| Wednesday, April 7, 2004 Gardening with Nature's NurseryApril brings out the gardener in all of us. The weather begins to be consistently warm and we are weary of the leafless, lifeless look of winter. Many trees, shrubs, and flowers have been blooming for a few weeks by now and most of us are getting more than a little antsy about digging in the dirt. A question I hear often this time of year is, “When is it safe to plant things?” In this part of Georgia, I have found that is usually safe to plant tender annuals and vegetables after Easter, no matter when Easter occurs. In the 25 years I have been keeping up with this, it has never gotten below freezing after Easter in this area. Now I’ll be the first to admit that is has dropped down to the freezing point a couple of times, but never below. If a cold spell does happen, it is usually no big deal to cover a flowerbed or vegetable row with some sort of temporary frost protection. If the temperature dips down to 32 degrees, it is usually just for a few hours in the early morning. By mid-morning the temperature is up enough to uncover the new transplants. There have been a few times when I gambled a bit on when the last frost would occur. Either the workload was heavy and I needed to get an early start on clients flower beds, or maybe I was just feeling lucky. I would plant petunias or impatiens for a client, or try to get some tomato plants in the ground for my wife, and without fail I would get stung by a late frost. I decided after a few times of replacing little black, soggy dead plants that I no longer wanted to be a gambler, at least not with the weather, so I stick to the Easter rule now. In the lawn it is time to fertilize, or fertilize a second time, depending on the type of turf grass you have. Always use a premium fertilizer on your lawn. The basic 10-10-10 fertilizer is great if you are growing peas and corn. It doesn’t last long enough in the soil nor supply enough nitrogen to satisfy your turf grass at this time of year, however. The premium fertilizers will also tell you how much real estate they will cover, if you just read the bag. It is very important to apply the correct amount of fertilizer to your turf grass. Applying too little is a waste of your time, effort and money. Applying too much can potentially run off your lawn and into the creek or storm drain, and ultimately into someone’s drinking water, maybe mine. The only way to know how much fertilizer you need is by measuring your lawn to determine the square footage. Do you remember from high school math class how to find the square footage of an area? Simply multiply the length times the width to get your area. The bag of premium fertilizer will have on its label how much ground it will cover. Typically the label will say it covers 5,000 or 10,000 square feet. Some fertilizer companies offer a 15,000-square-foot bag, for those with really manly-man lawns. And speaking of fertilizer, donít forget about your trees and shrubs, especially those that have been planted in the last year. Older, established trees get most of their goodies from lawn fertilizer, quite frankly, due to the enormous root system they possess. Younger trees need a little special attention to get them off to a great start. Fertilize most all of your shrubs and groundcovers now with a high quality shrub food. Something with a 12-6-6 analysis with lots of slow-release nitrogen will make your plants sit up and whistle “Dixie” all year long. If you have neglected the weeds in the shrub beds, neglect them no more. Weeds, unlike children, are much easier to control when they are young. Use a spray like Round Up to knock them down, and a granular product like Preen to keep them from coming back. A fresh layer of mulch will prevent most weeds, not to mention all the other benefits derived from good mulching. And don’t forget about planting other things now, too. Of course, azaleas, hollies, and junipers can be planted now if the ground is prepared well. Hosta, day lilies, caladiums, iris, and cannas can also be planted in April, as long as you follow the Easter rule. — Russell Camp (Russell Camp is the maintenance division manager for Nature’s Nursery. If you have comments or questions, he can be reached at 770 461-4157.)
|