ROCKY MOUNT —
John W. (Tarboro) Asks: A neighbor posed this question to pass along. They did nothing to winterize their yard and, as a result, have all of the winter-type weeds that survive everything. They wanted to know if there is anything they can do now to kill off the weeds and what and when do they start to try and green up their yard and kill back weeds as we head out of winter.

Answer: The site for all turfgrass questions is www.turffiles.ncsu.edu.  You can select from the list of turf varieties, but, here is the maintenance calendar for tall fescue:  

December-February:

• Mowing — Remove lawn debris (rocks, sticks, and leaves). Mow lawn at 3 inches and remove clipping debris at spring greenup. Mow before grass gets taller than 5 inches. Remember grasscycling

and leave clippings on the lawn.

• Fertilization Fertilize with 1 pound of actual nitrogen per

1,000 square feet in February. To determine the amount of product

required to apply 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, divide 100 by the first number an the fertilizer bag.

(Example 1: A 16-4-8 fertilizer. Dividing 100 by 16 = 6.25

(100/16 = 6.25) pounds of product applied per 1,000 square feet to deliver 1 pound of nitrogen.)

(Example 2: A 10-10-10 fertilizer. Dividing 100 by 10 = 10

(100/10 = 10) pounds of product to be applied per 1,000 square feet to deliver 1 pound of nitrogen.

• In absence of soil test results, use a complete (N-P-K)

turf-grade fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio.

• Irrigation Water, if needed, to prevent excessive drying. About 1

inch of water per application each week is adequate.

• Weed Control Apply broadleaf herbicides as necessary for control

of chickweed, henbit, or other weeds. Pre-emergent weed control is

recommended in September and December for winter annual weeds and in February and May for summer annual weeds, using a root inhibitor, Pendumethulum. Pre-emergents last in the soil for 2 to 6 months. Remember to apply before you see the culprits.

• Aerification — Delay coring until fall.

• Thatch Removal — It is not necessary to remove thatch.

March through May:

• Mowing — Mow lawn to 3 inches in height. Mow at least once a week. Mow before grass gets above 5 inches tall. Then practice

grasscycling. Grasscycling is simply leaving grass clippings on your lawn. Grass clippings decompose quickly and can provide up to 25 percent of the lawn’s fertilizer needs. If prolonged rain or other factors prevent frequent mowing and clippings are too plentiful to leave on the lawn, they can be collected and used as mulch. Whatever you do, don’t bag them! Grass clippings do not belong in landfills.

• Fertilization — DO NOT fertilize tall fescue after March 15.

• Irrigation — Tall fescue needs 1 to 1 1/4 inches of water every

week, ideally NOT all at once. A dark bluish-gray color, footprinting, and wilted, folded, or curled leaves indicate that it is time to water. Water until the soil is wet to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Use a screwdriver or similar implement to check. Sandy soils require more frequent watering (about 1/2 inch of water every third day). Because clay soils accept water slowly, irrigate just until runoff occurs, wait until the water has been absorbed, and begin watering again. Continue until the desired depth or amount is applied. Proper irrigation may prevent or reduce problems later in the summer. Watering between 2 and 8 a.m. decreases the incidence of certain diseases.

• Weed Control — Apply preemergence herbicides to control crabgrass, goosegrass, and foxtail. Apply by the time the dogwoods are in bloom. Check with your local garden center for specific herbicides for these weeds.

• Insect Control — Check for and control white grubs in April and

May. (Go to this website for details:  HYPERLINK “http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/Insects/White_Grubs.aspx” http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/Insects/White_Grubs.aspx)

• Aeration — Delay aeration until fall.

• Thatch —  It is generally not necessary to remove thatch.

Reminder, the answers provided here are based on the turf variety, tall fescue.  If your lawn is of another variety, this information is provided for all turfs at www.turffiles.ncsu.edu

“Ask A Master Gardener” is a weekly column providing our readers solutions to common problems concerning horticulture, gardening, and pest management. Trained Extension Master Gardener Volunteers have access to the research that provide answers.  

