WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
I was surprised the other day when I got an apology from a customer. They were apologizing for getting a late start on their garden season. To that, I responded,” You don’t need to apologize. You just need to get started!”
The questions come in a lot of different ways:
“Is it too late to plant?”
“Is it too early to plant?”
“What’s the best time to plant?”
“When should I plant?”
These are fair questions, and the answers are fairly simple. No, it’s not too late to plant, and right now is the best time to start!
There are three simple rules to planting I tell everyone. You plant...
When you have time.
When you have what you need.
And most importantly…
When you are able to commit to taking care of what you just started.
With very few exceptions, you can plant any day of the year, as long as you can dig the hole. That eliminates the dead of winter when the ground is frozen, but that’s about it. The rest of the year is fair game.
Cameron Rees, General Manager
Now, understandably, you’re going to have watch something planted in July more closely than something planted in April, but as long as you are there to provide water when it needs it, everything can work out.
That’s why #3 is so important. You can do a great job selecting your plants and getting them planted correctly, but if you don’t take care of them in the days and weeks that follow, your results are going to be disappointing.
The bottom line, there is no starting or stopping point. There is just continuous opportunity, if you’re willing to take it.
So, don’t ever feel like you need to apologize because you haven’t gotten started yet, just get in the game, and as we like to say... Get those hands dirty!
—Cameron Rees
GARDEN WITH NATIVES
Zebra swallowtail on butterfly milkweed
Natives… What are native plants?
Have you heard the word native and wondered just what that means?
These are plants indigenous to Kansas which means they are found in given geographic areas without human involvement. In short, they are plants you see growing wild in a prairie, woodland, and wetland setting. These plants include wildflowers, grasses, trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, so on and so forth. The planting of natives has grown and become more popular over the years.
One of the reasons people want to plant natives, besides the obvious hardy factor, is the beneficial aspect given to our wildlife. All insects that feed on native plants do so because it is that particular plant that they need to survive. Without native plants these insects would not exist, i.e. monarch butterflies feed on Milkweed. Some of these insects also feed on our native birds, fish, spiders, etc. Big picture… We need natives to feed the insects which in turn feeds wildlife…without them, they wouldn’t exist.
With all of that being said, if you have been thinking of planting natives or after reading this article you are intrigued and want to plant some natives we have a good selection of trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennials. If you want to read up on what is native go to www.kansasnativeplants.com.
—Misty Brown
“THYMELY” ADVICE:
be on the lookout for bagworms
We haven’t seen any yet, but it’s getting to that time of year... time for the bagworm hatch.
Wise gardeners should be watching for their tiny little bags showing up from now into June. The new bags will only be about 1/8” long when they first show up, but they’ll quickly grow bigger as the bagworm feeds and grows.
Like most pest problems, the quicker you detect the problem, the quicker you can put an end to it.
Stay tuned… we’ll share tips on what to do when you find some in our next issue.
BATTLING MOLES
Moles are frustrating. Just when you’ve got things looking just right, you wake up to find that well-manicured lawn riddled with their tunnels. Frustrating is just one of the words that comes to mind. Trust me. I’ve got others!
This little pest creates a lot of grief for a lot of folks, me included. I can live with their activity in my landscape beds, their tunneling doesn’t really bother me much. But out in the lawn, their activity is a lot more noticeable and a lot more annoying!
Before you choose to go to battle, it’s wise to get to know the enemy. I’m reminded of that classic scene in Caddyshack, where Bill Murray’s character is preparing to go to war with a gopher that’s been plaguing the golf course. “...my enemy is an animal, and in order to conquer him I have to think like an animal and if possible, to look like him.” Now, I don’t take things quite as far as Bill Murray’s character, but there’s some logic in understanding what moles do and why.
First of all, let’s take a look at what’s really going on with all that tunneling.
Moles live most of their life underground. They dig tunnels for transportation and for feeding and excavating burrows to live in. They do a lot of digging. Much of their activity is deep enough it goes unnoticed. However, they also do a lot of shallow tunneling, as well. Shallow tunnels, along with leftover piles of excavated soil, are what cause us problems.
