Garden news from Churchills

BUG OFF! Nature’s Way

Not all insects are harmful to your garden; in fact, many are beneficial and are an important part of the ecosystem. Chemicals used to eliminate insects do not discriminate between the good bugs and the bad ones, so you can limit the damage done to beneficial insects and, at the same time, keep harmful chemicals out of the environment by practicing organic pest control.

Here are a few simple and effective ways to eliminate bugs and other pests naturally:

Handpicking: Insects can be handpicked from plants, and pests like potato bugs can easily be shaken from plants into a box. Use a butterfly net to capture white cabbageworm butterflies before they lay their eggs on your crucifers.

Traps: Slugs love to slurp beer from cans strategically placed in the garden, but don’t open the tops all the way lest the openings become two-way streets. Sticky traps hung in apple trees attract and trap apple maggot flies. Brush-on insect trap coating can be applied to small boards on stakes and used throughout the garden. Painting the boards a bright color will make them even more effective. Pheromone traps draw insects like Japanese beetles to their own hormonal scents and safely capture them in boxes away from prized roses and peonies.

Covers: Using lightweight floating covers on crops such as blueberries keeps those pesky birds, rabbits, and deer from eating you out of house and home. Of course, don’t install them until after pollination so that bees can do their job first.

Biological Pest Control: Releasing beneficial bugs into your garden to feed on bad bugs is a fine way of eliminating pests. Ladybugs love aphids, and certain wasps lay eggs on the eggs of other insects, such as cutworms and cornborers; when the wasp eggs hatch, they feed on the pest eggs. The bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is found in spray form and is used to control cabbageworms and their cousins.

Botanical Pest Control: Natural insecticides made from plants like the pyrethrum daisy (Tanacetum coccineum) are used very effectively and are a major force in the bad bug patrol. Pyrethrum, rotenone, and sabadilla are a few of these botanicals, which disperse quickly and do not leave residues.

Fertilizing Your Lawn

A greener lawn just seems to make you feel better.  It makes your home and gardens more beautiful.   But how do you keep it green?  Just as you and I need our three square meals a day, utilizing all the food groups (of course), a lawn has similar nutritional needs.  Your lawn’s needs are simple…it needs nitrogen for lush, green grass, phosphate for strong, deep root development and potash for growth and drought resistance.  These elements are known as N-P-K for Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash.  To keep it straight, just remember N (for nitrogen) is for everything above ground (grass leaf)-P (for phosphate) is for everything below ground (roots) and K (for potash) helps the lawn interact with the soil.  These elements are present in most balanced fertilizer products.  The percentage of each element might differ, but these percentages are listed on every fertilizer product.  They are the three numbers listed in the formulation; i.e., 25-5-5 would 25% of the bag weight would be available nitrogen, 5% phosphate and 5% potash.

If you were to buy a 50 pound bag (10,000 sq ft coverage) of 25-5-5 fertilizer, then 25% or 12.5 pounds would be nitrogen, 2.5 pounds would be phosphate and 2.5 pounds would be potash.  To finish the equation, you then divide the total pounds by the coverage area.  In this case you would apply about 1.25 pounds of nitrogen.  An average lawn needs 4 pounds of nitrogen (per 1000 sq ft or M), 2 pounds of phosphate (/M) and 1 pound of potash (/M) annually.  Your lawn might differ from the average, but if you are looking for a “green-up” then look for high nitrogen fertilizers.  If your lawn seems to wilt under the stress of summer heat waves, consider a fertilizer higher in phosphate and potash.

Now you know how to fertilize like a pro.  There is an easier way.  Most fertilizer companies now offer “four-step” programs for your lawn.  It is usually sold as a set of four bags in 5-10,000 or now even 15,000 square foot sizes.  It pre-packages everything your lawn needs for the year.  Simply apply at rates shown on the bag at the times recommended.  This ensures the proper amounts of nutrients are applied at optimum timing.

Most folks like to see a quick green-up, but be careful, as too quick a top growth can occur at the expense of good root development.  A good solution to this problem is WIN or W (ater) I (insoluble) N (itrogen).  It allows the nitrogen to be released over a longer period of time.  It is usually coated so that it is broken down over natural weathering process.

A great lawn is in the bag…literally.  Knowing what’s in the bag should keep you and your lawn in the green!  Stop by with any questions.