Things to Do in April

What you do in your lawn now can make a big difference to your garden later in the year. By starting early your lawn and garden will benefit from the feeding, mulching and help you minimize weeding and maintenance later in the year.

Mulching

Mulch now. The mulch you put out will help control temperature, moisture, weeds, compaction. and erosion. Try to place a three inch layer over all soil areas. The extra thickness helps keep soil temperature more even, this even temperature encourages roots to grow more vigorously and also reduces the need for regular watering because of the lower temperatures, the ability to hold water and the fact that it minimizes wind evaporation. The heavy mulch does not let sun light penetrate enough to let the seeds germinate. Every time a rain drop or sprinkled water hits the ground it compacts the soil, the mulches work as a buffer protecting the soil from the heavy rain and minimizing compaction. Mulches also slow down erosion of the soils.

Watering

Hell Nino may still be bothering us a little bit, but rains in general make us think that we do not need to water. Check out the plants under the eaves of the house and under evergreens to see that they are getting sufficient moisture. Don’t forget to check the foundation also. While you are checking around look for areas that are also holding to much water. Good places to look are where tow roof lines meet causing lots of water to discharge onto one spot or at the discharge of downspouts. Place a boulder or a concrete slab to prevent erosion in this area. The best times to do this is immediately after a heavy rain. If moist, recheck after a couple of days, if its moist you may not have a problem, if it is still real wet you should correct the drainage. While you are looking for drainage problems watch for aphids on succulent new leaves. Lady Bugs and Lacewings work great in controlling aphids. Garlic sprays, insecticidal soaps, citrus oils or blast of water will help control aphids.

Birds

Birds consume hundreds of insects each day. Encourage them to take up residence near your home by providing bird houses, feeders and water sources like WaterWorks dripper stations. Build rookeries to encourage lizards and place a “Toad Abode” (expensive word for a frog house) by a damp area where the A/C unit discharges it’s condensation or by a leaky water faucet.

Aeration

A lot of people may be suggesting lawn aeration’s at this time. Aeration is the process of increasing the soil's air content. Soil surrounding the plugged holes and the soil deposited on top will collapse and fill in. With the amount of rains that can fall now we are holding off. Why? If your lawn is aerated on Monday and we receive one inch of rain on Tuesday or a week later, large amounts of rain will collapse these cores. We made money you spent it.

At the time of aerating it would be good to add either compost, lava sand, Humate, an organic fertilizer or any other organic matter. Back To Earth Compost makes a fine screened product that complements any aeration.

Lawn Fertilizing and Troubleshooting

If you do not aerate, now is a good time to apply an organic fertilizer such as, ummm, GreenSense 5-2-4 or GreenSense 6-2-4. The best rate of application is 20 pounds per thousand square feet. Most organic gardeners are applying their second application now. Control of weeds such as grass burs is easily done with the help of Humates, applied at a rate of 10 pounds per thousand.

If your lawn is very sparse you might do some investigating to find out why. Are you trying to grow a sun loving grass like bermuda in what is now a shady area. If so, you may try removing the lower branches of your trees to permit more sunlight or replacing the grass with shade tolerant grasses like St. Augustine or with groundcovers.

If your bermuda grass is in full sun and sparse try overseeding with more seed at a rate of one pound per 400 to 500 square feet. This will help crowd out the weeds and fill in any bare spots.

While the plants are flushing out apply foliar sprays at least monthly but preferably once a week. Foliar sprays can contain manure teas, kelp, molasses, apple cider vinegar’s and if you are fighting fungal problems Epsom salts.

Fungus

Good natural fungicides include Corn Meal (Not Corn Gluten Meal) at a rate of 20 pounds per 1000 square feet and Actinovate. Actinovate contains a high concentration of beneficial soil micro-organisms enabling the plants to fend off diseases. Application rate varies depending on frequency of use.

Planting

We have a great selection of trees and shrubs now. We still encourage you to buy native plants, but we have a large assortment of well adapted trees, shrubs, herb’s and perennials to choose from.

