisteria are poisonous and thus children & pets should be kept from ingesting them.

Site Requirements:

Wisteria requires full sun for 6 or more hours per day. The soil should be moderately fertile, moist, and should not dry out excessively. They will adapt to most soil conditions though they prefer a neutral to slightly acid soil. It’s a good idea to conduct a soil pH test before planting to make sure the soil mixture is right.

When actually planting prepare the soil in an area 2-3 feet in diameter and 18-24 inches deep. Mix into the soil peat moss, compost, or well rotted manure to improve soil aeration and water drainage. Note: Wisterias do not transplant very well.

Mile-a-Minute Weed

In its native China, mile-a-minutes weed is not considered a serious threat but it still invades tea plantations and cornfields. This weed germinates in full sun and grows very rapidly. Mile-a-minute grows to 20 + feet in height and forms a dense, tangled mat that covers everything in sight including trees and shrubs.

Origin:

Mile-a-minute is widely distributed in Japan, China, Korea, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Siberia, the Philippines, Nepal, Turkey, and a few others. It was introduced into the United States from Japan in the late 1930’s and the rest is history.

Mile-a-minute is an herbaceous trailing vine and is a member of the buckwheat family. It has tiny white flowers and the stems are armed with rows of small rigid downward pointing barbs. These barbs are substantial enough to cut your hands if trying to pull them by hand. The fruit berries are a fleshy bright blue and about the size of a pea.

Mile-a-Minute invades the following types of areas with a vengeance:

Control of Mile-a-Minute:

Biological Controls:

In China there are 100 insect species that appear to feed off the weed in some form and may hold some sort of biological control promise in others countries. It’s important to gain control since mile-a-minute can grow up to 6 inches per day and take over vegetation blocking sunlight and killing what’s under it. Thickets of mile-a-minute can reduce plant diversity in natural areas and substantially degrade wildlife habitats.

Spreading Mechanisms:

This weed spreads via birds and waterways with birds eating the fleshy berries and spreading the sees in their droppings. The berries float thereby helping to spread it along streams and rivers.

Mechanical:

Hand-pulling is useful and is best done before the seeds set. It is easiest to when the plants are relatively young before they have developed into intertwining thickets with barbs. If pulling mature mile-a-minute weeds use heavy duty gloves to prevent injury. You can also mow or cut repeatedly during growing season for maintenance control.

Chemical:

For large and out of control infestations mile-a-minute weed may need to be contolled chemically. An application of a glysophate-based herbicide is a practical method for getting rid of the weed. This is a non-specific herbicide so avoid over-spraying or you’ll kill all other vegetation it comes in contact with as well. Always follow the herbicide instructions and apply responsibly.

Armyworms

Description:

The armyworm adult is a sand colored 1-1/2 inch moth. The larva is a 2 inch nearly hairless striped caterpillar that varies in color between green to brown.

Damage:

Armyworms eat the leaves of host plants and they can completely consume small 6-8 inch corn plants. They travel in large numbers and move on to the next garden or field after destroying an existing one. Army worms attack all grass-type crops, especially corn and small grain plants.

Life-Cycle:

Armyworms generally go through 5 larval stages within 14-21 days. As they grow their ability to consume plant tissue increases. After maturity the worms dig 1 inch deep into the soil and pupate. After 14 days they emerge as adults. The entire life cycle ranges from 24-36 days and in warmer regions such as Florida there can be several generations per year. Adults tend to migrate north as the weather warms and lay their eggs for the next generation (as many as 2,000 at a time).

Control:

Homeowners can spray lawns with pesticides that list armyworms as pest that can be controlled. It is recommended that the liquid form of insecticide be sprayed I the late afternoon or evening. After this, the lawn should not be watered or mowed for 1-3 days to allow it to work. One method to help control armyworms is to rake up fallen leaf debris to eliminate daytime hiding places.

You can encourage hungry birds to visit your garden to help control army worms by installing birdhouses, birdfeeders, and birdbaths. Another method is to attract predatory wasp by planting dill, fennel, and brightly colored flowers nearby.

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