iT’S BOTHERED ME FOR YEARS
A few weeks ago, I started seeing brown spots in the lawn. And there were a lot of them.
Brown patches in lawn...in the heat and humidity of July...sounds like a disease, right?
That would be a logical conclusion given the time of year, but in this case, I could tell that wasn’t the right. So, what were they???
I’ve seen similar brown patches in our lawn before. They are always at random times of the year and in random locations...and I’ve never been able to figure out what’s going on.
It’s always the same. A patch shows up...or several patches show up...they look like dead spots in the yard for a while, and then eventually the crowns of the grass push up new blades, and a month later, everything looks normal again.
Weird, right?!
Like I said, I could tell they weren’t diseased. They didn’t fit the pattern of insect activity. Maybe pee spots? There are plenty of dogs in the neighborhood. That might explain things out front, but the back yard is fenced. Maybe other critters...raccoons, possums, deer? That seemed like a stretch, but I was running out of explanations.
What were they?!
For years, I had no idea. They’d show up and they’d always get better and go away. I just learned to live with them.
Then, the other day, I got the answer!
It was a mulch day. I had five cubic yards of mulch sitting in the driveway and a hot, sunny day to spread it. Bad scheduling on my part!
I knocked out the front yard earlier in the season. That took ten yards, but the driveway is in the front yard. The mulch and the final destination were fairly close together. A wheelbarrow, a pitchfork, and a long day did the job.
This time, however, everything was destined for the backyard. That would be a lot of wheelbarrow trips...long wheelbarrow trips...and it was hot!
But I had a solution!
I’ve got a little garden trailer I can pull behind the lawnmower for jobs just like this. It holds three times as much mulch as the wheelbarrow. That’s three times fewer trips between the pile and the back yard and a whole lot less work in the process. That’s a smart move in my book!
So, I got out the mower, hitched up the garden trailer, and launched into my project.
Things were going well. I’d load the trailer full of mulch, pull it up to the landscape beds needing attention, start spreading, and once empty, go back for another load.
Wash, rinse, and repeat. Little by little, the pile started shrinking.
I was about halfway through when I first noticed something. Patches of grass, still green in color, but all dried up like it hadn’t rained for weeks...and they seemed to be where I had parked my mower on the previous loads. It appeared that every time I stopped the mower in a new spot, I left a small patch of grass, still green, but all dried up.
I drew the conclusion that the heat from the engine, just sitting in place while I was unloading the mulch, was burning the grass blades. And guess what? The next day, all those spots were brown...just like I’d seen so many times before.
Bingo! It all made sense now. Those brown patches for all these years have come from me and my lawnmower. I was the problem! Every time I stopped to roll up a hose or look up a podcast to listen to...or stop to spread some mulch...I’d ended up damaging the turf under the engine of the mower. It was short-term damage, but it was visually obvious, and it had stumped me for years
I’m glad to finally have an explanation!
Now, I’m sharing this story to highlight a more important point. We all want to fix things that don’t look quite right, but until you accurately identify the problem, you can’t launch the right solution.
My brown grass was a problem, but it wasn’t a disease problem, and it wasn’t an insect problem. Both those issues can produce similar-looking symptoms...patches of brown grass...but that by itself isn’t enough to form an accurate diagnosis. Randomly applying fungicides or insecticides wouldn’t have helped. In fact, it may have very well created new problems.
I’ve helped a lot of folks through the years with plant problems, and I can tell you, it’s not uncommon for me to hear this during conversations...”I couldn’t tell what’s going on...and I didn’t want my plant to die...so I went ahead and sprayed it with...”. And the list of products I hear is extensive.
Randomly spraying “products” is like shooting in the dark. That’s a bad decision in so many ways, and it’s almost never a solution.
Cameron Rees, General Manager
Spot problems, then troubleshoot until you identify the correct action, and then...and only then...launch into your solution.
Sometimes that’s easy, but sometimes it isn’t...and that’s where we come to help.
When something in your yard has you stumped, come see us. Bring us samples, bring us lots of pictures, and then let’s talk. Sometimes the answers come quickly, and sometimes it takes a little more detective work, but usually we can get you headed in the right direction...at least we’ll try our very best.
—Cameron
Keep That Garden Soil Covered: Growing Cover Crops
You’ve planted, cared for, and are now harvesting the fruit of your labors, but what now? Pros know that planting doesn’t stop. Now’s the time to start planting cover crops.
What are cover crops, you might ask? Well, the name says it all, they are crops that cover! They cover the ground with lush growth in all the empty spaces where nothing else is growing. They are meant to stay in place, covering the ground and providing all types of useful benefits, until that ground is needed again.
Cover crops can be effective in preventing soil erosion and loss of valuable topsoil by protecting it from wind and rain. They compete with weeds for sunlight and nutrients, thus helping to reduce the number of weeds while trapping vital nutrients in the soil. Cover crops add valuable organic matter to soil, which improves soil fertility. Some types of cover crops (Legume or bean family) can actually pull nitrogen from the air and help fix it into the soil for future crops to utilize.
Choose cover crops that fit well in your space and don’t overcrowd or compete with existing crops that are still growing. You should also pick crops that are going to thrive in the season in which you are growing them.
For smaller gardens, I would suggest a Clover or Annual Ryegrass. These are well known for building soil health, reducing erosion, scavenging nitrogen, and suppressing weeds. Dikon Radish is another good cover crop. They penetrate deeply and help aerate and break up hard soils. There are many other like buckwheat, turnips, peas, and vetch.
Stop in today and check out our great selection of cover crops, and let us find which is best for your garden.
—Melissa Anderson, Store Manager
IT’S TIME TO THINK ABOUT FALL VEGGIES!
Fall is more than falling leaves and cooler weather; fall is also a great time to plant your favorite crops!
As we get ready for the weather to turn and things to start settling down, getting a jump on those fall veggie garden crops is also important. Some vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage need to be planted indoors around mid-July to early August so they can be transplanted in the garden by late summer. Others, like radishes, spinach, and lettuce, can be sown directly into the garden from late summer on into early fall.
Starting seeds indoors can greatly reduce the amount of stress seedlings can encounter because of our extreme heat during the summer. Try planting a little each week over a few weeks can extend your harvest and help manage the heat stress.
Lettuce, radishes, spinach, and turnips can be planted from mid-August to mid-September because they mature quickly, while carrots, beets, and broccoli are slower-maturing crops and should be started now to ensure they are ready before the cold.
Whether you’re refreshing your food storage or just keeping things going. Don’t overlook your Fall crops. Stop in today and check out our seeds. You’re sure to find yourself a great deal!
Direct seed outdoor
Beets
Carrots
Lettuce
Spinach
Turnips
Radishes
Kale
Swish Chard
Starting now for transplanting
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Kale
Brussel Sprouts
Swiss Chard
more EVENTS, SALES & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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