Submit your questions by email to askemgv@gmail.com or call the local Extension Center at 641-7815 and tell them you have a question for a master gardener; a volunteer will return your call with a solution to your problem, or write to “Ask A Master

Gardener”, c/o The Daily Southerner, P.O. Box 1199, Tarboro, 27886.

 

– Sow seeds like cole crops in indoor containers for transplanting later in the season.

– Make a cold frame or hotbed to start early vegetables or flowers.

– Prune and train grapes.

– Prune fruit trees, blueberries, and fall-bearing raspberries (late February or early March.)

– Prune deciduous summer-blooming shrubs and trees.

– Plant fruit trees, new roses and deciduous shrubs.

– When soil is dry enough and workable, plant garden peas and sweet peas.

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Need late summer colour in your garden? Fill up empty spaces in the borders with echinacea, rudbeckia and gaillardia.

Gardening tips

* Dahlias, perennial phlox, gaura, penstemon, agapanthus, watsonia, eucomis and galtonia keep the summer garden colourful. Water deeply, and mulch around their root area with well-rotted manure or compost. A fortnightly foliar feed and regular deadheading will ensure longer flowering.

* Need late summer colour in your garden? Fill up empty spaces in the borders with echinacea, rudbeckia and gaillardia.

* Make the first sowing of pansy, viola, delphinium, larkspur and Primula malacoides seed in trays. Keep lightly shaded and moist, but not wet. For successful germination, delphinium and larkspur seed should be chilled in an airtight container in the refrigerator (not the freezer) before sowing.

* Garden chrysanthemums in gold, pastel and rich colours are the mainstay of many autumn gardens. They can be frilled or quilled, single or double, and can be relied on to put on a good show in the garden and in the vase. Reduce growth by half to encourage side branching, bushier growth and more flowers.

* The cone flower (Echinacea purpurea) is an attractive summer-flowering perennial with dusty-pink petals and a cone-like cinnamon-brown centre. Butterflies are attracted to the pollen in the daisy-like flowers, and birds will eat the seeds out of the cone after the petals have fallen.

* Anisodontea is a free-flowering shrub, 2m to 3m in height, with pink hibiscus-like flowers that attract butterflies and bees. Grow in full sun and good air circulation, and cut back to encourage bushy new growth. Useful for screening, borders, cottage gardens, mass plantings and indigenous gardens. – Saturday Star

Taking photos in the garden is way harder than shooting indoors because you can’t control all the variables (have you ever seen it snow in a kitchen?). So, we asked Gardenista‘s editors and correspondents to divulge their tips for taking great shots. Here are five of their photo-taking secrets:

Above: Tip No. 1: Avoid midday sun or harsh light. It makes flowers and gardens look plastic-y, like they’ve been laminated.

“The English weather is a photographer’s dream,” says Kendra Wilson, our UK correspondent. “As long as the day is not actually dark, the softness of rain and cloud means you can shoot all day instead of just after dawn and just before dusk.” For more of her misty photos, see “A Gothic Garden Visit, Courtesy of the Mitfords.”

Tip No. 2: Take as many shots as as possible of the same thing, trying different angles and distances.

“Tweak each shot slightly until you’ve got it just right,” says Remodelista‘s San Francisco editor Sarah Lonsdale, who uses an iPhone to shoot. For more of her photographs of the olives that grow in her Napa garden, see “DIY: Home Cured Olives.”

Tip No. 3: Remember that God is in the details.

When our London Editor Christine Hanway recently visited antiques dealer Will Fisher’s home, she focused her camera on the many vignettes and details tucked into the design of his garden. “I find ‘overall’ shots tricky because gardens have so much going on that those wide-angle photos often seem too general and boring,” she says. “Instead, I try to look for an architectural feature or a planting around which to compose the image. For more photos she took that day, see “An Antiques Collector’s Garden in London.”

Tip No. 4: Look for the “architecture” of a plant.

Our East Coast correspondent Justine Hand arranged bittersweet berries and Virginia creeper vines in a case to create this arrangement. “Just like with buildings or homes, whenever I’m photographing flora I look for the ‘architecture’ of the plant—dramatic angles or curves created by leaves, stems or blooms,” she says. For more of her architectural arrangements, see “5 Favorites: Foraged Bouquets.”

