Termite Time

Well, actually, termite time is all the time. However, early spring months are when you tend to see the dreaded winged adults. You see them because they’re leaving the nest.

These adults have reached sexual maturity and want to play house somewhere else. This somewhere else can easily be your house.

I noticed some last year at about this time. I was outside with Alfred, my now-on-a-diet-but-still-fat dachshund. It was the day after a rain, nice and warm and muggy. Now, I do not know if it is coincidence or not, but about a week later I saw more termites under the same basic conditions- a warm muggy day.

For as long as I have owned a house I have been concerned about termites. I’ve seen the damage that they can do and because of that, I include termite inspection as I walk around my house looking for landscape problems.

Some termites live in the soil and build tunnels made from mud up to the house and then disappear in the woodwork. When I see a mud tunnel I release beneficial nematodes. A few days after I will go back and knock it down and saturate the soil with Green Sense Soil Drench. I know that by doing this I may be sacrificing some of the BN’s, but my hope is that some will have made their way up into the tunnels, where they can sneak up and attack the termites.

This seems to be working. When we moved in to our house, 40 percent of the lower level of the was covered in 15 year old cedar- warped and in need of paint. As time and money permitted, we’ve been replacing the wood with stone and stucco. As we remove the old wood, we’ve been able to inspect the studs and other framework around doors and windows and haven’t seen any indications of termite damage.

I do have a contract with Rid All Pest Control to monitor my termites and control them if necessary. They install monitoring stations and check them periodically. When we first began this program they monitored on a bimonthly basis and used some low impact baits. Now, 2 years later, they come out every six months and have found a decrease in most stations and no activity in a few.

If you find termites, contact an exterminator and use one that will use low impact control methods. I feel very comfortable with Rid All. Talk to Michael Bosco by calling him at 214-340-6969 or by email michael@bosco.com or contact Michael Bodain, owner of The Pest Shop at 972-519-0355. Or email him at bugman@pestshop.com.

You can minimize termite activity by storing firewood away from the house, fix leaky faucets and use BN’s on a regular basis. For more information check out the following website: University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Things to Do in May

Buy Mom a rose. We sell Antique Roses because they have proven to be less prone to disease and insect damage. Antique roses allow Mom to spend less time caring for roses and more time enjoying the beauty of her long lasting gift.

Remember, roses are heavy feeders. They use so many nutrients to produce beautiful flowers that they need constant feeding. If they don’t get enough food the leaves will become anemic, their flowers will not open and if they do, the colors will be dull. You may notice the appearance of millions of aphids, as if the plant had become a magnet.

It is easy to combat this problem by feeding your roses on a bi-weekly basis with a granular rose food and a foliar feeding.

A customer of ours who has been a member of the Dallas Men’s garden Club for over 30 years, asked us to formulate a Rose Food that consisted of alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal and soft rock phosphate. Green Sense Rose Food was formulated using his recipe. He also asked for a foliar spray that contained Epsom salts, molasses, fish emulsion, kelp and apple cider vinegar. Green Sense Foliar Juice contains all of those ingredients, but he recommends mixing 2 Tbs. of Ultra Fine Sun Spray to control aphids and black spot.

One thing I know that works for thrips is the use of Beneficial Nematodes. Thrips are tiny insects that come up from the soil and bore into the rose bud and destroy it. Most buds that have thrips will not open and if they do their color is dull and the blooms deformed.

The Lawn

Most new organic gardeners think because they used corn gluten meal once, their lawns should be weed free. Those of us experienced organic gardeners (some with much more experience- and GRAY HAIR) realize, into every lawn some weeds must grow. Here are some of the things that can be done now to help eradicate most of your weeds:

• Fertilize again. We are in the second quarter of the year so it is time for your second application. If you used corn gluten meal earlier, mix 20 lbs of CGM to a 40 pound bag of organic fertilizer to help prevent summer weed germination. If you are not going to mix CGM with your fertilizer, but put it out as an independent application apply the CGM at a rate of 10 lbs per thousand square feet.
• If you have winter weeds, or over seeded with rye grass, mow the lawn at a lower level so that the spring heat will kill off these plants and permit your summer grasses, Bermuda and St. Augustine to emerge.
• If your lawn has dalis grass, crab grass or other weeds that produce large quantities of seeds, use a grass catcher to collect the weed seeds and compost this material properly.
• If you have a large number of dandelions apply Green Sense Soft Rock Phosphate at a rate of 10 lbs per thousand square feet. We have been doing some testing over the last few years and have seen a large decrease in controlled areas.
• Spray 10 or 20 % Green Sense Vinegar on individual weeds. We have found that most customers are unnecessarily spraying the entire weed. Find the root of the weed and spray on the area immediately above it. The rest will die quickly.
• As the temperatures become warmer, raise the mowing height and let the grass choke out the weeds. If you over seeded do not mow high until your winter grasses have died.
• With all the rain we have had the soil would benefit from Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment. Do not aerate with a mechanical aerator just yet. I like waiting until June when we have less rain. Heavy rains tend to collapse the soil where the cores were removed. By waiting, you will have better water percolation throughout the summer.

Brown Patch and Other Fungi

With all the recent rains, many customers are coming in with samples of their lawns infected with Brown Patch. Brown patch appears as circular spots that are yellowish in color.

The best way to control brown patch is to correct any water issues. Standing water or poor drainages that permits water to slowly drain off may sometimes be corrected with little effort. One customer used Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment last year as his only tool to eliminate Brown Patch. He claims that after applying microbes on a monthly basis for about 5 months he eliminated all traces of brown patch from his lawn.

To help keep he soil from re-compacting apply Green Sense Lava Sand to all soils. Lava Sand can be applied as thick as you want it. It will take longer for it to blend in to the soil at heavier rates and I do not recommend this but if you cannot reapply it later on in the year do a heavy application now. Remember, if you live near Rohde’s Nursery you can buy Lava Sand in bulk. You will get approximately 1300 lbs for $45.00.

If you’ve (or your lawn) had a bad case of brown patch, I recommend repeated use of corn meal at a rate of 20 lbs per thousand square feet for your first application and continued applications at 15-days intervals at a rate of 10 lbs per thousand square feet.

If you have a hose end sprayer, Green Sense Potassium Bicarbonate is easier to apply and more economical. Potassium Bicarbonate goes out at a rate of 2 tablespoons per 400 square feet. Again, do not exceed 15-day intervals.

We used to sell Actinovate as our main control for fungal diseases. I guess because it’s not a Green Sense, product we tend to “forget about it”. However, it has proven itself over the years and should be used for really bad cases of all fungal problems including leaf spot, dampening off and others.

Mowing

As you start mowing your lawn, or as your gardener does, get out of the rut. Don’t mow the lawn the same direction week after week. Variety minimizes compaction and the lawn looks neater because it isn’t always being pushed in the same direction.

Watering

Take advantage of the spring rains and get your lawn off a regular watering schedule. Water when your plants need water not when your timer is set. Make sure you time your water output so that your water is not wasted as runoff.

Remember, your plants may develop deep roots to reach deep water, but your home’s foundation will not. Don’t forget to water the foundation. A good use for a leaky hose.

Seed/Overseed/Sod

After night temperatures have reached the 70’s for over a week you can start to put out Bermuda seed. Apply corn meal at a rate of 10 pounds per thousand square feet to help the seed germinate without developing fungi.

Sod can be put out at any time here in the south. I hate hearing of sod companies who advise installing sod over dead grass. I have heard they say dead grass breaks down and help feed the new sod. The root system of the new sod will not penetrate the thatch of the old grass. The sod placed on top of the old grass will be higher than the existing grade and may cause damage to tree roots and impede proper drainage.

I recommend that you call your source of sod. Ask them how deep the sod is cut (normally ¾”). Remove the old sod and enough soil to level the new grass.

Don’t throw away the old dirt. Remove the vegetation first, and use the soil for grading or place it around the foundation of your house to create positive drainage from the foundation towards the street.

If the grade is done properly, sod should be easily installed and pieces should fit evenly. Now, before you water, apply Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment. Microbes will aerate the soil for the critical first weeks, permitting faster root growth and easier water percolation that helps ward off brown patch. After your first mowing you will be able to see areas in the new lawn that may be uneven. Now is the time to add some compost to the cracks between the sod and a very thin layer of compost over the entire lawn. A good compost will have enzymes that may help fight off brown patch as well as replace organic matter and nutrients that may have been leeched out during the intense watering period as the sod was being established.