A lot of shallow tunneling is done while they are hunting for food. Moles eat mostly soil invertebrates: insects, earthworms, slugs... soil critters. They spend a lot of time digging around looking for something to eat. It’s this digging that causes most of the problems for us. Tunneling rips through the roots of our turf grass plants, leaving them susceptible to drying out and ultimately dying.
So, if you’ve got moles, what do you do?
Let’s start by dispelling a myth. Treating for grubs or other soil insects doesn’t get rid of moles. Although moles do eat grubs, they also eat a lot of other things, including earthworms, and there are a lot of earthworms. The bottom line, killing off grubs won’t eliminate their food source. But here’s an interesting thought... Killing grubs could potentially reduce the food supply enough to force them to tear up more ground searching for their next meal. In short, it could make things worse!
I also wouldn’t waste time with home remedies someone’s told you about or you’ve seen on YouTube. There are a lot of them out there and, honestly, I’ve never heard of one that actually works. I think what happens more often than not is that a remedy is tried, the mole naturally moves to a different part of the yard on their own accord, and the home remedy is given all the credit. It’s a case of misapplied cause and effect.
Mole baits are a possibility, but make sure you’re using mole baits and not gopher or rodent baits. I’ve seen a lot of those through the years that include a picture of a mole on the label or sometimes even have “mole” in the name of the product. Gophers, rats, and mice are rodents. Moles are not. Baits designed to attract and control rodents won’t work on moles. Also, keep in mind that pets may be attracted to those baits, as well.
That leaves two good options: trapping them or flushing them out with water, and I have had a lot of success with both.
Either of these two options starts with identifying fresh activity. I find my chances of “taking care of the problem” are the best when I’m working with fresh tunnels... like the same day they are created, if not sooner.
I tried using spear-type traps for years. Those are the kind my dad always used, and he was very successful at taking care of moles, but for me, I’ve struggled to have success with them. I switched to scissor-type traps many years ago and instantly had a lot more success. Those are my go-to now. They’re easy to set and I rarely get a misfire. If I have fresh tunnel activity to work with, traps typically solve my problem.
I’ve also gotten very good at flushing them out with water.
I only try this if I know I’ve got very fresh tunneling activity… think hours, not days. If I can spot tunneling activity that quickly, I drag my garden hose over to the problem area, start running water through the tunnels, and then just sit back and watch. If I’ve read the situation correctly, the flooded tunnel will get the mole moving and looking for fresh air. When I see that little snout poke out of the ground, I take care of business. If I don’t detect any movement, I try a different tunnel until I’ve exhausted all my options.
And here’s an extra tip for you... both of these techniques work best for me if I’ve mowed recently. Freshly cut grass is all the same height. That makes it much easier to detect new tunneling activity because the new tunnels will be pushed up noticeably higher than the surrounding turf.
Another bit of advice is to be persistent. You likely won’t be very successful at first. I know I wasn’t. But as I started to have some success, I got better, and I’ve continued to get better. You will, too.
As always, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask them. Catch me here at the store, give me a call, or shoot me an email through our website. I’ll do my best to help.
Good luck!
—Cameron Rees
Here’s some extra reading if you want to learn more...
WHAT’S NEW?
HOW ABOUT BERRY COBBLER?!
We’ve just released a huge crop of small fruits to the sales lot. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve just added...
Triple Crown Thornless Blackberries
Ponca Thornless Blackberries
Kiowa Blackberries
Heritage Red Raspberries
Prelude Red Raspberries
Cumberland Black Raspberries
Ozark Beauty Everbearing Strawberries
Pixwell Gooseberries
Captivator Gooseberries
Juliet Bush Cherries
Romeo Bush Cherries
Adams Elderberries
York Elderberries
Bluecrop Blueberries
Blueray Blueberries
Venus Seedless Grapes
Concord Seedless Grapes
Himrod Seedless Grapes
And although these aren’t berry plants, they are edible...so these are making the list as well!
Crimson Cherry Rhubarb
Horseradish
We’ve got all those plus a lot more!