Tip No. 5: Get face-to-face with flowers. “I try always to get down on their level when I’m taking the picture,” Justine says.

Explore More 10 Easy Pieces and Outdoor Gardens on Gardenista.

 

Clive Edwards says February is the time to tend your vine

FEBRUARY is a good month for preparation, so get pots ready in advance of the sowing season. Oil and grease the lawnmower and sharpen and adjust the blades in preparation for mowing.

Sunnier days may increase the temperature in the greenhouse, so take time to clean and disinfect, making sure to provide ventilation.

With any luck, we will also have a few sunny days to get outside.

Waste material from the flower beds can be gathered up and put on a compost heap rather than burned, as many of the stems are still home to insects that will crawl from the heap when they hatch.

Onion sets and seed potatoes should be ordered now. Seed potatoes need to be kept in a cool light environment while they are being chitted.

If you encourage growth too early, energy will be wasted and it is at least a month before the earliest potatoes can be put in the ground. Trim deciduous hedges before the birds start nesting.

Vines such as ivy, virginia creeper and boston ivy can be cut back to keep windows, gutters and roof tiles clear.

Divide bulbs such as snowdrops, and plant those that need planting in the green.

If you haven’t pruned the grapevines, do so immediately, as they will bleed if left too late. Once you have the framework of the primary limbs, prune laterals back to one or two buds. The same applies to wisteria, which should be pruned this month.

Buddleia and summer-flowering clematis should also be pruned reducing last summer’s growth to within a couple of buds of the old wood.

Rhubarb can be forced for an early crop – just cover a crown or two with a bucket or an upturned large pot and insulate the outside with straw or compost for added heat.

The stalks will grow in the dark.

There is still time to finish planting fruit trees and bushes, especially raspberries and other cane fruits. Early this month you can prune apple and pear trees while they are still dormant.

It’s also time to prune gooseberries and currents, with currants shorten the side shoots to just one bud and remove old stems from the centre of the bush.

Continue to feed birds as you will need them to help you with insect control later on, so top up bird feeders with high energy seed and also hang out fat balls.

Ask Clive

How do I prune a goji berry?

Since being revealed as a ‘superfood’, goji berries have become increasingly popular.

The plants do not need much pruning. Keep it to a minimum. Prune in early spring, as soon as the leaves start to emerge and take off any damaged or diseased stems. Don’t worry if you cut too much as the plant should survive.

Why has my blueberry failed to flower?

Blueberries need an acid soil so if your soil is not acid you will need to grow it in a container or outside with ericaceous compost.

Always water with rainwater, rather than tap water, and add sulphur dust to the compost each year to maintain acidity.

Ensure these thirsty plants are well watered during the growing season. It’s worth standing the pots in trays or saucers of water. Finally, take care when pruning, flowers and fruit are formed on growth made the previous year so don’t prune out these stems.

Did you know?

February 12-14 were traditionally said to be ‘borrowed’ from January. If these days were stormy, the year would be favoured with good weather; but if fine, the year’s weather would be foul.

The last three days of March were said to be borrowed from April. February was known in Welsh as ‘y mis bach’ – the little month.