If you notice irregular patterns of a yellowish color appearing in the new grass apply cornmeal at a rate of 20 pounds per thousand square feet every 10 to 15 days until the grass is evenly green.

Wean the grass off frequent watering and determine the watering needs of the new lawn.

After the compost has disappeared from the top of the grass, fertilize the lawn with Green Sense 6-2-4 and apply Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment.

Humate is another mineral that can be applied to the lawn at this time. Humic and fulvic acids are essential to plant development. They act as organic "chelators" which enhance the uptake and utilization of vital plant nutrients contained in both organic and conventional fertilizers. Due to their negative ionic characteristics, these organic acids increase the cation exchange capacity of the soil, which enhances the transfer of nutrients through cell membranes of plant root materials.

Trees

You may notice that Bark Aphids have disappeared, but now you have caterpillars climbing up the side of your trees. You can spray your trees with Thuricde or a similar BTI product to control these caterpillars. You may also try using Tricogramma Wasp. These predator insects’ will use the caterpillars as the host body for breeding.

Do not trim Red Oaks or Live Oaks now. The next possible time would be in late August, but I prefer waiting until November after we have had a few freezes. Fertilize your trees by applying an all-organic fertilizer combined with minerals and rock powders. A good supplemental product such as Green Sense Minerals Plus contains lava sand, greensand, sul-po-mag and zeolite.

Beneficial Insects—Predator Insects

With the emergence of Tent Caterpillars we have also seen a run on Trichogramma Wasp. There are numerous species of Trichogramma wasps that attack the eggs of over 200 species of moths and butterflies. These almost microscopic wasps (0.5 mill; 1/64 inch) are very important in preventing crop damage because they kill their hosts before the insects can cause plant damage. The female Trichogramma lays an egg within a recently laid host egg, and as the wasp larva develops, the host egg turns black. Each female parasitizes about 100 eggs and may also destroy additional eggs by host feeding. The short life cycle of 8-10 days allows the wasp population to increase rapidly. These wasps are harmless to people, animals, and plants. Beneficial Nematodes will help control fleas, ticks, roaches, fire ants, termites and over two hundred other ground dwelling insects.

Flowering Ornamentals

By now all Indian Hawthorns and most of your spring flowering plants have bloomed, so feel free to reshape them. Try not to remove too much of the foliage-- remember they use their leaves to produce energy.Start a regular fertilizing program so the plant will be able to store nutrients for next springs flowers.

If you were jealous of a neighbor’s plant that bloomed so beautifully this spring and you just have to have one too, make sure your garden has the same conditions. Sun, shade, drainage, moisture. Find out as much as you can about the plant and ask your neighbor how much special care that plant receives. What amendments went into the preparation of the soil? Does it have require a lot of water? Is it a native plant that can take our summer heat? How well it will do later in the year or during a freeze? If it has been there for many years, why did it not bloom like that before?

Before planting, know your soil’s ability to retain moisture, how fast it dries out after a rain. Plant shrubs that are drought tolerant in the hotter areas of your landscape.

Annual Flowers

You can plant your seasonal color using plants like: ageratum, begonia, blue daze, coleus, gaillardia, gomphrena, pentas, impatiens, lobelia, mexican heather, nicotiana, purslane, ornamental peppers,phlox, annual salvias, torenia, verbena and zinnia. I love using the small pepper plants as an annual flower, specially the chile pequin. Mockingbirds love eating these hot peppers.

Caladiums: Just a few more weeks now, wait until the soil temperature is in the 70's. Buy enough bulbs for two plantings in the same area, this will ensure that your caladium’s will be around through September. By this I mean, do the first planting as normal in mid May. In late June, come back with more caladium bulbs and fill in calculated spots left open. By doing this, these fresh bulbs grow into October.

Most caladiums should be planted in shaded, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Some Strap Leaf Caladiums can be planted in full sun. Soak your bulbs in a kelp solution for 30 minutes. Use rock phosphate at the time of planting.

Perennials

This winter killed off some perennials that have been around through previous winters. There is a good chance that if some of the plants have not started to emerge yet, they may not have made it. It could be the freezing temperatures or the extreme wet conditions that we had. You may check and see how well the area drains before blaming the plants’ death on the freeze. Check the drainage by digging a hole in the ground nearby and filling it up with water. If it drains in less than 10 minutes, you have good drainage. If it takes longer than that, poor drainage could be the reason the plant died. Replace it with a plant that can take moist conditions or improve the drainage.