Pruning

Prune shrubs that have flowered to desired height and fertilize with a good blend of all purpose fertilizer. Cut spring flowering bulbs stalks to the ground after foliage dies naturally on daffodils, hyacinths, etc. Do not fertilize or prune azaleas, hawthorns and other spring blooming shrubs until they have finished blooming.

Beneficial Insects: Let Me Tell You... Bout the Birds and the Bees

In the last couple of newsletters and the present one we have asked you to encourage wildlife to your garden. Birds, lizards, frogs, all of these consume hundreds if not thousands of insects a day. I will try to tell you about the benefits of the different predator insects.

We know that all insects are here for a reason, we just do not always understand that reason. We see roaches and we scream or throw something at them. We see spiders and fear them. As bees buzz by we marvel at their dedication as pollinators, but if they are to close we try to kill them with sprays. We see butterflies and enjoy erratic flight and as they alight on the flowers we marvel at their delicate beauty only to forget what we saw and later on as their larvae grow we kill them without mercy.

There are two basic mode de operandi for an insect to control it’s target as predators of other insects or as parasite, leaving their eggs to feed on the bodies of other insects.

In the last five years that we have been selling insects we have become familiar with several varieties that we call Beneficial here are some of those.

The Ladybug or Lady Beetle (Coccinellidae): This is the bug that most people know about. Poems, t-shirts and garden art are made after these guys. Some people even think that it is lucky for a Lady Bug to poop on you. So the benefits are numerous.

It is a voracious feeder. It feeds upon many damaging insects, starting at a very young age. The larvae is more aggressive then the adult. They go after aphids, mites, mealy bugs, scales, and other small insects. We get calls every year about Lady Bugs going inside homes or hibernating in mulches, by people wondering what these bugs are, or will they fly away like the poem says. In the early spring the eggs hatches and take the shape of a short fat little alligator with many legs. Already showing the red and black colors people start to recognize them and stay away from insect sprays.

When you see Ladybugs at your local nursery don’t buy them as pets if you have not seen an infestation of aphids or other pest insects in your garden they will not stay but will go elsewhere for food.

Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa): This insect is thought to be very beneficial and the truth be known it will eat as many pest as it will beneficial insects. It also starts feeding at an early age. As it emerges from its nest it waits for its siblings follow, and without any feelings of resentment starts to feast on them.

As the mantis grow they become more and more menacing to look at. When they reach maturity at four inches in length they become super powers that can catch the unexpected. We all have heard of the praying mantis that had caught a Hummingbird in mid flight and found it to be finger licking good.

Green Lacewing (Chrysopa carnea): These beneficials are becoming more popular as people are beginning to see how fast they can clean up an infestation of aphids and mealy bugs. If you thought that the lady bug was aggressive look for these tine guys and see how they can eat up to forty pest an hour. Lacewings suck fluids out of their prey. Insects such as aphids, thrips, red spider mites, leafhoppers and others have no chance once targeted by the lacewing.

Trichograma Wasp (Trichogramma minutum): These tiny insect parasites are highly effective against many species of caterpillars and moths that eat leaves and cause root damage. Pecan Trees that are covered with tent caterpillars can easily be cleaned up with these Trichogramma Wasp. Tomato horn worms are also an easy prey for these tiny wasps, considered to be the most widely used beneficial bug in the world.

Bees (Hymenoptera): All bees and wasp are beneficials and help control many worm like insects, combined with the pollinating benefit, bees should be treated with great respect. Respect their ability to sting you and they will respect your ability to knock their innards out.

Beneficial Nematodes (Nematoda): You never know what lurks below the soil surface, flea larvae, grub worms, etc. I found from reading about Beneficial Nematodes that there are 200 insects that can be controlled by the underground dwellers. They must be put out when the sunlight is not directly on them, cloudy days or preferably at dusk They need moist soils to travel in, so additional watering may be required. Nematodes penetrate through body cavities of their prey. The insect they attack must be immobile, because of this they will not compete with your worm population. Flea control with the Beneficial nematodes becomes an easy task. Apply in early spring, mid July and early fall for an on going schedule. After a couple of years if your soil is kept moist your beneficial nematode will reproduce and stay at manageable proportions.