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ORNAMENTALS * This is a great time to plant bare root roses. Select a quality plant with at least 3 to5 strong canes. * Prune hybrid tea roses now, removing old canes and lowering plant to a height of 12-15”. To care for rose bushes now, apply a fertilizer heavy in potassium (K). Prune rose canes back to about 6-10”. Apply a drop of white glue to the end of fresh cut canes to prevent borers. Apply a dormant spray of lime -sulfur and dormant oil before active growth appears. Clean up rose beds, discard old foliage, pieces of canes, and remove old mulch and weeds. Re‐apply a fresh layer of mulch to rose beds. * Winter is a good time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs and shrubs that don’t bloom in the spring. It allows you to view the trunk and branches when making your cuts. * Change plant light bulbs over seedlings, as older bulbs do not give off as much light. * Continue to fertilize pansies and other winter annuals with fertilizer high in nitrate nitrogen. * Prune clumps of ornamental grass before new growth appears. Tie large clumps with rope; cut with a hedge trimmer. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES * Remember that vegetable seeds have a short life and usually will not be good after a year or two. This includes sweet corn, onion, okra, beans, parsnip, and peppers. * Consider the family vacation when planning your garden. Choose planting dates and varieties so your garden won’t be ready for a full harvest while you are away. * Peaches grow best when maintained with an open center (no central leader). Keep 3 or 4 strong, scaffold branches evenly distributed around the trunk. Limbs that branch out at a 60° angle are preferred. Spreaders can be used to widen narrow crotch angles. * Prune fruit trees and grapes in late February or early March after the worst of the winter cold is passed but before spring growth begins when temps maintain at 45°. For disease and insect control, cut out dead wood and dispose of the prunings. Disinfect pruners after each cut. * Before working an area in the garden for early spring planting, check the soil. It should be dry enough to crumble in your hands, so that you don’t compact the soil while working it. * Don’t start your vegetable plants indoors too early. Six weeks ahead of the expected planting date is early enough for the fast growing species such as cabbage. Eight weeks allows enough time for the slow growing types such as tomatoes and peppers. MISCELLANEOUS * Handle seed packets with care. Rubbing the outside to determine how many seeds are inside can break the protective seed coats, thereby reducing germination. * To make old hay and manure weed‐free, spread on the soil in late winter, water well, and cover with black plastic. Weed seeds will sprout after a few days or warm weather, and then will be killed by frost and lack of daylight. * Clean and disinfect clay pots by soaking them in a solution of 1 part liquid bleach and 10 parts water. Scrub with a stiff brush. Rinse thoroughly to remove all bleach residue. This will have your containers ready to plant with spring annuals.

Information about Extension Solutions for Homes and Gardens can be found on the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension website at www.caes.uga.edu/extension/cherokee or by contacting the Cherokee County Extension Office at 100 North St., Suite G21 in Canton at (770) 479-0418. The Georgia Extension Master Gardener Program is a volunteer training program offered through county offices of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

Vegetable gardening is an exercise in patience. Sweet potatoes can take more than 100 days to ripen; some tomato and watermelon varieties require five months.

But there are ways to shorten the wait.

The easiest is choosing plants that taste best when harvested young.

“The one thing you will miss out on with speedy growing is bulk, but what you will get in return is layers of flavor; a sprinkle of hot and peppery micro-green radish here, a sweet and nutty, barely cooked new potato there, a garnish of cucumber-y borage flowers to finish a dish,” writes Mark Diacono in the new “The Speedy Vegetable Garden” (Timber Press). “These are the crops that will mark out your cooking as distinctly and unquestionably homegrown.”

Timing is everything.

“Be slow to harvest and you’ll miss their best moments,” says Diacono, who does his gardening on a 17-acre plot in Devon, England. “These are fresh, lively and zingy flavors, flavors that can either fade or become bitter and overly strong as the plant grows on toward maturity.”

Many plants — notably fruits — are genetically wired for late development.

“Tomatoes, strawberries and apples all want to be left on the plant until they are fully ripe to get the fullest, lushest flavors out of them,” Diacono says. “Vegetables are a little different. Many get woodier, less succulent and lower in sweetness as they grow more mature, so really are at their loveliest picked young.”

That would include new potatoes, radishes, baby carrots, zucchini, miniature cucumbers, spring peas, turnips and beets.

Cut-and-come-again salad leaves can be clipped in as little as 21 days. Sprouted seeds (mung beans, mustard, lentils) can become table fare in just three days.

Check the maturity dates on seed packets as you shop. Heirloom tomatoes take 100 days or more to develop while cherry tomatoes need only about 65 days.

The same goes for squash. Winter squash (acorn, butternut) generally require 110 days before they are kitchen-ready. Summer squash (crookneck, zucchini), by comparison, can be eaten in 55 days or less.