My garden has more perennials than annuals and all of the landscapes that Carol Feldman, our Landscape Architect of choice, does exclude most annual flowers. Be patient with perennials in your garden. Some may wait until warmer temperatures before putting out new growth. Divide and transplant perennials to different areas of the landscape where you used to planting annuals.

Avoid plants that require the removal of spent blooms in order to keep blooming vigorously. Fertilize on a regular basis with Green Sense Vegetable and Flower Food.

Mulch

In order to conserve water make sure that all soils are covered with a thick layer of mulch. Put down and maintain a three inch layer of hardwood, cedar, cypress - or my favorite - pine straw, to keep the soil temperature from getting too hot and moisture will not evaporate as quickly.

If you did not have time to compost, do not complain if you get some weeds sprouting from this mulch, just be glad that you were able to save your plants.

Around the middle of March I received a phone call from a Green Sense dealer. They’ve been using organic products for a while and have recommended citrus oil as an insecticide or a fragrant cleaner. However, in the spring all nurseries hire people to help during the spring rush and sometimes management forgets to explain every little detail.

As he told his story, I was reminded of a time not long ago when I asked a new employee to make a sign using a permanent marker and some cardboard. He started to make this sign on our Formica topped sales counter. In a short time he asked me for another marker. I showed him where they were and continued my task while he finished his. Time passed …. he asked me to come see what he did. As I walked over to the counter I noticed that there were 3 markers on the counter and a beautiful gothic looking sign. Black, bold letters with swirls. Periods and commas looked like stars and half moons. And to finish it off he highlighted the borders with a frame that looked like a wrought iron gate from some Hitchcock movie.

He actually did a very good job on the sign making it look almost too good to be at my store. The bad news was that he used so much ink it soaked through the cardboard and stained the counter top. I went back to the warehouse for a rag and some citrus oil and poured some directly over the counter and smeared it over the ink stains and let it sit for a while.

Five minutes later I soaked the rag in water and cleaned the counter removing all the ink stain and leaving the Formica as clean as if it were brand new. Viola! The citrus oil miracle!

A few days passed and I received a phone call from a very upset customer. It turns out that as one of my employees loaded his car he noticed a stain on the cars dashboard. Trying to be helpful he recommend Citrus Oil as a way to remove that stain, explaining that just the other day it removed a nasty stain from our counter. The customer came in and purchased a quart of citrus oil and followed my employee’s directions. OOOPS!

Citrus oil works well to remove stains from Formica counter tops, but it even works better to remove satins and pigmentation from plastic dashboards. It even removes some of the plastic. Sure enough, the acidity in Green Sense Citrus Oil is so strong that it even left an indention where it melted the plastic after sitting for only five minutes. That’s why it’s in a metal container!

The customer really was nice about it. He did not demand a new dashboard since the car involved was his 1985 Nissan that he used as his workhorse to buy lumber and landscape materials for projects at his house. He really wanted me to know about this experience so that I could explain the powers of citrus oil more thoroughly to my coworkers.

Well, if you have purchased Green Sense Citrus Oil recently you will notice that there is a dilution chart on the side of the can that explains the concentrations needed so citrus oil can be used as a cleaner, degreaser or an insecticide. As a foliar spray to kill insects you use very little citrus oil, only one half ounce mixed with a product like Foliar Juice per gallon of water. This solution will be strong enough to kill aphids, white flies and even spider mites on junipers.

Now, back to the Green Sense Dealer. One of their new employees knew that citrus oil was one of the ingredients in Soil Drench and was used to kill fire ants. A customer approached him for an organic application for spider mites on some junipers. The new employee suggested Green Sense Citrus Oil but failed to read the recommended instructions on the label. The customer went home and failed to read the recommended rate of application. Two wrongs do not make a right. Bam!

The junipers were fried. Toasted. Burnt to a crisp.

I do not know how many hours of research, how many gallons of product were tested to compose our label, but I do know that we repeat day after day: READ THE LABEL! Please.

Not everybody knows the awesome power of citrus oil.