Dragonflies (Odonata anisoptera): Get an old whiskey barrel or a small pond with a couple of bog plants, they lay eggs on water plants or on the water’s surface. Now you have created a perfect breeding place for dragonflies. Watch as they dart around at speeds reaching sixty miles an hour, they can catch 100 mosquitoes a day, but also consume flies, termites, moths and other pest insects, catching them as they dart about.

Assassin Bug (Reduviidae): It seems like one of the most asked questions on Howard Garrett’s Radio Program “The Natural Way” (WBAP 820 AM Saturday 11:00 am - Noon; Sunday 8:00 am - Noon) is what are these grubs in my compost or garden. Howard says that most grubs are beneficial and can very well be The Assassin Bug.

These bugs feed on flies, mosquitoes, squash bugs, caterpillars, and many other pest. Adults have a flattened oval shape with a conical head and a curved beak. They measure an inch long, with longer legs than those destructive bugs.

The longer you stay away from insecticides, chemical or organic, the more beneficial insects will be established in your vegetable and flower gardens. Biodiversity is beginning to work. Your organic challenge has been met and you are changing your environment from a hazardous waste land to a safe haven for your loved ones and... your spouse.

From a Dogs Eye View

I don’t get to go too many houses, but recently I went to a very large estate, one that I knew I could spend several hours investigating. The house was rather large it looked like a castle and the rolling lawn was under very large trees, with a thicket of several varieties of trees surrounding the edges. The trees were budding out and periodically I would see a squirrel digging up some acorns. I would run after it, but with my short legs I could never catch them. The feeling of superiority knowing that I was feared by someone made me feel great. I wandered deeper into the thicket as if I were the King of The Jungle.

Every once in a while I would catch a whiff of an odor I thought I knew so I would stop and sniff real hard and try to recognize the smell. After smelling for a while and not recognizing any of these fragrances I thought that I would go ahead and mark my territory so I could come back later and investigate some more.

As I was wandering around, I saw a pair of legs sticking out from under some shrubs. I started to feel curious and decided to go investigate. As I got nearer, I started to smell the feet. I noticed that the pant leg was pushed up a little bit and there was some skin exposed so I pushed lightly with my nose. The legs moved quickly and I got out of the way as my master rushed to his feet.

“Alfred,” he said as he stood up. “Your nose sure is cold. Where have you been?” I started to wag my tail hurriedly, as I tried telling him about the squirrels that I had seen and chased. I wanted to have him come back to the thicket that I had sprayed earlier, but, he got back on his knees and started to crawl back under that shrub. He said: “Alfred I found some toads nest and I want to catch some and take them to the front yard. Come in here and help me dig out this hole.”

Oh no, I thought to myself, he wants me to get dirty so I will have to take another bath when we get back home. No way! I shook my head as I took a couple of steps back.

I heard a noise, a scream almost, “Gross!” he said as he pushed his hand into the hole he had dug out and pulled out a handful of little slimy toads. One of the toads jumped from his grasp and landed next to me. It had been 20 minutes since I last ate something and feeling hungry I wolfed it up. And spat it back out. Now I know why my master thought these slimy things were gross.

I followed as my master walked towards the front of the house and picked a spot next to a hose bib. He placed the toads on the ground and immediately placed a red clay pot that was cracked over the toads as if giving them shelter. He also placed a fence around the pot so the toads could not escape and would get used to their new dwellings.

My master and I walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. The owner of the house came out.

“Grrrrr”, I growled letting her know that my sole purpose in life was to protect my master.

“Cookie”, my master commanded. A word that usually makes me stop in my tracks and look real cute while I wait for some food to be given to me.

The second she saw me she could not get over my cuteness. “What an adorably fat dog you have. Is it hungry. Did you ask me for a cookie?” she questioned.

At first I was insulted, but at the mention of food I knew I was going to like this lady. But, before I could wag my cute tail, my master started to tell her how he had caught some toads and made a dwelling close to the flower bed that was having problems with snails and slugs in hopes that they would stay and feed on the snails. He said he would be back in a couple of days and remove the fence.

I was looking real cute waiting for her to bring me my cookie. I realized that she had just offered food to make small talk, not being one who likes to be teased I decided that I would get even and I walked up to her lifted my leg and......