There are many ways to jumpstart the growing season so you can be harvesting a meal while other gardeners are just beginning to turn the ground. Among them:

— Choose the warmest site possible if you’re planting early. “Even a small change in temperature can make a difference during spring and fall frosts,” says Jo Ann Robbins, an extension educator with the University of Idaho.

— Use enclosures. Covering plants moderates temperature, wind and humidity. “Air and soil temperatures are warmer, and the cover will conserve heat radiation from the soil during the night,” Robbins says in a fact sheet.

— Start vegetable plants inside from seed, and transplant them eventually into the garden. “Research shows the older the transplants, the better they will resist cold weather,” Robbins says.

— Warm the soil early. “Throw a piece of black or clear polyethylene over the soil in early spring, pin it down with tent pegs or bricks, and wait,” Diacono says. “The sun will warm it and excessive water will be kept off, leaving it in a fantastically workable state a few weeks later and conducive to quick plant growth.”

Talk about it

In doing research for some recent classes, I have become hooked on the idea of vertical gardening. As I explore this type of gardening further, I am blown away by all the innovative and exciting ideas I have found.

Gardening “up” has always made sense to me, and I have included all sorts of trellises and poles to support vines in my garden, but I have been limiting myself in my narrow definition of vertical.

Here are some exciting new ideas I have found that you might want to try in your garden this year.

Pockets: Many companies sell special garden “pockets” to assist in vertical gardening. Fill these pockets with soil, plant your seedling and hang on a vertical wall. But why not try shoe pockets? (You know, the kind that hangs over doors?)

Many of these are made of porous material and would work very well for all sorts of cascading plants. Try blue lobelia for cooler sites. Calibrachoa comes in many glorious colors for sunny sites, and many herbs and vines also have a trailing habit.

Planting trays are a great way to display your succulents. These trays have redwood sides, a waterproof bottom and a wire top. Fill the tray with a good quality soil and push your succulent cutting through the wire with a pencil.

Water them in and keep them horizontal for about a month to allow the roots to develop and the plants to stabilize. Once the plants are secure, hang your living picture on an exterior or interior wall.

For more information on this type of vertical gardening, check out succulent gardens at sgplants.com/. (Don’t miss their YouTube videos!)

Found objects make excellent vertical gardening containers. If you have some left over rain gutter, paint it, hang it and plant herbs. An old wooden pallet can be painted, hung on a wall, and pots filled with colorful annuals can hang from the slats with hooks.

How about old animal feeders, tires, planters? Stack them in an eye-pleasing display, and fill them with color and texture to brighten up an otherwise dull spot in your yard.

Vegetable gardens lend themselves to vertical growth as well. Trellis vining crops that otherwise would take up a lot of space in your garden. Pumpkins, squash and cucumbers can all be trained vertically.

For heavier fruits, provide nylon “hammocks” to support the weight. Plant tender greens and other cool loving crops in the shadow cast by these trellised veggies to protect them from the harsh afternoon sun.

For more information on vertical gardening, visit clark.wsu.edu/volunteer/mg/gm_tips/VerticalGardening.html.

Until next time, happy gardening!

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More from around the web

? A typical tunnel for home gardeners is 3x6m /10x20ft in size with a height of about 2m / 6ft. For suppliers, check out Colm Warren Polytunnels or

Highbank.

? Get as big and tall a polytunnel as you can possibly afford or have space

for. You will always want more space for growing and the head space will

be appreciated when digging.

? It should be positioned on well-drained soil and on level ground, in a sunny spot, orientated east-west.

? Chose a warm, dry day for erecting the tunnel. This will make the polythene supple and easier to pull tight. Get lots of help – it’s perfect meitheal work. Thorough anchoring of the plastic in the soil is vital.

? In the summer, there can be extreme heat in the tunnel. You should build in as much ventilation as possible.

? If well fitted and maintained (washed each year with a soft brush and warm, soapy water), the polythene can last 10 to15 years.

? Watering is essential. Having a tap in the tunnel, or close enough for a hose connection, will save a lot of effort.

? A bench, shelf or table provides a great location for propagating seeds.

? I can recommend Joyce Russell’s excellent book, ‘The Polytunnel Book’ (Frances Lincoln).

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